Well here I am, as promised another chapter. I have everything squared away, except for one tiny problem.
"Tiny! I'm still here. I would not call that tiny."
Ok, I still don't know how to send Yami back; I'm working on it. (Is still baffled to how it happened in the first place)
"It wouldn't be so bad if there was something to do, but there is absolutely nothing here."
Stop complaining.
(Pharaoh moves over to where Author is reading from 'The Mighty Rule Book of Fan Fiction Writers' "Find anything yet?"
Huh, '1,000 ways to cure OCC-ness' Interesting… (Author is flipping through book, looking at random chapters.)
"Great I'm stuck with a crazy fan-girl."
Hey! Fan I may be, Girl I may be, but I am not crazy! I'm only slightly disoriented.
(Yami gives Author an 'I don't care' look)
Fine, here I found it…hmm…Ok, we got several options.
"Those being?"
One, you can put on this lovely pair of ruby slippers that I (shifty eyes) acquired.
"Pass, I don't do heels."
Two, and how this will work is beyond me, you can do the 'funky chicken'.
"Who came up with these rules?"
Beats me.
"Any more."
Yep, one more. (Author gets up from where she was sitting and flicks Yami on the nose.)
"Hey! What the…" (Suddenly the Pharaoh disappears in a bright flash of light)
Yami's right, these rules are a little strange, oh well at least he's back in the story.
Author's note: Ok, I think I'm all set, just a few notes, Here's the first; I've come up with the ideas for two other fics. The first would be sort of a continuation of this one. It wouldn't revolve around Christmas or any other holiday, just that the memories from this story could turn up in the new one. It will be adventure with a little bit of horror and I'll throw a little comedy in there as well.
The other is a cross over with a video game from Nintendo, and no this game does not have the words Legend of Zelda anywhere in the title, however it is an RPG, so anyone who thinks they can guess the game go right ahead in your review.
The reason I'm telling you guys this is because I don't really care which one I work on first, and since I'm not one to work on two stories at once (gets too confusing) I want your opinion, which one do you want to see posted first? I'll be keeping a tally of the voting for the last chapters of this fic starting with this one.
All right that's it, on with the fic! (Hopefully it will be a little funnier then last time.) I don't know why but for some reason I didn't really like how this chapter turned out. I had wanted to do more with it but I felt it was getting to long, so chapter 26 will just be a continuation of this one. Hopefully it should be up some time soon.
Reviewers:
oreosarecool: How's this for a quick update? Don't worry I won't kill off our favorite Pharaoh, and you don't have to worry about Kaiba either, he already had his close call earlier in the fic. Yeah I think I'll just stick to getting on the C.E.O.'s nerves.
Daikaio: Glade you liked the chapter, it was hard describing what was going on whenever action took place. I knew when I decided to have the last chapter end as it did, I would have to update soon so I held off uploading for about a week while I got this one together. (Helps Daikaio out of hole.) Sorry about hurting Yami though, I really don't know what came over me.
S. Chensu and Luff: Yeah, I am really sorry about the late update. You do tend to forget all the little details in a story if you haven't read it in a while. As far as the puzzle goes Yami basically had it through out the whole dinner party event until he lost it in Town Square; that happened in the last chapter when he got knocked over. (Hope that clears things up.) Yeah, I was on pins and needles waiting for hate mail from all Yami fans, or worse the dreaded flame, but thankfully I've only received threats. (I can handle those.) Don't worry I wouldn't write a story under the genre Humor, and kill off a character. Glade you liked Shadi's appearance, I felt he doesn't really get much recognition in fandom so I threw him in there. Ryou won't be terribly sad in this chapter, but it does focus on his past a bit.
Warnings: Language
Disclaimer: Don't own, never did, probably never will. (But I can still dream.)
All I Want for Christmas Chapter
25: Of Miracles and Memories
It had been an hour; an hour since Joey had stumbled into the hall, Yugi hot on his heels, holding an injured Yami in his arms, an hour since the former Pharaoh had been put in an ambulance and taken to Domino Hospital, forty-five minuets since the whole group arrived there, thirty-five minuets since Duke was able to sweet-talk the nurse into admitting Yami despite not having a traceable medical history; it had been ten minuets since the doctor spoke to the small crowd in the waiting room.
"I'm sorry, we can't remove the bullet, and for some reason we can't stop the bleeding. Does hemophilia run in your family?" The Doctor turned to Yugi who only shook his head.
No, it didn't run in his family, but there was no way for anyone to know if hemophilia ran in Yami's; if it was causing the problem at all.
"We're trying all we can…" The doctor hesitated, "But I won't lie, it doesn't look good."
Yugi sank deeper into his chair as the doctor headed back into the emergency room. The amethyst-eyed boy's gaze fell to the tills of the floor, a feeling of numbness over took him as he concentrated on taking a shaky breath. 'This can't be happening…'
Malik was sitting in the corner, playing with the ice-cubes in the glass of water he held in his hand, a frown on his lips. Next to him sat his siblings, Isizue looking a bit lost in her own thoughts, while Odion's gaze kept traveling to a magazine rack, wanting to keep himself occupied from drowsiness, yet feeling it would be rude if he actually picked one up and started reading one.
Serenity sat near Mai, the young girl had her hands clasped in prayer, while the older woman stared ahead of her trying to find patterns in the wallpaper.
