"What?!" Yugi gawked. "Gandora is no one's property!" Then he felt as the pain from his giant gash became much worse. He tried to stay standing, but soon he stumbled to his knees.
Gandora freaked out more in her web prison as Silent Magician ran to his side. The entire time Yugi kept glaring at Silent Swordsman. Silent Swordsman then looked back to his troop and tilted his head to Yugi. Another Silent warrior with a sword and shield ran out and kneeled by Yugi. She started to reach out with both her hands when Yugi pulled back, flinching at the pain he caused himself by that action. Silent Magician then placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder and shook her head, her eyes still wide. The two looked back to the Silent warrior as she once again reached out, hovering her hands just a few inches from Yugi's wound. A light, pastel glow came to her hands. Yugi's body immediately felt lighter.
"We meant no offense, great Pharaoh. Please let Silent Paladin heal you of my mistake." Silent Swordsman wrote again. Yugi didn't stop glaring. Silent Swordsman then soundlessly sighed and rubbed his forehead. "How much do you know of these Dragons of Destructions?"
Yugi said nothing, even as Silent Magician shook his shoulder. Yugi then glanced to his silent friend, unsure of how she fits into all this.
"Well then." Silent Swordsman wrote. The healer then stopped her healing and yanked Yugi's face, so he looked at her.
"Our leader asked you a question, Pharaoh!" Came the floating green words. Yugi again didn't speak and instead pulled away from her, even though he wasn't fully healed. He then tried to get to his feet again. The whole Silent squad leveled their various weapons in his direction. Yugi didn't flinch, though he did stumble as he slowly raised himself. The entire time Silent Magician held on to his arm like it was her lifeline.
"Expecting you to talk to us is a big leap of faith after we attacked you. Here, as a sign of peace." Silent Swordsman then unsheathed his oversized sword. It was twice as big as the swordsman's body and reflected the sun's light perfectly. He then let go of it and let it clank against the rocky ground. After the clanging sound reverberated around the clearing, the other Silent creatures also dropped their weapons. Yugi looked around in surprise. His eyes then narrowed when he noticed the duel monsters holding the ends to Gandora's prison didn't drop their whips.
"Free Gandora, and we'll talk," Yugi said in a low voice.
Silent Swordsman only shook his head. "You truly do not know anything about these dragons, do you?" He then turned to Silent Magician. She still clung to Yugi. "You understand we have grown past hurting others, right Azure?"
"Azure?" Yugi whispered, looking down at Silent Magician. She then shook her head and clung to him harder.
"Don't call old name. I Silent Magician of the Domain of the Beasts." Silent's words were jagged and barely put together. They only shakily remained in the air for a few seconds before falling apart.
"Do not waste the magic you do not have, Azure. It will do no good for anyone." Silent Swordsman wrote back in his clean silver words. This only made Silent Magician push herself closer to Yugi.
Silent Swordsman then nodded his head. "Very well, a history lesson is in order then." He wrote. He then sat down on a nearby rock. The other Silent creatures immediately followed his example, all but the ones holding together Gandora's prison.
"That's kind of you," Yugi said, eyes glancing in every direction to try and find a way for them to escape. Kuriboh was a few feet away from them. The puffball was utterly knocked out, either by the earlier slashing attack or just tiredness. He and Silent Magician were in front of the wishing well with Yugi's sword still strapped to his back. Yugi knew he wasn't in well enough to pull it out before these well-trained creatures got to him first. Silent Magician had barely any magic left, and Gandora couldn't fight her way out of the red webs. Yugi didn't know how those webs worked. They seemed too fragile to keep Gandora back. Yet, the great dragon could barely move in them. They truly were stuck.
'We need help.' Yugi thought, for a desperate moment hoping he might hear something from the puzzle.
Nothing.
"These dragons are menaces to themselves and others." Silent Swordsman then wrote, his words appearing so close to Yugi that he had no choice but to read them. "Do you know how these dragons must destroy? They literally cannot live unless they hurt others."
