Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh. Nor do I own the characters in this
story.
Author's Notes:
I feel really stupid. I mean really, really, REALLY stupid. I had the chapter all written up for last week, I even had it uploaded to fanfiction.net, but I completely forgot to set it up as a viewable chapter. Why didn't anyone tell me?
Well, look at it this way. Now you have two chapters to read for this week, and they're both pretty long. I'll be sure to post another one ASAP, just to make it up to you guys.
------------------------------------
Chapter 16: Phantoms and Memories
I let Tiffany sleep for a few more hours, trusting that no one else would disturb her. When she did wake up, Shadi gave her a Yu-gi-oh card.
"This is my way of apologizing," he said meekly. She asked him what he had done, but he didn't answer.
Tiffany never suspected that Shadi had invaded her mind, and he kept to himself the rest of the flight.
We arrived in Rome without any more fuss. Shadi vanished somewhere on the way out of the plane. We found our escort and loaded up onto the train. The first part of the tournament would take place in Venice.
"All that flying to get here, and now we have to get on a train," Tiffany complained.
"Trains are very different from planes," I reassured her. "You'll be able to get up and walk a little more."
"But I'll be bored out of my skull," she whined. "There's nothing to do for three hours on a train. I already slept on the plane."
"You know, now that you mention it, I didn't get to sleep much," I yawned. "Wake me up when we get there."
"Yami-" Tiffany started to protest, but I was already back inside the puzzle. Soon I was fast asleep.
The dreams were strange and unpleasant. I saw myself in front of the Blue- Eyes Ultimate dragon. The others were burning away from his breath. I cowered in fear, hoping he would not see me.
White light surrounded me, and I could see the Witch of the Black Forest fading away. I cried out and reached for her, but my hand passed right through.
Then I was floating in the darkness, dueling Maximus. A large monster held me by the back of the neck, forcing me to continue the game.
Suddenly, I was back in my own body. I looked like me. I felt like me. I began to weep tears of joy.
And I wasn't alone. Someone else was there with me. She held me closely, whispering in my ear, trying to comfort me, and kissing away my tears.
I looked at her, and my heart froze. She wore long flowing robes and a witch's pointed hat. She cackled with glee as she pointed at me. I could feel my spirit being ripped from my body, and I screamed.
I awoke with a start. My dreams had never been much better then that. So much had been distorted in the Shadow Realm. A lot of who I was and what had really happened to me had been lost, and I didn't know if I would be able to find it again.
"...Yami? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I lied. "Just some bad dreams."
"Who was that girl I saw?" she asked. "Was she your queen?"
I tried to get a hold of myself. Since we had such a strong link, images in our minds could travel back and forth. Usually, it was just me reading Tiffany's thoughts, but every so often when I was at my weakest, she could see some of my thoughts, especially dreams.
"Why do you think she was my queen?" I asked slowly. Much of the dream had faded from me, and I couldn't quite remember what the woman had looked like.
"Well, the two of you looked close," she said carefully.
"No, she was not my queen," I replied. "I never had a queen."
Tiffany became even more puzzled. "But you were a pharaoh. How could your lineage continue without a queen?"
"My lineage didn't continue," I replied with a little anger. "I was banished to the Shadow Realm before I was old enough to marry."
"That's horrible," Tiffany gasped. "Why were you banished to the Shadow Realm? Was someone trying to take your throne from you?"
I was getting fed up with all the Pharaoh talk. "I lost a duel to the girl you saw, and she banished me to the Shadow Realm," I replied acidly.
Tiffany caught my tone and dropped the subject. She stared out the window of the train nervously.
After a short while, I managed to cool down. "I am sorry. My past is very painful for me."
"I understand," she replied. "I guess it's just that there's so much about you I don't know."
"There's a lot about myself that I don't know either," I replied.
Tiffany started to reply but cut herself short. I could feel her entire body stiffen. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's him," she replied. I looked through her eyes to see Maximus standing at the front of the car. He seemed to be talking to someone.
"What is he doing here?" I wondered.
"Why, I'm overseeing my tournament, of course." His voice came from inside the puzzle. He was using his Millennium Eye to talk through the window he had made.
