Mena: It's that time again! Hooray! Toli wanted to wait a little longer to update, but I convinced her otherwise! Yay! I am invincible! I WILL BE A DICTATOR!!

Toli: STOP IT WITH THE SUGAR-HIGNESS!

Mena: (squeaks) Sorry.

Toli: Well, let's roll, then! First we'll do the review responses, and then on with the story!

Kameeko and Kamoray

Toli: Uh oh....Hahahahahahahahaha! You noticed! Congratulations! It's true, Yami can't survive if Yugi is dead. But Yami and all the others were so grief-stricken that they didn't even think about that. Which means, Yugi is alive! Hooray!

Mena: Yay! You guys are so smart! Please pay special attention to the notice just before the story!

Phoenix727

Mena: EEEEEK! THREATS! (grabs emergency shield)

Toli: That's not a threat. Well, maybe it is. You know, I'm just going to go sit in the corner. Thank you for the review, but please, put the sword down. The mention of murder drives Mena insane--like sugar and rainy nights.

Mena: Scared...scared... O.O

Silver Moon Phoenix

Mena: I can assure you, it's not good for the gang. Or, as Seto Kaiba would call them, the nerd herd, the geek convention, the goof troop...

Toli: He hasn't said that last one.

Mena: YET.

Mena: Don't cry, it'll be okay...eventually...Toli, please remember you said this story would have a happy ending.

Toli: I DIDN'T FORGET.

Krista123

Toli: You're lucky Mena wanted to go ahead and post this chapter. I don't want you to die of starvation sitting at your computer all day or something!

Mena: Especially not on our consciences!

Elizabeth Aiken

Mena: YES! CLIFFHANGERS ARE EVIL! But don't worry, this chapter ought to fix that! We have a lot in store for Little Yugi, but that's all we can say!

Marshmellow13Dragon

Toli: Yep. All you said is true.

Mena: Except the killing part.

Toli: No, that's true too.

Toli:Anyway, thanks for enjoying and hope you continue to enjoy our installments!

Mena: P.S.: The muse thing is hard. But I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.

Millenniumgrl126

Mena: EEEP! THREATS!

Toli: (puts head in hands) Not again. Well, trust me, I think you might be satisfied with this chapter. And oh yes, Nona has manymanymanymanymany issues, but Charter won't take her. Too bad. Anyway, don't let us delay you; read the next chapter!

anime ruthless v.1

Mena: Wow! Thanks so much for adding us to your favorites list! That means a whole lot to us!

Toli: We're glad you decided to jump on the bandwagon! Please continue to read and review!

Masami/StubsMcGimp

Toli: Hey! (waves sign with picture of hand on it)

Mena: -.-; We can't stop her.

Toli: Oooh! Waveaholics Anonymous! (snatches card and eats it. Then realizes that isn't what card is for and pulls it back out) Make sure you tell (cough)Ashly!(cough) that I feel her pain.

Mena: Fruits take dance lessons? Hmmm. Well, whatever, I think Damion taking dance lessons is cool! (smiles and waits patiently) Um...Damion...let go.

Toli: And you were getting on me about Torru! You guys, pay attention to the notice before the story, okay?

Erckie and Kyrie

Toli: Erckie! Kyrie! You're back! We missed ya!

Mena: More Bakura? I don't think so. I'll have to ask Toli. Hey, we like hugs! (hugs Erckie back)

Toli: Hmmm, "updation" I like that word! Anyway, please continue to read and review!

Ayamari

Toli: Yes, I feel so terrible. I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL BAD! But oh well, I'll get over it. Thanks for reviewing! Keep doing it, okay?

DMoS13 and Torru

Toli: Well, we didn't mean to depress you...Sorry. But things will get better, despite how I feel, and your spirits will lift!...Eventually...

Mena: You're totally starting to spoil. (hands DMoS13 a box of tissues) This oughta tide you over 'till the good part!

Toli: Torru, I gotta be honest. I need a man.

Mena: TOLI!

Toli: Hey, you blabbed the last time!

(Girls get into fight. Mena's Millennium Plate falls out of her backpack and releases black-haired spirit)

Spirit:...???

Mena: EEEK!

Toli: Mena! Do something while I continue the story!

IMPORTANT NOTICE THINGY
Mena: We've reached 100 reviews! Yay!

Toli: Though the review counter doesn't say so. We ended up going through them all and counting. But we'd like to give a special congratulations to Masami, Mistress of Fire, for being the 100th reviewer! (confetti starts flying) We'll do something special for you, promise. But we can't tell you what it is! Just sit tight until next time when we can show you!