"I know that's not true." Yugi shot back. Silent Swordsman lifted an eyebrow. "Gandora here may need to destroy some things, but the entire time I've been with her, she has gone out of her way to break things that wouldn't hurt anyone."
"Oh really? She has not wrecked anything accidentally?" Silent Swordsman wrote. Yugi fell quiet as he remembered her breath blowing through the riddle area, all to Gandora's surprise.
"As I thought." Silent Swordsman then wrote, a smug smile on his face. He then stood up and walked over to the still fighting Gandora.
"Stay away from me!" Gandora roared. Yugi noticed that she kept opening her mouth like she was trying to breathe out a blast. Nothing came out of her maw.
Silent Swordsman then reached down and separated a part of the webbing, it not affecting him. Suddenly a crimson blast came shooting out of the prison, straight at Yugi and Silent Magician. Yugi felt as the heat from the dragon's attack started to burn him before Silent Paladin lifted her shield and stopped the blast, even completely dissipating the energy. Once the shield was down, Yugi looked up to see Gandora's horrified face.
"No… I didn't mean…." She whispered. Silent Swordsman then closed up the webbing and looked to the stunned Yugi and Silent Magician.
"I assume you saw her as a friend. Companion even. I am sure she does too, but as you can see, these dragons on their own are uncontrolled wrecking crews. She would have killed you then and there if Silent Paladin hadn't been there."
Yugi grimaced as Silent Paladin smirked, spinning her shield around just to show off.
"These dragons became so bad that many years ago they almost went extinct. They kept destroying each other and their egg clutches. It was only when but a few were left that some sympathetic warriors saved them. These warriors helped keep them from destroying each other and even helped the next generation grow in a safer environment. All they asked in return for their investment is that these dragons help with their war." Silent Swordsman turned to Yugi with his arms open wide. "We Silent soldiers are here to… remove these dragons from this land before any more damage is done."
"The Warrior Army has sent us to death in droves!" Gandora screamed. "They don't care about us, just that we take other dragons with us as we do our death detonation! For me, as the only brood mother, I was expected to keep laying eggs, never seeing my children grow up!" Gandora cried. The ones holding her prison made a snapping motion with their whips, and her prison shrunk to an uncomfortably small size. "I don't care how weak this makes us seem. We Gandora have been controlled all our lives. We have no choice in anything we do!"
"And yet when Gandora do have free choice, they hurt others just as much." Silent Swordsman wrote as he pointed down the mountain. Yugi felt the pain in his chest grow as he saw the ever-increasing black scar on the perfect land below. "It's why we need to stop them, now. Let us move along and you can pretend you never saw us or this brood mother."
Yugi gulped but steeled himself. "They may destroy, but I think they can learn to control their needs. Especially in an environment where they're not living bombs for others!"
Silent Swordsman paused, as if contemplating telling Yugi something. "You are right about…." He then looked over his loyal followers and a wicked smile spread across his face. "No. We, as the Silent archetype, need to collect these dragons."
"I won't let you 'collect' anyone!" Yugi snapped.
Then Yugi noticed a small bit of movement from the side of his eyes. There a brown ball began to stir. Yugi glanced around and saw that none of the other Silent monsters seemed to see Kuriboh wake up. Yugi then closed his eyes briefly and thought. 'Kuriboh, you have to help Gandora.' Back when Yugi wasn't so sure if duel spirits were real, Kuriboh seemed to hear the thoughts he had said to Yami. He hoped Kuriboh still had that ability. Kuriboh then moved out of his side view, and Yugi could only hope.
'We need help.'
Silent Swordsman looked over Yugi and then sighed. "I had hoped the prophesized Pharaoh would be more reasonable. I do not like to make unnecessary enemies." He then glanced to Silent Magician.
"Azure, please. Help us convince the Pharaoh. You know we wouldn't do something like this unless we thought it was the best for the monster world." He wrote. Silent hid her gaze behind Yugi's arm. Silent Swordsman's face became furious for a moment. Then he hid his outrage with a smile. He ran to her side and pulled her away from Yugi, Silent Paladin holding Yugi back from stopping him. Silent Swordsman then held Silent Magician's hands together, pulling them in front of her, much like Yugi saw lovers do in romantic movies. Silent Swordsman made sure to keep eye contact with Silent Magician as these words appeared between the two.
