[EIGHT] ["MILLENNIUM MUSEUM MAYHEM pt. 2"]

There was a certain comfort in the sleep Yugi was getting. It was the kind of sleep that one can only get when they're finally away from their troubles. The kind where Yugi would wake up to his mom hovering over him, pulling at the covers and telling him how he needed to go downstairs and help his grandfather with the afternoon rush. The only complication he'd have to face is just how many times he could doze off on a lazy Sunday before really getting into trouble.

That sounded nice. Complications - in the few days since Grandpa's coma those had been numerous. The most recent being the sound of papers shuffling in the next room and his mom audibly crunching numbers. Then was the memory of a wild dream of I2's Maximillion Pegasus with realism so vivid it made Yugi queasy. Before that was how he couldn't remember volunteering Amy for Chono's duel like everyone said he did, which had been just one memory lap to add to the pile. The things keeping him awake at night had almost become too numerous to count.

Which is why, when Yugi heard the next words, he felt something inside of him ache.

"-ilter], Sport, get a hold of yourself. Hello? Dude?"

At first, he admittedly rejected the noise. Turning over, Yugi's mind tried to mull its way back into the cozy silence by preteneding it hadn't heard anything. The part of him that wished for blankets and Sunday afternoon sunshine silenced the other, more urgent reaction.

He was finally asleep now. So please, just this once, go away.

"Oh my god."

It hadn't gone away.

Part of his brain was wide awake, aware that his consciousness was lazily floating somewhere. It barely remembered that he had been in the middle of something important, and dutifully began to rally the rest of him awake for it.

"[4filter]. [4filter]! Do I call someone? Do I go get someone? I don't… I don't know. [4filter]! Do you know what's going on with him?"

"Well can't you do something about it!"

"I know what I said before!"

The more the female voice went on, the more wires crossed inside him and began to spark. Why wouldn't she just let him sleep? It wasn't until he tried to shut his eyes tighter, force down the alarm, that he realized he wasn't shutting his eyes at all.

Yugi, let me in.

You need let me in.

"Yugi!" When Yugi's vision came into focus, his eyes burned. After several blinks, it became clear that there was no Egyptian. No key. No hefty aura. There was just an Amy. A wild Amy housing an expression he could never recall seeing on her before. It was so foreign that Yugi's brain, in its first few seconds of hazed consciousness, didn't recognize his classmate. Or that his face was sandwiched between her hands.

He'd never seen her so focused before. His vision blurred out her surprisingly honed face as it adapted to the light, so much that for a minute he thought her expression a trick of his hazy mind. "Take it easy. You must gather yourself before moving about – er – around."

Maybe it was his own exhaustion, or the usually commanding tone in her voice, Yugi obeyed without argument. Finding the bench below him, words could finally make themselves into a coherent sentence. "...We were at the museum," That's right, it wasn't a lazy Sunday. He wasn't in bed. He rubbed his face in a frivolous effort to wake up.

"We're still here," Amy urged. Her lips curled unsurely, and words were slow. Perhaps his brain was just too slow to follow them. "Yugi, I need you to look at me." He obeyed.

She seemed different somehow. Her features seemed to float on her face, lacking all sense of their normal sharpness. Everything seemed, from her nose to her frizzy hair, softer around the edges. The overalls almost too immature. It was Amy by definition. Yet, still Yugi felt like he had to blink once, twice to recognize her. Her hand was less crass than he would expect. "Where is it? Where is the puzzle?"

"Where is… the puzzle?"

"Yes, Yugi, what happened to the puzzle?"

He breathed out into his palms. Things were becoming a little clearer. "I don't know what you mean. It's…" Out of sheer instinct, Yugi's hands moved down his torso. Air ran through his fingers. He stopped. Amy's expression grew deep. One could perhaps even call it impatient.

Yugi's neck felt so light, he realized, giving his torso one ridged pat. "My puzzle." The breath was broken. He felt around himself one more time, if for no other reason than frantic disbelief. "My puzzle is-"

"You do not - didn't - know?"

Perhaps too quickly, Yugi burst off the bench, now patting his torso down several more times. "It's gone, Amy! Where could it have gone! I was right here and then -" That was a mistake. Yugi's sentence didn't cut off because he was interrupted or had a thought, but because he suddenly felt woozy on his feet. So much so his body reached to feel for the bench, making sure it was still there before willing himself back onto it.

Amy watched him with a hardened concern and quickly again invited herself into his personal space. A knowing look and pursed lips became his eyeline. She reassured him in a soft voice as he cuffed his head into his hands in defeat. An image hazed into Yugi's mind like static on a television. Images and words that were bits of a vivid dream. Had he fallen asleep waiting for Amy to return? It was possible. Embarrassing, unhelpful, but possible.

Yugi thought about those hazy memories, wanting so badly to push them to the back of his head. Instead, he pushed hard against his palms in frustration, hoping to force his head to focus on something useful.

'Think, please. Please think,' he begged himself. 'Remember something.'

"I… don't know," he said finally. "I guess I dozed off. It was there and then I slept and now its gone. I - I don't - I can't believe I fell asleep I just -" There had to be something more. He couldn't have lost his puzzle because of something so irresponsible. So stupid. There had to be more.

Right?

"Tell me more."

The words surprised him. Yugi lifted his face, barely seeing Amy in the grey vignette of his readjusting vision. His eyes now throbbing from the pressure. Even though he couldn't see her clear, her words seemed gentle. They hadn't known each other for very long, but she'd never given off an impression this tender.

There had to be more. But all he could think about was the man in robes with the gold key. Yugi didn't know how long he sat for, but not once in all that time did his tongue dare to speak the words it danced upon. Even against the glint of impatience in Amy's face.

So finally, she spoke again. As a command this time, cloaked again in that tender tone. "You have something to say that you do not wish to speak out loud. Something you do not believe I will believe. Tell me, I promise to believe."

So Yugi began to cautiously recount the memory. It was difficult to put the static-y images in his mind to words, and even more difficult to say them out loud. The bits and pieces he remembered, it sounded silly to verbalize. Like he was summerizing a scene from a movie. But he did it anyways and Amy listened intently.

