Carlos sat on the couch, the TV remote in his hand. He was watching Stephen King's "Storm of the Century," but he was finding it hard to follow the plot because he kept spacing out. Finally, he gave up and shut off the TV. He stood and entered the kitchen, grabbing the phone off the hook. He put the receiver to his ear and put his fingers on automatic as they dialed Kai's number. He waited as it rang. And rang. And rang.
- Where is she? Is something wrong? - he thought, furrowing his brow as he leaned against the wall. Finally he heard the click as someone picked up.
"Hello?" It was a female, but it wasn't Kai.
"Who's this?" Carlos asked, his voice slightly dark. He didn't like the sinking feeling he had just gotten in his stomach.
"Um, Tea. Is this Carlos?"
"Yes. Where's Kai? Why didn't she pick up?" he asked, stepping away from the wall and running his hand through his hair.
There was silence for a moment. "Um... Kai's asleep at the moment," Tea replied, her voice breaking slightly.
"Tea! What's going on?" Carlos cried, slamming the side of his fist into the wall. His breath became ragged in sudden panic, his heart racing.
There was another silence and he thought he heard her stifle a sob. "Maybe you should just come down," she said quietly.
Carlos slammed the phone down on the hook and ran to the front door. He struggled with the doorknob for a moment with shaking hands before he took a deep breath and managed to pull it open. He ran down the front steps, the light breeze ruffling his dark hair. Panic flooding through him as he recalled Tea's tone, he sped down the road towards Kai's house.
He arrived at her door a few minutes later, gasping for breath as he tried to pull the door open. He yelled in frustration when he realized it was locked.
"Kai! Open the door!" he cried, pulling on the doorknob desperately. His throat was dry from breathing through his mouth as he had ran.
Suddenly the doorknob was ripped out of his hands as the door was pulled open. Tea stood there, looking rather upset. Carlos stared at her for a moment before pushing past her into the house. Without a word to her, he glanced into the empty kitchen and entered the living room. He scanned the occupants of the room before rounding on Tea.
"Where's Kai? What's going on?" he demanded.
"You have to stay calm, okay?" she said softly, looking into his furious dark eyes with her blue ones.
"Where is she?" he cried, taking a step towards the brunette, causing her to stumble backwards.
"In here," she said, making a small motion for him to follow her. She turned and slowly started down the hall to Kai's bedroom. Carlos followed, his hands clenched into fists. He thought he was ready for the worst, however he would soon see he was wrong.
Tea's hand hovered over the doorknob for a moment, her heart beating in her ears. She wasn't sure she could look at Kai again. She would probably burst into tears. How would Carlos react?
After watching Tea for a few seconds, Carlos knocked her hand away and swung the door open so far it hit the wall. Yami, who had been sitting in a chair and staring out the open window, snapped his head towards the Italian. Carlos' eyes rested on Yami for a second, glaring at him, before he turned towards the bed.
Kai looked as though she were sleeping, but the way her hands rested on her stomach told him something was wrong. He felt his heart stop as he took a few slow steps towards her. He stared at her, fear evident in his eyes as he stood over her bed.
"Kai..." he muttered, touching her shoulder lightly. She didn't move... her eyelids didn't flutter like they usually did... she seemed so still... His breath became ragged again as he gripped her shoulder, beginning to shake it. "Kai!" he cried, his eyes wide with fear.
"She won't wake up, Carlos," a somber voice said behind him. "I've tried everything and nothing has worked."
Carlos spun around to stare at Yami. "What do you mean? What have you done?" he cried, the fear in his eyes melting to reveal fury.
"I didn't do anything," Yami said, feeling anger well inside him too. How could Carlos think /he/ would do this?
"Then what happened?" Carlos exclaimed. In a few short strides he was standing directly in front of Yami, his hand gripping the Egyptian's shirt.
"Let go of me, Carlos," Yami said calmly, though his eyes sent a dangerous message.
"/What happened to Kai?/" Carlos yelled, shaking Yami slightly.
"I will explain if you let go of me," Yami said, grasping the Italian's hand with his own tightly.
Carlos shoved him backwards as he let go of his shirt. "Explain, right now."
"You may want to sit down," Yami said, indicating the chair he had been sitting in earlier.
"I'm fine where I am. I want an explanation Yugi or I swear to God I'll give you plastic surgery the old fashioned way," Carlos snarled, holding up a fist.