"I should have known," I growled inwardly. "So you're going to have your own version of Duelist Kingdom, are you?"
"Oh dear," he said cheerfully. "Have you learned to read my mind?"
"Why must you play these twisted games, Maximus?" I asked. "What do you have to gain?"
"You really should call me Pegasus for this tournament," he chuckled. "After all, that's who I really am."
"You've seen the TV show, Maximus," I replied coldly. "You know what happens to Pegasus at the end of Duelist Kingdom."
"Nothing is for certain," he said knowingly. "Besides, I'm just here to make sure that everyone has as much fun as possible. There will be no soul- sucking at the tournament."
"There will be no Millennium Puzzle, either," I replied. "I'm not getting involved in one of your twisted schemes. You won't be using me this time."
"Oh really?" he said with feigned disappointment. "That is such a shame. Here I was going through all this trouble to arrange an old friend of yours to meet you. She will be so disappointed."
I felt cold. "What are you talking about?"
"Yami, look!" Tiffany gasped. "That girl standing next to Maximus."
I looked and immediately wished I had not. It was the girl from my dream, the one that had banished me to the Shadow Realm.
She didn't look Tiffany's way. She just stood there smiling, talking to Maximus, who acted like nothing was happening.
"See you at the tournament Yami," he laughed.
------------------------------------
The plot thickens. Yami is very adamant about not having any ties with Egypt. Did his time in the Shadow Realm distort his mind that badly, or was he really never a pharaoh?
Who is this girl that Maximus has brought to the tournament? Could she really be the one that banished Yami all those years ago? If so, it's a good thing she can't recognize him in Tiffany's body, right?
I'm sure you have lots of questions, and it is very cruel of me to end the chapter at this spot, but don't worry. Answers will be found in future chapters.
The next chapter introduces a new character with yet another Millennium Item. Tiffany learns more about the power of the Millennium Puzzle, and Yami vents some frustration.
Oh, I'm also starting another fanfic next week, but it has nothing to do with this one. I wrote it up several years ago, but I never really finished it. I won't be offended if you don't like it, but please read some of it and tell me what you think.
Don't worry. I'll still finish this fanfic.
Please R&R!
Author's Notes:
I feel really stupid. I mean really, really, REALLY stupid. I had the chapter all written up for last week, I even had it uploaded to fanfiction.net, but I completely forgot to set it up as a viewable chapter. Why didn't anyone tell me?
Well, look at it this way. Now you have two chapters to read for this week, and they're both pretty long. I'll be sure to post another one ASAP, just to make it up to you guys.
------------------------------------
Chapter 16: Phantoms and Memories
I let Tiffany sleep for a few more hours, trusting that no one else would disturb her. When she did wake up, Shadi gave her a Yu-gi-oh card.
"This is my way of apologizing," he said meekly. She asked him what he had done, but he didn't answer.
Tiffany never suspected that Shadi had invaded her mind, and he kept to himself the rest of the flight.
We arrived in Rome without any more fuss. Shadi vanished somewhere on the way out of the plane. We found our escort and loaded up onto the train. The first part of the tournament would take place in Venice.
"All that flying to get here, and now we have to get on a train," Tiffany complained.
"Trains are very different from planes," I reassured her. "You'll be able to get up and walk a little more."
"But I'll be bored out of my skull," she whined. "There's nothing to do for three hours on a train. I already slept on the plane."
"You know, now that you mention it, I didn't get to sleep much," I yawned. "Wake me up when we get there."
"Yami-" Tiffany started to protest, but I was already back inside the puzzle. Soon I was fast asleep.
The dreams were strange and unpleasant. I saw myself in front of the Blue- Eyes Ultimate dragon. The others were burning away from his breath. I cowered in fear, hoping he would not see me.
White light surrounded me, and I could see the Witch of the Black Forest fading away. I cried out and reached for her, but my hand passed right through.
Then I was floating in the darkness, dueling Maximus. A large monster held me by the back of the neck, forcing me to continue the game.
Suddenly, I was back in my own body. I looked like me. I felt like me. I began to weep tears of joy.
And I wasn't alone. Someone else was there with me. She held me closely, whispering in my ear, trying to comfort me, and kissing away my tears.
