Hey everyone! Just wanted to say that this chapter ended up being the last.
I thank everyone for reading and reviewing my story and hope that you enjoy
this final chapter.
Yami woke up slowly, still feeling extremely beat. Why was he so tired?! Then he heard a banging noise from downstairs. 'Please let what happened yesterday just all be a bad dream,' he pleaded. He pushed himself up off his bed and looked over at Yugi's. It was empty!
Slightly panicked, Yami hopped off his bed and quickly looked around the room, finding nothing. Then he heard another noise from downstairs, and rushed down the steps, hoping nothing bad had happened.
When he arrived downstairs he was greeted by...
"Mornin' sleepy head!" Joey said happily as he sat on the couch.
"Didn't think you'd ever wake up," Tristan said from the floor in front of the TV.
"It's almost noon Yami," Tea said, from the chair, "And this little guy's been up since 8."
Yami looked in Tea's lap, and sure enough, there was a giggling chibi Yugi, but he looked different.
"How long have you guys been here?" Yami asked.
Tea smiled. "Since 8."
"Seren couldn't come," Joey said, "She had to go back home today."
"Yami, there's something wrong with the chibis," Mokuba said, standing up from his spot next to Tristan. "The chibis...they're getting smaller."
"Smaller?" Yami asked surprised. He looked at Yugi again, and he was smaller! And so were Kaiba and Ryou, who he had spotted on the floor! Their clothes didn't fit right, even though they fit perfectly yesterday. Then he remembered something.
"You don't think they're getting younger, do you?" he asked them, a little startled now. Yugi had told him he was 5 when he had woken up, 4 when the Kaibas came over, and 3 at the mall. He slowly approached his miniature hikari. "Yugi?"
"Amies!" Yugi shouted happily.
"How old are you?" he asked slowly.
Yugi put a finger in his mouth, and gladly held out two fingers with his free hand for all to see.
"Oh no," Yami said as Yugi giggled again. Then Yami noticed something missing. "Where's Bakura?"
"Oh we sent him to the store with some money for diapers," Tea answered.
"Diapers?!"
"They're not potty trained anymore," Tristan said sadly, ashamed for his friend.
A look of horror crossed Yami's face. This just kept getting worse and worse! And if it kept going, soon they would be babies! And then...what?
The cartoon that the teens had on for the chibis stopped.
"We interrupt your normal television programming to bring you this breaking news story!" an announcer said, catching all of the teens' attention, "A boy has passed out in the middle of a local grocery store. From what? Paramedics are still guessing, but the boy has been rushed to the Domino Hospital."
On the screen show yellow caution tape strung through the store, and then police cars sitting in front of the building.
"Police are still trying to identify him," the announcer continued, "but it is said that he was 14 to 16 years of age with pale skin, dark brown eyes, and white hair. We shall inform you more as this story develops. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming."
The cartoon had come back on, but only the chibis had noticed.
"Bakura's in the hospital?!" Joey shouted, "We have to go!"
"But what about the chibis?" Tristan said.
"Maybe one of us should stay behind and watch them," Tea suggested.
"No," Yami said, "We'll just bring them with us."
*****
Ten minutes later, the heavily breathing group of teens arrived at Domino Hospital. They ran the whole way. Yami had Yugi on his back, Tristan had Ryou, and Mokuba carried Seto.
"Are you okay Yami?" Tea asked as she took Yugi from him. Yami looked extremely pale.
"Yes," he lied. He felt about to pass out himself! He stood up strait. "Come on, we have to find Bakura!"
"We need to see the boy who passed out at the store please," Tristan said to the woman at the counter.
"I'm sorry, but family only," she said in a monotone.
"But this is important!" Joey demanded.
"Look, I'm sorry but we have to follow the rules," she said testily.
They backed up from the counter a little. "So I guess that Ryou would technically be the only one allowed in," Tristan said, looking at the toddler on his back.
"But Tristan, the chibi's aren't walking so well anymore," Mokuba said, "Someone has to go with him."
"I'll go," Yami said.
"But Yami..." Tea began.
"We're both spirits from ancient Egypt," Yami said, "I'll have a better chance know what's wrong with him than anyone else."
Tea sighed and nodded her head.
Yami looked around at the rest of the group and they agreed also. "Tristan, let me have Ryou."
Tristan handed Yami the chibi and Yami walked up to the counter.
"We're here to see Bakura, the boy who passed out at the store," Yami said.
