(Damion and Mena are sitting at a table with their heads bent together over a sheet of paper)
Toli: What are you guys doing?
Damion: (voice gets louder) ...man! Woo freakin'--POW!
(Damion and Mena burst into laughter)
Masami: Not funny!
Toli: Seriously, guys, it's time for the new chapter, and... (trails off when she realizes Mena is sitting in Damion's lap)
Mena: And what, sister?
(Toli faints)
Damion: Hmm. Wonder what her problem is.
Masami: Now look what your shenanigans have done! (kneels near Toli) Come on, Toli, wake up before something bad happens!
Jesselda: They don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, in case you didn't notice. Yu-Gi-Oh would be 57.3 percentless popular if they did.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE RESCUE
"The door's got no wall? You didn't mention that part!" Transparent Yugi yelled at Solid Yami.
"It did when I came here!" Solid Yami protested. He shifted the unmoving weight on his back. "You know how the doors are in this place. It'll probably still work. Now there's no time to argue. We have a bigger problem: Yugi just passed out."
Transparent Yugi paled. "Then who's going to go get the door?" he asked.
Solid Yami let Yugi down to the ground. "I'll get it," he said grimly. "And before you start telling me why not to, either one of us sacrifices ourselves or we all die. One's better than three, so don't try to stop me."
Transparent Yugi looked scared, but he nodded. Yami looked down into the canyon. He took a deep breath and jumped in. He disappeared into the darkness.
Transparent Yugi waited...and waited...and waited. Finally there was a yell. "Okay! Grab Yugi and jump!"
"Have you lost your mind?!" Transparent Yugi yelled down. "We could kill him!"
"Just do it already!" Solid Yami yelled.
"Fine, but if he's flattened, we're blaming you!" Transparent Yugi dragged the unconscious figure to the edge of the chasm and tossed him over. He waited until he got an all-clear yell, and jumped in. He landed on his butt on the ground in the chasm. Of course, it didn't hurt him.
"Ha ha, see?" Solid Yami said triumphantly, pointing at the still upright door. He had caught Yugi and laid him down on the ground. "All I've got to do is pull open this baby and--" he reached for the knob and pulled on it.
Immediately an electric shock ran through him. He ignored the pain that he'd only felt once before and pulled harder. The door slowly began to budge.
Transparent Yugi watched in awe. "Okay, so maybe it will work," he said.
Tea was waiting almost impatiently inside the game shop. She sighed with relief when Joey, Tristan, and Serenity came in. They were all wearing presentable clothes, but it was obvious they hadn't been making any plans to go anywhere.
"Joey, I'm confused," Serenity said as they headed to the living room where Yami had instructed Tea to tell them to go. "Yami says he felt pain through his and Yugi's mind link, and that let him know Yugi was still alive. But why pain? And why now?"
Joey shrugged. "I dunno, sis. I know almost nothin' about Yug's Puzzle. I don't think even he or Yami knows everything about it. All I know is, if our little buddy has a chance of comin' back to us, then I wanna be thea for 'im."
Serenity nodded. "Me too," she said solemnly.
They found Yami in the living room, sitting on the sofa. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving. The Millennium Puzzle around his neck was glowing ever so slightly.
"What's he doing? Taking a nap?" Tristan wondered aloud.
"I think his mind is inside the Puzzle looking for Yugi," Tea explained as they all sat down on the sofa or in chairs.
"When will he come out?" Serenity asked worriedly.
"When he's got Yugi with 'im," Joey told her reassuringly, putting an arm around her shoulders.
They were silent for a moment, watching Yami. Suddenly Tea burst out, "Guys, I didn't want to say anything, but I have a bad feeling about this."
"Whaddya mean?" Joey asked, turning to face her.
"Well--" Tea stammered, looking down into her lap where her hands fidgeted, "Yami told me before that he and Yugi share feelings, and thoughts, and emotions and everything. And--he has said to me that-that sometimes he thinks he can hear or see Yugi, and it turns out to be a hallucination."
The others listened with grave faces.
