"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related articles and characters are property of 4Kids Entertainment in the US. All rights reserved.
Chapter 6-Phone a Friend
"Hello?" Joey Wheeler asked into his cell phone again. Everyone, especially one person in particular, looked at him as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. He put his hand over the phone and said to the rest of the group, "It's my dad. This may take a while." He left the room to take his conversation somewhere more private.
"I hope he doesn't say something he can't take back." Téa said, to which Janet nodded. Now another phone rang, behind the counter of the games shop.
"I'll get it." Yami said, very happy to get away from Janet. He walked back behind the glass display case, admiring some of the duel cars so nicely displayed below, many still in protective plastics. He picked up the white receiver and said the greeting that he had heard Yugi utter so many times before. "Game shop. Our service is faster than out turtle. Yugi speaking, how may I help you?"
"Yami? It's Yugi!" Yugi's frail voice said on the other side of the line.
"Hey, how have you been?" Yami asked.
"I'm okay. Um, is Janet there?" He asked.
'Figures.' Yami thought. "Yeah, would you like to speak to her?" He asked.
"Yep. I miss her." He said.
"Um, who should I say is calling? She thinks I'm you, remember?" Yami asked, pointing out the potential flaw in Yugi's plan.
"Don't say who, just being able to hear her voice will be enough." Yugi pleaded.
"Suit yourself. I'll set you up." He said to Yugi. Then, in a louder voice, he said, "No, I can't tell you about that. Maybe there's someone here who can. Hold on." He put the phone down on the counter and walked back to the kitchen. Joey had still not returned. "Janet, I've got someone on the phone who's looking for some information. I thought you could help him."
"I'll give it a shot, but I'm not sure if I can be of any help." Janet said, walking back to the game shop.
Yami watched her leave, and checked she was out of earshot before he began talking to Téa. "That's Yugi on the phone, Téa."
"What!" She said, quite loudly. "Janet can't know about you and Yugi being different people."
"I know, I told him that, but he said he had a plan and he usually knows what he's doing. So I trusted him." Yami said, then a short pause occurred before the conversation continued, both participants well aware of what they would be talking about. "And idea how Joey is doing with his dad?"
"No. I know as much as you do. I hope he's okay." Téa said, holding her arms at her elbows.
Meanwhile, in the other room, a conversation was still going on between a boy realizing just why he left when he did, and an angry father that would not accept 'no' for an answer. "Dad, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not coming back home! Not after the way you've been treating me!" Joey screamed into the phone. He waited to listen to what his father had to say, but before he could hear the end of it, Téa walked in with Yami.
"How's it going, Joey?" Téa asked?
Joey shook his head. "Not well. He wants me to come back home." He sighed and put the phone back up to his ear.
"Joey, remember, you can always stay here with the three of us if you need to. The same goes for you, Téa," he said, turning to her, "you know you're always welcome here."
"Thanks." Téa said aloud. 'Hmm, maybe he's not as far out of normal life as I first thought.' She thought to herself, smiling.
"What are you so happy about?" a voice asked, tapping Téa on the shoulder.
"Oh, nothing, Janet." Téa said, blushing.
"Oh, hi." Yami said, upset that Janet was once again in his sights. "Were you able to help that customer with what he wanted?" Yami now asked.
"No. Maybe you know something about it I don't, Téa." Janet inferred. "Perhaps you could help him." Téa looked over at Yami who gave a nod.
"Okay, maybe there's something I do know." She said walking to the phone.
'Why does she keep looking at me before she makes a decision? I don't really know much about what she should do.' Yami thought as he watched Téa depart into the next room.
Téa picked up the phone and quietly said, "Yugi?"
"Téa? It's so nice to be able to hear your voice again. How have you been?" Yugi asked on the other end of the line.
"I'm alright. Um, where are you? We've all been worried sick!" Téa announced, concerned about what could possible be happening to Yugi at that very moment.
"I'm not sure. It's dark and damp. I think I might be in a sewer." Yugi said into the phone.
"You can get reception from down there?" Téa asked shocked.
"I guess so." Yugi said. "So, I heard you and your mom had a little argument. Is everything okay?"
"What do you mean 'you heard'? Whom could you have possibly heard from?" Téa demanded.
"Yami told me." Was all Téa heard before slamming the phone down on the counter, not on the receiver, but on the glass. She rushed out of the room in search of Yami whom she now had a bone to pick with.
