Chapter Five of "Imaginary Playmate" by Melinda-chan
"This is where I keep all the others," Mabel said as she opened the door. Dark Yugi stepped in behind her. His eyes went wide as he saw the dolls that were on the floor. Seto, Mokuba and Jonouchi laid next to tea cups that had green tea in them. That explained the bowls and cups that Yugi and Anzu found in the kitchen. But that was not what upset Dark Yugi the most.
'Jonouchi,' he thought. 'I cannot believe that Mabel did this to you!' He then looked at Mabel. "Mabel!" he said out loud.
"I'll have to prepare the rest of the dolls now," Mabel said. She then snapped her fingers five times. Dark Yugi saw that the Ryo Bakura, Dark Bakura, Jonouchi, Mokuba and Seto dolls were now in different clothes. Dark Yugi arched his right eyebrow.
"Do you like them now?" Mabel asked, putting all the dolls on the bed.
"They look like storybook characters," Dark Yugi noted. "Who are they now?"
"The good and mean Ba-kur-as are Tweedledee and Tweedledum from 'Alice of Wonderland'-" Mabel pointed to a pair of white-haired dolls with suspenders and a round cap on their heads. Ryo Bakura had "TE" on his collar while Dark Bakura had a "TM" on his collar. "Jo-no-u-chi is 'Spot' from the children's books-" Mabel pointed to a black and white doglike doll. "You know, 'See Spot Run'?"
'Jonouchi! What did she do to you?" Dark Yugi asked himself.
"And Set-o is Ebenezer Scrooge and Mo-ku-ba is Bob Cratchit from 'The Christmas Carol.' Set-o is Scrooge because he is rich but very mean and Mo-ku-ba is Bob Cratchit because Scrooge and Bob Cratchit were supposed to be boss and worker but Scrooge mistreated him and wasn't a good boss, just like Set-o wasn't a good big brother."
'What is she going to do with them?' Dark Yugi asked himself.
"I should take out the rest of the dolls now," Mabel said. She snapped her fingers. The red toy chest appeared. "Give me Honda, An-zu and Yu-gi please." At once a pair of white gloves brought out the Honda, Anzu and Yugi dolls, respectively as Robin Hood, Scarlett O'Hara and Pinocchio.
'What is she planning to do?' Dark Yugi thought. He then looked straight at Mabel.
"Are we going to play a game?" he asked her.
"I just need a few more things," Mabel said. "Now give me a moment to prepare the tea set and table."
'What?' Dark Yugi thought as he realized it. 'Mabel and I are going to play-'
"We are going to play tea!" Mabel exclaimed with a happy expression on her face. "But first we need a change of atmosphere."
All of a sudden the walls of Mokuba's room started to shimmer. It changed from white walls to a pink wallpaper-covered wall with daisies on them. Mokuba's bed changed from a standard boys' bed to a pink silk bed. A white table appeared with a china tea set. Two white chairs appeared on each side of the table.
'What is going on? Are we in the Shadow Realm or another dimension?' Dark Yugi thought. He then heard a voice from below.
"My other self!" Pinocchio Yugi shouted. Dark Yugi looked down.
'Aibou! And all the rest of you!' Dark Yugi thought. Indeed, everyone that had been turned into dolls is now moving on their own. Honda, Anzu and Jonouchi were looking around, Mokuba was standing close to Seto, Seto had his arms crossed with a cane in his right hand, Ryo Bakura looked completely clueless and Dark Bakura also had his arms folded with an equally crossed expression on his face.
"My other self!" Pinocchio Yugi shouted again. "What is going on? Where are we?"
"I know we are in a different place but I am not sure if we are in the Shadow Realm or not" Dark Yugi told him, looking at Mabel with his left eye.
"You are in the dark realm, but I made it pretty so I can have a friendly atmosphere to play dolls and tea with you" Mabel replied.
"Wait a minute!" Jonouchi yelled. He looked like he was in a dog costume. "You want to play dolls and tea with us?"
"Yes" Mabel answered.
"I am out of here," Jonouchi said, turning away. "I can play that with my younger sister but when it comes to someone that turned me into a dog, I have my limits."
"If you have a younger sister, then you must know how to play tea time" Mabel said. "I know! I will make you my first doll!" She then grabbed him with her right hand.
"Hey!" Jonouchi yelled as Mabel grabbed him and put him on the toy chair. She then looked at Dark Yugi.
"Now pick a doll," Mabel ordered him. "We can start the game once you selected a doll." Dark Yugi looked at the rest of the dolls. Both Seto and Dark Bakura were giving him dark looks so they were out of the question.
'I would take Aibou but I do not know what Mabel might do to him' Dark Yugi thought. 'Still all my friends are in danger by being here. At least with Yugi as my doll, I will have a great motivator.'
"Very well, I choose Yugi to play for me!" Dark Yugi said. He then picked up Pinocchio Yugi and put him on the chair.
It was then that Mokuba finally saw the smaller Yugi.
"Big brother, why are there two Yugis?" Mokuba asked him.
Now almost everybody became worried.
"And how come there are two Bakuras?" Mokuba further questioned.