"And who are you?" the woman asked.
"I am Yami, Bakura's - cousin, and this is Ryou, his little brother." Yami held up Ryou, who was surprisingly quiet. He could sense all of the nervousness coming from the teens.
"Okay, you can go in," the woman said, waving her hand, "In room 130 on the main floor."
"Thank you," Yami said, then took off down the hallway, holding Ryou in his arms.
"124, 126, 128, ah, 130!" Yami said, arriving at his destination. He was about to open the door when it suddenly flew open!
"Doctor!!" the man, presumably another doctor, who had flung open the door shouted down the hall, "Doctor come look at this!!!"
A woman that Yami had past turned and came running, saying "excuse me" as she passed him and went into the room, leaving the door open a little.
Yami peeked his head in, seeing a white curtain pulled and the shadows of two people standing and another in a bed. But when Yami couldn't hear their conversation, he slowly walked in.
"It's astounding!" he heard the man say, "He just all of a sudden started to get better!"
The woman sighed with relief. "That's great! He was sure taking a turn for the worse earlier! Have we discovered why he passed out in the first place yet?"
"No that is still a mystery," the man said, "But what's really bothering me is that we can't find out who this boy is."
"His name is Bakura," Yami said, stepping behind the curtain. He could see the surprised faces of the two doctors, and then Bakura lying on the hospital bed. He looked terrible!! Extremely pale, white hair soaked with sweat and matted to his head. Hooked up to IVs and all sorts of other machines and things that Yami didn't recognize.
"Bakuwa?" Ryou said sadly, looking at his other. He looked about to cry. A few tears managed to roll down his cheek.
"Who are you!" the man demanded.
But before Yami could answer, something interrupted.
"Don't cry aibou."
"What!?" the woman said startled, turning back to look at her patient.
"He woke up!!!" the man said in shock.
Bakura's eyes were halfway open and some color had returned to his face. He held up his arms. "Give him to me Yami."
Yami nodded and put the chibi on Bakura's stomach.
Bakura held Ryou steady with his arms. "Why you crying hikari?"
"Causa ou wooked *sniff* so scawy and I dought *sniff* ou no wakey," Ryou managed to say.
"When don't I look scary?" Bakura asked, smiling weakly.
The chibi giggled.
Bakura turned his attention to Yami. "I got the diapers," he said, "They're in that bag." He pointed to a plastic grocery bag near Yami's feet.
Yami smiled and picked them up. He'd forgotten all about the diapers.
"I - I'm sorry but - you're gonna have to leave," the woman managed to say, still in shock.
"No!" Bakura said suddenly, "Ryou stays! But, the pharaoh can leave."
The doctors looked from Bakura to Yami to Bakura again.
"Um," Yami said, "That means the toddler stays and I go." Then he turned and walked out, leaving the two very stunned doctors.
'Hmm,' Yami thought, 'that was strange. Bakura wasn't doing well until we came. I wonder...if...' Yami all of a sudden felt really dizzy. "Whoa!" he said, stumbling a little until he was able to put his hand on the wall to steady himself. He put his other hand on his head to try and stop it from spinning.
'What's wrong with me!' he thought, rubbing his forehead with his hand. It had finally stopped spinning, but it ached. He decided to continue down the hall.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally arrived in the hospital lobby.
"So how is...Yami you don't look so good," Joey said.
Yami rubbed the bridge of his nose a little. "No I'm fine," he said, "and Bakura seems to be too."
"That's great!" Tristan said.
"Yami, you should sit down," Tea said.
"No, no, it's okay."
"Sit!!!!!" she shouted, shocking everyone in the vicinity.
"Okay, alright, I will!" Yami said. He sat down in one of the chairs close by.
Yugi waved his hands back and forth, indicating that he wanted Yami to pick him up. Yami grinned and did so.
"What have you been up to Yugi?" Yami asked.
"Noffin," Yugi said happily.
"Oh really," Yami said, tickling the chibi a little.
Yugi giggled uncontrollably.
Yami smiled. The chibi's giggles could always make him feel better. Actually, now that he thought about it, he felt better now than he had all day! He looked down at Yugi in his lap. "Could it be?" he said.
"Could what be?" Mokuba asked.
Yami decided to test his theory. "Tea, can you do me a favor?"
"Yeah, sure," she said.
"Could you take Yugi and go somewhere? Just real quick."
"Why? Is he bothering you?" she asked.