At the same time, Joey was just finishing up his conversation with his dad, which proved to be much less dramatic than originally thought. Not really in the mood to talk to anyone anymore, he turned off his phone and put it away in his pocked. HE went back into the main room of the house to discover only Yami and Janet. "Hey, where's Téa?" he asked to the group.
"Beats me." Janet said. "Last I saw her, she was in the other room talking to some customer."
"Oh, so where is she now?" Joey now asked.
"I'm right here." Téa announced. She walked over to Yami and pulled on his collar. "You, with me, NOW." She said in short little bursts. Joey and Janet had nothing to do but sit and stare in awe as a once calm and understanding Téa now dragged an unknowing 5,000 year old across the room.
"Has she been acting like that this whole time?" Joey quietly asked of Janet.
"No, it's quite a shock actually. So how's your dad?" Janet asked.
"I really don't want to talk about it." He said. He then left the room looking for some alone time, leaving Janet alone to do what she wanted.
Téa was still dragging Yami to a more private location. When they reached the phone, Téa put their conversation on over the speaker. "Yugi, what's going on with me and my family?" Téa asked.
"You're having an argument with your mother." Yugi said on the other end of the speakerphone.
"And where did you hear that from?" Téa asked, eying Yami as she spoke.
"Why from Yami of course." Yugi announced. Yami looked at the phone and just stared at it for a moment. "Yugi, why do you lie like that? You know I never said anything like that!" Yami announced angrily into the phone.
'It's working.' Yugi's taken over mind thought. "Yes you did," he said aloud, "you told me about Joey, too."
"What about me?" Joey asked, walking into the room. "Who are you two talking to?"
"Joey? Is that you? Nice to…um…hear you." Yugi said over the phone.
"Yug?" Joey asked, sounding quite shocked. "Where the hell are ya'? We've all been worried sick about you!"
"Joey calm down. Yugi doesn't even know where he is." Téa said, attempting to calm Joey down.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Here, I'll go." Joey said as he turned to leave.
"No Joey, don't go yet." Yugi pleaded over the phone, but it was no use. "Okay, I've caused enough trouble, I'll call back later if I get the chance." Yugi said, hanging up the phone.
"Well, at least we know he's okay." Yami said to Téa.
"I guess so, but I still wish we could have at least helped him a little." Téa responded.
"But we did. He got to talk to us, and we got to talk to him. We both know we're looking for him, and just sitting here talking about him isn't going to help." Téa looked over at Yami after he said this, and it gave her some reinforcement in her thoughts for finding Yugi.
"You're right. Come on!" She said.
"Where are we going?" Yami asked, afraid that Téa would once again drag him to their destination.
"To find Joey…we're going go have to help him if we're going to even attempt to help Yugi." She said, and then turned around to Yami. "Oh, and that little speech you just gave makes it okay about you telling Yugi all about our family problems."
"But I didn't tell him!" Yami tried to convince Téa, but it proved worthless.
Joey had stepped outside to get some air and try and clear his head, but thoughts about his father kept coming back into his mind, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them.
'I just can't stand him anymore.' He thought. 'Mom's gone, and I don't think she is coming back, and neither is Serenity. Even I know that.' Joey kept walking until he came to his favorite spot in the world. He looked down upon the park bench and eyed the rust that had built up on the iron supports. He cleaned some trash from the seat and polished the brass nameplate that read: 'In Memory of All Those with Missing Families'. Joey sat upon the bench and thought. He thought about his mom, his dad, Serenity, and the annoying person on their cell phone just behind him in the shadows of the tree situated behind the bench. He was just about to interrupt the stranger until he heard the conversation the man was having.
"They really bought the whole thing, Mouto?" the man asked into the phone.
Joey may not have been able to hear the other person's response, but he did make a pretty good judgment call about whom the other person was. "Hey, you!" he yelled at the person on the phone.
He looked up and said more to Joey than to the person on the phone, "Oh crud." He hung up the phone and started running away from Joey to the park pond. Joey followed in quick pursuit.
"Hey! Stop!" Joey yelled. He kept running after the man. The man looked over his shoulder at Joey and failed to notice how close he was to the fountain. He tripped over the cement edge and fell into the fountain, head first. His hat and sunglasses fell off revealing his true identity. Joey finally caught up to the man and stared down at him. "You?" he asked of the stranger.
A/N:Yep, a cliffhanger, my favorite! Here's a special thank you to myreviewing friend(s):
Empty.
Oh well.