Duke sprawled out in his chair, legs stretched out as far as they would go, 'I hate hospitals, they always remind me of dea…' The teen shook his head. 'Can't be thinking of stuff like that.' He scolded.
Ryou sat next to Tea; the girl constantly raised a hand to her face to brush away tears she insisted weren't there when asked if she needed a tissue. The British teen was busy staring at his hands, which he kept pressing harder into his lap. 'This is just like…' he stopped himself, as tears threatened to spill over his own eyes.
Composing himself, Ryou turned and looked at his darker half, who was leaned against the opposite wall, with an unreadable expression on his face.
Tristan sat on Ryou's other side, propping his head up with a hand he watched Joey, who paced frustrated in front of the brunet. Eventually his eyes became unfocused and with a suppressed yawn he spoke quietly, "You want to sit down man, you're making me tired."
"I can't help it, I feel totally useless…I need to do something!" The blond answered a little louder then what was necessary.
"Zip it mutt." Kaiba said softly from a corner of the waiting room, a little off from the rest of the group, but still close enough to hear what was going on. "You'll wake Mokuba."
The blond looked over to the seat next to the C.E.O., there in the chair slept the unruly black-haired boy, using the coats everyone had left there as pillows and blankets. Joey mumbled a quick apology, and continued his pacing.
Marik, who had wandered off, returned with several candy bars sticking out of his pant's pockets.
"What took you so long, you were just going to the vending machine?" Malik asked.
"It was broken." Came the reply.
"So how did you get all that?" Malik pointed to the pockets.
"I fixed it?"
Bakura suppressed a snort at the last comment right when an announcement sounded from a loud speaker, 'Janitor to the East Wing, someone smashed into a vending machine…again.'
The three Ishtar siblings shot the dark soul a glare, but all were too exhausted to do more.
"Fine, I was going to give you my Twinkies, but now forget it." Marik responded to the looks of disapproval he received. "So how's the Pharaoh?"
"Not too good." It was Bakura who answered, his voice carefully neutral, his face still holding that foreign expression.
"Oh." Marik's response clearly showed his indifference towards the situation; he swaggered over to the magazine rack, plucked one up, and sprawled in a chair. "Huh, Macy's is having a sale." The madman spoke loud enough for all to hear.
This earned the dark-soul several more nasty glares. Joey stumbled over the idea of chucking something heavy at Marik. His eyes lingered on a free chair.
However Malik, got to his darker half first, throwing his cup of water at Marik, ice cubes and all.
"Hey!" The darker half began to protest.
"Just shut it Marik." The hikari said sourly.
Isizue threw an apologetic look towards Yugi, who was still gazing at the tiles on the floor. "This is all my fault." The short duelist whispered.
"Oh Yugi! Don't say that." Tea said from her seat.
"But it's true! If I hadn't gotten so upset with him…Things would be different."
"Don't play the 'What if' game." Duke mumbled, slightly drowsily, "No one knows how things would have turned out."
"Yeah man." Tristan shifted in his chair, "Regardless those punks would have tried to rob Town Hall anyway."
"Don't dwell in the past Yugi." Several heads tuned in Kaiba's direction. His hands were folded, his chin rested on them, as he leaned back in his set, his steel-blue gaze held Yugi's own amethyst one. "Learn from it, but if my life taught me anything don't let it consume you." It wasn't much comfort, Kaiba knew that but it was the best advice he could give at the moment.
"On all accounts…it doesn't make sense."
Ryou looked at his yami, the brown-eyed teen was pretty sure Bakura didn't even know he voiced his statement out-loud. "What did you say Bakura?"
His hikari's voice jolted the thief from his thoughts. "I was just thinking, he shouldn't be dying."
/Well that's a strange thought for someone who spent a great deal of time trying to kill him./ Came Ryou's tart remark.
/Not what I meant Ryou./
"But isn't Yami already…kind of…dead?" Mai ventured the question, continuing the conversation.
"Exactly." Bakura tuned to the female duelist. "See this," the thief pressed a hand to his chest, "Enchantment that I could throw off as easily as a coat. With it I can appear alive as anyone in this room with out having to posses an already occupied body. I can even fool myself by experiencing all the sensations of the living while I'm in this form, but…" At this he trailed off and began to take Joey's place at pacing, putting his hands behind his back as he did so. "It's still just enchantment."
"Your point?" Malik asked trying to grasp what the thief was getting at.
Bakura had nearly all the group's attention even Kaiba looked somewhat interested. "My point is that he should just be able to let go of the spell and return to the puzzle without a scratch."
"So then why didn't he?" Tea asked.
"How the hell should I know?" Bakura replied more annoyed at not knowing the answer then the at the girl's question.
"The link had snapped," Yugi spoke up, "Would that have done something?"
"Stop looking to me for answers!" The thief backed up a bit, "I'm no expert; this is new to me as well." He then muttered under his breath, "I'm sorry I ever opened up my bloody mouth."
"If anything, I think it would only stop you from communicating through the mind-link." Malik said, answering Yugi's question. "It happens to us all the time." At this he jerked a thumb at Marik. "Whenever I'm really frustrated at him or there's a lot of anxiety passing through the link. It comes back after I've calmed down, or if Marik doesn't do something stupid in a while."
At this Marik stuck his tongue out at his hikari in a childish manner.