"Please, you know me, Azure. You were the first to see something wrong with how the Silent archetype ran things, and I am sorry I did not defend you then. You were absolutely right. The Legendary Knights coming back and immediately throwing us out of our lofty positions showed us our faults. We were too proud, too cruel to be the protectors we promised we would be. Now we are trying to regain our honor. We may be little more than paid mercenaries now, but we can be more! We need you by our side again. The great Silent Magician of the Domain of the Beasts does not need to be exiled anymore. Please, I need you."
Yugi watched as Silent Magician's expression went from fearful to surprised to eyes full of hope. She looked at Silent Swordsman with a face that told Yugi this was her childhood friend she seemed to hold in such high regard. Yugi felt as his physical wounds combined with the ever sinking feeling he had in his stomach. What chance did the destroying Gandora have compared to being with friends and family again? Yugi stood as straight as he could but knew there was little he could do. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying, even if Silent Magician did side with the her archetype.
"She's free!" A shout came from Gandora's prison. Everyone jumped as they saw a massive clawed hand reach out of the webbing and grab a little Silent creature. Yugi then saw Kuriboh come bounding towards him. Red webbing stuck in their claws.
As everyone scrambled for their weapons, Yugi got out of Silent Paladin's grip and ran to Kuriboh. Yugi felt a hard push against his back. He turned just in time to see a large energy bash coming from Silent Paladin's shield. Kuriboh then jumped into Yugi's arms, and a slight rainbow glow surrounded the two. Kuriboh was still too drained from earlier that day, but Yugi didn't take the full force of the bash and was instead pushed. He skidded across the ground briefly as he held tightly to Kuriboh.
Yugi looked up to see Gandora, wholly free from the broken webbing, clutching two Silent monsters in her hands as she used her new wounds to power punches and tail attacks. It was like ants fighting a dog. Every one of Gandora's attacks sent a few Silents flying. The problem was that Gandora was still exhausted, while the Silent warriors were healthy.
Yugi then felt as a foot pushed down on his head, forcing his face into the rock. He looked up to see Silent Swordsman standing over him. The warrior seemed taller, almost older.
"Call her off!" The jagged silver words appeared right in front of Yugi's face. All eloquence went from his writing.
Yugi grimaced and used a move he once saw his dad do. He used his legs to push off the ground, but instead of pushing against Silent Swordsman, Yugi spun around. He side-swiped Silent Swordsman and then leaped to his feet, Kuriboh still clutched in one hand. Yugi, with his other free hand, pulled out his sword. When Silent Swordsman regained his senses and jumped to his own feet, Yugi saw how the monster that was once shorter than him was now about his same height.
Silent Swordsman looked at Yugi's sloppy fighting stance and surprised face. The monster soundlessly chuckled. "Silent Swordsman LV 5." He wrote as he gestured to his new stature.
Silent Swordsman then lunged at Yugi. His new higher power plus his training let him immediately disarmed Yugi. He effortlessly hit Yugi's sword hand with the blunt of his greatsword, causing Yugi to drop the blade. He was about to take another, more deadly swipe when he was suddenly forced away from Yugi and into the air. Yugi turned in surprise to see Silent Magician standing by the well, her eyes blazing with blue magic once again. She had also grown in age too, being taller than even Yugi. If this had been the place or time, Yugi would have found her beautiful.
"LV 8!" The blue words wrote. She then threw the swordsman painfully onto the rocky ground. Once Silent Magician was sure Silent Swordsman was out of the picture, she ran to Yugi's side and pulled him to his feet. They went running towards Gandora and, hopefully, freedom.
"Do we have a plan?!" Yugi yelled, but none could answer him. Just then, more Silent energy attacks came flying at the two. The older Silent Magician did her best to shield them with her magic. Still, with her now running on emergency magic, she could only protect herself. Yugi shielded Kuriboh the best he could and felt the pain as a few attacks did land on him. Then he saw as Gandora leaped in front of the three. She threw the creatures in her hand at the mob and blocked more attacks as the group ran for the edge of the mountain top.