Mena: And a special congrats to Kameeko for being so smart! Yay! If you think that Yugi is dead, then go back up and read our response to Kameeko's review! No really!


CHAPTER TWELVE: THE HOPE

Nona looked down at the Millennium Puzzle. She picked up the two pieces she had broken off of it and put them back on. Then she dropped the Millennium Puzzle on Yugi's unmoving chest and used the last portion of her magic to transport his body to an alleyway in the middle of Domino City.

"Now my magic is gone, and my mission is complete," Nona said. "Now all I have to do is find an effective way to die."


"Lavell!" Nona yelled. "Seif!"

She raced down the streets, clutching the Millennium Puzzle's box in her hands. She hadn't meant for them to see that. Not yet. She was so scared now that they wouldn't accept her anymore.

"Guys!" Nona cried. "Please come back!"

"Go away!" Nona stopped in her tracks at the familiar voice. It was Lavell's, but it sounded so...pained.

Nona was underneath a tall tree with huge, spreading branches. She peeked up into the tree and saw her friends. Seif was holding Lavell, who looked like she had just been crying.

Walking slowly, Nona approached the base of the tree. She held out her arms, the Millennium Puzzle's box outstretched, as if some sort of offering. "Seif, Lavell--"

"Save it," Seif said. His voice wasn't harsh or cold, but quiet and calm. Which meant he was mad. "We already saw what you're capable of."

"Why did you lie?!" Lavell burst out suddenly, tears flowing from her distressed hazel eyes. "Why didn't you ever tell us that you're a murderer?"

Seif patted Lavell on the shoulder, his polite way of saying, "Shut up."

Nona looked down at the tree's shadow which stretched across the ground. "I...I didn't know how you'd take it," she admitted. "I was afraid to tell you. I thought...I thought that maybe I wouldn't have to tell you. But I realized that I would have to. I just didn't know how to break it to you."

"So you decided to just pretend it never happened," Seif said.

Nona kept her gaze on the ground, her mind unconsciously whirling back to that horrible memory. Her arms outstretched, destroying the thieves from the inside out. The familiar scream. Her whirling, to see her friends--her only friends--behind her, staring in horror at the damage she had done. The sounds of their footsteps, running away from her. "Guys, I'm really sorry."

"Sorry?!" Lavell exploded again. "SORRY?! You think you can just say 'sorry' and we'll forget that you're a serial killer?! You think a 'sorry' will make us forget how long you've been lying to us?! How could you do this, Nona? How?!" More tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Seif jumped down from the low branch, and helped Lavell down. "Nona, please, just leave us alone for now," he told her. He and Lavell turned and started walking away.

"Wait!" Nona cried, chasing after them. The rain started up again, making it harder to see. She tripped, and the box toppled from her hands, precious gold puzzle pieces spilling out onto the wet street. Nona scrambled up and jumped over them, chasing her friends. She forgot the curse and all its pain. She only wanted her friends back.


THE STREETS

Joey, Tristan, and Tea were all running full speed to the nearest payphone. They had left Bakura at the hospital with his new palsfor treatment, but they couldn't use the phones there because the hospital hadn't paid its bill yet. Joey had nearly cussed the receptionist out, and both Tea and Tristan had to muster up all the strength they had and drag him out of there.

Then Joey tripped over something and fell, falling into Tristan and knocking him down as well.

"Come on!" Tea exclaimed, teetering on the brink of panic. "We have to call the police and find Yugi!"

"It's too late."

All three heads jerked up to see who had spoken.

Yami walked towards them. His normally confident stride was slow. They were surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"Too late? What do you mean?" Tristan asked nervously.

"Yugi is dead," Yami stated bluntly, not wasting any time.

Tea paled until she was almost transparent. Joey and Tristan mechanically got to their feet, not believing what they had heard.

"D-D-Dead?" Tea trembled, tears already filling her eyes.

"That can't be!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Why would I lie?" Yami asked them in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Where's his body?" Tea asked.

Yami held up the Puzzle hanging around his neck. "I left him in here," he said.

"I don't believe this," Joey spat.

Tea put her hands over her face. "He's gone? He's really gone? He won't…come back?" She burst into sobs.

Tristan had tears too. So did Joey, but his were more of anger than grief. He suddenly whirled and slammed his fist down onto a bus stop's wooden bench. It actually cracked.