"I just--have a feeling that maybe Yami is imagining things again. I mean, I don't want to pass off the real thing as a hallucination, but I don't want to raise false hopes, either." Now there were tears in her eyes. "It hurt so much when Yami first told us Yugi was dead. If this turns out to be fake, I...I..." She dissolved into tears. "I don't know what I'd do!" she sobbed.
Serenity had tears sparkling in her eyes as well. She hid her face in her hands. Tristan was quick to comfort her, while Joey went over to sit next to Tea and pat her back. "Don't you worry, Tea. Yami can tell what's real and what's not. You jus' wait. He's gonna open 'is eyes any minute now, and he'll be Yugi with a smile. You jus' watch."
"I hope so, Joey," Tea said through her tears. "I hope so."
MILLENNIUM PUZZLE
Yami could sense Yugi well, now. He was alive somewhere. But where?
That he didn't know. But he was determined to find out. He would find Yugi as long as there was a Yugi to find.
Yami walked up the steps. He was searching the corridors where Yugi's presence felt the strongest. So far he hadn't had any luck. But he would never give up until the signal was gone. And maybe not even then.
Suddenly Yami stopped and stared. There was a door in front of him, a door he'd never seen before. It was solid black and made of steel. Someone was pulling it open from the other side, little by little. Yami could sense Yugi strongly behind the door. He ran to it.
"How are you doing?" asked a voice that sounded just like Yugi. But Yami could sense that it wasn't him.
"I'll live, for now," a voice that sounded exactly like Yami himself answered. Yami realized with a start that he had seen this door before, only it had had a tall brick wall around it.
"Who is there?" Yami called out.
"Hey, is that somebody over there?" the Yugi-voice asked.
Yami put his hand on the door. "Yes it is," he said. "Is Yugi with you?"
"He sure is!" the Yami-voice said. "Help us open this door, please!"
Yami put his other hand on the door and started to push. The door grated loudly, like it was dragging on the ground, but the bottom of the door was inches clear of the floor.
"Hurry!" the Yugi-voice exclaimed. "We don't have much time!"
Yami pushed harder. The door grated open some more. He found himself looking out into darkness. A couple of figures were barely visible. One was standing a little bit away from the door, and the other was inches away from Yami's face.
"All right, give him Yugi!" the Yugi-voice commanded.
There was a moment of silence. Then the door went open a little wider, and Yami saw Yugi's head. Yugi was being passed to him. Yami grabbed the teenager's shoulders and pulled him clear of the door.
"We have to close it, quick," the Yami-voice said. "Before the open door becomes another imbalance." The door slowly grated back.
Solid Yami collapsed on the ground. Transparent Yugi knelt next to him to check and see if he was okay, when the fog around them lightened back to white and the ground became smooth again. The loud wind they had been hearing stopped.
"Hey, are...you okay?" Transparent Yugi asked.
Solid Yami opened his eyes and nodded. "Just...kind of hoping this pain'll go away."
Transparent Yugi watched him worriedly. "Can you sit up?"
"Just a sec..." Solid Yami laid there for a while, and then he sat up without any help from his friend. He smiled at Transparent Yugi. "I'm okay now."
"Great!" Transparent Yugi gave him a brief hug, and then stood up. "Now our biggest problem is getting ourselves back home. I'm lost. Any ideas?"
"Nope," Solid Yami said, stretching. "I think I'll just enjoy the returned tranquility."
Transparent Yugi gave him a look which plainly said "I'm glad you're okay, but don't start pushing my buttons."
The four friends sat nervously in the living room. They had been there for an hour since Tea's teary confession. Ever since she had gotten Yami's call, Tea had been really excited at the thought of seeing Yugi again. Yet something in the back of her mind told her that see was never going to see Yugi again, and she had to be ready for that possibility. But she could still hope, right?
As long as her hopes weren't false.
"What's takin' 'em so long?" Joey complained.
"Will you shut up, Joey?" Tristan commanded irritably.
"I hope everything's all right," Serenity said.