What made this harder for the four was that the Silent soldiers spoke no commands to each other. Instead, they would flash split-second images too fast for any of the non-Silents to read. Then the squad would follow orders to the tee. They were a well-oiled machine. Once the chaos of Gandora's freedom was calmed down, they began routing the group. Keeping them on the mountain and blocking their paths.
A sudden yank from behind pulled Yugi out of Silent Magician's hand and sent him flying into the wishing well again. What scared Yugi the most was that he felt no pain as he landed, and it wasn't from Kuriboh's ability.
"NO!" Gandora roared. Yugi tried to shake the new fuzz from his eyes and ears, but it didn't disappear. He then looked up to see Silent Magician and Gandora surrounded. Though the two fought with all they had against the tinnier foe, it wasn't enough. Silent Magician was the first to fall as she didn't have Gandora's healing abilities. She collapsed to the ground, regaining her small body. Gandora saw her fall and quickly picked up her and Kuriboh's body. The dragon never let them go, even as she kept fighting.
Yugi tried to get to his feet but found they didn't respond to him. From the side of his ever-shrinking vision, Yugi saw Silent Swordsman storm up to him, his teeth gritted as his sword swung over Yugi.
'Help.' Yugi thought one last time. Then he felt another yank, this time from the Millennium Puzzle.
Suddenly the Silent creatures began to panic. A great white light flashed above the mountain top; it was as bright as a lightning strike. It might have even been lightning in Yugi's blurred vision.
"We have to leave!" Gandora was suddenly in front of Yugi and scooped him up. Yugi didn't have the coherency to question how she got away.
"I will not let them take you away from me again!" Gandora shouted, or Yugi thought she shouted. Everything was becoming distant-sounding, like he was walking farther and farther into a deep cave.
Everything was a smoky blob of color in Yugi's vision. He could only barely hear and see things when he felt a great crash. It was a painful shock to his back as Gandora fell to the ground. Yugi held on closer to her, his last weak attempt at stopping her from being taken. Then he realized that she hadn't fallen to the ground by an attack. Instead, she had been dodging something large and white flying past her.
Then Yugi heard the distant fighting of the Silent soldiers again. This white thing was attacking them. Then Yugi felt the familiar warmth, the steaming heat from a dragon's blast. A Burst Stream of Destruction.
"Blue- blue." Gandora gawked, though Yugi only heard it as a whisper.
"Blue-Eyes!" A young Silent Monster shouted. Soon followed by the cries of his squad.
"Dragon!"
"Drago!"
"Dra!"
"Da-"
…
"Dad!" Yugi frowned as he crossed his little arms. He and his dad were playing a travel game as they waited for their train to the airport, but his Dad had not paid attention the entire game.
"What!" Dad nearly jumped right out of his seat, his eyes wildly darting around.
"It's your turn," Yugi said, pointing down at the travel checkers. They each only had a few pieces left. If Yugi lost another piece, he probably would be beaten.
"Oh, right. Sorry there, champ. Dad's just been a little distracted with the move." He said as he started moving his plastic piece.
As Yugi waited for him to make his move, he suddenly felt very weird. Like he wasn't quite connected to his body. He then looked around the part of the station they were in. Other than Dad, no one else had a face. They were all blurry outlines. Yugi might have found it weird, but the dream-like logic of everything took over his hurt body and exhausted brain. He was right back to the mindset of his younger self.
"You've been saying that since forever! We aren't moving stuff now, so focus on the game." Yugi pouted. Dad quietly chuckled and reached out to ruffle Yugi's hair. Yugi let him rub it for a few moments but then pulled away while sticking out his tongue.
"Don't be like that, Yugi."
"Too many people have been touching my hair!" Yugi whined as he reached up to grab his newly colored hair tips. What was black at the start of the school year had turned pink by the end of it.
"You should be proud of your Muto hair. Few people can say they have naturally three different colors in their hair." Dad said as he felt his own unkempt mess of tri-colored hair. "I'll sure miss mine. This new job is going to force me to shave it down. Stay proud, champ."