"There is something we are missing." Isizue turned to Yugi, "Tell us what happened, before Joey found you two."
Yugi swallowed, racking his brain as to what had happened. 'It's still quite a blur. Like this is all just a bad dream, and I'll wake up soon.'
Determined, he pushed down his emotions that threatened to come up to the surface and concentrated on what he remembered.
"Well, one of those criminals had caught me in the alcove and was bringing me back to the hall. When he saw what was going on I guess he panicked, he made to shoot you Joey."
The blond looked slightly stunned at the mention of his name at this point of the story but didn't say anything to allow Yugi to continue.
"I pushed him; knocked the gun out of his hand. I ran back into the alcove to get away, I had remembered there was a phone somewhere there…" Yugi stopped himself having gotten off track. "I ran into Yami, I was about to explain, but that crook found us…"
Flashback
Yugi peered around Yami, who acted as a barrier between the criminal Jake, and himself.
"Well, well; what is this a Goth convention?" Jake walked forward.
"I wouldn't take another step if I were you." Yami smirked, trying to unnerve the criminal with a display of arrogance.
"Heh, heh. Last I checked I was the one with the gun kid."
"That really isn't a concern to me. It won't matter in a moment." The spirit held the crook's gaze with an almost lazy stare, as if Jake wasn't worth Yami's time.
Yugi watched as his darker half slowly reached for the deck in his coat pocket. The movement was so fluid, so natural, even the hakari barely realized the event took place.
"You're a cocky one; you've got guts, I'll admit that, but you're not too bright." Jake stated not noticing the deck now in Yami's hand.
"Your the one who doesn't know what he's getting in to. Soon you shall pay for the crimes you've committed." The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed and Yugi could tell from his darker half's stance that he was about to summon a monster.
Jake merely looked on with slight amusement, "What? Are you the one to show me the error of my ways?"
Yugi waited for something to happen, a comment from Yami, or just the appearance of a monster, but nothing did. 'Something's wrong.' Yugi realized, watching how Yami's body had gone tense.
"I'm getting tired of this game kid." All amusement was gone from the criminal's face.
"Yugi, run!" It was a rushed whisper that escaped Yami's lips.
"If you think I'm leaving you here forget it!"
Yami growled out, "He can't hurt me, but he can hurt you."
"Trust me kid, I can do far more then simply hurt you." The hammer of the gun lowered with a sharp click.
Flash!
Yugi blinked, "What happened?"
"Uggh!" Yami groaned sinking to his legs.
"Oh no! What happened He didn't…he didn't…" the hikari became flustered kneeling next to his darker half.
Yami gave the teen a soft smile, "No, it wasn't him, it was something I did."
"What…" Yugi's question was cut off by a familiar cooing sound. The amethyst-eyed teen turned to see a giant brown fuzz-ball floating in front of them. "Kuriboh?"
"What the hell is that!" Jake had just regained his eyesight from the flash of magic. The thief raised his weapon, attempting to strike down the fur-ball. However he was too slow, and before he even raised his hand, Jake was tackled to the wall by the little Duel Monster. The crook landed on the floor in a heap.
"I don't know why…" Yami paused to take a breath, "But he was the only one I could summon…and even that was difficult." Kuriboh made an apologetic cooing sound as it floated near its master.
"Just take it easy…" The hikari stopped when suddenly his darker half's eyes grew wide, "What wro…"
"Yugi down!" Yami shoved the boy roughly away from himself.
Yugi vaguely remembered a bang as he hit the floor. At first the teen thought it was just the sound of his body making contact with the floor, but then he heard an ear splitting screech.
Yugi looked up, Kuriboh had launched itself again at Jake, who held a smoky gun in his hand. The little Duel Monster opened its mouth and latched on to the crook's gun arm.
Jake screamed as the creature's sharp fangs punctured his skin. He began shaking his arm widely, but the monster refused to let him go. In his desperation to escape the crook dropped the gun and took off down the hall.
Seeing how the criminal was leaving, Kuriboh released the man's arm and floated nervously around Yami, who was now on his back, clutching his chest.
"Oh God!" Yugi pushed himself up and went to the darker half's side.
The Pharaoh opened his eyes, stared at his hikari with slightly unfocused vision before recognizing Yugi. "Oh! Yugi," his voice became softer, "are you all right?"
The lighter half could barley keep his voice steady as he spoke, tears brimming in his eyes, "Y…yes."
"That's good…good." The darker half was able to say before passing out.
Yugi's breath hitched, "No. No! Wake up, please Yami…"
End Flashback
"We were like that for…I don't know. I guess I should have gone for help, but I didn't know how bad the wound was, and I didn't want to leave him alone if he woke up." Yugi took a gulp of air before finishing, "Kuriboh had left shortly after…Yami passed out. I screamed for help and then finally, Joey heard me. You guys know the rest."
"Something still doesn't add up." Malik ended the silence that had come over the group. "Like why Yami had a hard time using shadow magic."
"And why he can't remove the physical enchantment off himself." Joey added.
"But if it's just an enchantment," Serenity hesitated a moment, "does that mean he's not really dying?"
"Humph, you wish." Marik got up from his chair and stretched his arms in a lazy manner. "Weren't you listening to the tomb robber little girl? He was almost correct in his explanation." The psychopath's face stretched widely, causing Serenity to back up. Mai reached and grabbed the girl's hand giving it a gentle squeeze, pushing down her own fears of Marik for a moment.