Yugi could feel the tips of his fingernails dig into the wood below him. He physically felt a little better, less woozy than before. Emotionally, however, he was leagues deeper into embarrassment than he had been a few minutes ago. Relaying the story out loud had not made it sound any less ridiculous.

Although Amy didn't tease him. While this brought Yugi comfort, it did little to quell the vicious mockery from inside him.

"Is that everything?" she said. She believed him? Yugi hesitated and confirmed, causing Amy to immediately rise from where she knelt. She remained silent for the next few minutes, hand rested under her chin and thumb on her lips in thought.

Lengthy moments going by caused Yugi's worry to grow. What was she thinking? Did she not believe him after all? Or was she contemplating how strange he was. Again, he hadn't known Amy for very long. Just a couple of weeks in fact. Yet, he'd grown so used to having her around that the thought of this swaying her away made him even more anxious.

"Right," she said, breaking the silence, "We need to find the puzzle at once. My main concern is the robed man. I do not believe he took the puzzle, but if he gets to the thief before us, we may never be able to get it back."

"You believe me?" Yugi needed to hear it said out loud.

Amy affirmed with a nod. "Of course. I have no doubt that the events you account took place as you have - you've - described them. Which makes our next action all the more crucial.

"The puzzle should be easy enough to spot on someone's person, however we do not have time to examine everyone in the area. We also must consider that the thief may have left the building already…" she trailed off, reeling in thought again.

"Maybe we should check the lost and found?"

Amy shook her head, not trying to imply that it was a dumb idea, but certainly succeing in doing so. "Possible, but unlikely that anyone would report such a thing. Especially since you were right here. The type of person who would have turned in the puzzle would have also altered high powers of your… state."

"How do you know it wasn't the robed guy?" That question was a loaded one, with hints of fear that the answer may be something akin to 'Because he doesn't exist [4filter].'

"I do not believe that the man would have taken it from you if he had the opportunity to finish his approach." Hadn't been worded at all sketchy and uncomfortable, and Yugi had to purse his lips to prevent himself from asking what she meant. "The Millenium Puzzle is well and truly yours. I believe he would have seen that."

"No, we do not have time to take random guesses… we need more eyes to cover more ground..."

Then she blinked and her face shifted to one of thoughtful discovery.

So the two quickly shuffled their way through the museum once again, this time arriving at a wooden door. On the front labeled security. Although the idea was as good as any, it didn't seem to improve Yugi's mood. Amy did not hesitate to knock on the door.

It opened to a man who immediately sneered at the pair. "Hello?" His expression took no time at all to turn extra 'sick-of-your-[filter]'. "Oh, you two. You're the kids from the unauthorized area earlier. Did you forget something?"

"Not exactly." Yugi humbled. The guard's nose flinched upwards at Yugi's downtrot tone.

"Well, what is it then. I won't tolerate anymore trouble. From either of you." He warned, looking especially in Amy's direction.

Which caught the guard off when Amy unexpectedly bowed in apology. It was a deep bow too. "I am very sorry for earlier. It was unacceptable behavior. But please, something has been lost, officer. We believe our puzzle has been stolen. This is extremely important." At least Yugi wasn't the only one who noticed Amy's drastic change in demeanor.

So he signed and scratched his chin. "What puzzle? That big golden pendant you were wearing?"

"The very same."

"Well it hasn't been turned into the lost-and-found, I would have noticed something like that. Its probably wasn't a good idea to be walking around with expensive jewelry in a busy museum. Advised the oh-wiser-than-thao adult, as if the stupid children hadn't considered that already, "We'll need to write up a report first."

It was strange, in moments like these, Yugi had become accustomed to graping the puzzle between his hands for comfort. And sparks of bravery. But as he went to do it this time the air felt mocking between his fingers. "Please.. it's important to me! So important. Can you please help us!"

He was unable to hide the desperation in his voice. So much so that Amy offered a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, followed by shooting the guard a sharp look.

Whether it was commanding stare from the angry child or discomfort over the crying child, something caused the guard to sigh. "Look, I'll walkie some of the other guards. Maybe one of them has seen something on patrol. Has anyone approached you today or been acting suspicious about it."

He reached up to the walkie on his shoulder, but before he could press the button, it had already come to life. The alert made Amy's hand tighten on Yugi's shoulder and body turned down the hallway, completely sure of herself. "We've got a blackout in section one…"

Earlier that day had Curator Kaneukra feeling nostalgic. As a kid, there were two things Kanekura always dreamed of having: love and happiness. Love had, unfortunately, managed to avoid him the last fifty - nearly sixty - years. It's not that he'd never been in a serious relationship. In fact it took two hands to count the number of women he had thought of marrying in those sixty years. Not one of which had panned out the way he'd hoped. None of them wanted to wait for a husband to come back from the middle of the desert or deep rainforest, and even less shared the same adventure's spirit.

In retrospect he could have left the museum at any point and taken up a desk job somewhere. Become a cushy professor and live in a little apartment next to Domino University. But a little kitchen and a half bath would never be as rewarding as the limitless ocean of sand. Sure, kids. He could have raised them. But then how would he ever find the time to raise an Aztec ruin from the ground.

The more years went by, the more apparent it became that he would have to make a choice. Love or happiness. A choice that felt plenty clear. Love would never be able to send a team to Bet She'an Valley, unearth the Mosaic of Rehob, or make a name for him in the community.

A community that, like a woman, was a fickle thing. The bigger your discovery, the more they expected from you. The more overrated the Mosaic of Rehob seemed. Spiffy men and women lining the gala walls may look like they had everything they could ever ask for, but lord knows they always seemed to want more. Kanekura learned firsthand how quickly the well dried.

"And how dusty the blasted well is at the bottom." he muttered to himself. He rubbed his eyes.

When his greeter finally showed up for work, Kanekura had slipped his stout body back in the maze of guests. An amateur might have a hard time telling a guest from a client, but not Kanekura. Seasoned from over twenty years of experience made it easy to discern who was heading to the gift shop and who was heading to the appraiser.