"No, I just want to see something," Yami answered.
Everyone was giving him a strange look, except for Yugi, who was still laughing, and Seto, who was content with playing with a small toy that Mokuba had brought for him.
"Okay," Tea said slowly, picking Yugi up, "Where should I go?"
"I don't know, just anywhere," Yami said.
"Alright, I'm going to walk around outside a bit. Anyone want to come with me?"
"I will," Tristan volunteered.
Joey watched the three leave. Then, after a few minutes, he turned back to Yami. "What's all this about?" he asked.
But Yami didn't answer. His headache had slowly returned again. He reached his hand up to rub his forehead.
"Yami, are you alright ?!" Mokuba said in a worried tone, "You're getting all pale again."
Yami grinned, even though it was now getting hard for him to breath properly. And if Tea would have gone farther, he was sure he would break out in a cold sweat. His head was now spinning again.
"I thought so," he said under his breath.
"What?!" Joey said, now seriously worried. When Yami didn't answer, Joey turned to Mokuba. "Go get Tea and Tristan! Now, run!"
Mokuba didn't have to be told twice. He took off running and came back in a few minutes with Tea, Yugi, and Tristan.
"What's wrong!?" Tea asked, worried.
"Yami's lookin sick again!" Joey said.
"He looks fine to me," Tristan said.
Joey frowned and looked back at Yami, who looked perfectly fine. Maybe a little sleep deprived at the worst, but grinning.
"But he wasn't a second ago!" Joey said.
"Right," Tristan said sarcastically.
"No, it's true!" Mokuba said.
"It is true," Yami said, "Tea, can I have Yugi back now?"
She handed him the chibi.
"I think I owe you guys an explanation," Yami said.
"I'll say you do!" Joey said, "Don't ever do that again!"
"Not if I don't have to," Yami said, "You see, me and Yugi are connected."
"Well, we knew that," Joey said.
"No, no, it goes deeper then I thought," Yami continued, "Normally, when me and Yugi are apart, like when he goes to school, I noticed that I would get a little bit lazy. But now that he's gotten smaller and younger, I've gotten more and more tired! And now when we're apart, I get really sick, as you and Mokuba just witnessed."
"Soooooo, that must be what happened to Bakura then?" Tristan said.
"Exactly," Yami said.
"Man, this chibi stuff just gets weirder and weirder," Joey said.
*****
Bakura had made a "miraculous recovery" from his "unknown illness" and was soon let out of the hospital. Yami explained his findings to the ex-tomb robber as they all walked back to the Game Shop.
"That must be it," Bakura said. Then another thought popped into his head. "What happens if they keep getting younger?" he asked, looking at his hikari on his back, "I mean, will they just - cease to exist?"
Yami thought about this as they finally arrived at the Game Shop. He pushed open the back door and walked into the house.
"Yes, if it can't be stopped, they will cease to exist. In other words, they will die, and so will the spirits who are connected to them."
This voice surprised everyone! It didn't come from anyone in their group, so they all looked around wildly to try and find the source.
Yami was the first to spot her. There was a teenaged girl standing in Yugi's living room. She looked kind of like Ishizu, but she had long dark brown hair that was in one long braid. The end of the braid formed a half circle on the ground next to the girl's feet. She also had bright amber eyes that seemed to glow with some inner intensity. She was wearing a silvery-grey sleeveless shirt with a pair of blue jeans. She looked like a normal girl, except for her eyes.
"Who are you!?" Yami demanded, "And what are you doing in Yugi's house!?!"
"My name is Kat," the girl said calmly, "And I have come to see the pharaoh, spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, and the tomb robber, spirit of the Millennium Ring. And - we are no longer in Yugi's household."
Yami and Bakura looked around. Everyone else was still there, chibis still on their backs, but they all seemed to be frozen in place! And they were surrounded on all sides by a swirling blackness.
'We're in the Shadow Realm!' Yami thought.
"How do you know about us!?!" Bakura shouted at the girl.
"I am very sorry," Kat said, "But I seem to be the one who is causing your trouble."
"What!?" Yami said, "You mean you were the one who turned them to chibis!?!"
She nodded her head.
Bakura growled and gave a shout as he tried to lunge at her, but his feet were attached to the ground! He couldn't move! He growled again and looked up at her. "How DARE you threaten my hikari's life!!!!!" he bellowed.