"It will be," Tea replied. "It has to be," she added under her breath. She glanced at Yami, who was sitting beside her on the sofa. At least his outer shell was. His eyes were closed, and he sat perfectly still, evidence of he fact that he was still searching the labyrinth inside the Puzzle for Yugi. For maybe the ninety-seventh time that day, she desperately hoped that Yugi was okay, and that it wasn't too late or something.
Just then, Yami's eyes opened. "I found him," he stated, although he didn't look or sound nearly happy as Tea had thought he would be.
Joey, Tristan, and Serenity, however, didn't seem to notice. They bombarded Yami with questions before he could continue. "Where is he?" "Is he okay?" "Is he hurt?" "Can he talk to us?" "Why ain't he out hea?" "Does he know what happened?"
Tea, however, could see hat everything wasn't all right. "Yami, what's wrong?" she asked.
The other three fell silent, suddenly noticing themselves that Yami didn't seem too happy.
"I found Yugi," Yami began. "But he is unconscious. I am going to return control of his body to him, and I want you all to take him to the hospital."
The excitement died, replaced with a new fear. "All right," Tea said bravely.
Yami held her gaze for a few moments. She could see the pain in his eyes, but it didn't show in his face. He nodded, and then closed his eyes.
All of a sudden, the Millennium Puzzle gave off a bright flash of light, temporarily blinding everyone in the room. When it subsided, they found Yugi, slumped over in Tea's lap. They all stared at him for a few seconds.
Then, as if someone had hit a switch, action started.
"Come on, let's go!"
"Everyone put your shoes back on!"
"I'll get da car!"
"Let's call the hospital in advance!"
Tristan lifted Yugi from Tea's lap and carried him outside. Joey had already bolted out the door to go get Grandpa's car. Serenity helped Tea, who was too shocked to think straight, get outside.
Outside, they were met by a panic-stricken Joey. "Gramps must've taken his car!" he exclaimed. "We gotta hoof it!"
Serenity looked scared--until she spotted something on the street. "I have a better idea," she said. She left Tea's side and ran out into the street, just as a black limo was driving by.
"Serenity!" the others yelled.
The limo screeched to a stop inches away from Serenity, who had her hands out. The door on the back opened, and out stepped Seto Kaiba. "What do you think you were doing?" he snapped at Serenity.
"I'm sorry if I startled you, Kaiba, but we need your help," Serenity said. She looked pale, but also proud that she had taken such a big risk for a friend.
"Whatever," Kaiba answered, his cold blue eyes sweeping over the group. "If you and the rest of the idiot brigade wants to become hitchhikers, you're going to have to learn to do it the old-fashioned--" He stopped when he came across Tristan, who was still holding Yugi.
"Please, Kaiba," Tea said, "we need to get Yugi to the hospital and we don't have any transportation."
Kaiba looked at Yugi for a few minutes. He looked like he was trying to come up with something to say. "Sorry," he finally spat. "I'm on my way to an important meeting."
"A meeting?!" Tea cried. "You'd sacrifice a life to be on time to a stupid meeting?! You can't do this!"
Kaiba looked like he was unhappy with his decision, but felt like he couldn't take it back for some reason. He turned to get back in his limo, but Joey had come up and was now standing between him and the door. "Kaiba, you can't do dis," Joey said in a voice that sounded like he was trying to control his anger. "Even if you don't like Yugi, I know you don't want da fact dat we couldn' get 'im da help he needed in time on yer conscience. Besides, he's saved your butt so many times now I've lost count. Dontcha think you maybe owe 'im?"
"Seto Kaiba owes no one," Kaiba said. 'Now out of my way, mutt."
Joey clenched his fists. "Kaiba! I ain't gonna fight ya 'cause I got more important things t' worry about. But if you get in dat limo and drive away, yer gonna regret it, I'm tellin' ya!"
"You heard me," Kaiba said. Joey glared daggers at him as he reluctantly stepped out of the way.
Kaiba stepped inside his limo and shut the door. Yugi's friends glared at the tinted windows so hard they nearly shattered. They couldn't believe that Kaiba had such a grudge against Yugi that he wouldn't even help get him to a hospital.
They watched the limousine, waiting for it to drive away. Suddenly, the door opened again. "Get in," Kaiba ordered.