"Suit yourself." Yami sighed, unsure of where to start. After a moment, he spoke again. "When my friends and I arrived here, Kai started to... be able to do things."
"What are you talking about?" Carlos growled, shifting his weight to his right leg.
"I'm talking about mental powers. For the past couple weeks Kai has been developing powers. She has seen the future and read minds without knowing how or why she did it. Each time it happened, she was in serious pain. She described the pain to feel like someone was rearranging her mind, which is what I think has happened," Yami said, watching Carlos' furious expression carefully.
"Bullshit! Don't give me that crap, what do you think I'm stupid?" he cried.
"That thought has crossed my mind a few times, yes," Yami replied, crossing his arms. "However, I'm not lying to you. Ask any one of my friends." He waved his hand in the direction of the door, where Tristan, Joey, Tea and Bakura stood, watching the rivals.
"He's telling the truth," Tea said, wrapping her arms around her waist as if trying to keep herself together.
Carlos shifted his weight to his other leg as he shook his head, disbelieving. "This is ridiculous. I want to know what happened to my best friend! She's lying in a bed, unconscious! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"
"Carlos, calm down! I'm telling you the truth! Maybe if you listen, you will understand!" Yami exclaimed. "I'm sure you're aware of the stone necklace she wears. That's not what it looks like. I don't know what it is, but it's not a necklace. I have reason to believe that her grandmother wasn't who she said she was either. She gave Kai that necklace, and gave her a prophesy." He stopped and sighed, knowing he would probably have to explain about himself now too.
"How do you know all of this?" Carlos snapped.
"She told me. As I was saying, that stone has been feeding her these powers. I believe it's true shape is something like my Millennium Puzzle," he said, indicating the Puzzle around his neck. "It looks like a miniature model of it with a cobra engraved in it instead of the eye of Horus. The past few times Kai has done something involuntarily, the stone has glowed. We tried to remove it, but it only returned to her neck.
"It seems that every time she had a spasm, the pain got worse." Yami stopped and took a deep breath. He glanced past Carlos at Kai before continuing. "A few days ago, that necklace did something to her. I can't explain how it was, but afterwards, she collapsed. She hasn't woken up since."
Carlos stared at him, unsure of whether to believe him or not. He turned around and looked at Kai, confusion on his face. "Do you realize how farfetched this sounds?" he asked, turning back to Yami.
"Yes. And this will sound even more unrealistic," Yami replied. "My name isn't Yugi. It's Yami. I'm the spirit of an Egyptian Pharaoh, preserved in the Millennium Puzzle for five thousand years. When I was Pharaoh, there was something called the Shadow Games. They were playing in the Shadow Realm. If you lost one of these games, your mind was trapped in the Shadow Realm for eternity. After a while, these powers got out of hand. I sealed them in the seven Millennium Items, and sealed my spirit in the Puzzle. Yugi solved the Puzzle a few years ago and in doing so, he released me. Our job now is to stop the Shadow powers from falling into the wrong hands.
"The prophesy Kai's grandmother gave her when she gave her the necklace, was: It will activate when you meet the second face of the two faced man. That is me. Yugi and I are two in one body, and I am the second face. I don't know the reason why, or what I have to do with anything. But I hope that when... if... Kai wakes up, she will have the answers to all of these questions," Yami said, his gaze resting on Kai's motionless body.
Carlos stared at Yami in shock. "You have to be lying. You can't possibly be telling the truth."
"He is telling the truth," Bakura said. Everyone turned to look at him, Yami and Carlos slightly surprised at his voice. They had forgotten he was there. Bakura touched his Millennium Ring. "A spirit resides in my Ring too. He takes control of my body without my consent and... he's basically evil. Yami isn't like my spirit at all. Yugi is lucky to have someone kind to live with." He lowered his head slightly, as if slightly upset that his spirit was evil.
Carlos stared at him. "Prove it. How do I know this isn't all a big lie?"
"It isn't. It's true," Yami said.
Carlos looked at him for a few seconds before speaking quietly. "So you're telling me that Kai is unconscious because of her necklace, and you are an Egyptian pharaoh. I don't know why, but I believe you."
Yami nodded slowly, looking over at Kai. Carlos noted the sad look in his eyes and realization crept into him. He sighed and looked down at the floor briefly. He looked back up at Yami, sadness in his own eyes.
"You really care about her, don't you?" he asked quietly.
Yami looked at him and nodded. "Yes."