"This coming from the tomb robber who would just as soon kill the boy himself if he wasn't bound to him by the Millennium Item," Kat said calmly.
"Don't think you know me!!!" Bakura shouted back, but the words had hit home. How many times had he thought about getting rid of Ryou? But now, standing there, stuck to the ground, chibi on his back, nothing was more important to him than protecting his aibou!
"Why!?" Yami shouted, "Why would you do such a thing to them!?!"
"Because of you."
"What?" Yami said, startled.
Kat sighed. "When the prophecy was fulfilled and the Pharaoh and Chosen One saved the world, all the spirits were supposed to disappear from this time. The spirits of the other five Millennium Items had done as they were supposed to but you two stayed. This was not supposed to happen."
"We figured that the reason you were still here was because your hikaries had become so attached to you and they wouldn't let you go," she continued.
"Really?" Bakura said. It didn't seem quite possible to him.
"Yes," she answered, "Well, in trying to decided what to do about this, we decided to give you a test. We needed to know if you were as dedicated to your hikaries as they were to you. If you failed, you would leave. If you succeeded, you would be allowed to stay. I'm here explaining this all to you because of certain actions, the test somehow went out of our control."
"So you made a mistake and it's going to cost all our lives!" Yami shouted. He was really angry now! "You could have just asked us!!!!"
"And what would your answers have been?" she asked.
"Well, of course!!!" Yami screamed, getting really ticked now, "I would do anything for my aibou!!!!!"
"And you?" she said, turning to Bakura.
"I - I don't know what I would have said," Bakura admitted. He looked at the motionless figure that seemed asleep on his back. Ryou had wanted him to stay?
"Bakura?" Yami said.
Bakura turned back to Kat. He was angry again. "I don't know about then, but hear this! No way am I gonna lose his hikari now cause of some stupid girl!!!"
After he had shouted this, he and Yami were blinded by an explosion of light! They were crushed to the ground by a huge force and now were having trouble breathing! Then, the light was gone.
"What was that?!" Yami shouted as he rubbed his eyes with his hands. He was still on the ground and couldn't seem to get up!
"Yami?" said a familiar voice, "Yami, why am I sitting on you? And why is everyone here?"
"What?" Yami said, confused. He looked behind him. "Yugi?"
Sure enough, a teenaged Yugi was sitting on his back, back in his normal clothes. "Why is everyone here?" he asked again.
"Yugi!" Yami shouted in surprise. Then he realized that he still couldn't breath right. "Yugi, could you get off my back?"
"Oh, sorry!" Yugi quickly stood up.
"Ryou!" Yami heard Bakura shout, also in surprise.
"Sorry Bakura!" Ryou said, jumping up off his yamis back.
The rest of group seemed to suddenly come out of shock. "Yugi! Ryou!" Joey shouted, "Your back!!!!!"
"What?" Ryou said, confused, "Back from where?"
Yami and Bakura were able to pull themselves up off the ground.
"There was a huge flash of light! And then you were normal again!!!!" Tea shouted.
"Normal?" Yugi said.
"SETO!!!!!!!" they all heard Mokuba shout with glee. They turned to see Mokuba tightly hugging the now grown CEO.
"Mokuba?" he said, looking down at his brother, "Why are we at Yugi's?"
"Man I sure am glad I put you down before that big light flashed," Mokuba said.
"What???"
'No one else must have seen what me and Bakura saw,' Yami realized.
"The test," a voice echoed from everywhere, "is over."
"What was that?!" Joey said.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!!!!!!!!!!" Yugi demanded.
Yami laughed a little before he, and the others, started to explain the whole ordeal.
*****
A girl smiled as she sat on the roof of the Game Shop. Suddenly two creatures appeared next to her.
"Did you know that it would end the test when you talked to them?" the dark one asked.
"No," the girl admitted, "I just thought that it might help."
"Well, I'm just glad that that's over now," the light said.
"Me too," the girl said. Suddenly silver wings appeared on her back. "Let's go you two. Someone's coming."
The three creatures disappeared as someone rang the door bell.
*****
Yami went to answer the door. When he opened it, he got a surprise.
"Hello Yami!" Grandpa Moto said, "I'm back from my trip! How was your and Yugi's weekend?"
"Uh, it - was - um - interesting," Yami answered.
"Oh, that's great! Oh hey, everyone's over! Having a party?"
"Well - um - I guess you could say that." Yami smiled.
"I hope you guys didn't make a mess," Grandpa Moto joked.