The dark soul continued, "Yami's dying but not the way mortals would think. It's not a body in that operating room, but a soul charmed to appear solid. Any damage done to him left a mark on his soul, not a body or a flimsy spell." Marik stopped and put a hand to his chin, "He should heal in time, but only if given the chance. He'd have to return to the puzzle." At this he shrugged, "Before all his life force runs out of course, and for some reason he can't because he would have done so by now."
Malik looked at his darker half, "So you're saying that you're actually pretty vulnerable in this form." The hikari's gaze flicked up and down Marik.
"Wrong." Marik waggled a finger at his lighter half. "I'm no spirit bound to an item, I'm emotion personified. I work to an entirely different set of rules." The madman then frowned, "So get those ideas out of your head now hikari they won't work on me." He then turned to the rest of the group, "Did everyone understand that, or should I use simpler words?"
"No, I think we got it." Joey said, standing protectively in front of Serenity.
"Why can't the Pharaoh return to the puzzle?" Isizue mussed.
"Maybe, (Yawn) it's like the duel disk?"
The Egyptian woman's head raised and looked at the younger Kaiba brother who had just woken up. "What do you mean?"
"Interesting theory Mokuba…" Seto Kaiba trailed off. Now the C.E.O. rose to his feet and walked over to the rest of the group. "Lets say, for argument's sake magic is real…" This earned the brunet a few collected groans from his audience. "Maybe these items work like transmitters." He stopped and looked around to make sure everyone was following him. Everyone seemed to understand so far, save Joey who looked confused, 'As usual.' Kaiba thought.
"My first version of the Duel Disk was pretty pathetic compared to the latest model, in fact it failed the first ten trial runs." The C.E.O. now glared at everyone, daring them to mention anything about a possible failure on his part. "Anyway, I realized that the problem was that the disk couldn't work when set far away from the transmitter worn on the duelist's wrist; the two needed to be connected by wire."
Several members of the group gasped in understanding. "So you mean, maybe the puzzle, and Yami are…" Tea stumbled over her words, "out of range of each other?"
"Possibly. But I'm not an expert in…magic." Kaiba nearly bit his tongue on the last word.
"Hey!" Tristan shot up, "The doctors would have removed the puzzle with the rest of Yami's things to operate on him."
"Man! We've just been sitting here doing nothing…" Joey trailed off.
"Quick Yugi, where' the bag they gave you?" Duke asked.
"It's right…" The short teen stopped as he reached for the bag the doctors had handed him shortly after arriving at the hospital. "It wouldn't be in here." Realization had dawned on Yugi.
"What? Why not?" Joey asked in confusion.
"I just remembered Joey, I don't think he was wearing the puzzle." Yugi put his face in his hands.
"What!" Bakura pushed off from the wall he was leaning on. "He had it at the pier."
Other members of the group joined Joey in wearing faces of confusion and horror.
"Then what happened to it?" Malik asked wide-eyed.
"What if someone found it and picked it up?" Tea looked dazed.
"It could be almost anywhere then…" Tristan muttered darkly.
"I can't believe he lost it!" Bakura fumed, "I mean really! All that time of trying to steal it, and he chooses now to just go and misplace it!"
"Bakura!" Ryou scolded. "What's more important is how are we supposed to find it?" Now it was Ryou's turn to pace, looking very flustered, while he ran a hand through his white hair.
"Well that's a stupid question." Bakura walked forward, stopping Ryou with his comment.
"What do you mean by that! The city is huge, and we're running out of time…" Ryou stopped and looked down at his chest where Bakura was absently playing with one of the prongs of the Millennium Ring. "Oh!" The British teen felt a hot blush of embarrassment creep to his cheeks.
"See, told you it was a stupid question." With that the thief caught his lighter half by the arm, and dragged him towards the coat pile. Tossing Ryou his, Bakura gave the boy a grin, "Lets go hikari, we're going item hunting."
"What!" Joey steeped forward, "You two by yourselves? No offense Ryou but I don't trust Bakura with the puzzle."
The spirit of the ring growled in a feral manner, "You going to stop me mortal? Your wasting time and you would only slow us down."
"Please don't fight." Ryou begged, standing between his yami and his friend.
"Well I know I'm going." Yugi stood up.
Bakura shot the teen a questioning look.
"And don't you dare try to stop me." The tri-colored haired teen's voice rose in determination.
"Fine. Just try and keep up runt." Was the thief's reply.
"I got a better idea boys." Mai got up jingling her car key's in her hand. "We'll find it faster in my car then on foot."
A few minuets after the four had left Isizue stood up. "All right lets go."
Malik stared at his sister, then looked around the waiting room, "To where?"
"Did the Millennium Necklace show you something Isizue?" Odion asked.
"No, the future is frustratingly hazy right now."
"So, what are we doing?" Joey looked around at the others to see if they knew what the blue-eyed woman was talking about.
"We don't know how much longer the Pharaoh will be able to stay in this plane of existence, so we are going to buy Yugi and the others a little time."
"But how?" Tea shook her head, "What can we do?"
"I think I know what you're talking about," Malik stood up. "But where do you plan to hold this little ritual sister?"
"The roof should be fine."