Carlos looked over his shoulder at Kai, feeling his heart split in two. He turned completely and walked over to her bed. Looking down at her, he slid his hands into his pockets. "She feels the same way about you. I don't know how you'll make it work if you're living inside Yugi, but Kai will find a way. She always does."
Yami took a few steps toward Carlos, feeling sorry for him. Carlos knew he wasn't going anywhere with Kai and he was hurting. Despite the fact that Yami didn't like him, he still felt sorry for him. In truth, he wasn't really a bad guy, but he had been competition and therefore, Yami's enemy.
Yami was trying to think of something to say, but Carlos turned around to face him. He took a few steps toward the Egyptian, a stern look in his eyes. "But if you ever hurt her, I promise I will put you in the hospital. And I never break a promise," he said, his voice quiet, but dangerous.
"I would never hurt her Carlos. I promise you that. And I never break a promise," Yami said, looking directly into Carlos' eyes.
Carlos nodded slightly, feeling as though his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He turned back towards Kai, pain in his eyes. Everything Yami had just explained to him was still sinking in. He touched Kai's shoulder lightly, his eyes falling on the stone necklace around her neck. His hand moved to it, lightly lifting it off her chest. He leaned on the bed, bending his head closer to it. As he stared at it, he realized it wasn't the stone he had thought it to be at first glance. It was how Yami had described it. He stared at the cobra engraved in it, it's ruby eyes glittering as he turned the pendant.
- How do I know Yugi... or whoever... didn't just put this around her neck? - Carlos paused, remembering the look in Yami's eyes. He wouldn't have done that. Carlos straightened, trying to find his voice.
"When she wakes up," he said softly, willing himself to believe she would. "What will you do?"
"I don't know," Yami replied. His dislike for the Italian was melting away, allowing him to feel pain for him.
"Will you leave?" Carlos asked, his head bent slightly in sorrow. He fought to keep his vision clear as he looked at Kai. -This is a joke... please tell me this is all a joke... -
"It's possible," Yami said.
"Where will you go?"
"I don't know. But wherever it is, Kai will stay in touch with you. I don't think she could live without you as her best friend," Yami said.
Carlos nodded slightly, a lump forming in his throat. "Take care of her, Yami."
"I will."
Carlos straightened and turned towards the gang. If he stayed any longer, he knew he might cry, and he didn't want Yami to see that. Without a word, he headed towards the door. The gang moved out of his way and he left without looking back.
- Where is she? Is something wrong? - he thought, furrowing his brow as he leaned against the wall. Finally he heard the click as someone picked up.
"Hello?" It was a female, but it wasn't Kai.
"Who's this?" Carlos asked, his voice slightly dark. He didn't like the sinking feeling he had just gotten in his stomach.
"Um, Tea. Is this Carlos?"
"Yes. Where's Kai? Why didn't she pick up?" he asked, stepping away from the wall and running his hand through his hair.
There was silence for a moment. "Um... Kai's asleep at the moment," Tea replied, her voice breaking slightly.
"Tea! What's going on?" Carlos cried, slamming the side of his fist into the wall. His breath became ragged in sudden panic, his heart racing.
There was another silence and he thought he heard her stifle a sob. "Maybe you should just come down," she said quietly.
Carlos slammed the phone down on the hook and ran to the front door. He struggled with the doorknob for a moment with shaking hands before he took a deep breath and managed to pull it open. He ran down the front steps, the light breeze ruffling his dark hair. Panic flooding through him as he recalled Tea's tone, he sped down the road towards Kai's house.
He arrived at her door a few minutes later, gasping for breath as he tried to pull the door open. He yelled in frustration when he realized it was locked.
"Kai! Open the door!" he cried, pulling on the doorknob desperately. His throat was dry from breathing through his mouth as he had ran.
Suddenly the doorknob was ripped out of his hands as the door was pulled open. Tea stood there, looking rather upset. Carlos stared at her for a moment before pushing past her into the house. Without a word to her, he glanced into the empty kitchen and entered the living room. He scanned the occupants of the room before rounding on Tea.
"Where's Kai? What's going on?" he demanded.
"You have to stay calm, okay?" she said softly, looking into his furious dark eyes with her blue ones.
"Where is she?" he cried, taking a step towards the brunette, causing her to stumble backwards.
"In here," she said, making a small motion for him to follow her. She turned and slowly started down the hall to Kai's bedroom. Carlos followed, his hands clenched into fists. He thought he was ready for the worst, however he would soon see he was wrong.