Yami laughed and closed the door. 'This would sure make a good story,' he thought.
Yami woke up slowly, still feeling extremely beat. Why was he so tired?! Then he heard a banging noise from downstairs. 'Please let what happened yesterday just all be a bad dream,' he pleaded. He pushed himself up off his bed and looked over at Yugi's. It was empty!
Slightly panicked, Yami hopped off his bed and quickly looked around the room, finding nothing. Then he heard another noise from downstairs, and rushed down the steps, hoping nothing bad had happened.
When he arrived downstairs he was greeted by...
"Mornin' sleepy head!" Joey said happily as he sat on the couch.
"Didn't think you'd ever wake up," Tristan said from the floor in front of the TV.
"It's almost noon Yami," Tea said, from the chair, "And this little guy's been up since 8."
Yami looked in Tea's lap, and sure enough, there was a giggling chibi Yugi, but he looked different.
"How long have you guys been here?" Yami asked.
Tea smiled. "Since 8."
"Seren couldn't come," Joey said, "She had to go back home today."
"Yami, there's something wrong with the chibis," Mokuba said, standing up from his spot next to Tristan. "The chibis...they're getting smaller."
"Smaller?" Yami asked surprised. He looked at Yugi again, and he was smaller! And so were Kaiba and Ryou, who he had spotted on the floor! Their clothes didn't fit right, even though they fit perfectly yesterday. Then he remembered something.
"You don't think they're getting younger, do you?" he asked them, a little startled now. Yugi had told him he was 5 when he had woken up, 4 when the Kaibas came over, and 3 at the mall. He slowly approached his miniature hikari. "Yugi?"
"Amies!" Yugi shouted happily.
"How old are you?" he asked slowly.
Yugi put a finger in his mouth, and gladly held out two fingers with his free hand for all to see.
"Oh no," Yami said as Yugi giggled again. Then Yami noticed something missing. "Where's Bakura?"
"Oh we sent him to the store with some money for diapers," Tea answered.
"Diapers?!"
"They're not potty trained anymore," Tristan said sadly, ashamed for his friend.
A look of horror crossed Yami's face. This just kept getting worse and worse! And if it kept going, soon they would be babies! And then...what?
The cartoon that the teens had on for the chibis stopped.
"We interrupt your normal television programming to bring you this breaking news story!" an announcer said, catching all of the teens' attention, "A boy has passed out in the middle of a local grocery store. From what? Paramedics are still guessing, but the boy has been rushed to the Domino Hospital."
On the screen show yellow caution tape strung through the store, and then police cars sitting in front of the building.
"Police are still trying to identify him," the announcer continued, "but it is said that he was 14 to 16 years of age with pale skin, dark brown eyes, and white hair. We shall inform you more as this story develops. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming."
The cartoon had come back on, but only the chibis had noticed.
"Bakura's in the hospital?!" Joey shouted, "We have to go!"
"But what about the chibis?" Tristan said.
"Maybe one of us should stay behind and watch them," Tea suggested.
"No," Yami said, "We'll just bring them with us."
*****
Ten minutes later, the heavily breathing group of teens arrived at Domino Hospital. They ran the whole way. Yami had Yugi on his back, Tristan had Ryou, and Mokuba carried Seto.
"Are you okay Yami?" Tea asked as she took Yugi from him. Yami looked extremely pale.
"Yes," he lied. He felt about to pass out himself! He stood up strait. "Come on, we have to find Bakura!"
"We need to see the boy who passed out at the store please," Tristan said to the woman at the counter.
"I'm sorry, but family only," she said in a monotone.
"But this is important!" Joey demanded.
"Look, I'm sorry but we have to follow the rules," she said testily.
They backed up from the counter a little. "So I guess that Ryou would technically be the only one allowed in," Tristan said, looking at the toddler on his back.
"But Tristan, the chibi's aren't walking so well anymore," Mokuba said, "Someone has to go with him."
"I'll go," Yami said.
"But Yami..." Tea began.
"We're both spirits from ancient Egypt," Yami said, "I'll have a better chance know what's wrong with him than anyone else."
Tea sighed and nodded her head.
Yami looked around at the rest of the group and they agreed also. "Tristan, let me have Ryou."
Tristan handed Yami the chibi and Yami walked up to the counter.
"We're here to see Bakura, the boy who passed out at the store," Yami said.
"And who are you?" the woman asked.
