MP: Okay, here's the next chapter. It has some parts in it that are important to the story. This explains a bit of the dead/not dead thing. But I warn you, it's still quite confusing. Anyway, here's chapter two.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters.

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Friendship Beyond the Grave

CHAPTER 2

Joey opened his eyes. All he could see was darkness. What happened? Where was he? What was going on? Questions poured through his head. Slowly but suddenly, Joey started to remember what had transpired. He remembered looking in the alley, the cloaked men, the secret plans, being hit on the head, the gunshot, and how the last thing he could think of was Yugi. A sudden realization jolted through him. "Yugi!" he shouted. "Yugi, is he ok!?" Joey asked himself. He was in a seriously bad standing situation. His best friend was the target of some creeps in hoods, and he was Ra knows where!

Suddenly, a bright light began to shine. Joey shielded his eyes. "What da heck is that?" he said. The bright light faded to a dim glow and a tall figure stood before him. It was a woman. She had long brown hair, big brown eyes, and wore a white dress. But one thing was weird. She had two large feathery wings. "Hello Joey." she greeted warmly. "What da!? You are you? How do you know my name?" Joey questioned. The girl answered him half-laughing. "Why, I'm your guardian angel silly!"

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Yugi sat on his bed. It had been six whole hours since the news about Joey had been received. He had told Tristan, Tea, and regretfully, Serenity. Yugi sat with no one with him but Yami in holographic form. He was trying desperately to hold back his sadness, but found it useless. He finally gave in. Cold tears flowed down his face with the speed of waterfalls. He buried his wet face in his pillow and cried out.

"It's not fair! Why did he have to die! Joooeey!!" he shouted into his pillow.

Yami sat upright next to Yugi. He was, himself, trying to hold back tears as he attempted to comfort his grieving half.

Aibou... he said softly. Yami put a hand on Yugi's shoulder.

It's ok. Let it out. It's alright to miss Joey. I miss him too, but you must stay strong. Yami said.

Yugi stopped for a second to sniff.

But, Joey....we've lost him before. But...this time, we can't bring him back. Yugi managed to choke out.

Yami was trying even harder to hold his sadness back. Silent tears crept down his face.

Listen, you must be strong. Joey...he's in a better place now. Yami said reassuringly.

Yugi kept his face in the pillow. Yami, it's gonna be so hard without Joey. He's always been there for me, but the one time he needed me most, I couldn't help him...

Yami got a surprised look on his face. Aibou, are you blaming Joey's death on yourself!? It wasn't your fault. There is nothing you could have done.

But how can I know? Maybe there was something I could have done....maybe if I just-

Yugi! Stop blaming yourself! You know that Joey wouldn't want you to beat yourself up like this! Especially not for something that you had no control over!

Yugi looked up at Yami. M-maybe you're right Yami...but still....Joey's gone, and he isn't coming back....

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Joey stared blankly for a moment. "You're my what?" he questioned, not believing what was happening. "You're Guardian Angel! But you can call me Sumi!" the girl said smiling. Joey snapped out of his confusion. "Well, great job ya did Ms. Guardian! I got shot in the back!" he shouted enraged. Sumi stopped smiling. "Well uh....I'm not an 'official' guardian yet..." she said rubbing the back of her head. Joey sweatdropped. "Well, I see why ya haven't earned yer halo yet." he said in an annoyed tone. "Actually, that's a common misconception." Sumi corrected. "Whatever! Could you just please tell me where da heck I am!?" Joey shouted.

"Well, it's a bit confusing really. You see, you're dead...but not really dead..." Sumi said looking a little confused herself. Joey just gave her a confused look. "Okay, you died....but you're not officially dead yet...you're...sortta...." Sumi stressed to find the right words. "Are you getting any of this?" she asked. Joey shook his head. Sumi thought for a while how to explain this. "Okay, you died...." Sumi started. "Now you are hovering between the Living World and the After Life...understand?" she asked. "I think so..." Joey replied. "Good," Sumi sighed, "cause' I was starting to get a headache." Joey just groaned at his pathetic excuse for a guardian.