I looked at her, and my heart froze. She wore long flowing robes and a witch's pointed hat. She cackled with glee as she pointed at me. I could feel my spirit being ripped from my body, and I screamed.
I awoke with a start. My dreams had never been much better then that. So much had been distorted in the Shadow Realm. A lot of who I was and what had really happened to me had been lost, and I didn't know if I would be able to find it again.
"...Yami? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I lied. "Just some bad dreams."
"Who was that girl I saw?" she asked. "Was she your queen?"
I tried to get a hold of myself. Since we had such a strong link, images in our minds could travel back and forth. Usually, it was just me reading Tiffany's thoughts, but every so often when I was at my weakest, she could see some of my thoughts, especially dreams.
"Why do you think she was my queen?" I asked slowly. Much of the dream had faded from me, and I couldn't quite remember what the woman had looked like.
"Well, the two of you looked close," she said carefully.
"No, she was not my queen," I replied. "I never had a queen."
Tiffany became even more puzzled. "But you were a pharaoh. How could your lineage continue without a queen?"
"My lineage didn't continue," I replied with a little anger. "I was banished to the Shadow Realm before I was old enough to marry."
"That's horrible," Tiffany gasped. "Why were you banished to the Shadow Realm? Was someone trying to take your throne from you?"
I was getting fed up with all the Pharaoh talk. "I lost a duel to the girl you saw, and she banished me to the Shadow Realm," I replied acidly.
Tiffany caught my tone and dropped the subject. She stared out the window of the train nervously.
After a short while, I managed to cool down. "I am sorry. My past is very painful for me."
"I understand," she replied. "I guess it's just that there's so much about you I don't know."
"There's a lot about myself that I don't know either," I replied.
Tiffany started to reply but cut herself short. I could feel her entire body stiffen. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's him," she replied. I looked through her eyes to see Maximus standing at the front of the car. He seemed to be talking to someone.
"What is he doing here?" I wondered.
"Why, I'm overseeing my tournament, of course." His voice came from inside the puzzle. He was using his Millennium Eye to talk through the window he had made.
"I should have known," I growled inwardly. "So you're going to have your own version of Duelist Kingdom, are you?"
"Oh dear," he said cheerfully. "Have you learned to read my mind?"
"Why must you play these twisted games, Maximus?" I asked. "What do you have to gain?"
"You really should call me Pegasus for this tournament," he chuckled. "After all, that's who I really am."
"You've seen the TV show, Maximus," I replied coldly. "You know what happens to Pegasus at the end of Duelist Kingdom."
"Nothing is for certain," he said knowingly. "Besides, I'm just here to make sure that everyone has as much fun as possible. There will be no soul- sucking at the tournament."
"There will be no Millennium Puzzle, either," I replied. "I'm not getting involved in one of your twisted schemes. You won't be using me this time."
"Oh really?" he said with feigned disappointment. "That is such a shame. Here I was going through all this trouble to arrange an old friend of yours to meet you. She will be so disappointed."
I felt cold. "What are you talking about?"
"Yami, look!" Tiffany gasped. "That girl standing next to Maximus."
I looked and immediately wished I had not. It was the girl from my dream, the one that had banished me to the Shadow Realm.
She didn't look Tiffany's way. She just stood there smiling, talking to Maximus, who acted like nothing was happening.
"See you at the tournament Yami," he laughed.
------------------------------------
The plot thickens. Yami is very adamant about not having any ties with Egypt. Did his time in the Shadow Realm distort his mind that badly, or was he really never a pharaoh?
Who is this girl that Maximus has brought to the tournament? Could she really be the one that banished Yami all those years ago? If so, it's a good thing she can't recognize him in Tiffany's body, right?
I'm sure you have lots of questions, and it is very cruel of me to end the chapter at this spot, but don't worry. Answers will be found in future chapters.
The next chapter introduces a new character with yet another Millennium Item. Tiffany learns more about the power of the Millennium Puzzle, and Yami vents some frustration.
Oh, I'm also starting another fanfic next week, but it has nothing to do with this one. I wrote it up several years ago, but I never really finished it. I won't be offended if you don't like it, but please read some of it and tell me what you think.
Don't worry. I'll still finish this fanfic.
Please R&R!