Thanks to Industrial Illusions, checkbooks all over the building were crying out to him. At least, so he'd hoped.

Okay, yes, the I2 exhibit was on loan. He couldn't actually sell any of it. But his finest Egyptian pieces were complimenting the exhibit. Some of them had to sell. After today he would climb out of the well. After today he could retire, he could move to the Bahamas. He could spend the rest of his days by the Abaco Islands drinking a Goombay Smash. A few more sales. One more auction.

Today was Kanekura's day.

"Why! Fine gentleman, good morning!" One man stood by the elevator. Kanekura immediately thrust his hands onto the button before the hovering man could even process the exchange.

As the doors opened on the next floor up, Kanekura tipped his hat at the man, no time to wait for him to exit. After so many years, he's gotten good at being able to tell the casuals from the collectors. Elevator boy was absolutely the former. Although it wouldn't have taken a seasoned expert to tell that, considering the man's sports jacket. So Kanekura hurried past him.

Past the balcony and Nabataeans exhibits. Nabataean culturing was a dying art. Sad but true, the kids these days just weren't interested in old ceramics and scale models of Ad Deir. No one stood waiting in line to rub their favorite script samples anymore. They hadn't replaced the charcoal at that activity in three months. It was so long forgotten that no one even stole the charcoal anymore.

However, much like the Persians of yesteryear, it permitted him safe passage into the wonderful land of Egypt. Now this, this was a room full of chatter. A woman and her friends were standing next to the Ruby jewelry, daring to sample the necklace in their reflections. Couples camped the hallways, peering eagerly inside the glass cases from any angle they could.

Kanekura tried not to look at the artifacts as he passed them. They set off an uneasy spark in him. Once, those digs, as thankless as they were, had been all he needed for happiness. A man can only stand so much thankless work. He can only be expected to endure so many fickle people. From adventurer, to sponsor, to curator. For a brief second he paused hearing the familiar sound of children shouting about a mummy's curse. From curator to retired. He would be happy.

Finally, he spotted one. A collector. One shining light in the dim crowd of casuals. Not only was he in a pinstripe suit, but he was also the only foreigner in the crowd. Kanekura approached him, a causal swing in his gut. "Good Morning, fine sir! How are you doing today?"

The man pushed up his glasses. They were the thickest rims the curator had seen in a long while. "Good, very good." the foreigner's gaze didn't break from the display.

That was a good sign. A very good sign. Kanekura's voice boomed as he spoke, "Ah yes, you've got a good eye sir, this is one of our most interesting displays." His hand stretched over the case. It was long, spanning across several meters. In it, seven objects stood next to each other. This wasn't a good exhibit for his customer to be looking at, but as long as he had the man's attention, it could always be tweaked a meter or two. "This is perhaps the most interesting mystery to come out of all of Egyptian history. They were said to be artifacts that the king's own court wore."

"Oh, just jewelry then?"

Kanurka let out a boisterous laugh. "More than jewelry!" If he could have put one in his hand he would have. He wasn't much different than those girls back there. The vision of himself holding that kind of wealth and power was a fine taste. "Several scripts have been unearthed that cite these objects as having ended wars."

Entranced, the man let out an 'Oh', and Kanekura continued. "And if you can believe it - many do - not from their material powers. It's said that this collection of objects had dark, ancient magic properties. They were known as the Millennium Items.

All we have left of them are these carefully crafted replicas of what they likely looked like in their prime. Only few have been unearthed, at least according to the community at large. We have nothing left of them but the stone they were created from and the original scripts detailing their powers." he said. Kanekura's outstretched arms gestured around the corner. "In fact, did you know that we possess the original scripts written by priests of Pharaoh Aknamkanon court that gave these items their names! They're a spectacular perspective. You must see them!"

The foreigner did something that made Kanekura curse. He said, "Oh." once again.

Neither man moved despite Kanekura's twitching fingers. His tongue clicked through the next words quickly. "We have so many pieces from that Era here. Including the Pharaoh Aknakadon's headdress. The original. It's truly a sight to behold."

Each second the man remained fixated on the replicas, Kaneukra felt his heart sink further into his belly. In his mind, he begged the foreigner to make eye contact with him. Demanded even. The buyer would not give into his will. Instead the man let out an almost inaudible sigh and ran his hand through his ashy hair.

"...That is very interesting. I'm sure it is. Many things from that era are. My wife and I are actually fans of that period. Although some legacies are more… interesting than others." Light from the display bounced off the man's glasses as he turned the other direction. It felt like it had gone straight into Kaneukera's eyes, blinding him out of some act of spite or malevolence.

In his blind folly, Kakeura barely processed the words that next trickled from his traitorous mouth. "Would you like to see the original Millennium Puzzle?"

It wasn't that long ago that the curator had run into Yugi Muto. He had never prayed for anything quite as hard as he prayed for this. Thinking back, even a woman hadn't been held in so high regard. Had he ever prayed over an expedition before? Somehow, he'd never been this desperate.

God, Buddha, it didn't matter who answered him, he just just hoped that someone would. Please let the Muto boy still be here.

"I've worked hard my entire life, I deserve this." He'd been fair to all. He'd been fair when Yumi kissed him at the park one week before moving onto another kindergartener the next. He'd been fair when Yukiko said running her family store after highschool was more important than traveling the world. He'd been fair when Naomi disclosed that she hated the travel and "couldn't live like this". When Lateefah made it clear that she couldn't bear to leave her homeland to be with him. Kanekura had even been fair when Christy admitted that the eight months apart had driven her to meet someone new.

He had been more than fair his entire life.

What wasn't fair was call after call, telling him that Rehob was old news and wasn't worth renewing his grant. Or that his team had collapsed a tunnel and added an additional six months to the timeline. Or that the recession had made donations impossible, words spoken by donors in between chewing dozens of steaks and bottles of wine and sake.