"So, why ain't I officially dead yet?" Joey asked. "Well, you see, when you were lying on the ground, you weren't supposed to move. If you just forgot about getting even with those people, and stayed perfectly still, you would have lived. Because you would have lived, Yugi would have found out about that plan, and therefore, he would have been safe because he would get help." Sumi explained. Joey looked down in shame. "So, if Yuge dies....it's my fault?" he asked sadly. "Well, that's where you not dying comes in." Sumi started up once again. Joey looked up at her. "What do ya mean?"

"Well," Sumi began, "since you weren't suppose to die yet, Yugi's guardian and I pulled a few strings, and now you get a another chance." "Another chance?" Joey asked, his hopes rising. "Yep. You are allowed to help Yugi out. But you have to make sure he's safe, and that he doesn't get killed. In return, you can get your life back." Sumi said happily. "Really!? Awesome!" Joey smiled brightly. He felt as though he could have jumped around cheering, but decided to keep himself restrained.

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It was the next day in the Mutou home. Yugi and his friends decided to get together to talk. This horrible tragedy was not taken lightly. Joey had been an increasingly important role in this group of friends. Among the devastated group were all of Joey's closest friends and family. Tristan, Tea, Serenity, and of course, Yugi. The room was silent for a while. Serenity was sitting with her head in her hands, silently weeping. Tea was sitting next to her, attempting to comfort her. Tristan stood, trying desperately not to cry, but failing miserably. Yugi sat on the couch. He held his hands, clenched into fists, in his lap. His eyes were filling with tears, and his mouth was quivering, as if he wanted to cry out. There was an unnatural sort of tension between the friends. Suddenly, the silence was broken.

"So, uh, Yugi..." Tristan said, trying to hold back his sadness. "When....did they say...when is Joey's...you know?" He stumbled with his words. Yugi understood what Tristan was trying to say, but took it hard. "They said it would be next Friday" Yugi said regretfully. Tristan nodded and the awkward silence returned. It was about ten minutes later that the silence was once again broken, this time by Tea. "Hey you guys! How about we try to change the mood a little? How about some delicious lemonade?" she said trying to act cheerful. That's when a small piece of chaos broke loose.

Tristan growled in response. "Tea! How can you act all cheery!? Joey just died! And you expect us to just forget about it and sit around here drinking lemonade!?" Tea stepped back a little. Tristan's shouting took her by surprise. She stood up and yelled back at him. "I was just trying to change the mood! I know it's sad, but it would be nice to see someone smile! Just sitting around, sniveling all day won't get anything done!" Tristan and Tea argued like there was no tomorrow. Finally, Yugi started to get annoyed.

He was usually quiet, and always tried to stop his friends from fighting with each other by kind words. But this time was different. This time, Yugi was different. "Shut up, both of you!! Joey died, and just because you two can't get along doesn't mean that you can just start arguing when we're suppose to be remembering him!! I don't care if we need to change our attitudes or not!! Show some respect you idiots!!" Yugi was breathing heavily now. That remark he had just made had freed the anger he had felt over the years. It was like all that rage he had to keep inside just blurted out. Unfortunately, this anger was directed at his friends.

Yugi clapped his hand over his mouth once he realized what he had said. His eyes were full of shock at how he had just spoken to his dearest friends. Tea and Tristan just stared at Yugi. Never before had they seen him express such rage. Not even at the evil enemies he had faced. He had showed anger toward them, but never like he had just now.

"Guys, I-I didn't mean..." Yugi stuttered. He was so ashamed of himself. That outburst might have just cost him their friendship. Tristan and Tea's looks softened. They understood completely. Yugi didn't mean any of the words he just said, but it was still hard to believe that he, of all people, had insulted them. "It's ok Yugi. We know you didn't mean any of that." Tristan replied. "Yeah, you're right. We shouldn't be fighting. Not at a time like this." Tea added. "How about we all sit down and talk?" Serenity suggested. It was definitely a good time to speak with each other. Yugi needed his remaining friends now, more than ever.