An awkward silence ensued.
"I think this is a dream," Seto said out loud. "Or a great magic trick." He adjusted his monocle. "That is the only thing I can think of without thinking anything worse."
"I can," Dark Bakura said. Mabel gave him a dirty look.
"I did not tell you to say anything," Mabel told them. "You be quiet or else-"
"Else what?" Dark Bakura then sneered. "Destroy me? I'll return. I always do." Mabel, though, did not look convinced.
"Maybe I cannot destroy you, but I can do this-" Mabel then snapped her fingers. A black toy chest appeared. "-I can put you in my garbage toy chest and dispose of you forever so don't say anything else!" The black toy chest was surrounded by an evil aura.
"Um, not to question you or anything, but what would happen to me if he goes into the toy chest?" Ryo Bakura asked Mabel, raising his right hand.
"I don't know" Mabel answered. "I have never put a playmate before that was part of a person."
"Technically we are not together-" Ryo Bakura started to say.
"I can put you in with him if you want" Mabel said. Honda stepped forward.
"Hey! Don't threaten any of my friends! I mean, the real Bakura" Honda said.
"Do you want to join them too?" Mabel asked him.
"If I had a bow, I would have-" Honda started to say.
"Have what?" Mabel dared him. She then looked at Jonouchi. The dog sweatdropped.
"Jo-no-u-chi…" Mabel continued. "Bite him!" At once Jonouchi went off his chair and bit Honda's left leg. Everyone became shocked.
"Um, Jonouchi, you do remember who you are, right?" Honda asked him, looking down at his best friend.
"Of course he does" Mabel said. She then crossed his arms. "He is a doll, my doll. As is all of you, except for the big Yugi of course." All the eyes of the dolls went wide, including Dark Bakura and Seto.
"That means she can control us!" Anzu exclaimed.
'This is my fault,' Mokuba thought. 'I trusted in her. What can I do now?'
"Now, Jonouchi, let go of him!" Mabel ordered. The blond-haired dog let go of Honda's leg. He now looked confused.
"What just happened?" Jonouchi asked.
"You bit me," Honda said. Jonouchi sweatdropped.
"Eh sorry about that" Jonouchi told him. He stood up and pointed at Mabel. "I ain't going to be your puppet anymore! Do you hear that?"
"Jonouchi, be careful!" Anzu said. "You might go into the black toy chest!" Mabel looked at her.
"I think I'll pick you next," Mabel said. "You're not rude, and I want to play with you anyway, since you're the only girl." She then picked Anzu up.
"Anzu!" Dark Yugi yelled in horror. "Let her go!"
"I am not hurting her," Mabel said. She then put Anzu down onto the chair gently. "Okay! I am getting impatient! I am going to start now!" She then brought out a tea kettle and poured a cup of tea. "First, me, and then Anzu." She then poured the tea into a teeny cup. Anzu looked down at it. "Now it is your turn." She put down the tea kettle on Dark Yugi's side of the table. Dark Yugi picked it up.
"Am I supposed to drink this?" Yugi asked as his puppet head looked down at it.
"I think so, Aibou" Dark Yugi said. "But I am not going to force you to."
"Are you going to play with me or not?" Mabel said. "If you do not want to, I can make you into a doll like Ba-kur-a's own playmate." Dark Yugi stared at the tea cup. He picked it up and sipped it. He looked surprised.
"You know, this is very good," Dark Yugi said. "I wonder what type of tea is this?"
"It's matcha," Mabel answered. "It is a very fine tea that is used in tea ceremonies. I knew you'll like it!" Dark Yugi nodded as he took another sip.
"I can't believe I finally found the perfect playmate!" Mabel continued. She then poured herself a new cup of tea. "I don't know how long I have been searching! I am so excited!"
'How am I suppose to defeat her?' Dark Yugi thought as he put the cup to his mouth. 'I cannot think of a way to do so!' Just then he saw Honda, Jonouchi, Dark Bakura and Ryo Bakura talking to another in a group formation.
"You know something about the Shadow Realm, right?" Honda asked Bakura's dark half. "You know how to get us out of here?"
"Do you think if I knew how to get out on my own, I would have done it by now?" Dark Bakura said. "I hate to say this but the only way we can get out of here is if that brat-" he pointed at Mabel. "- let's us go or he-" he then turned to Dark Yugi. "- managed to convince her to do it and right now, it does not look like that is going to happen." Mabel turned to him.
"You got a big mouth, you know that?" Mabel said to him. "Maybe I should put you and your partner into the black toy chest, after all!"
"No wait!" Mokuba yelled. Mabel looked at him. "Please don't put anyone into the black toy chest! For me!" Mokuba cupped his hands together. Mabel nodded.
"Okay," Mabel said. She then turned back to Anzu. "Do you want more tea?"
'Amazing' Dark Yugi thought. 'Mabel still listens to Mokuba.' He then looked at all the other dolls. An idea came to him.
"Tell me, Mabel, is there a specific reason why you dressed them like that?" Dark Yugi asked her.