It was his turn to retire to Palm Beach and take winters in Jamaica. Even if just this once he wasn't going to be [4filter] fair. The universe could give back. Just this once. It owed him. Perhaps his desperation wasn't what was driving him to huff through the rooms, but the lingering thought of what may result from it. If this didn't work out, he felt a burn in his chest that knew hopelessness would follow.

If nothing else, one thing was sure. Young Yugi wasn't at the Egyptain Exhibit. There was only so much time he could spend tapping his nail into the surface of his watch. Casuals in the area were surely starting to notice his hovering, and his polite hello would quickly become a creepy hello the more he said it to the same couple.

Where could they possibly be?

Beads of sweat had broken out on the back of his neck as he fast walked his way around the building.

Then came a moment of blessing. One god answered him. He didn't know, nor care which and simply offered half a prayer up in thanks. The walkie talkie buzzed about two students entering a restricted area. Responding to the call, Kanekura finally got a glimpse of the Muto boy. Or, moreso, his spiky hair on the other side of the glass window.

"Sorry to call for you sir, we hadn't meant it to escalate that far. We found these two wandering around the backroom."

A pounding on the other side of the office door caused him to wheeze. "Cheesus [4filter] Christ, it was an accident. We weren't doing anything."

The girl was still with him. Of course she was. Kanekura quickly began cursing the unspecified god, and women in general. By the sounds of it, she kicked the door in frustration. The security guard slammed on it back. The two yelled at each other through the wood.

"The girl's unruly. A real pain in the [4filter]!" the security guard pounded on the door again, barely missing the window with his fist, and she swore from the other side. "Want me to call the police?"

Who's suspicious now. For as wholesomely satisfying as it would have been to see her dragged out kicking and screaming, that wouldn't do. Not today. Yes, it would separate her from the Muto boy, which would make him infinitely easier to speak to. But Kanekura's intuition told him Yugi wasn't the type to stick around after his companion was kicked out.

"No need for that. They're just kids, not bank robbers." he tried to laugh. Yet still the guard seemed to cling to the idea of kicking the kids out for his own personal vendetta more than anything. It took much convincing and conviction of his own resolve, but the curator soon found himself lumbering away from the scene. Behind him, he heard the sound of yelling and closed doors.

By the time Young Yugi and his companion were back on the main floor, Kanekura was a safe distance away. He was not about to lose them a second time. It was doubtful he'd get that lucky again.

How was he ever going to convince them to let him take the puzzle? He'd hoped he'd hear something of use while trailing them - maybe something they wanted or needed. Something he could trade? Anything to get in their good graces. Winning their trust completely might have been too much to hope for. But he didn't need the kids to break. He just needed them to bend.

While Young Yugi was suspiciously quiet, even broody, the girl was rather expressive. She grumbled and pulled at her wild mess of hair, emoted exasperatingly everytime they hit an exhibit they clearly hadn't been looking for, and swore often. None of which was particularly helpful, and Kanekura soon found himself getting tired of the whole charade. The only piece of information he was certain of was that they were looking for the I2 exhibit, which two seemed fairly adept at not finding.

He was growing wearier by the minute, a voice in the back of his head telling him to give up and try again later. But that wouldn't do. This was his only shot. So he steeled his resolve one more time. God apparently rewards persistence, he thought, because when the two pulled into a side room an opening seemed to finally appear.

"How did they expect investors to get to this new exhibit when there's a giant labyrinth in the way." he could hear the girl groan from the other side. Kanekura sensed it was less the museum's problem and more of a user problem. Her cheekbones were rather husky and there was a foriegn nature to her complexion. Kanekura suspected she had a hard time reading the language. Or that the girl was terrible at directions.

Moments, and an extraneous rant later, the girl came running around the corner gritting her teeth in frustration. If she'd seen Kanekura she didn't acknowledge it, because she leapt across the room without so much as a pause.

Young Yugi was alone. Kanaukra, a few moments ago exhausted, sweaty, and uncomfortable by his long chase, was suddenly exhilarated. He felt like he's gotten years of his life back, if only for a few short minutes. One more silent prayer went up to that unknown, but beloved god, and the man finally rounded his own corner. His hat waving in his hands, revealing the sweaty thinning hairline beneath it.

"Young Yugi!" he said. Surprisingly genuine exuberation danced around the words. "What are the chances we would run into each other again! How are you liking your stay?"

Before Young Yugi could answer, Kanakeua stole the conversation back. Conversations were like a game of tennis, serve the topic and the other person will send it back. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes the key to luring the customer in was to hit another ball before they could return the serve. "Have you found everything you were looking for?"

Still no answer. In fact, Young Yugi seemed motionless. He simply stood in front of the bench. "Did you come here for our new I2 Exhibit? What am I saying! Of course you did, you're a smart lad.

"You've got your grandfather's blood in you, I can tell. Just like old Solomon -"

When he finally reached an arm's length of Young Yugi, Kanekura realized something was wrong. Terribly wrong. It hadn't been the curator's charm and charisma that was dominating the conversation, but rather the boy hadn't tried to reply. In fact, he hadn't moved an inch during the entire approach. His eyes hadn't followed any of Kenekura's steps, nor had he changed his expression.

Young Yugi appeared frozen. The curator didn't just slow his approach. He stopped. Dead in his tracks.

An unnerving aura lingered. Sweat began to bead up on the back of his neck once more, all swagger to his step gone. "...Lad?"

It was like there was a wall between them. Something told him not to step forward. A powerful inclination that there was something within that gap that he shouldn't mess with. Almost like a trap was there. An angry, powerful trap. Despite that there was nothing but open air. "Young Yugi, are you alright?"

Only glossed eyes answered.

Somehow, he knew that the side would be safe. Kanekura quietly, cautiously, tiptoed to Yugi's side. There he could get up close and personal, waving his hand in front of the boy's eyes. "Lad? Lad! Can you hear me." Not even a flinch met him back.

Was this a stroke? No, Kanekura had seen strokes before, and this wasn't it. Young Yugi was catatonic. Not another second went by before he had the walkie talkie thrown off his belt and up to his mouth. His finger on the button like a trigger.

