Disclaimer: Seto Kaiba owns Yugioh! I'm sure of it!
Joey had finally gotten out of detention and was going to meet up with Tristan and some other guys to play some frisbee. Yugi wasn't usually too into that sort of thing, so he'd be spending his afternoon without his little buddy for once.
He was searching for Tristan when he saw Yugi hanging out with some white haired chick. He was walking over to say hi, when the girl raised her hand and blue light flared in front of her. This couldn't be good!
'Hang on, Yuge. I'm coming', Joey thought as he jumped into the light after them.
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Portals are unpredictable and should not be randomly jumped into at the last minute, no matter how the movies go. It's in their nature to transport objects or persons in such a way that only those who understand the science or magic behind them can understand; without traveling with that person, the chances of being lost go up exponentially.
It's probably for that reason that when Yugi and Amane landed in a dark room, Joey was not with them.
Instead Amane ran over to a table where a young man with blond hair and freckles lay. He had a black design like a circlet with thorns on his forehead, wrapped around a silver symbol. She grabbed his hand until a voice barked out, "Amane!" She quickly dropped his hand.
At the door stood a tall man in black and gold robes. His hair was gray and he looked like he hadn't shaved for a very long time. "You know you can't risk waking him."
"I was just checking his pulse", she hedged.
"It's fine, as it always is", the man said. Then he noticed Yugi. "And who is this?"
"That's Yugi. He wanted to see his friend to make sure he's alright."
The man grumbled something before saying, "Fine. But they can't touch. With that puzzle there's too much chance of his partner awakening."
Yugi nodded, and Amane quickly led him off into a nearby chamber. She answered his question before he asked: "That's my master. He took me in when I lost everything that mattered to me. He can be a little grumpy, but that's just because...actually, nevermind. He's always grumpy." She giggled.
Yugi scratched his head nervously, but forgot about that when they reached the Pharaoh. He lay as if sleeping, something Yugi had never seen him doing before. He was also solid, and Yugi was tempted to reach out to touch him to confirm it. Amane swatted his hand away though.
"You see that mark on his head? How it's very complex? That's because the magic over him is very strong. We aren't very clear on how it works, but we know yamis can be woken by hikaris; my friend Megumi proved that. Her yami was almost as far gone as yours, and it took one touch for one to wake the other. It's too much of a risk."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"You could go home. You've seen him, you know he's safe. Eventually we will find a way to wake him, but I'm sure with him around your life has been very interesting. Without him around, you could finally enjoy a normal life..." Amane shut up upon seeing Yugi's expression. She sighed. "You have no desire for a normal life, do you?"
Yugi shook his head. "Not if it means giving up on Yami!"
"I guess there is one other option..."
"How can I help him?"
"Help us. Most hikari tend to be too afraid to help us, even when they do know their yami. You seem a little different though...something tells me you're made of sterner stuff than most hikaris out there."
Yugi blushed at the compliment and said, "I don't know about that, but I really want to help. Tell me what we can do."
She gestured for Yugi to follow her, but before doing so Yugi went to take a last look at his mou hitori no Yugi. As Amane had said, there was an extremely complex design that rested on the Pharaoh's brow. The only place that was clear was where the Eye of Horus sat, at the center of Yami's forehead. Yugi leaned over and said softly, "I promise to find the solution, okay?" He didn't notice the puzzle brush Yami's hand as he quickly ran after Amane, who had already ran off.
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Joey had landed, as his luck would have it, in a dumpster. His eyes spun for a second before he started climbing out, but not before he noticed a Duel Monsters card. It was titles "Lady Luck", but the description looked like it had been stained by dark red dye; all he could tell was that it was a monster card. He stuck it in his pocket before shouting, "Where the heck am I? Yugi!"
A man in purple assassin's robes with a creepy smile dropped in from of him. He had blended into the streets perfectly, as the city seemed to be flooded with mist, and the moon didn't shine overcast night sky. It almost felt like a stereotype of London.
"Is there any particular reason you're screaming 'Game'?", said the man. He slid behind Joey and continued, "Perhaps you are looking to play Cheshire?"
"Nyargh!", Joey exclaimed as he stumbled away from the man. "Who the hell are you?"
The man seemed disappointed. "So you don't want to play?"
"Heck no! I'm looking for my friend Yugi, right now."
Joey was about to stalk off, when the man said, "Wait. With a name like that, your friend has to be into games. If you think he'd play with me, I'll help you find him."