The remaining members of the group all got to their feet with small shrugs not really knowing what they were getting themselves in to, and began to follow Isizue towards an elevator, save for Marik and the two Kaiba brothers.
Mokuba nudged his brother's side gently, "What do you think Seto?"
The elder brother gave a sigh of defeat, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to see what it is Isizue has planned. Besides we have nothing to do until the police find our limo anyway."
Mokuba laughed softly, "Guess you're right. Hold the elevator Duke! You got two more passengers."
After both Kaiba's squeezed into the already cramped elevator, Malik turned to his darker half.
/You coming/
/Hell no! I'm your anger and hatred come to life. I don't do that whole 'Help thy Fellow Man' bit./
/Well I can't leave you here by yourself./ 'You'd probably go on a rampage and terrify all the nurses.' The hikari added quietly to himself.
/Hey, you would need someone to keep tabs on the Pharaoh's condition anyway. This way I can relay any new information the doctor has on the mind link./
/Right…/ Malik was not in the least bit convinced of his yami's sincerity.
/I promise I'll stay right here; you know how much I love hearing bad news./
/Oh all right! But you'd better not leave this room./
Ding
Marik watched the elevator doors close; he then fished around his pockets and pulled out Mecomid. "I can't believe he fell for that! What a dope!" The madman cackled to the hamster. "Let's see what fun we can have here."
Mai's Car
Immediately the center prong on the Millennium Ring lit up and pointed straight ahead. They had now been driving several minuets with Mai at the wheel, which could be an adventure in itself.
"Woman, slow this horseless chariot down!" Bakura yelled from his seat next to Ryou.
"No back-set driving. Just tell me where we need to go." Mai countered, speeding up to avoid stopping as a traffic light changed from green to yellow.
"Take the next right." The tomb robber grumbled clenching his stomach with one hand. "Dame modern technology." /How you holding up Ryou/
/…/
/Ryou/
The British teen was brought out of his thoughts. "Hmm…what?"
/Are you telling me her driving isn't bothering you at all? The runt looks like he's ready to pass out, and if I actually had a stomach it'd be in my mouth by now./
/Sorry yami, I was off in my own world./
Suddenly Mai slammed on the breaks, jolting everyone forward. "Sorry Yugi, I couldn't make the light."
"It's…ok…Mai." Came the other duelist's reply. "Just make sure you get us there in one piece."
"Mai I swear to all the gods in creation I'll…" Bakura started.
"You'll what?" The blond turned around and glared at the spirit.
"Come on guys, let's take it easy." Yugi began to protest.
"I bet I could drive this contraption better then you!" Bakura continued.
"You can walk you know."
Ryou looked up and pointed, "Green light!"
"Oh shoot!" Anger forgotten, Mai turned and slammed her foot down on the gas.
"Oh Re, not again!"
Yugi gave Ryou a quick smile before facing the front, his quick way of thanking the brown-eyed boy for ending the argument before it got out of control.
Ryou turned to his window. Oh how he knew what Yugi was going through. It was only a few days away from the anniversary after all. 'I might not have been able to save her, but I can try to save Yami. If I can prevent my friend from felling the loss I felt then I'll do whatever I can.'
Flash Back
It was six years ago on a quiet little street on the outskirts of London. Two children were playing outside a small house in the front yard that was dusted with newly fallen snow.
"You can't catch me!" said a boy around the age of ten; his fluffy white hair was half hidden from his hat. His movement was labored due to the extra layer of clothing he wore to keep the winter chill out, but his soft brown eyes shown with pure joy as he ran through the powdery flakes.
"Ryou!" a smaller child called after the first, a girl of around six. She ran after the elder in a fit of giggles. The girl had a pretty round face that was dotted with freckles, her eyes and hair nearly matched the boy's, save that her hair was cropped in ringlets just below her chin.
Suddenly the girl stopped in her chase, a grin planted on her face as she spread her arms wide and fell backwards into a snow pile.
The boy tuned to see the girl's antics, "Amane," the boy chided, trudging over to her and stooping down. "What are you doing silly-goose?"
The girl, Amane continued to giggle, and began to spread her arms and legs wide in a sweeping motion in the snow, "Snow Angle, Ryou." The girl explained. "Help me up please." She asked in a soft voice.
Ryou grinned and hefted Amane up, out of the snow mound. "Boy you're getting heavy. There you go, not one foot print."
"Ryou it's so pretty." Amane commented kneeling next to her creation.
"Yeah." Ryou nodded in approval.
"Do you think mommy's that pretty, in heaven?" the little girl asked.
Ryou smiled and sat down next to Amane, reaching a hand over her shoulder and pulled her into a half-hug; he answered, "Prettier, the prettiest angle of them all."
"Bet she's nice too."
"Of course. If she's anything like she was here."
Satisfied with her elder brother's answers Amane stood and looked at their house, the solitary light in their father's study was on.
"I don't suppose daddy would want to come out and play, would he?"
"Dad's got to work, he can play later." Ryou suddenly wore a mischievous grin on his face, "Besides you've got me." He then pulled down his sister's cap over her eyes in a quick movement.
"Ryou!" Amane pouted, placing both hands on her hips in protest.
The elder brother couldn't help but laugh. "You're to cute for your own good! You know that?" He said while straightening out his sister's cap.
"But you mean it Ryou, you'll always by here for me?" Amane looked up at her brother with big brown eyes.
