I smiled as Joey planted a soft kiss on my cheek. I blushed shyly as he stroked my hair and I settled myself on his lap.
"You're de most beautiful girl in the entire world." He whispered to me. He gave me that sweet smile of his that always makes my heart race faster.
"Really Joey, you do?" I asked smiling.
He nodded and closed his eyes. I did too and leaned closer as he wrapped hi arms around me. Our lips were just about to meet, when the whole world went black.
"Ok, ok, I'm up, just a dream." I yawned and muttered without opening my eyes. I wanted the dream to come back to me. To be warm and comfortable and by Joey's side. I guessed all of last night was a dream too. I would wake up in my own bed, in the real world far away from the duelist kingdom. You ever wake up from a dream you loved so much that you didn't want to leave? That has happened to me too many times to count. "Oh well, it was wonderful while it lasted." I sighed, rubbed my eyes and tried to get up. I couldn't, something was holding me down. I figured it was tight blankets or something. That is, until I heard snoring coming from right beside me.
My eyes jerked open and I looked to the left. I had to bite my lip to keep from shouting out loud for joy. I was right next to Joey who had his arm wrapped protectively around me. I giggled softly and leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. He smiled in his sleep. So cute. I thought to myself. I wanted nothing more than to stay by his side forever. To love, cherish and make him happy in any way. I laid my head against his neck and breathed in the scent of him. Joey turned his head toward me and I moved my head slightly out of the way, to give him more room.
Joey moved his head even closer until we were only inches apart. Joey smiled and tenderly rubbed his nose against mine. "An Eskimo kiss Joey?" I smiled and asked.
"Man do I love those Eskimo pies." Joey muttered in his sleep drawing me closer and gently caressing my cheek with his thumb.
I chuckled to myself and smiled. "Was there ever any doubt that Joey could cuddle like a pro." I asked myself.
"Nope, I'm the king of that!" Joey exclaimed, smirking.
I wondered if Joey had heard me and woken up.
"Yeah, Tristan can never beat me at the pie eatin contest hehehe!"
I sweat dropped. "What a goof! Does he ever think about anything else but food?" I muttered and smiled. I contentedly laid there beside Joey for a little while, just enjoying being with him. I decided that I would have to get up at some point though. If Joey woke up and discovered that he wasn't dreaming, it would only distract him from the matches he had to duel today.
"I'll see you after the tournament if I'm still around that is." I whispered in Joey's ear. I tried to get up but Joey just tightened his hold over me.
"Please…don't leave…" Joey said in his sleep and moved closer to me. "Don't go…" My heart almost broke. I kissed him lightly on the lips and managed to squirm out of his grasp. He seemed so peaceful when I looked down at him. I searched all around the room and finally found a piece of paper and a pen. I wrote down I'm not a dream; I'll be on the boat. I folded it and put it inside Joey's back Jean pocket. I didn't know if I would be home soon, or at all, or if I even wanted to go back. I was just about to leave when I looked back at Joey for what I thought would be the last time. I walked slowly over to him and whispered in his ear. "Good luck Joey." I gently kissed his forehead and headed for the door. I of course knew what was going to happen but I felt better knowing that he would at least get to beat the pants off that cheating jerk Bandit Kieth. Then, with one last glance, I saw that Joey had his arm over the empty space where I had been just a minute ago. I sighed resisted the urge to crawl back into bed with him. I went out of the room and closed the door behind me. "I love you Joey." I whispered.
"Leaving so quickly now are we?" A voice from behind me said. I recognized that voice! It sounded just like the voice that said my wish was granted, but it was familiar in a different way too.
I turned around and gasped. It was Bakura and it looked like evil Bakura at that.
"Gaaaaah evil walks!" I yelled, ducking under the nearest table. Evil Bakura casually leaned against a wall and looked at his fingernails. His hair was tinted with lavender and his eyes had their dangerous glint in them. Yup, evil Bakura for sure I thought. I also noticed that his Millennium ring was floating in the air and that it was pointing directly at me.
"Will you be quieter please? I've no intention of harming you." He told me.
I came out from underneath the table and nodded.
Bakura closed his eyes and his Millenium ring floated in the air and glowed brightly. Everything around us went black. "Where did you take us?" I questioned, not wanting to know the answer.
"The Shadow Realm." Bakura answered.
"Great, I was afraid of that." I muttered under my breath. "Your not going to seal my soul into my favorite card are you?"
Bakura sighed. "No I'm not going to seal your soul into your favorite card, but don't tempt me." He answered. I quickly shut up.
"Well, why did you bring me here?" I asked carefully a little bit later.
"So that we may talk without being interrupted. So that I may investigate your Millennium Item further."