Serenity's and Tea's faces lit up in relief.
END CHAPTER
Mena: The chap's over! (wraps arms around Damion's neck) I'm glad you were here to share it with me, Damie-chan!
Damion: I was thinking the same thing, Mena-chan!
(Masami and Toli pretend to gag)
Jesselda: (sighs) Join us next time.
Extra Note: We apologize if we angered any Seto fans in this story. We weren't trying to make him seem so mean, but it just came out that way. Again, we apologize. Seto is one of Mena's favorite characters, so don't think we're trying to bash him. Anyway, on with the responds.
REVIEW RESPONSES
Loyal fan
Mena: I hope you get an account soon! We can't wait to be on your favorites list!
Toli: And until you do, keep reading and reviewing, and take care of those plushies! (waves) Thanks for your review!
Millenniumgrl126
Mena: Yahoo! We posted! YAAAY!
Toli: Sorry, I cannot tell you or anybody else what's going to happen to poor little Yugi. It's against author rules to do spoilers!
Mena: To some extent! Yeah, Yami's smart. Took him a while though. But anyway! Thanks for the awesome review!
Dark mage of sea 13
Toli: Nope, sorry. Noon tomorrow's filled. How about noon Monday?
Mena: Toli, I really must object to you and Torru dating when you barely know each other...
Toli: It's a blind date, sister. Get over it. Anyway, thanks for reviewing again, and you'll just have to wait and see what happens to Yugi...like everyone else...muahaha I am so evil...I mean, seeya!
Ayamari
Mena: Glad you've joined us again! Yeah, we all wanna know what happens to Yugi. Thanks for reviewing and hope you enjoyed the chappie!
Marshmellow13Dragon
Toli: You're right! It ain't fun if it ain't mean!
Mena: To some... o.-
Toli: Haha, jump into the canyon! Funny how you mentioned that when it was our plan all along! Happy new year, what? Tomorrow! Yeah! Hope you stay up for the ball drop! Don't miss our plane and thanks for the review!
Phoenix727
Mena: O.O Whoa.
Toli: Damn, "I extinguished the flame"?? That's just scary. But hey, I'm happy!
Mena: (stares at Toli)
Toli: Anyway, like I've said to others, I can't tell you where the story is going. But that shouldn't stop you from guessing. Lemme give you a hint...you're mostly right. And that's all I'm saying! Thanks for the review, and double thanks to Shadow Phoenix for murder. I won't turn you in.
(Mena is still staring at Toli)
Kameeko
Toli: It took them a little while, but, yeah!
Mena: And now Yugi's escaped his subconscious, but he isn't awake!
Toli: I wish I was as absorbent as you guys. When I get angry, I stay that way for at least a couple hours. Anyway, thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the next installment!
Silver Moon Phoenix
Mena: Wow. You guys are still hunting the flamer down?
Toli: Too late. Sorry. Someone else has murdered him. But thanks for the effort! Now, you two, don't be stealing each other's money! But, then again, I see why...
Mena: O.-; Anyway, thanks for reviewing! P.S.: Hope you noticed the "idiot brigade" thing.
Elizabeth Aiken
Mena: Yay for sugar highs!
Toli: Don't start. Anyway, thanks for the continuing reviews, and hope you enjoyed the chapter!
dragon shadows
Mena: Hey, Jess!
Toli: Mena, what DID Damion draw?
Mena: A picture of Masami tripping over her pants legs. Now you know how weird Yugi's subconscious is, Jess. But maybe things will work out! Thank you very much for reviewing and hope you enjoyed!
ShebyTheDogDemoness
Toli: Oh, that's okay, Sheby. Mena isn't too unmanageable when she gets all hyper and weird around you guys.
Mena: Yeah, I'm better now. I think. I hope. Oh no... (runs to look in mirror)
Toli: Anyway, I hope Mera and Sinya don't plan on reading our minds, because then they'd know how the story ends. And I really don't want that! I want you guys to be as surprised as everybody else! And it's weird about the names in stories thing...very. I hope I don't find another Toli out there, or I'll go ballistic, probably. Anyhow, thanks for reviewing!