"Sure" Mabel replied. She looked down at Anzu. "An-zu is Scarlett O'Hara because she is pretty like her." At that Anzu's cheeks went red. "Yu-gi is Pinocchio because I like the character and they are almost the same height." Yugi did a little blush himself. "As for Jo-no-u-chi and Honda, I just like Spot and Robin Hood. As for the good and mean Ba-kur-as, I had to think of two characters that almost look alike and all I can think were Tweedledee and Tweedledum, from Alice of Wonderland." Dark Bakura put a hand over his head, obviously embarassed. She then looked at the two brothers. "As for Set-o and Mo-ku-ba, I made Set-o Scrooge because he is so mean and I made Mo-ku-ba into Tom Cratchit because Set-o treated Mo-ku-ba like Scrooge did to Tom Cratchit even though Mo-ku-ba is his younger brother" Mabel told him.
"That's not true!" Mokuba yelled.
"Yes it is" Seto's voice made Mokuba look at him. So did everyone else. "I have been a very big brother. I have neglected you even when you wanted me. I should be in that black box."
"You really want to do that?" Mabel asked him.
"No! Please don't do anything to my big brother! Please!" Mokuba pleaded, holding his hands together.
"Okay," Mabel answered.
'She listened to Mokuba again!' Dark Yugi thought. 'Wait a minute! I got an idea!'
"Excuse me," Dark Yugi said. "But I got a question for both of you. Whose idea was this in the first place?"
"It was my idea" Mabel answered. "Why do you ask?"
"So is Mokuba still your playmate?" Dark Yugi asked her.
"Oh yes," Mabel answered.
"If Mokuba is still your playmate, do you think he's having fun now?" Dark Yugi then asked her.
"I don't know" Mabel answered. "I'll ask him." She then turned to Mokuba. "Are you having fun now, Mo-ku-ba?" The miniature Mokuba crossed his arms.
"I am certainly NOT having fun!" Mokuba replied. "First, you turned my big brother into a doll, and then you turned me into a doll too! And now all my other friends are dolls as well! I am definitely not having fun! I want to go home! I do not want you to be my playmate anymore!"
At that Mabel became shocked. No one said a word.
'He did it' Jonouchi thought. 'We are all doomed now.'
"Could you repeat that?" Mabel asked.
"I no longer want you as my playmate anymore!" Mokuba yelled.
"Does that mean you made up with your brother?" Mabel inquired. Mokuba and Seto looked at each other. Mokuba then looked back at her.
"Yes" Mokuba replied. Mabel then looked at Dark Yugi.
"Do you want me as a playmate?" Mabel asked him.
"I already got friends," Dark Yugi said. "Who are all here, more or less." Mabel looked at the other dolls.
"Do you want me to be your playmate?" Mabel asked them. A few no's and a few head shakes answered her question. At that, Mabel put her head down in sadness.
"Ever since I can remember, I always wanted a playmate," Mabel said. "I want to play with her forever and ever and ever!" At that Mokuba stepped forward.
"I know you mean well but you need to learn that having a playmate means giving as well as receiving. You just need to be more patient and forgiving with them too," Mokuba told her.
"But I don't know how to do that" Mabel said.
"You have all the time in the world!" Mokuba said. "You can listen to them as long as you want. And respect their opinions even if you disagree with them."
"Do you still do not want me as your playmate?" Mabel asked.
"I know my big brother can be a pain, but I still love him and I'll never leave him on my own." Seto looked like he was overcome with emotion.
"Mokuba…" Seto said as he took the monocle off his right eye. "I know that sometimes I am overwhelmed with work, but that does not mean I no longer care for you. I would not have challenged Pegasus if I did not care for you. When my project is done, I will spend time with you. How's that?" Mokuba smiled and nodded. Mabel saw that and sighed.
"Well, if all of you don't need me anymore, I am going to leave" Mabel said. She then put down her tea cup, pull back her chair and got up. "You can all go home now." Everyone but Dark Yugi looked surprised.
'That's right Mabel,' Dark Yugi thought. 'We all have friends and people that we care about. We do not need you. But someone out there might want you. You just have to find that person if you can."
"All right then," Mabel said. The pink room then changed into a black abyss. "I am going to go now." A white portal then appeared.
'In that case, I should do this now' Dark Bakura thought. The Millennium Ring started glowing. 'This has been the most embarrassing moment of my existence! I shall erase their minds so they shall never remember this!' And so that's what he did.
End of Chapter Five
Wheee! I am so happy! I am almost done with this story! Yes, the next chapter will be the LAST chapter! I am so excited!
I plan on doing an epilogue, then my author's notes, recommended fics, reviewers' responses and a final thank you.
In order to celebrate my last chapter of "Imaginary Playmate," I am inviting all my readers to a party! You can bring anything you want but please especially bring any recommended fics or other fan stuff. (Yu-Gi-Oh preferable, but not required. Just no NC-17 stuff, please). I also have a guest-of-honour, Mabel! You can ask her any questions you want, as well to me. I'll also respond to any questions and comments already made that I feel need a response. Remember that you can be late, but please do come.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is my desire to make the next chapter memorable. Yu-Gi-Oh was created by Kazuki Takahashi. Please do not forget to review!