Then he had a thought. One that paused his trigger finger, creavases of the TALK button against his skin. It was a dark, near disgusting thought, one that came to him in crumbs. One that should have made him sick. One that on any other day would have made him sick. But today - today he was blessed. God, Buddha, Zeus, Ra, a god somewhere was on his side.

He could just take the puzzle.

No, he didn't even have to take it. What if the Puzzle just… fell. Innocently. If it's on the ground, it's abandoned. If it's abandoned, it's a free for all. It was only held up by a string after all. Strings snap. They break. They're unreliable, and the puzzle was heavy. Real, true gold. Heavy gold. He could honestly attest to that - he'd held the puzzle earlier after all.

Thoughts buzzed around Curator Kanekura so rapidly that hadn't even felt himself reach into his back pocket for his pocketknife and unfold the tiny blade. With the rope pressured between his thumb and forefinger, the threads began to slice. A bare realization of what was happening struck the curator, who in a panic suddenly pulled back the blade. Then he shut his eyes tightly. Tighter than he ever had before. The sound of metal clanged to the ground, and Kaneukra took comfort in the fact that he could say, for honest and true, that he hadn't seen anything.

Even now at his desk, he still had a hard time making eye contact with the eye in the center of the puzzle. The more Kaneukra looked at it, the more unsettling it appeared. So, instead, Kanekura looked at the office he would soon abandon. Dusty books, barred windows, and an overwhelming scent of body spray that he should have been nose blind to by now. What stood out the most was a globe shaped decanter sitting next to the desk.

Fitting of someone who loved collected traveling around the world and collecting its most secret treasures. Less fitting for someone who had fallen out of love with those treasures. Two glasses, of course, were missing from the end table seeing as they were both placed at the desk. Looking at the glass in front of him only brought him back to the piercing eye of the Millennium Puzzle. He began nudging it away with the back of his hand.

The buyer hadn't seemed to notice, still taking a sip of his whiskey. Even as he drank, the man's excitable grin didn't disappear. "I'm so happy you kept our arrangement. When your office was closed, I thought for sure it had fallen through. But here you are - and here we are!" the foreigner held up his glass, "Cheers Mr. Kaneukra!"

"Yes, cheers." Kanekura clanked glasses with the man, but still couldn't bring himself to have a taste. He'd been saving this 1959 New York Vintage for the right occasion. Now that it had come, he couldn't imagine stomaching it.

Once this was over then he'd be ready, Kanekura was sure. He just wanted this transaction to finish. No - needed this transaction to finish.

For the fourth time, the foreigner began manhandling the puzzle, a glimmer in his eye. "What a piece. My wife will be so thrilled to have this home. You've made a happy woman, Mr. Kanekura, and me a truly lucky man." Kanekura's smile didn't falter. For the third time this conversation he rebut with something akin to 'happy wife, happy life', and for the third time the foreigner laughed.

"Tell me . You're in the know about these things, yes? Are the rumors about how this piece was found true?" The foreigner pushed up his glasses, "Did as many people die as they say? While I love a good story, I'd hate to bring anything dangerous home."

That's right. Kankuera had forgotten about the curse. Only Solomon Muto had made it out of that tomb alive and well. Suddenly, he felt a choking feeling. No doubt he was just bloaty. It took all the willpower he could muster not to pull at his collar.

The eye was staring at him.

"Yes, well," the curator cleared his throat, feeling his fingers twitch at the desire to undo his neckband, "Unfortunately I wasn't there for that dig myself. Very few dared to enter the Tomb of The Nameless Pharaoh because of that very superation. I myself didn't arrive at the Valley of Kings until several years later."

The only other survivor was said to be a local villager. Rumor had it the man emerged from the Tomb of the Unnamed Pharaoh completely mad. That didn't seem like it was wise to bring up.

The eye was still staring at him.

This only made the foreigner's prolonged gaze more loving. "I almost didn't bring my checkbook today, you know. Something stopped me at the door to my hotel room and told me I would find something special. Let me write that check so I can get this beauty home."

"Cash, please."

"Pardon?"

Kanekura cleared his throat again. "The museum was hoping for a cash donation. It would do us wonders right now. This recession has been tough on all of us."

The foreigner's pause only lasted a moment before brightening up again, and for the very last time laying the puzzle down on the desk. "Of course, I'd forgotten our terms. Please forgive me. Cash it is."

While the foreigner reached around for his briefcase, there was a knock on the door. Part of him was relieved by a break in the tension, yet he still barked at the knock for appearance sake. Then they knocked again. After the third knock, Kanekura politely excused himself from the desk.

"This had better be an emergency or someone is getting fire-" Then, he saw the visitor's questionable attire and paled, "Oh, are you representative from the society? I don't recall us having a meeting scheduled today. If you could just come back in ten minutes I'd be happy to have you."

He couldn't let the representative see the Millennium Puzzle. That would invoke too many questions. So instead, he cracked the politest smile he could muster and began to close the door.

Until he made eye contact with the robed man's rough stare, which quickly seemed to turn dangerous.

What Shadi had to say was really very simple. "I sense greed in this room." Yet, it was paralyzing. He couldn't stop Shadi from pushing the door past him. Something in his step was too mighty for Kanekura's tongue to take a hold of.

Shadi's sudden appearance made the buyer nearly drop his suitcase. "Mr. Kanekura ...I hope this isn't another bidder! He should know that I already have an eye to make this piece my own."

Kanekura couldn't answer. Although the buyer laughed at his own joke, no one else joined him. Those chuckles quickly died down when the room went dark. Lights flashed for a moment, then died completely.

'A blackout?' Kakeura thought to himself, the edges of his eyes darting around the room, hoping the lights would flash on again. They didn't. The foreigner audibly gasped at the occurrence.

Despite the darkness, Shadi's veil of white meant he could be seen easily. Light beaming in through cracks in the blinds reflected off the golden key as it met with the foreigners forehead. Not only couldn't he answer, but the curator also found that he couldn't bring himself to move. Struck by devilish curiosity, he watched the key turn, and his buyer go silent. Not even a twitch between them.