Yugi frowned. He hated his new pink hair. All the other elementary kids wanted to pull on it. "Will mine turn an awesome red like yours?" Yugi asked.
"Maybe," Dad said, his eyes back to glancing around the station, not even focusing on his move or his son. Yugi sighed and slumped back in his chair, blowing his long bangs out of his eyes.
Once Dad finished his turn, Yugi returned his attention to the checkers. Even without focusing, Dad made a really good move. Yugi leaned forward as he tried to think. He then saw a piece that Dad seemed to forget. It even allowed him to jump twice! Yugi eagerly reached out and captured his dad's pieces with an excited grin. He thought he had finally beaten his dad. Then Yugi realized this move left his piece in the perfect position for Dad to jump him three times. Yugi puffed out his cheeks in frustration and then fell back in his seat. Rules were rules. Once he took his hand off his piece, he was done. Unlike the other kids in his class, Yugi actually wanted to follow the rules, even if that meant he would lose.
Dad then looked back down at the board and started reaching out for the piece that would end the game. Yugi braced for impact, but then Dad took his hand away. He moved a different piece that put him on the perfect path for Yugi to take all his pieces next round.
"Hey, I saw that! You're letting me win!" Yugi whined. Not Dad too. He was the only other person Yugi trusted to not baby him.
"Well, winning isn't everything. Hey, do you think Mom's been gone too long?" Dad asked, his eyes getting frantic. Yugi recognized that look and pulled away as far as his seat would allow. "Yeah, she's been gone for far too long. I'll be back." Dad then stood up and stomped towards the food stand Mom went too. Yugi waited quietly for a few moments before relaxing. He hated it when Dad became like that. It had been getting worse ever since Dad announced they were moving and he was joining the American government.
"What's so great about America anyway?" Yugi whispered to himself as he kicked the air. He liked Japan. He didn't see why they had to leave everything and move in with his smelly Grandpa. Even if he did run a cool game shop.
"You're going to America?!" Yugi turned to see a blurry girl about his age in one of the nearby seats.
"Yeah." Yugi shrugged. The two talked for a bit, or… Yugi thought they did. What he actually remembered was when the girl screamed.
"Oh, is that hair real?!" Yugi knew the hair pull was coming before he even felt the painful tug.
"Hey! Stop!" Yugi screeched as the girl kept pulling. She then saw his blonde bangs and couldn't believe it was all the same hair. She, of course, had to pull on that too, making Yugi cry. Soon he was yanked from the girl's grip by Dad's strong arms. Dad held the crying Yugi close to his chest. Mom then came running up from behind, just as frantic of an expression on her face as Dad's.
"You ok, Yugi?!" Mom asked. Yugi tried to explain about the hair-pulling, but it all came out in snot bubbles and tears.
"I'll walk him around," Dad said.
"Are you sure?" Mom asked, her eyebrows raised high. Dad gave a nervous chuckle and nodded.
"I'm sure. I promise I'm a lot calmer now," Dad said. After a few moments, Mom gave a slow and unsure nod.
As Dad walked by the little girl, he gave her such a scary scowl that she also ended up crying. That didn't make Yugi feel any better.
Once they walked for a bit, Yugi finally started calming down as Dad patted his back and whispered assuring words. He carried Yugi for a while, even after he stopped sniveling. Dad then moved onto jokes and riddles. Soon Yugi found himself giggling. This was what Yugi liked; it had been a while since his dad talked with him like this.
"And then she sprayed the cough medicine, and it stopped the coffin."
"Haha!" Yugi laughed, then he felt his stomach growl. "Can we go back to Mom now? I want food!"
Dad's face then became slightly embarrassed as he kept walking away from the seats where Mom was. "Don't worry. We are heading towards the food area right now."
"But didn't Mom leave to get food?" Yugi asked.
"Err, yes, she did. On the way through, she stopped to talk with an acquaintance. I kind of interrupted her…. Anyway, it's our quest now to get the food!"