Tea's hand hovered over the doorknob for a moment, her heart beating in her ears. She wasn't sure she could look at Kai again. She would probably burst into tears. How would Carlos react?
After watching Tea for a few seconds, Carlos knocked her hand away and swung the door open so far it hit the wall. Yami, who had been sitting in a chair and staring out the open window, snapped his head towards the Italian. Carlos' eyes rested on Yami for a second, glaring at him, before he turned towards the bed.
Kai looked as though she were sleeping, but the way her hands rested on her stomach told him something was wrong. He felt his heart stop as he took a few slow steps towards her. He stared at her, fear evident in his eyes as he stood over her bed.
"Kai..." he muttered, touching her shoulder lightly. She didn't move... her eyelids didn't flutter like they usually did... she seemed so still... His breath became ragged again as he gripped her shoulder, beginning to shake it. "Kai!" he cried, his eyes wide with fear.
"She won't wake up, Carlos," a somber voice said behind him. "I've tried everything and nothing has worked."
Carlos spun around to stare at Yami. "What do you mean? What have you done?" he cried, the fear in his eyes melting to reveal fury.
"I didn't do anything," Yami said, feeling anger well inside him too. How could Carlos think /he/ would do this?
"Then what happened?" Carlos exclaimed. In a few short strides he was standing directly in front of Yami, his hand gripping the Egyptian's shirt.
"Let go of me, Carlos," Yami said calmly, though his eyes sent a dangerous message.
"/What happened to Kai?/" Carlos yelled, shaking Yami slightly.
"I will explain if you let go of me," Yami said, grasping the Italian's hand with his own tightly.
Carlos shoved him backwards as he let go of his shirt. "Explain, right now."
"You may want to sit down," Yami said, indicating the chair he had been sitting in earlier.
"I'm fine where I am. I want an explanation Yugi or I swear to God I'll give you plastic surgery the old fashioned way," Carlos snarled, holding up a fist.
"Suit yourself." Yami sighed, unsure of where to start. After a moment, he spoke again. "When my friends and I arrived here, Kai started to... be able to do things."
"What are you talking about?" Carlos growled, shifting his weight to his right leg.
"I'm talking about mental powers. For the past couple weeks Kai has been developing powers. She has seen the future and read minds without knowing how or why she did it. Each time it happened, she was in serious pain. She described the pain to feel like someone was rearranging her mind, which is what I think has happened," Yami said, watching Carlos' furious expression carefully.
"Bullshit! Don't give me that crap, what do you think I'm stupid?" he cried.
"That thought has crossed my mind a few times, yes," Yami replied, crossing his arms. "However, I'm not lying to you. Ask any one of my friends." He waved his hand in the direction of the door, where Tristan, Joey, Tea and Bakura stood, watching the rivals.
"He's telling the truth," Tea said, wrapping her arms around her waist as if trying to keep herself together.
Carlos shifted his weight to his other leg as he shook his head, disbelieving. "This is ridiculous. I want to know what happened to my best friend! She's lying in a bed, unconscious! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"
"Carlos, calm down! I'm telling you the truth! Maybe if you listen, you will understand!" Yami exclaimed. "I'm sure you're aware of the stone necklace she wears. That's not what it looks like. I don't know what it is, but it's not a necklace. I have reason to believe that her grandmother wasn't who she said she was either. She gave Kai that necklace, and gave her a prophesy." He stopped and sighed, knowing he would probably have to explain about himself now too.
"How do you know all of this?" Carlos snapped.
"She told me. As I was saying, that stone has been feeding her these powers. I believe it's true shape is something like my Millennium Puzzle," he said, indicating the Puzzle around his neck. "It looks like a miniature model of it with a cobra engraved in it instead of the eye of Horus. The past few times Kai has done something involuntarily, the stone has glowed. We tried to remove it, but it only returned to her neck.
"It seems that every time she had a spasm, the pain got worse." Yami stopped and took a deep breath. He glanced past Carlos at Kai before continuing. "A few days ago, that necklace did something to her. I can't explain how it was, but afterwards, she collapsed. She hasn't woken up since."
Carlos stared at him, unsure of whether to believe him or not. He turned around and looked at Kai, confusion on his face. "Do you realize how farfetched this sounds?" he asked, turning back to Yami.