Finally, someone breathed. It was so sudden, the curator didn't realize it was him that had done it. Inching closer, Kanekura inspected the sudden fixtures. Neither seemed to blink. Their eyes as glossy as Young Yugi's had been when he had dropped the puzzle from his neck.

The puzzle. It was sitting vulnerable on the desk. If anything, out of pure instinct, he reached for it. He had to keep his prize safe.

Shadi's face regained life, the foreigner slowly following suit. Kanekura called out the name of his buyer, but the man's eyes hadn't even twitched. From his keffiyeh, Shadi pulled something unexpected: a lone feather. "That treasure is stolen. You suspected as much, but that is of no consequence as long as you make it your own."

"T...that's silly. I would never…!" He coughed in reply. A sweaty fog overtook his thick glasses, forcing the foreigner to remove them.

Shadi placed the feather on one side of his scale. For a second, it was balanced. Then creaked to one side. Kanakura couldn't believe what he saw. It wasn't the side with the feather that had tipped downward, but the empty plate. "That isn't possible." the curator breathed. The puzzle tightened closer to his breast. It must have been some kind of trick making the empty plate swing.

"D-don't look at me like that, sir. I assure you I'm telling you the truth. If this artifact is stolen it has nothing to do with me. Talk with the museum curator."

"What do you intend to do with the Puzzle once you have it in your possession." Shadi continued.

"G-give it to my wife of course. She's an avid collector and we'll take good care of it." The empty plate tipped down almost immediately following his reply.

"You were intent to sell the Millennium Puzzle overseas," Shadi said.

The foreigner inched backwards, bumping the end table with his leg so hard that the decanter shuddered. "Please sir, what is going on here! Who are you? I don't understand what I have done wrong."

Shadi didn't so much as blink at the question. "I have been the keeper of the Egyptian Tombs for three millennia. I am a follower of Anubis." The foreigner shuddered a low questioning hush, clearly confused by the words. However, Kanekura understood the significance. Anubis, was the god of mummification, embalming, cemeteries, tombs. He was the god of death.

It made no sense, Kanekura realized. Nothing in the dull city would attract the follower of an ancient god to such a bland, uncultured country, never mind one coming through his door. The feather. The scale. There had to be a trick. Kanureka strained his eyes to look as far left as he could. In the dark he couldn't read the spines of the books, but he knew so many by heart. They had been his only companion in this drery office for many a long night.

"Your desires have disturbed the sacred soul of the god who lies asleep in the Egyptian King's valley. You have many a times done this for your own gain of wealth, knowing that those treasures you deal with do not belong to you. Answer this so your heart may be weighed."

Although it felt like his eyes may pop, Kanekura finally honed in on a blue spine to the right of the shelf. On an academic paper detailing a particular funerary text. The Book of the Dead. Suddenly, one spell came to mind. Kanekura wasn't sure what made him hone in on it, maybe it was his finer instincts kicking in or an insight from his god, but the results were the same regardless.

There was no trick. The points of the Millenium Puzzle buried into his gut as he held it close. His foreign buyer was about to lose his life. Kankeura was about to lose his life. The concussion made no sense, and was clearly insane, but he'd never been so sure of something in his life. This was a Judgement of the Dead.

Shadi continued his slow approach, and the foreigner could only answer in kind. Kankerua could not see the man's expression in the dark. He could smell man's sweat and hear his panic cries, but he could not see. If he could, he would have seen just what he expected. The buyer's face twisted in fear. The man was not thinking when he continued his flee, only knowing that he needed to.

The end table collapsed as he caught himself on the leg, toppling both himself and the table to the ground.

The globed-shape decatur crashed to the ground and shattered. "P-Ple-ease. What do you want? I'll give you anything, anything at all. I'll…. go back home and never come back. I swear! I'll give everything back to their owners. I swear."

That was when the table began to morph. Clear as day in the otherwise black room, it was no longer made of wood, but took on a form flipped as the table had been. The legs of the end table morphed into hands, no, claws, that had already formed around the man's legs. Its center grew a horrendous face. Rows of sharp teeth protrude from its monstrous jaw. Eyes bulged out the sides, moist its own drool dripping the wrong way. No matter, the creature twisted its body in an uncanny swipe, until it was standing straight and protruding over the foreigner.

No matter how much he squirmed and screamed, the creature's claws wrapped itself tighter around the man. Drool now raining down on him. Kanekura could not move. Kanekura could not process the sight before him, only managing abject gurgling sounds to match the forginger's own horrific gurgles.

Most chilling of all was Shadi's own stillness. There was ney short of indifference in his posture, expression, and most of all, words. "Ammit has emerged from your soul. You shall pay Ammit retribution for the greed and desecration you performed in life." Just like that, the scale's empty plate dipped as far down as it could, and Ammit closed her jaw around the foreigner.

"Mr. Kanekura - are you alright!?" A light shined in Kanekura's face, jolting him out of the sight he'd been beholding. He hadn't realized his own wails watching the scene, of the limp of fluids flowing out of his features. "Oh my god…"

Kankeura did not recognize the security guard on the other end of the flashlight. Nor did he see Amy and Yugi standing behind him. Kanekura only became aware that the spell of horror upon his legs had been released. The curator bolted from his desk, stumbling momentarily over the foreigner's lifeless feet. He threw the security officer out of the doorway and continued to run. No inclination of where to run to, just to run.

He was only aware of three things. The puzzle, his life, and that he was being pursued. Shadi was following him, he could feel the oppressive aura and see Ammit oozing from the wall. He plummeted through a dark doorway, not stopping for the velvet rope that blocked off the area. The rope and stand ties itself around his legs. This did not stop him. The curator threw himself down the steps, not counting how many at a time, until the last few steps caught the velvet rope around him.

The Millenium Puzzle flew from his hands and he fell down the bottom stairs, metal cleaning against the around. Kanekura twisted to the side, landed hard on to his arm and began to roll onto the other. He didn't feel the pain, or the throb, or even the discomfort. It was buried under the overwhelming need to get away.