"I am Yami, Bakura's - cousin, and this is Ryou, his little brother." Yami held up Ryou, who was surprisingly quiet. He could sense all of the nervousness coming from the teens.
"Okay, you can go in," the woman said, waving her hand, "In room 130 on the main floor."
"Thank you," Yami said, then took off down the hallway, holding Ryou in his arms.
"124, 126, 128, ah, 130!" Yami said, arriving at his destination. He was about to open the door when it suddenly flew open!
"Doctor!!" the man, presumably another doctor, who had flung open the door shouted down the hall, "Doctor come look at this!!!"
A woman that Yami had past turned and came running, saying "excuse me" as she passed him and went into the room, leaving the door open a little.
Yami peeked his head in, seeing a white curtain pulled and the shadows of two people standing and another in a bed. But when Yami couldn't hear their conversation, he slowly walked in.
"It's astounding!" he heard the man say, "He just all of a sudden started to get better!"
The woman sighed with relief. "That's great! He was sure taking a turn for the worse earlier! Have we discovered why he passed out in the first place yet?"
"No that is still a mystery," the man said, "But what's really bothering me is that we can't find out who this boy is."
"His name is Bakura," Yami said, stepping behind the curtain. He could see the surprised faces of the two doctors, and then Bakura lying on the hospital bed. He looked terrible!! Extremely pale, white hair soaked with sweat and matted to his head. Hooked up to IVs and all sorts of other machines and things that Yami didn't recognize.
"Bakuwa?" Ryou said sadly, looking at his other. He looked about to cry. A few tears managed to roll down his cheek.
"Who are you!" the man demanded.
But before Yami could answer, something interrupted.
"Don't cry aibou."
"What!?" the woman said startled, turning back to look at her patient.
"He woke up!!!" the man said in shock.
Bakura's eyes were halfway open and some color had returned to his face. He held up his arms. "Give him to me Yami."
Yami nodded and put the chibi on Bakura's stomach.
Bakura held Ryou steady with his arms. "Why you crying hikari?"
"Causa ou wooked *sniff* so scawy and I dought *sniff* ou no wakey," Ryou managed to say.
"When don't I look scary?" Bakura asked, smiling weakly.
The chibi giggled.
Bakura turned his attention to Yami. "I got the diapers," he said, "They're in that bag." He pointed to a plastic grocery bag near Yami's feet.
Yami smiled and picked them up. He'd forgotten all about the diapers.
"I - I'm sorry but - you're gonna have to leave," the woman managed to say, still in shock.
"No!" Bakura said suddenly, "Ryou stays! But, the pharaoh can leave."
The doctors looked from Bakura to Yami to Bakura again.
"Um," Yami said, "That means the toddler stays and I go." Then he turned and walked out, leaving the two very stunned doctors.
'Hmm,' Yami thought, 'that was strange. Bakura wasn't doing well until we came. I wonder...if...' Yami all of a sudden felt really dizzy. "Whoa!" he said, stumbling a little until he was able to put his hand on the wall to steady himself. He put his other hand on his head to try and stop it from spinning.
'What's wrong with me!' he thought, rubbing his forehead with his hand. It had finally stopped spinning, but it ached. He decided to continue down the hall.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally arrived in the hospital lobby.
"So how is...Yami you don't look so good," Joey said.
Yami rubbed the bridge of his nose a little. "No I'm fine," he said, "and Bakura seems to be too."
"That's great!" Tristan said.
"Yami, you should sit down," Tea said.
"No, no, it's okay."
"Sit!!!!!" she shouted, shocking everyone in the vicinity.
"Okay, alright, I will!" Yami said. He sat down in one of the chairs close by.
Yugi waved his hands back and forth, indicating that he wanted Yami to pick him up. Yami grinned and did so.
"What have you been up to Yugi?" Yami asked.
"Noffin," Yugi said happily.
"Oh really," Yami said, tickling the chibi a little.
Yugi giggled uncontrollably.
Yami smiled. The chibi's giggles could always make him feel better. Actually, now that he thought about it, he felt better now than he had all day! He looked down at Yugi in his lap. "Could it be?" he said.
"Could what be?" Mokuba asked.
Yami decided to test his theory. "Tea, can you do me a favor?"
"Yeah, sure," she said.
"Could you take Yugi and go somewhere? Just real quick."
"Why? Is he bothering you?" she asked.
"No, I just want to see something," Yami answered.