That caught Joey's interest. "You know where Yugi is?"
The man chuckled. "I have a few ideas. Will Yugi be willing to play?"
"Sure my pal will play, and beat you too! He's the King of Games. No one can ever beat my bud!"
"Well then, I'm sure it will prove a very interesting match. Now I must inquire, what is your name? I go by a few, but considering the locale we're in, call me Puck."
Joey laughed. "Puck? Like hockey puck? What, are you easy to push around?"
Puck frowned for the first time. "Not especially. In fact, I can be rather dangerous when I have a mind to be."
Joey didn't catch hint, and was still laughing a little when he said, "Whatever you can do, Puck is still a really sissy name."
"You're really pushing it. Perhaps it's time for a warning." Puck smiled, and with a snap of the fingers crows gathered around Joey, and a couple of them pecked at him.
"Get these things away from me!", Joey yelled, and ran off.
Puck shrugged and bent down to stroke a crow. "He didn't give me much to go by, but I think I may still hunt down this Yugi fellow. The King of Games could very well be of use to me, if the title is anything to go by, don't you think, my former Lady of Luck?"
.
'Why do I always end up running away from something on these crazy adventures?', Joey thought to himself. The crows didn't let up until about four miles away, where the mist suddenly stopped. The clouds stopped at that point too, and the buildings all looked newer and more spaced out. Joey still didn't have the slightest clue where he was, but whether it was the run or the change of atmosphere, he suddenly felt a heck of a lot better.
He pointed at the crows still behind the mist.
"Yeah, take that you birds! Joey Wheeler is unstoppable!" He did a little victory dance, before starting to march off to look for his friend...and then his stomach growled.
"Looks like you could use some dinner", a voice behind him commented.
He looked to see a woman dressed leather with black hair and a smirk. Something about her reminded him of Mai, but he was soon distracted again by his stomach.
Joey asked, "Know where I can find some grub?"
"Right here. You have some sort of luck, pup. This is the only place in the city that takes in and feeds lost kids."
Joey sputtered at the word 'pup' and was about to defend himself, but she just waved a hand for him to come in. He smelled pizza and she wasn't Kaiba, so the argument could wait. He followed her inside.
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Ryou woke from a nightmare that hadn't bothered him in a long time. When he was younger and Amane had first been lost, he used to dream all the time a mysterious man had taken her away.
He would see her make-believing there were fairies in their grandmother's backyard, which was more like a wood. It woudln't be unpleasant at all, and would be very like her, but then a stranger in black and gold robes would come and just scoop her up in the middle of her game and leave while she wailed for her brother to save her. In the dream, he tried to go to his parents but the shadows would leap from all around him and silence him, so he couldn't tell them anything.
He dreamed this every night after Amane disappeared.
About six months after, the remains of a little girl were found in those woods, and it was decided that they were Amane's. Their grandmother swore it wasn't her, but even Ryou believed it had to be; all those dreams meant was that she had been back there all this time.
Later on Ryou would develop an interest in the occult so his sister could communicate with him again. He still missed her dearly, and would have done anything to find out how she was.
That's why having that dream again mystified him so. He had already gotten the message about her having been killed and buried in the woods. Besides that, there was a new element to the dream; Yugi appeared in it and led her back to him and their family.
Ryou knew this couldn't be so. His sister was buried properly, so this meant something entirely different. It was late though, and he couldn't think of why the dream had returned or what it meant.
He decided he would write her a letter in the morning. Perhaps that would help him puzzle it out.
With that settled, he drifted back to sleep. Four-thirty was definitely too late for this.
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A/N: Another chapter done, and this one isn't terribly late. Now there's two more things:
1) You guys have a say, if you want it. It requires a review or a message, but if you want to see more of Kaiba or Bakura or some other canon character, or less of some OCs, just let me know. Same goes for any other suggestions. The storyline can totally handle it, and I really want to make you readers happy. Without you, this is hardly more than writing practice, so throw in your two cents.
2) My thanks to Phantom Brat, Skater Girl, and PK Love Omega (x2 for reviewing twice). Your reviews make my day. ^_^
Many hugs and thank yous to Novice Novelist, who is ever helpful and encouraging. This chapter would neither be out, nor make as much sense without him.
Last of my thanks goes to the people who only read without leaving a comment. There's hardly a story without an audience, and so I just hope you're enjoying this one. ^.^ Thanks for stopping by.