Shadi was coming after him.

Now, also on its side having rolled across the floor, the Puzzle was staring at him once again.

It was not Shadi that emerged from the darkened staircase, but Amy and Yugi. Yugi appeared horrified at the sight. Kankeura crawled away from them in desperation.

Yugi Muto ran to the deluisioned curator immediately. "Amy, I think he's hurt!" Yugi cried. Then the Muto Boy closed in on Kanekura.

Amy paid him no mind, and went straight towards the puzzle. "Leave him, Yugi." She knelt down and cupped the puzzle in her hands. Gently, despite the circumstances. "This is more important."

"Please!" Kanekura cried out, his wail frothing with so much drool, sweat and snot that it splattered over Yugi's pant legs. "Give it back to me! Please don't take it!"

Amy's reply was not what he'd hoped. She met his fevered eyes sharply. By the surprisingly calm look on her face, one would be hard pressed to peg her as anything but focused. Maybe a little vexed. "Troubled" wasn't the word for what she was feeling towards the pinstriped, heavy set man, at that moment. "Troubled" was far too tame. "Unhappy" didn't quite cover it either.

The girl, in that moment, in many ways resembled Ms Chono. In that pose, in her now elegant expression, Amy seemed patiently venomous.

"Calm down Mr. Kanekura - you'll hurt yourself…" Yugi knelt down beside him.

Instantly, the man flung himself at Yugi, clinging onto his arm. Nothing short of groveling, and Yugi instantly tried to pull away from his grip. "That's right, it isn't hers. It's yours. It doesn't matter what she says. Please let me have it, Young Yugi. Please give me the puzzle! I need it! It has to grant my wish!"

Although he struggled, he couldn't get away. Yugi pulled his arms back but his grip only tightened. "Let me go! I'm sorry. I won't..."

"Don't be selfish, Young Yugi." It was almost as if Kanekura was smiling now. Tears and mucus now dribbling down into his widening mouth, "I need it more than you do. I deserve it."

"I'm sorry. No." Yugi's words were small, but sure. Kanekura released his grip on the boy. In his relief, Yugi failed to notice Kanekura's reach instead to something on the other side of them. For Amy, the movement was slow, and she saw Kanekura's drastic change in tactics clearly at the mood's shift.

The curator reached to the side, hand fumbling for a glint of metal. Reflection of the little light peaking in through the stairway warped in it cylindrical surface. Kanekura's hand tightened around the fallen stanchion and in a quick swing raised it above his head. Yugi, arms rubbing together to ease the shock of being grabbed, didn't see the glare of the stanchion until it was already above him.

Amy had plunged to the side. Her run was fast and decisive, in a few steps having reached her classmate and pulled him back. The post was nothing but a blur, but he could hear the sound of metal crashing onto the floor. Amy's pull made both stumble, Yugi falling back over her legs.

It didn't take Kanekura long to find them again. The stanchion once again swooped through the air. All Yugi could think was to cross his arms over his body, winching in between, waiting for the impact. He didn't know what he would sense first. Would he hear the blow as it happened, or would he feel it first? Would open his eyes to see it happen for feeling the blow of metal?

Then, nothing happened. Yugi opened his eyes to see that the metal post stopped, along with Kanekura. Something had stopped the swing. Kankura's face melted again in horror.

Shadi had grabbed hold of the stanchion in mid swing, starring Kanekura down. In one hand, the stanchion, and in the other was Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. Shadi's stare was unwavering, still indifferent, but somehow like daggers, focused only on Kanekura.

Once again, the man began to blubber, releasing the stand faster than he had swung it. "No.

"Not you."

"Please," Kanekura took one more step back, "Anyone but you!" his ragged breathing the most audible sound in the room. Shadi did not need to reply. His eyes were clear in their precise message. Go.

Kankeura used his last out to disappear up the stairway, huffing, stumbling, and making egregious gurgling noises at the fear of being pursued.

Shadi did not chase him. He merely stood in the dark, glancing down at Yugi. Yugi looked up at him, raggedly breathing himself. A long minute of stillness, disbelief, and fear.

Lights blared in the room. Yugi's eyes still fixed on Shadi. He hadn't realized it, but when he held his hand out, they were trembling. Bare words escaped the boy's mouth. "Can I have my puzzle back?"

At first, Shadi said nothing. Yugi's open palms trembled thanklessly. the gazes of both locked together in the silence. Until, finally Yugi's hands finally felt a comforting, familiar, weight. "Boy with two souls," Shadi said. He had not released the other side yet. "I am in debt to you, so I will return what was taken. But I can not cease my pursuit until I know. Show me the other you - the you that lives inside your soul."

"The… other me? I don't know what you're talking about…please..." Exhaustion cradled Yugi's still shaking hands. Vision blurring at the sight of Shadi. Once again, an overwhelming haze wrapped itself around him, and Yugi felt like he was falling. It also felt like someone caught him from his fall. Someone who was saying, "It's okay now, I got this partner."

Then Yugi stood. His legs were strong, his posture strong. No longer was he on his knees, and no longer did his hands shake. Every part of Yugi was steady. Every part of Other Yugi was steady. Shadi recognized instantly that this was no longer the gentle boy.

Other Yugi gripped the puzzle and pulled an unspoken command for Shadi to release. A command that was obeyed immediately. Other Yugi, puzzle in one hand and the other on his hip, said, "You have your proof Shadi, here I am. Leave the boy alone. If you want something, you go through me"

" I will concede for the day." Shadi responded. Although it seemed daring to ignore Other Yugi's command, true to form Shadi did not flinch. "This is not over. I require more information, but I will be back."

"You can't leave! I have questions! How did you find my room? Do you know who I am? Answer me!"

But Shadi was already gone. In a blink, he had disappeared. All other Yugi could see was Amy standing humbly by the doorway.

Other Yugi squeezed the puzzle. "So close." Shadi would not be coming back.