Even though his face didn't reflect it, Yami was the most upset about it. He was crying in his mind. He let himself inside Yugi's soul room, where he had put the…body…and closed the door. He leaned against it, letting tears flow.

He felt like a complete failure. He was supposed to protect Yugi, and he had done a pretty bad job. When his light had needed him the most, where was he? Trapped inside the Puzzle. He was beginning to hate the Puzzle because of its confinement.

He had figured out that after Nona...killed...Yugi, she had simply put the Puzzle back together, dropped it on Yugi, and left both his body and the Puzzle in an alley. Yami had come out of the Puzzle and made his discovery. He was so angry, he wanted to kill her himself.

Is there nothing I can do to bring him back? He wondered. He thought of the time during the duel with Pegasus when he had almost lost Yugi, and his friends' devotion had somehow brought him back. What now? Would that trick work twice?

No. Because this time, it wasn't just Yugi's soul that was gone. He was gone, period.

And he was never coming back.

The silence of the Puzzle was broken only briefly by one quiet, uncontrollable sob from Yami. Then all went silent again.


SOMEPLACE ELSE…

Why wasn't he dead?

Yugi looked around, confused. He was in a thick white fog and couldn't see anything beyond it. He was supposed to be dead, right? Or was this death and he was about to go to Heaven or something?

Yugi reached out and was surprised that he could touch the fog. It felt like wet cotton. Yugi took a step forward and tried to get through the fog. Though it was soft and wet, it was impenetrable. He was trapped in a giant wet cotton ball.

"Hello?" Yugi called out. His voice sounded weird, like it wasn't coming from him but from around him. He tried again. "Hello?"

"What are you doing here?"

Yugi jumped when he heard his own voice reply. He called out again. "Who is that?"

There was a laugh, then someone appeared next to him. "Why, you, stupid!" the person said, laughing again.

Yugi stared at himself. It was him, indeed. Except it was a transparent him dressed in all black wearing a red jewel on a gold string around his neck. "Why does that surprise you so much?" the transparent Yugi asked.

Yugi wasn't sure how he was supposed to reply. "Well, I'm not exactly used to talking to myself!" he answered.

Transparent Yugi laughed again. "That's funny. You know, you're really crazy. So, what's up?'

"What's up?" Yugi repeated. "I'm supposed to be dead!"

Transparent Yugi shook his head. "No you're not. You're supposed to be alive, only you got hit harder than you expected. But it's okay. You could go back."

"Go back? And what do you mean, I'm not supposed to be dead?" Yugi asked.

"It's like this," Transparent Yugi began to explain. "Whatsherface did attack you with that powerful spell, but it didn't work. You remember when Yami used his magic to get that 'don't move' spell off you, right? Well, he didn't realize it, but he overestimated how strong it was and used a little too much magic. Since he didn't take the excess magic back, it stayed in you. When Evil Girl attacked you with her spell thingy, the leftover magic saved your soul from complete destruction. Do you get it yet?"

Yugi was still a little confused. "I think so, but then where is this?"

"Your subconscious," Transparent Yugi said. "This is where I live. You've never been here because you can't reach your subconscious within your own ability, or something like that. Since you're not dead, you didn't go to the next life, but since you're not alive, you couldn't regain consciousness. So you came here by default!"

"Oh." Yugi was beginning to understand. "So, am I trapped here?"

Smiling, Transparent Yugi shook his head. "No. You can get out. But I'm not sure how or where. I think you'll have to find out for yourself. Anyway, I have to go. You made a mess when you came here. See you!"

"Wait!" Yugi called as Transparent Yugi began to fade away. "What if I need help?'

Transparent Yugi turned and tossed a Duel Monster card at him. "That's what he's for," he said. Then he disappeared.

Yugi looked down at the card in his hand.

The Dark Magician!

"Wait!" Yugi called. "Do you know how I get out of here?"

His transparent, subconscious-resident self didn't answer back.

Yugi sighed. What kind of mess was he in now? Whatever it was, it sure felt lonely without Yami's presence in his mind. At least he had his favorite Duel Monster to help him. But it wasn't a great substitute.

I hope I can find the way out soon, Yugi said. He raised the card, and it began to glow.


END CHAPTER

Me: I hope that was to your liking!

Toli: I do too!

Me: We're out till next time!

Spirit:...So, who are you?

Mena: I'm Mena, and this is my twin Toli!

Spirit: Oh.

NEXT IN CHAPTER 13…Yugi desperately searches for a way out of his subconscious with the help of his favorite card, while his friends try to live life without him…