"Milady," Ryou bowed theatrically, "consider me your personal knight in shinning armor."
Amane clapped her hands together with delight, "Does this mean you'll get to ride a big white horse and everything?"
Ryou sweat-dropped, "Would you settle for a knight that rides a red bicycle?"
"Alright." The girl leaped forward, embracing her brother in a hug.
End Flashback
'But I wasn't there.' Ryou thought 'I couldn't save her from that car accident, I broke my promise to her.' He had been lucky, he wasn't on the side of the car that drunkard had smashed into, when Ryou and his family where driving back from a New Year's party all those years ago, but Amane was. Ryou's left hand went up to his right arm instinctively to trace where there was a thin pale scar that ran several inches across his upper arm. He had gotten it when a piece of glass from the passenger window shattered and grazed his skin.
The British teen had not even noticed that Mai had stopped the car. Suddenly a hand gripped his shoulder. Ryou looked at his yami, and then at the ring, all five pointers had lit up and stuck out at the same direction.
"We're here." Came the tomb robber's rough voice.
Ryou nodded dumbly when a car door slamming brought him fully to his senses. "Ok, let's find that puzzle."
Yugi was the first one out of the car, "We're back on Main Street."
"Hmm…According to the ring it's this way." Bakura pointed towards several tall buildings leading to the Town Square. The thief lead the group, with his back against the wall of a building, turning his head now and then to check for unwanted company.
The three mortals of the group stared at the tomb robber as he continued his best to sneak around despite the large street lamps shinning down on them.
"What's he doing Ryou?" Yugi asked.
"My guess, being a thief." His hikari answered bluntly.
"Well all he's going to do is attract attention to us." Mai said in a huff.
/Quiet/
Ryou jumped at the darker half's sudden use of the mind-link, covering his mouth to keep down a gasp that threatened escape his body.
/Ryou tell your friends to keep their mouths shut; there could be palace guards about./
"Oh dear, it's worse then I thought." Ryou whispered as the three followed the yami, "He's gone to full out thief king mood."
Mai did her best to hold back a snort as the three caught up with Bakura, her heels making a dull clicking sound as they walked across the cobble stone walk-way. The thief turned and glared at the blond for making such a racket, Mai simply shot him a look that clearly said, 'I dare you to tell me to take them off.'
"Ok, keep your eyes peeled." Mai said while stepping over the restriction tape the police had set up earlier. "We're in luck, looks like the cops have gone home for the night."
"Hey! What are you people doing here?"
"Oh dear." Ryou's gaze fell on a police officer who was walking towards them. She appeared to be in her thirties with frizzy brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail.
"This is a police investigation, no one's allowed here."
/Keep her talking Ryou./ Bakura nudged his hikari forward.
"Sorry officer it's just that…well we were involved in this." The boy answered nervously.
"He means we were working for Kaiba." Mai added at the officer's questioning stare.
"Right." Rou nodded in agreement.
"Well then did you think of any more information on what had happened?" the officer asked.
"Well actually…" Yugi tried to think of what he should tell the officer. 'Somehow I doubt she would believe we're looking for an Egyptian artifact to save the spirit of a three thousand year old king.'
"Go on, you can tell…Hey! Get out of there!" The officer had just noticed Bakura, who had snuck off from the group and was heading down an alley.
The thief froze on the spot, "Dame." He muttered as the officer strode over and yanked Bakura over towards the others, "Unhand me guard, or I shall impression our soul in a world of never ending darkness!"
Ryou slapped a hand to his forehead and made a sound that was between a muffled scream and a whimper. /Bakura! Remember our talks, policemen are our friends/
The thief however was to busy ranting about shadow magic to listen to Ryou.
"What do we do now?" Yugi said desperately.
"Hmm…telling at least part of the truth couldn't hurt." Mai suggested.
"Well it'll probably work better then Bakura's plan." Yugi agreed jogging over to the quarreling pair.
"Don't make me handcuff you!"
"I'd like to see you try, I am the greatest tomb robber that's ever lived!"
"That's it! I'm taking you to the station."
"No dungeon can hold me!"
"Dungeon? Why do all the nut-cases come out on the holidays?"
"You'll have to excuse him officer." Ryou started, "You see he has this condition…"
The officer gave the teen a sharp glare, still fighting with Bakura "Why are you people really here, and no tricks."
"Please officer, it's just that we need to find something that was lost." Yugi stepped forward and both thief and policewoman stopped struggling.
"Everything stolen was recovered and brought to the station, you should go there to claim it." The officer said tiredly, still grabbing the back of Bakura's jacket.
"No," Yugi said shaking his head, "It has to be here somewhere."
"It's important." Ryou spoke up, "A friend of ours was hurt badly. What we're looking for…it might cheer him up."
"Please let us look, we'd only be a few minuets, and we won't get in the way." Yugi clasped his hands together; his eyes round with unshed tears.
The officer groaned, 'Why'd I have to be such a softy?' "Fine, five minuets only. And he stays with me until you come back." She nodded to Bakura.
"Fine by me." Mai winked.
'Lousy Female.' The tomb robber thought with a scowl. /Ryou, the puzzle is in the alley somewhere, I'm sure of it./
/Thanks, but did you have to make such a scene/
/Oh get off it! So I got a little nostalgic./
Ryou let out a sigh, "Come on! Down here."