I tilted my head to the side. "My Millennium item? I thought that there were only seven." I pointed out.
"So did I." He answered. "This is going to be a rather long story so you may want to sit down." He told me. I did as he asked.
"About the same time as the shadow games got out of control, the seven original Millennium Items were made. Their mystical energies were locked inside, along with the ancient spirits that once controlled them. After that, a new Millennium Item was made. The Millennium key. It controlled unimaginable powers. The key, when inserted into a hole, could unlock any door."
"Cool, sort of like some great master key." I said.
"Its much more than that." Bakura answered a bit annoyed. "The Millennium key could unlock the very doors to other dimensions. A normal door could become the doorway to another dimension, another room, anywhere according to the wishes of the person commanding it. As you can imagine, falling into the wrong hands the key could become a deadly weapon with catastrophic results. So, the key itself was sealed away inside the most unlikely of places, It required a lot of magical forces and the white light transfer ritual, but the key was safely hidden. No evil force could see that the key was sealed inside the body of a young dancer girl who performed at the brave pharos's palace. She was sent to your world, where magic was not believed to be real. There, she stayed.
"So what your saying is that I'm the new reincarnation of this dancer girl and I somehow have this Millennium key inside me?" I asked.
"That's exactly right." Bakura nodded.
"But I wanted a Yami… I whined. "Is your ancient spirit called a Yami like Yugi's is? Does yours even have a name? What about when your transforming, do you have to shout out Bakura oh! Yu-gi-oh! Sounds better in my opionion."
"What's the name of your favorite card?" Bakura asked more than a little annoyed at my silly questions. I quickly shut up.
"Instead of entrapping an ancient spirit inside it, the key and all its powers were magically sealed inside the dancer girl. Over thousands of years the key was transferred, from reincarnation to reincarnation, without anyone knowing where the key was. And there was no real way to track it and for thousands of years it lay dormant in your world, until midnight last night." Bakura explained. When you came into this world, my Millennium Ring detected it and I remembered the old legend about the Millennium key and came to investigate. I however, saw that you were busy last night and decided to wait until morning. I turned crimson and put my hand behind my head in embarrassment. "I was, however, the one that said, wish granted, to you." He said. I heard you wishing that on my Millennium ring in your world."
"Wait a minute. I saw a shooting star across the sky and wished on it. I thought that's how I got here." I told him.
"That so called shooting star was really a comet that aligned completely with the planets. That has only happened once every thousand years, and at that time the key activates a sort of portal from this world to yours. It is only open for a minute or so and that's how long ago, the dancer girl was sent through. The Millennium key was attracted and pulled to this world because of all the energy the Millennium puzzle, eye and ring were creating."
"So what your saying is that I'm the new reincarnation of this dancer girl and I somehow have this Millennium key inside me?" I asked.
Bakura nodded, "
"Ok, I get the hint but what do you want to do now? Do you have some kind of way to extract this key thingy from my body?"
Bakura's eyes glowed evilly. He inched closer and closer to me and held up his hand to my heart. I started gasping for air and I closed my eyes and sank to my knees. I felt the key coming out of my chest. It had a long thin chain attached to it. I opened my eyes when it was outside my body completely. On the key handle was the shape of an Egyptian black cat with a gold collar on it. The key itself had no teeth at the end but only a long thin metal end like a screwdriver. I was surprised that the key didn't hurt at all coming out of me. I couldn't even feel anything let alone pain. The Key floated in the air and Bakura tried to snatch it but it quickly floated over my head and settled itself around my neck.
Bakura growled in annoyance but otherwise said nothing. Probably was part of his master plan for world domination, but since it didn't work,
I gave it no extra thought.
So, what happens now?" I asked.
Bakura shrugged. "I have to help Yugi and his friends. You should probably keep out of site for a while. Use your Millenium key." He told me.
"How do I use this?" I said, taking the key in my hand and looking it over.
"Imagine that you are about to open a door. A door that will lead you anywhere you want to go. Stick the key into where the keyhole in the door is and turn it. Once open, you can see through to the other side and watch to see if it is safe. There is a dimension like this one that you can go to, only everything is black and white and no one can see, hear, feel, sense, smell or know your there at all." Bakura answered.
"Sounds like becoming a ghost." I commented Bakura nodded. "I must be getting back now before the others notice I'm gone." He told me. And with that, Bakura's Millennium ring glowed brightly and he vanished. I was left in darkness, thinking about what I should do. I decided to do what Bakura had told me. I concentrated on a door that would lead me to the world of black and white. Where no one would know that I was there. I opened my eyes and saw the Millennium key glowing and floating in midair. A long grey door materialized in front of me. I placed the key right beside the key hole, where it instantly grew teeth to match the door in front of me. I placed the key inside the hole and turned it. The door opened and through it, I could see a dark grey spooky world. A chilly wind caused a cold shiver to run down my neck. I gulped and stepped inside. The door closed behind me and disappeared completely. I was back in the hallway but there was no color anywhere except for on myself. Wisps of fog floated along the halls and swirled around my Millenium Key, forming hands that tried to grasp it but came up too short.