"A quest!" Yugi cheered.
Dad walked through the crowd to the nearest food area, then he stopped dead in his tracks. In front of them was a tiny fat dragon. It was yellow and only barely came up to Dad's knees. Yugi immediately grinned. It was so cute! It looked just like the card Grandpa had shown him when he came over for Christmas. The creature in front of them was Poki Draco, only in real life! Yugi looked excitedly to Dad, thinking this was some surprise. Then he saw his dad's horrified face. Dad had frozen stiff, all his attention on the tiny monster. Poki Draco then looked up and chirped at the two.
"No, no, no." Dad began to say under his breath. He then pushed Yugi's head into his chest as he raced forward, running right through the dragon. The monster looked unfazed by being run through, though it did look a little confused.
Yugi tried to look forward again, but Dad just stuffed his face back into his shirt, more forcefully this time. Yugi could feel his dad's fear, and it was making him more stressed.
Suddenly Dad threw himself against a corner table, hiding in the shadows. Yugi began to ask what was up when Dad held his hand over Yugi's mouth. Yugi found he couldn't breathe from how tight his hold was. Yugi started fighting with all the strength his little body had, which wasn't much. Then Yugi saw two men walk by, the two not even seeing them in the dark corner they were in. The men were wearing black suits, kind of like Dad's old uniform. Yugi felt as his dad held his breath. Then one of the men turned around and looked at the ground. He then saw the two in the corner and started walking towards them.
"Hey, you!" The man yelled.
Dad took his hand from Yugi's mouth, allowing him to breathe. Yugi would have taken in a deep gulp if he didn't see where Dad moved his hand to. He flipped open a knife he had in his pocket and hide it behind his back. Yugi felt as every one of his dad's arm muscles tensed.
"Hey, you! Is this your wallet?" The man asked as he held out a leather pouch.
"No." Dad quickly said, not letting go of the knife.
"Oh, well. I'll keep looking then. Have a good day." The man then tipped his hat. Now that he was in a different light, Yugi thought his uniform was less black and more blue, not like Dad's old uniform at all. Dad seemed to realize this too, as he put away the knife.
Dad then took a deep breath, his first in a while. Yugi looked at him with wide eyes. He then reached out and patted his cheek, lightly tracing his facial scars.
"What is it, Yugi?" Dad asked, faking a smile. Yugi hated fake smiles.
"Can we get food now?"
"Oh, of course! Food, food, food." Dad started looking around the food stands. Then there it was again, that little Poki Draco. It was right behind the two, using its tiny wings to hover to the top of a nearby table. It then pointed at a delicious-looking dish and smiled. Yugi took it as a suggestion to try it. Yugi started to reach out for it when Dad suddenly grabbed another plate and ran for it. Yugi was confused at first but then guessed that maybe Dad didn't like that specific meal.
When the two got back to their seats, Mom was waiting. Dad immediately passed Yugi to his mom's lap and collapsed beside her.
"Are you ok?!" Mom whispered to the best of her ability.
"Yeah, I'm fine…." Dad then saw what food he grabbed; he took only a plate of butter. While Yugi thought it was odd that they would eat butter, Dad seemed even more surprised.
"Don't lie to me, Solomon." Mom said in a low voice. A voice Yugi didn't like.
"I got only a stick of butter…." Dad said in disbelief.
"How did you get it, by the way? You left your wallet with me." Mom asked. Dad looked down at the wallet, then the butter plate.
"I stole a stick of butter…." He was frozen for a few more moments. Then he put his head in his hands, letting the butter clatter to the floor. Mom immediately shifted Yugi to the bench next to her and moved to comfort Dad. Yugi didn't know what to do. He liked to help when other kids were sad, but he didn't know what to do when adults were. Did parents even get sad? Yugi listened to the two in utter confusion. Some words were clear. Then some words became blurry like everyone else.
"I just keep seeing them, Yui. Everywhere I look, I see those hallucinations or his thugs."
"It's just the stress of moving…The doctors say there is no correlation between the hallucinations and your other mental problems…. In America, there is no KaibaCorp, and we'll be safe…."