Everyone was giving him a strange look, except for Yugi, who was still laughing, and Seto, who was content with playing with a small toy that Mokuba had brought for him.
"Okay," Tea said slowly, picking Yugi up, "Where should I go?"
"I don't know, just anywhere," Yami said.
"Alright, I'm going to walk around outside a bit. Anyone want to come with me?"
"I will," Tristan volunteered.
Joey watched the three leave. Then, after a few minutes, he turned back to Yami. "What's all this about?" he asked.
But Yami didn't answer. His headache had slowly returned again. He reached his hand up to rub his forehead.
"Yami, are you alright ?!" Mokuba said in a worried tone, "You're getting all pale again."
Yami grinned, even though it was now getting hard for him to breath properly. And if Tea would have gone farther, he was sure he would break out in a cold sweat. His head was now spinning again.
"I thought so," he said under his breath.
"What?!" Joey said, now seriously worried. When Yami didn't answer, Joey turned to Mokuba. "Go get Tea and Tristan! Now, run!"
Mokuba didn't have to be told twice. He took off running and came back in a few minutes with Tea, Yugi, and Tristan.
"What's wrong!?" Tea asked, worried.
"Yami's lookin sick again!" Joey said.
"He looks fine to me," Tristan said.
Joey frowned and looked back at Yami, who looked perfectly fine. Maybe a little sleep deprived at the worst, but grinning.
"But he wasn't a second ago!" Joey said.
"Right," Tristan said sarcastically.
"No, it's true!" Mokuba said.
"It is true," Yami said, "Tea, can I have Yugi back now?"
She handed him the chibi.
"I think I owe you guys an explanation," Yami said.
"I'll say you do!" Joey said, "Don't ever do that again!"
"Not if I don't have to," Yami said, "You see, me and Yugi are connected."
"Well, we knew that," Joey said.
"No, no, it goes deeper then I thought," Yami continued, "Normally, when me and Yugi are apart, like when he goes to school, I noticed that I would get a little bit lazy. But now that he's gotten smaller and younger, I've gotten more and more tired! And now when we're apart, I get really sick, as you and Mokuba just witnessed."
"Soooooo, that must be what happened to Bakura then?" Tristan said.
"Exactly," Yami said.
"Man, this chibi stuff just gets weirder and weirder," Joey said.
*****
Bakura had made a "miraculous recovery" from his "unknown illness" and was soon let out of the hospital. Yami explained his findings to the ex-tomb robber as they all walked back to the Game Shop.
"That must be it," Bakura said. Then another thought popped into his head. "What happens if they keep getting younger?" he asked, looking at his hikari on his back, "I mean, will they just - cease to exist?"
Yami thought about this as they finally arrived at the Game Shop. He pushed open the back door and walked into the house.
"Yes, if it can't be stopped, they will cease to exist. In other words, they will die, and so will the spirits who are connected to them."
This voice surprised everyone! It didn't come from anyone in their group, so they all looked around wildly to try and find the source.
Yami was the first to spot her. There was a teenaged girl standing in Yugi's living room. She looked kind of like Ishizu, but she had long dark brown hair that was in one long braid. The end of the braid formed a half circle on the ground next to the girl's feet. She also had bright amber eyes that seemed to glow with some inner intensity. She was wearing a silvery-grey sleeveless shirt with a pair of blue jeans. She looked like a normal girl, except for her eyes.
"Who are you!?" Yami demanded, "And what are you doing in Yugi's house!?!"
"My name is Kat," the girl said calmly, "And I have come to see the pharaoh, spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, and the tomb robber, spirit of the Millennium Ring. And - we are no longer in Yugi's household."
Yami and Bakura looked around. Everyone else was still there, chibis still on their backs, but they all seemed to be frozen in place! And they were surrounded on all sides by a swirling blackness.
'We're in the Shadow Realm!' Yami thought.
"How do you know about us!?!" Bakura shouted at the girl.
"I am very sorry," Kat said, "But I seem to be the one who is causing your trouble."
"What!?" Yami said, "You mean you were the one who turned them to chibis!?!"
She nodded her head.
Bakura growled and gave a shout as he tried to lunge at her, but his feet were attached to the ground! He couldn't move! He growled again and looked up at her. "How DARE you threaten my hikari's life!!!!!" he bellowed.
"This coming from the tomb robber who would just as soon kill the boy himself if he wasn't bound to him by the Millennium Item," Kat said calmly.