Yugi and Mai sped through the alley, checking every cranny they could find. Ryou followed at a more sedated pace, taking in everything slowly.
"I don't see it anywhere." Yugi cried out hopelessly frustrated.
"I didn't find it either. Sorry." Mai said putting a hand to her head.
"Me neither…" Ryou stumbled over something and nearly fell face-first to the ground. "Hang on." The teen reached down towards the mound of snow that had almost made him trip.
After brushing off the top layer of snow Ryou's face lit up, there was the Millennium Puzzle. "Guys, over here! I found it!" The white-haired boy jumped up and down, waving his arms above his head to get the other's attention.
"Really?" Yugi bounded over, his face breaking into the first real smile he had since the hospital.
"Way to go Hon!" Mai pulled Ryou into a hug, causing the British teen's face to glow bright red.
"Thank you Ryou." Yugi reached down and picked up the puzzle, the cold metal instantly warmed at the touch of his hands.
It was so hard to hold on, why was he even trying? Wouldn't it be so much easier to just let go? It hut so much.
But then there was that nagging feeling; that he couldn't just leave like this. There was something he needed to do in this life. Someone who still needed him.
He needed to remember. An image flashed through his mind; endless dessert stretched out before him, a huge white walled palace stood in the vast wasteland, shinning in the blazing sun. He reached for it, but it faded as soon as it had come.
Soon another vision appeared, tall metal buildings reached up to touch a blue sky. Crowds of people swarmed the streets, cars rolled by on a busy street. Unlike the first, this memory remained.
He saw a teen decked in a black leather outfit with gravity defying tri-colored hair walk down the crowded street. Himself, somehow he knew it. The teen looked around at the tall buildings a look of uncertainty crossed his face. Like he was lost in a place he shouldn't be, like he didn't belong.
"Yugi, I shouldn't be out. This isn't a duel, and you're perfectly capable of walking home." He heard himself talk to some invisible specter.
Yugi, that name sounded familiar.
/I just thought you would enjoy spending some time out of the puzzle/
That voice! It sounded familiar too, but it had no owner, it was as if it spoke through his own mind then made by an outside force.
"This is your body, your life, and I need to…" The teen spoke quietly to avoid attracting attention to himself.
/Find out about your past, I know Yami./
Yami! That was his name wasn't it? No. No, not his true name, but one he chose for himself because…because…He couldn't remember.
/Look I don't mind, really. I think it be a good idea if you got used to this time frame. And it's not like you're making any headway in that soul room of yours./
"You think the answers I seek are 'outside the box', so to say." Yami leaned against a building.
"Yug! Hey man." An arm latched over Yami's shoulder from behind in a friendly gesture. Yami turned and saw three people…
Those faces, were had he seen them before?
"Hey man, something wrong? You got this serious look on your face." The owner of the arm asked spinning Yami around; it was a blond with a head of uncombed hair.
"I don't think that's Yugi." The only girl of the group said.
"What do you mean Tea? He looks like Yugi to me." The tallest of the three, whose brown hair came up to a point above his forehead said.
Yami cleared his throat, unsure of how to actually begin this particular conversation.
The blue-eyed girl, Tea stepped up to Yami, "Yugi kicked you out of the puzzle again, didn't he?"
The two boys now seemed uncertain, the blond removed his arm from Yami and stepped back a bit.
"He says I should spend more time out here." Yami waved a hand at the area.
"Well, we were heading to my place. You want to come with us?" Tea asked.
"I would hate to impose on you." Yami took another glance at the boys, the brunet still looked uncertain, the blond a little more willing to accept his company.
"Joey? Tristan?" The girl's voice had a bit of an edge to it.
"I don't mind." The blond answered giving Yami a grin, "The more the merrier."
The brunet now wore a sly grin, "Joey, I thought you hated ghosts!"
"Tristan!" Joey looked outraged, "I am not scared of ghosts! Besides, he's not a ghost, he's a…umm…"
The four were quiet for a moment, "Anyway, lets go, on to Tea's place." The blond started heading down the street.
Yami listened as the three teens talked about school, homework, and the general places to hang out; they even tried to get Yami into the conversation as well, but of these topics Yami had very little to include.
Silence had reached the four again when they had reached Tea's living room. "So," Tristan spook up, "What you do over the weekend Tea?"
"Oh, I…umm…went out." A faint blush crept on the girl's cheeks.
"Yeah?" Joey asked, "And why weren't we invited?"
"Huh?" the girl stammered.
"I know that look!" Tristan declared, "Tea had a date! So who's the guy?"
Tea bent her head forward to avoid the boy's gazes and pointed at Yami who sat on the couch next to her.
"Oh!" Came the voices of the two boys.
"I didn't know you liked older men." Joey commented with a grin.
"Shut up! It wasn't like that!" Tea's face was completely scarlet as the words left her mouth.
"So how far did you get?" Tristan joked, this question directed at Yami.
Not really knowing how to interpret the question Yami answered in a neutral voice. "As far as the museum, then we walked back to the Town Square and heard the announcement for Kaiba's tournament."
Tristan sweat-dropped, and Tea giggled.
"So why'd you go the museum?" Joey asked, making a face.
"There was an exhibit on Ancient Egypt." Tea stopped as realization dawned on the two boys.