This was a strange moment for Yugi as that comment made him lose his child-like mind. Suddenly he was a seventeen-year-old again, sitting next to his parents on that train. He had all his emotions and memories from the last eleven years of his life. Yugi looked down at the butter on the floor. He slowly reached down and picked it up. He then tapped his father's shoulder. Dad took a few seconds, then pulled his hands away. Under them were eyes of pure rage. Then he lunged at Yugi.
Yugi suddenly found himself in a barely lit subway station, the butter in his hand somehow turning into a knife.
They were in America now; everything had that blurry haze to it, even his father's face. Yugi didn't remember this night as he slept through it as a kid, but he remembered the stories and police reports about it. They had just gotten off the plane from Japan and had been picked up by Grandpa. The family had been waiting in an empty subway station when a homeless man came at Dad with a knife. He had been away from the family trying to call someone from a payphone. The robber must have thought he could take the short man alone. But here, there was no robber. Instead, there was a grown Yugi in that position, unable to open his mouth.
"Gozaburo sent you, didn't he?!" Dad shouted as he attacked. Yugi couldn't even keep up with his father's movements. It all seemed like a blur as he was forced to the ground, knife somehow in Dad's hand and at his neck. There was no pain, only fear as his dad's eyes became clear. They had slit-pupils and a red glow as he stood over Yugi.
"What did he tell you?!" Dad demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Yugi pleaded in a voice not his own. It honestly sounded like a combination of all his old bullies' voices. "I didn't mean nothing! Please!"
"Solomon!"
"Junior!" In the side of Yugi's eye, he saw as the rest of the Muto family came running around the corner, even seeing his little child self still in a stroller.
"This man is here to kill me!" Dad snarled. Yugi watched in horror as his father grew in size, taking on more dragon-like qualities. His red eyes never disappearing. Then he sliced the knife through Yugi's throat.
There was no pain, no feeling. Yugi only felt as he lost control of his body as he tried to crawl away. He looked back to see his grandfather and mother hiding behind a large Gandora. The dragon was laughing at Yugi's slow death. That wild look reserved for only the most insane killers on the dragon's face, then everything went black.
From that night, what Yugi did remember was waking up in the police station, the policemen calling his father a killer. One even said he should have never come back to Domino City. That was impossible, though. Dads don't kill. Sure, they defeated bad guys that got in their way, but they don't kill. Dad's only answer to all the police's grilling?
"It was what I was trained to do."
Yugi, to this day, didn't know how they got out of that mess. There had been a station camera recording the whole thing. He guessed maybe the government stepped in? Perhaps the police didn't want to get involved with Dad again? Either way, the family finally moved in with Grandpa after that. They tried to keep a low profile, but rumors spread fast. Soon, the entire neighborhood knew that the returning Muto worked for KaibaCorp's private army at one point.
Then the dream changed again. Yugi was once again a young boy. All his future memories were gone. He had been woken up by crashing downstairs in the middle of the night.
"You're not real!"
Yugi slipped out of bed and peeked outside his door. Grandpa had to go pick something up that night and wasn't in the shared room he and Yugi had then. His parent's room was open. Yugi quietly snuck to the door to see Mom was in bed but not Dad. He then heard more crashing downstairs.
"Stop torturing me like this! You're not real!"
"I am only here to protect you!" A female voice came this time. A voice Yugi also knew didn't exist.
Yugi honestly thought about going back to bed and pretending he didn't hear anything. Mom had told him to give his dad space after the subway station incident. During the month in-between, Dad seemed to lose all color and personality. He only did the bare minimum and was completely robotic while doing it.
Yugi heard a crash to rival all the others and raced down the stairs. He jumped the last couple steps to see Dad curled in a corner, his head in his hands as he sobbed. Across from him was the spirit of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. She was slowly backing away from him, her giant claws passing magically through the broken plates at her feet.
The Blue-Eyes had always been in the shop. Grandpa had shown Yugi her card, and Yugi had seen her around the house sometimes. Of course, he didn't acknowledge her. He had been taught very quickly that imaginary friends weren't real and shouldn't be mentioned, ever. The imaginary Blue-Eyes had kept her distance in return until this moment.