"Yes. And this will sound even more unrealistic," Yami replied. "My name isn't Yugi. It's Yami. I'm the spirit of an Egyptian Pharaoh, preserved in the Millennium Puzzle for five thousand years. When I was Pharaoh, there was something called the Shadow Games. They were playing in the Shadow Realm. If you lost one of these games, your mind was trapped in the Shadow Realm for eternity. After a while, these powers got out of hand. I sealed them in the seven Millennium Items, and sealed my spirit in the Puzzle. Yugi solved the Puzzle a few years ago and in doing so, he released me. Our job now is to stop the Shadow powers from falling into the wrong hands.
"The prophesy Kai's grandmother gave her when she gave her the necklace, was: It will activate when you meet the second face of the two faced man. That is me. Yugi and I are two in one body, and I am the second face. I don't know the reason why, or what I have to do with anything. But I hope that when... if... Kai wakes up, she will have the answers to all of these questions," Yami said, his gaze resting on Kai's motionless body.
Carlos stared at Yami in shock. "You have to be lying. You can't possibly be telling the truth."
"He is telling the truth," Bakura said. Everyone turned to look at him, Yami and Carlos slightly surprised at his voice. They had forgotten he was there. Bakura touched his Millennium Ring. "A spirit resides in my Ring too. He takes control of my body without my consent and... he's basically evil. Yami isn't like my spirit at all. Yugi is lucky to have someone kind to live with." He lowered his head slightly, as if slightly upset that his spirit was evil.
Carlos stared at him. "Prove it. How do I know this isn't all a big lie?"
"It isn't. It's true," Yami said.
Carlos looked at him for a few seconds before speaking quietly. "So you're telling me that Kai is unconscious because of her necklace, and you are an Egyptian pharaoh. I don't know why, but I believe you."
Yami nodded slowly, looking over at Kai. Carlos noted the sad look in his eyes and realization crept into him. He sighed and looked down at the floor briefly. He looked back up at Yami, sadness in his own eyes.
"You really care about her, don't you?" he asked quietly.
Yami looked at him and nodded. "Yes."
Carlos looked over his shoulder at Kai, feeling his heart split in two. He turned completely and walked over to her bed. Looking down at her, he slid his hands into his pockets. "She feels the same way about you. I don't know how you'll make it work if you're living inside Yugi, but Kai will find a way. She always does."
Yami took a few steps toward Carlos, feeling sorry for him. Carlos knew he wasn't going anywhere with Kai and he was hurting. Despite the fact that Yami didn't like him, he still felt sorry for him. In truth, he wasn't really a bad guy, but he had been competition and therefore, Yami's enemy.
Yami was trying to think of something to say, but Carlos turned around to face him. He took a few steps toward the Egyptian, a stern look in his eyes. "But if you ever hurt her, I promise I will put you in the hospital. And I never break a promise," he said, his voice quiet, but dangerous.
"I would never hurt her Carlos. I promise you that. And I never break a promise," Yami said, looking directly into Carlos' eyes.
Carlos nodded slightly, feeling as though his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He turned back towards Kai, pain in his eyes. Everything Yami had just explained to him was still sinking in. He touched Kai's shoulder lightly, his eyes falling on the stone necklace around her neck. His hand moved to it, lightly lifting it off her chest. He leaned on the bed, bending his head closer to it. As he stared at it, he realized it wasn't the stone he had thought it to be at first glance. It was how Yami had described it. He stared at the cobra engraved in it, it's ruby eyes glittering as he turned the pendant.
- How do I know Yugi... or whoever... didn't just put this around her neck? - Carlos paused, remembering the look in Yami's eyes. He wouldn't have done that. Carlos straightened, trying to find his voice.
"When she wakes up," he said softly, willing himself to believe she would. "What will you do?"
"I don't know," Yami replied. His dislike for the Italian was melting away, allowing him to feel pain for him.
"Will you leave?" Carlos asked, his head bent slightly in sorrow. He fought to keep his vision clear as he looked at Kai. -This is a joke... please tell me this is all a joke... -
"It's possible," Yami said.
"Where will you go?"
"I don't know. But wherever it is, Kai will stay in touch with you. I don't think she could live without you as her best friend," Yami said.
Carlos nodded slightly, a lump forming in his throat. "Take care of her, Yami."
"I will."
Carlos straightened and turned towards the gang. If he stayed any longer, he knew he might cry, and he didn't want Yami to see that. Without a word, he headed towards the door. The gang moved out of his way and he left without looking back.