"Oh, that's right. You're from there aren't you." Joey stated.
"So find out anything useful?" Tristan asked.
"A great deal more then I expected." Yami replied.
The two boys leaned forward, getting more interested by the second.
"I still find it hard to believe Yami." Tristan's gaze shifted to Tea at her use of the foreign name.
"What, that I was Pharaoh? I suppose it is a shock for me as well."
"Really, you don't look it." Joey commented at Yami's neutral expression, when the full meaning of the spirit's words hit him. "But whoa, Tristan did you hear him? We know royalty!" Joey shot up from where he had been sitting on the floor.
"Wait," The brunet started, "Yami right?"
The Pharaoh nodded.
"What's an Egyptian King doing with a Japanese name?"
"Tristan!" Tea scolded, "What's with the interrogation?"
"Just asking."
"I can't remember mine." Yami looked up at the brunet with his piercing crimson eyes. "So I gave myself a new one." The Pharaoh answered simply.
"Oh." Tristan looked away, unable to hold Yami's stare.
"Wasn't it somewhere in the museum?" Joey asked.
Tea shook her head, "It was scratched off the tablet."
"Well we can't have that." Joey walked off to the bookcase the Gardner's kept in their living room.
The others watched as Joey pulled out a heavy text from the self after a little searching. "It must be fate." The blond grinned. The cover read 'Ancient Egypt: A History of a Civilization.'
"What are you doing Joey?" Tristan got up and walked over to his friend.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm looking for his name."
"If the museum didn't have it what makes you think that book will?" Tea mused.
"It couldn't hurt to try, besides maybe all your memory needs is a bit of jogging." Joey told Yami as he began to flip through the book.
"And if it takes more then a little jogging?" Tristan asked.
"Then we can always make a logical guess." Joey said determinedly, sitting down again on the thick carpet.
"A logical guess from you?" Tristan raised a skeptic eyebrow, but sat down next to Joey anyway. The boys were soon joined by Tea who sat on Joey's other side.
"Why are they doing this?" Yami mumbled to himself.
/Because we like you./ Yugi answered. This brought a small smile to the Pharaoh's face. /Because we want to help you just like you helped us./
"Alright!" Joey exclaimed. "I think I found it! Ok, tell me if this one sounds familiar. Rameses!"
Tea cocked her head and looked at Yami, weighing out the name with the face. "I don't know Joey. He doesn't really look like a Rameses."
"Well let's see what the king thinks Tea." Joey said brushing away the girl's comment.
That name held no meaning to him, "I don't think so Joey, sorry."
"Are you positive?" The blond pushed, looking a little disappointed.
"He said 'no' Joey. Why are you so bent on that name?" Tristan's eyes scanned the book's page.
"Well out of the list of rulers there are about twenty of em on this page alone, so I figured Rameses was a safe bet."
"Whatever dude, what's your next choice?"
"How about…Uh…Ozymandias?" Joey struggled with the large word.
"Hold up Joey, according to the footnote, that's just another way to say Rameses."
"Man! How about Tutankhamun?"
"Doesn't match with the puzzle's time line."
"You can zip it Trist! Umm…Cleopatra?"
"What! That's a girl's name!" It was Tea who shot down the name that time.
"Ah…oops. Umm…Mark-Anthony?"
"He was Roman Joey!" Tristan said grabbing the book from the blond. "And before you say Caesar, no, that wouldn't be his name either."
"Why would any one name a Pharaoh after a salad?" Joey asked in disbelief to his friend.
Tristan and Tea just stared at the blond after his last comment.
Yami couldn't hold it in anymore; through the course of the teens' argument his smile had spread to a grin. Yugi had cracked up at the mention of Cleopatra, and now his laughter filled the Pharaoh's head.
The three teens turned in Yami's direction, unprepared for the Pharaoh to burst out in nearly hysterical laughter.
As they say, 'Laughter is contagious', and soon all four, (five if you include Yugi) were attempting to catch their breaths.
"I appreciate the effort." Yami said, brushing his eye where it was slightly tearing, "but I think I'll settle with Yami for now."
"Alright man." Joey said un-offended, "But why would you choose a name that meant darkness anyway?"
"If you think about it, the answer's not that hard to find." Yami said tapping a finger to the side of his head.
The blonde's eyes wandered up to the ceiling as he thought about Yami's words.
"Oh!" Tea's eyes lit up, "Is it because you're like Yugi's shadow?"
Yami nodded his head, "Yes, you could interpret it like that."
Yugi's shadow? He pondered as the image faded away. Is that what he was? Yes, it felt right, he was a shadow, but he was something more too. He was the dark that balanced the light; he was there to protect the light…to protect Yugi.
He had a purpose, he needed to fight; he would fight and he would win, because he was the shadow, and a warrior.
Ok peoples, it looks like Yami's getting back into the game! And the puzzle has been found.
Just a note on Ryou's sister, she does kind of exist in the manga, of course she's already dead by the time it starts. I found out from a website that she died in a car crash but they didn't specify. Everything else about her character I made up.
I know it kind of gets confusing in the last part of the chapter so if you have any questions you can always ask me in your review.
Next Chapter: Will the Pharaoh return to the land of the living? Will Isizue's plan be enough to buy Yugi the time he needs? And what will Marik try to pull when he ends up at the hospital's morgue? Find out next time!