"Please go away," Dad said in such a low, defeated voice to the not real dragon. It left Yugi with no choice but to run to his side.
"Dad!" Yugi cried as he threw himself into his dad's arms. Dad looked shocked to see Yugi but gladly accepted the hug. He held Yugi so tightly that the boy almost couldn't breathe.
"I'm so sorry you had to see this. I'm so sorry, Yugi," Dad repeated over and over under his breath.
Yugi couldn't help but start crying too. He just wanted his dad back, the strong, smart one that wouldn't let him win unless he earned it, all the while teaching him new tactics. The one that laughed and made Yugi laugh in return. The one that wasn't always looking over his shoulders and jumping at every sound.
"What happened?" Yugi whispered. Dad once again held him tightly, kissing the top of his head.
"I-" He stopped when his voice cracked, and he took a few moments to try recomposing himself. "I messed up." He managed to get out. Yugi then looked up to him, his little hand finding itself tracing his father's facial scars. Dad leaned into the touch and held his hand close.
"I have made so many mistakes, Yugi, and they're all finally piling up. I'm going to leave soon to help fix them… to fix me."
"But I don't want you to go." Yugi sobbed. "Mom already goes so often to the hospital, or sometimes she won't respond to me when she's in bed. I don't want to be alone!" This only made Dad shake his head and hold Yugi tighter.
"You won't. You'll have Grandpa. Even still, I'll be back. I promise, but I'll be better next time you see me. A healthier, better dad. Then we can play all the games you want."
"Can we have milkshakes too?"
"Of course." Dad then took Yugi's face in his hands, their similar colored gazes meeting. "But you have to promise me something. I know how much you love to win in games, and that's great. But do not, and I repeat do not, turn it into a fight. In fact, stay away from violence, to begin with. It only leads to more heartache. So please, keep out of trouble, for me?"
"Yes! Of course!"
The two then jumped as they heard the Blue-Eyes start to walk away. Yugi hid his face in his father's shirt as Dad gave the dragon a death glare.
"I can see I am not needed here. Not for a long time, at least." Yugi swore the dragon talked, but imaginary friends don't speak. It seemed like his Dad absolutely didn't hear it either, as he only kept glaring at the dragon. "I will always be here to protect you, even when you do not want me. But, I will keep the other spirits away... if that is what you want." Then she was gone. Yugi reminded himself she wasn't there, to begin with.
"Let's get you to bed," Dad said as he slowly got up. Yugi was so exhausted at that point he needed to be carried upstairs. As he was about to drift off into the darkness, he asked one more time,
"You promise to come home?"
"I promise."
Then everything went black.
The next morning Dad was gone. He cleaned up the glass shards and was off without a goodbye. He left a week earlier than his orders. Dad regularly called when he could and seemed to be keeping his promise to come back often.
Then a war broke out.
Then KaibaCorp moved their headquarters to America, specifically Domino city.
Then an important mission came up.
Then the weather was bad.
Then…then…then.
…
"Then I have a right to see him!" A familiar roar shook Yugi awake.
Yugi immediately shot up but was magically pushed back down. He was in a bed and covered in bandages. Above him was a high stone ceiling and the smiling face of Mystic Elf. He was back in Dark Magician Girl's castle.
"Wha-? Wait! Where is Gandora, Kuriboh, and Silent Magician?!" Yugi yelped.
"Do not talk. You have been knocked out for a long time." A new voice spoke.
Yugi's eyes immediately widened at the clear female voice. Now he knew why he was being healed in such a big room; the visitor beside his bed was none other than a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Her voice was familiar, like the one he heard in his dream. Yugi could only stare at the magnificent beast by his bedside. Her scales seemed to glow in the unmoving sun's light. Her eyes were just as vibrant as Yugi remembered them.
"Are you… My Grandpa's Blue-Eyes?" Yugi asked, his voice weak.
"Who else would I be?" She snickered. "When a Blue-Eyes swears loyalty to a strong human, they keep their promise."