"Ok, now I'm thoroughly freaked out!" I cried, fear lacing my voice as I raced down the hall and into the dueling room. I stood beside Joey, Tristan, Bakura and Téa, watching as Yugi prepared to face Mai. I knew what was going to happen and still I routed for Yugi. It was cold and with everything around me black and white, nothing seemed to comfort me. I stepped closer to Joey, wondering if he had even remembered the supposed dream. How he would react when he found out that he wasn't dreaming. I tried to put my hand on his shoulder but it passed right through him. That's when I truly felt alone and uncomfortable.
To amuse myself, I followed Tristan when he went to go rescue Mokuba. I laughed myself silly when he put on the armor and became "Sir Tristan". Then, got bored with that and went back to watch the rest of the duels. I laughed and jeered when Bandit Keith lost. Not only because Joey, not champion of anything, besides cuddling and pie eating, beat him even though he cheated. But because Pegasus actually did something helpful by making him fall down the trapdoor that led to who knows where. I stayed and watched tense fully as Yugi and Pegasus faced off, not knowing what would happen but having a deep feeling that Yugi would win. I stood behind Pegasus and I could hear the souls of all those Pegasus had captured, begging to be freed and moaning in agony. I sat on the floor and covered my ears, willing the sound of their torture to go away. I prayed that Yugi would finish off Pegasus quickly and let them be at peace. And so he did, taking with him the soul of his Grandpa, Mokuba and Seto Kaiba. Everyone was celebrating and I felt more alone than ever. I used the key on one of the hallway room doors and imagined that it led to one of the cabins on the ship that would take everyone home. I walked out into the room and was amazed at how much I had missed the color and how great it was that it was back. Everyone was already on board so I went up to my favorite place, the bow, and stood at the edge as the boat pulled away.
After about a half hour, I felt someone taller stand next to me and I felt a strong big hand on my shoulder. I thought at first that it was Joey and my heart raced but then to my dismay I saw that it was none other than Bandit Keith himself! "What are you doing here Keith? I thought Pegasus shot you down a trapdoor." I asked him. I had assumed that it lead to a dungeon of some kind but it must have led him outside to the ship.
"I didn't see you on the island, where did a pretty thing like you come from." Kieth said, totally ignoring my question. He grinned (gaah evil!) and inched his hand down lower.
I smacked it away and stomped off.
"Hey, where are you going sweet cheeks, I wasn't done yet." He sneered and followed me.
Great, I guess being an attractive anime character means that the jerks will swarm all over you. I thought. "Take a hint Bandit Keith, I'm not interested in a moron like you so go away!" I grumbled.
"Hey! No one says that to me!" Bandit Keith shouted and yanked me by the shoulder and pushed me against the wall. He smacked his lips and pressed his lips against mine.
"Get offa me yah lousy drunk!" I yelled, assuming that he was in fact either really stupid or very drunk, maybe a combination of both. Guess losing to Joey made him take it really hard. His breath did reek of wine, he probably had gotten into Pegasus's storeroom or something.
"Not a chance honey, your mine." He smirked and prepared to kiss me again. I fought against his grasp but he was pinning me too tightly.
"Joey help me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping that he would hear me. Then I thought of how unlikely that was and yelled again. "Joey! Get your but in gear and help me!" I yelled.
"That stupid punk can't help you, he's too puny." Bandit Keith said.
I snarled and kicked him in the shins. "Joey's twice the man you are and anyways he beat you at the tournament even when you cheated!"
Bandit Keith scowled and raised his hand, preparing to strike me.
I closed my eyes and prepared for what was coming next when Keith was sent sprawling sideways, knocking me to the ground in his wake. Through my hair, I could see that Joey had indeed come to the rescue! I smiled and watched as Joey shoved a lifesaver tube over Keith and tied a rope to it before kicking the drunken fool overboard. Now for the rest of the trip, Keith had to hold on to the rope which was tied to the boat and hang on! "There's no excuse for hitten a girl!" Joey cried in triumph. He walked over to me and helped me up. Eyes closed and smiling Joey asked, "Yah alright? Keith didn't hurt yah did he?"
"Nope, all thanks to you Joey, thank you." I said.
Joey quickly opened his eyes, recognizing my voice. "It's its you!" He cried out.