A new hand picked up the hovering end of the puzzle. It was not Shadi's hand, but a slimmer, more feminie hand. One with chewed nails. Amy's approach was warm and open, and she was smiling now. Despite everything, her face, her smile was radiant.

There were few words to describe the soft, warm delight in her. Not just face, but movements, and posture. A sense of pure, unfiltered bliss hit him. Bliss that he, in his frustration, wasn't able to understand. A part that resented the unfamiliar wave.

She didn't just take hold of the puzzle, but also his hand on it. "May I?"

Amy reached down, in a swift act had undone one of her shoelaces and pulled in through, weaving it into the open of the pendant. All the while apologizing, but with sweetness that didn't sound at all sorry. The apology was simply a formality. Amy wasn't sorry for the dirty lace at all - it was impossible for her to feel remorse under all that bliss. "I'm sorry, this is all we have at the moment."

Other Yugi felt inclined to let go as she adorned the puzzle back over his head. "Are you uninjured?" she cooed, looking him up and down.

"Amy did he -"

The way she brought her finger to his lips was uninhibited. There was less of a sense of personal space. The scene no longer resembled the children who fumbled away intimate conversations through soda straws. "I am not Amy, as you are not Yugi. Although you are part of him, you are, in fact, your own self."

Her words caused a stir. "How do you know that?"

To that, she gestured to the back wall. Now that the room was bright, clear glass displays were in full view. The room had very little seating. Nothing that took attention away from the several display pieces.

In front of which was a podium, a plaque screwed to the wooden top detailing a brief history of the piece, and one next to it detailing a history of the era. Both branded with Industrial Illusion's logo. Along the sides of the case was a papyrus scroll, framed delicately against the wall, featuring a man kneeling amongst several other men, and above them all a dark figure.

Stands with jewelry, some real, some replicated, adorned the edges of the room. Boxes and headdresses worn by time. Bits of sandals that had long since begun deterioration. Faded and chipped paintings covered various spots on the wall. And so, so much pottery.

Out of everything Other Amy could have pointed out, it was the stone tablet she lead Other Yugi too. Most of the hieroglyphs had been broken apart, destroyed. But the pictures remained intact. On it was a kneeling woman, shapes that looked like snakes protruding from her feet. In fact, several snakes outline parts of the tablet.

Around her several items hovered. Some that looked eerily familiar. Other Yugi didn't have to squint to recognize the triangular shape of his pendant hovering over the woman's head. As well as a scale and ankh they had seen way too frequently today floating amongst the others. The woman seemed to be reaching out for two Millenium Items in particular, both of which he didn't recognize.

Other Yugi counted eight, noting several that he didn't recognize at all. Above the praying were more figures. One darkly, deeply carved, and another lightly outlined, were more women. They did not look like the rest of the people carved in, but without legs almost seemed spiritual. Each facing a man at the edges of the stone.

One man, Other Yugi noticed, looked particularly like Yugi. He caught a reflection of himself in the glass. It looked like him.

"What is this?" he breathed.

"This is history." It was an unsatisfying answer, but she said it with such a sure smile. "I can not say much, but this is history that you are a part of. That is your puzzle up there, and you come from within the puzzle.

"And I," she gestured to the encased jewelry next to the display, "come from here."

Her gesture was to a replica bracelet. The plague of which bluntly read, 'The Lost Bracelet of Kings'. Other Amy pulled the sleeve of her sweater down, revealing a bracelet that matched the replica.

He realized that one of the items the woman in the tablet reached for was the bracelet.

"What is all this? Why is Yugi in the tablet? Do you know who I am?" Other Yugi demanded. Not roughly, but with an eager patience. The images were answering less questions than the created, and it made him antsy.

"I can't say that I do, or how he is. Just look at it. He is connected to it, and you are connected to him."

"You have to know more!"

She shook her head. "I can't say that I do. I need to discover these answers, as you do."

"I don't want to discover them - I just want to know! You're the only clue I've gotten! You have to know more."

Other Amy looked down, not at the floor, but at the space between them. "May I? I would like to reassure you." she asked. Other Yugi, unsure of what she meant, let out a frustrated huff. Then agreed, if not begrudgingly. So Other Amy reached down and took his hands in hers, and gave them a reaffirming squeeze. "Discovering those answers, who you are, will be a journey. I am here to help you every step of the way on your journey. I will support you, if you can find it in yourself to trust in me."

Still not convinced, Aimee continued. "I have a gift for you, when you are ready to take it. As proof of my support. I would like you to take my bracelet when you are willing."

That statement struck Other Yugi with a new unsuritiy. He didn't want a journey. He didn't want a gift. Just anwsers. He pulled his hands back. She didn't fight it or scowl, just simply folded her own hands together in front of her. In fact, her radiating smile never changed. "You can start by telling me who you are and how you seem to know me."

At that, Other Amy bowed. "My name is Aimee. I am the other Amy. Amy and Yugi are companions, and I am her companion. As you are Yugi's companion. Our situations are not so different. I know that I know you and felt compelled to seek you out."

Other Yugi took one more look at the carved replica of himself. Asking one more time, knowing the answer wasn't going to change, but hoping it would. "And you don't know who I am."

"You haven't told me who you are." she repeated, still bowing. "You are still someone, right now. You can not start figuring out who you were, until you learn who you are now. If you want to, that is how your journey begins. Tell me who you are, in this moment."

Who was he. He was Yugi Muto - but he wasn't. He was Other Yugi, but had his own preferences. He was Yugi, but wasn't. A different Yugi. He wasn't just Yugi. A shadow to Yugi Muto that no one knew was there. The next words were not what he was looking for, but there was something relieving about them. They fell out of his mouth without so much of another thought. Feeling almost natural. "You can call me Yami Yugi."

Suddenly, something changed in him. His soul, once an endless void of nothingness, lite up with light. So bright Yami could barely see. He closed his eyes, realizing he wasn't looking at Aimee anymore. Not at the museum, not at the tablet. But when he opened them next, no longer a void of nothingness.

Yami's soul room was surrounded by clay steps, and doors, and questions. But it was no longer nothingness.