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"Ok, so how do I get outta here to help Yugi?" Joey asked. "Well, to aid a living person, you must get permission from their Guardian Angel." Sumi explained. "So, we need to go see Yugi's guardian?" Joey asked. "Yup. Come on, I'll bring you to her." Sumi replied. She started to float away. Joey followed her. He was extremely excited. He would get to save his best friend, and get his life back. This was great. Nothing could go wrong. Right?

After what seemed like an eternity, Sumi and Joey finally stopped. Ahead of them, they could see a tall girl. She had long, almost golden hair, bright green eyes, and wore the same outfit as Sumi. She also had two large feathery wings. She was sitting, looking into a small cube. There seemed to be something on the screen. Sumi and Joey approached the angel. "Hey Kiko! Over here!" Sumi called out waving a hand in the air. The angel looked over at the two. A smile grew on her face. She swiftly picked up the cube and floated over to Sumi and Joey. "Hey, Sumi. This is Joey, right?" the angel asked. The brown haired angel nodded. "Well, hello there Joey! I've seen you with Yugi a lot. You seem like a real nice guy as far as I can tell. Oh, by the way, I'm Kiko." the angel said shaking Joey's hand. "Uh, hi Kiko." Joey said nervously. 'she seems nice...' he thought to himself.

"So, Kiko, is Joey allowed to help Yugi?" Sumi asked. "Of course! They're best friends! Why wouldn't I allow him to help? Besides, if he saves Yugi, I'll be eternally grateful." Kiko said excitedly. She seemed a little...peppy. You would think she would be a bit more serious. Joey then thought of something. "Hey Kiko, if you're Yugi's guardian, then wouldn't dat pharoh guy have a guardian too?" he asked. "Oh, I'm Yami's guardian too. Two vessels, one body, gotta take care of um both." Kiko said smiling. Joey looked at the cube that Kiko held. "Hey, what's that?" he asked pointing to the cube.

"Oh, this? It's a monitor thingy. It let's me see Yugi so I can watch him 24/7." Kiko explained. "Uh, would you mind if I see how Yuge's doing?" Joey asked timidly. "Sure! Just look into the screen." Kiko said handing Joey the cube. The blonde boy looked into the TV-like screen. In it, he could see his best friend. But Yugi wasn't himself. He looked incredibly depressed. He was crying silently. Joey could also see Tristan, Tea, and Serenity in the background. They were talking, and mourning at the same time. But what really caught his attention was Serenity sobbing, Tristan actually crying, Tea weeping as well, and Yugi, looking like his heart had just shattered. Joey couldn't bear to watch this. His friends were so miserable. His death obviously had driven his closet friends into a deep depression. It was just too much to stand.

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MP: Okay. That's it. If you don't like it, go read another story. If you like it, then stay tuned. Because the next chapters are going to get crazier. I'll continue to ask you not to shoot me for killing Joey last chapter. But I think you'll all enjoy the fact that Joey is still a main character in this fic. To finish up, thank you for the reviews, please send more!

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Preview for Chapter 3

Yugi walked up to his bedroom and got dressed in his pajamas. After he was done, he sat on the ledge of his open window. He stared out at the calm night sky. The gentle breeze swayed his hair, and ruffled his cloths. The shining stars seemed to take away all the pain of that day's events. Everthing seemed like no more than a dream. Like nothing was real. In a way, he wished it wasn't.

Yugi looked down below him, at the darkened grass under his legs, which were hanging out the window. He was quite high up. This was because he lived on top of the game shop his grandfather owned. He thought of how easy it would be to just end it all. He could just jump from this window, fall to the ground, and he could end all this misery he felt. Then, he could be with Joey forever.