"Don't think you know me!!!" Bakura shouted back, but the words had hit home. How many times had he thought about getting rid of Ryou? But now, standing there, stuck to the ground, chibi on his back, nothing was more important to him than protecting his aibou!
"Why!?" Yami shouted, "Why would you do such a thing to them!?!"
"Because of you."
"What?" Yami said, startled.
Kat sighed. "When the prophecy was fulfilled and the Pharaoh and Chosen One saved the world, all the spirits were supposed to disappear from this time. The spirits of the other five Millennium Items had done as they were supposed to but you two stayed. This was not supposed to happen."
"We figured that the reason you were still here was because your hikaries had become so attached to you and they wouldn't let you go," she continued.
"Really?" Bakura said. It didn't seem quite possible to him.
"Yes," she answered, "Well, in trying to decided what to do about this, we decided to give you a test. We needed to know if you were as dedicated to your hikaries as they were to you. If you failed, you would leave. If you succeeded, you would be allowed to stay. I'm here explaining this all to you because of certain actions, the test somehow went out of our control."
"So you made a mistake and it's going to cost all our lives!" Yami shouted. He was really angry now! "You could have just asked us!!!!"
"And what would your answers have been?" she asked.
"Well, of course!!!" Yami screamed, getting really ticked now, "I would do anything for my aibou!!!!!"
"And you?" she said, turning to Bakura.
"I - I don't know what I would have said," Bakura admitted. He looked at the motionless figure that seemed asleep on his back. Ryou had wanted him to stay?
"Bakura?" Yami said.
Bakura turned back to Kat. He was angry again. "I don't know about then, but hear this! No way am I gonna lose his hikari now cause of some stupid girl!!!"
After he had shouted this, he and Yami were blinded by an explosion of light! They were crushed to the ground by a huge force and now were having trouble breathing! Then, the light was gone.
"What was that?!" Yami shouted as he rubbed his eyes with his hands. He was still on the ground and couldn't seem to get up!
"Yami?" said a familiar voice, "Yami, why am I sitting on you? And why is everyone here?"
"What?" Yami said, confused. He looked behind him. "Yugi?"
Sure enough, a teenaged Yugi was sitting on his back, back in his normal clothes. "Why is everyone here?" he asked again.
"Yugi!" Yami shouted in surprise. Then he realized that he still couldn't breath right. "Yugi, could you get off my back?"
"Oh, sorry!" Yugi quickly stood up.
"Ryou!" Yami heard Bakura shout, also in surprise.
"Sorry Bakura!" Ryou said, jumping up off his yamis back.
The rest of group seemed to suddenly come out of shock. "Yugi! Ryou!" Joey shouted, "Your back!!!!!"
"What?" Ryou said, confused, "Back from where?"
Yami and Bakura were able to pull themselves up off the ground.
"There was a huge flash of light! And then you were normal again!!!!" Tea shouted.
"Normal?" Yugi said.
"SETO!!!!!!!" they all heard Mokuba shout with glee. They turned to see Mokuba tightly hugging the now grown CEO.
"Mokuba?" he said, looking down at his brother, "Why are we at Yugi's?"
"Man I sure am glad I put you down before that big light flashed," Mokuba said.
"What???"
'No one else must have seen what me and Bakura saw,' Yami realized.
"The test," a voice echoed from everywhere, "is over."
"What was that?!" Joey said.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!!!!!!!!!!" Yugi demanded.
Yami laughed a little before he, and the others, started to explain the whole ordeal.
*****
A girl smiled as she sat on the roof of the Game Shop. Suddenly two creatures appeared next to her.
"Did you know that it would end the test when you talked to them?" the dark one asked.
"No," the girl admitted, "I just thought that it might help."
"Well, I'm just glad that that's over now," the light said.
"Me too," the girl said. Suddenly silver wings appeared on her back. "Let's go you two. Someone's coming."
The three creatures disappeared as someone rang the door bell.
*****
Yami went to answer the door. When he opened it, he got a surprise.
"Hello Yami!" Grandpa Moto said, "I'm back from my trip! How was your and Yugi's weekend?"
"Uh, it - was - um - interesting," Yami answered.
"Oh, that's great! Oh hey, everyone's over! Having a party?"
"Well - um - I guess you could say that." Yami smiled.
"I hope you guys didn't make a mess," Grandpa Moto joked.
Yami laughed and closed the door. 'This would sure make a good story,' he thought.
