Ranko: Something surprised me in the reviews this time. A lot of you guys thought that Yami was going to blab about Mai's curse.
Yami: I'm not that mean…am I?
Yuugi: That's debatable.
Yami: Thanks, love you too.
Ranko: Anyway, I think that Yami didn't tell about Mai because it was like he was drawing it out and mocking Mai. By not saying it, it just made Mai think about it and remind her of her fate. Does that make sense?
Yami: Sure, why not?
Ranko: Why do Yuugi and I love you so much?
Yami: How the hell should I know?
Yuugi: Why don't you answer reviews, Ranko?
Ranko: Okay…
KuroNekoFangirl: I know! While I was writing that, I was fangirling in my seat! Yeah, you can use that. Thank you so much; this was probably one of my favorite chapters too.
TheWingedSunDragonofRal13402: I have to answer this review just so I can say: I LOVE YOU TOO! =3
hikari no senshi17: I'll tell him for you! Yes! All bow before your almighty queen! Really, just giving me this kind of power was not smart. Yet, I can still be ordered around…but that's okay because I love you all! I hope that I updated quick enough for you (I'm lazy). Someone actually asked if Otogi will ever get Honda in both of my stories and that gave me that idea from the last chapter. There might be fluff at the end of the story…or angst, all depends on my mood ;) I'm am the queen!
Cascade00: After I read your review I went to watch Gabriel Iglesias; Hot & Fluffy on Netflix. Six levels of fatness: big, healthy, husky, fluffy, DAMN!, and OH HELL NO! Sorry, I get off track easily. I actually stole the Tunnel of Love and Despair from L.J. Smith. I have come up with a lot of original ideas for this story but I had to use that one. Yay! I love answering questions! Um, I don't think Seth will be in the story but he can make a cameo if you like?
CrimsonStrawberry17: I've been waiting to answer your review ;) That's because I love answering questions. Akefia was sacrificed to the Shadow Men (as seen in chapter 10). How Yami became a Shadow Man is not revealed yet. Yami is trying to be evil because that is all he knows, really. The father of all Shadow Men (appearance in What's in a Name?) has told him that he is not supposed to like the light and that he is darkness; so that is all Yami really knows, I guess X3 Yami, Akefia, and Marik are ABOUT the same age as Shadow Men. The reason they follow Yami though is because…well, they feel they have too. He's different than all the Shadow Men. They do not know Yami's past life, just as Yami does not know what their past life was. PM me if you want more details! ;)
IlluminatedWord: You make me feel so special X3 I hope that you like this chapter.
SincereJoyy: You got me all excited, I thought that we were really going to go after Yami! Oh well, I am not sure what the island will look like yet; I'll figure that out when I get there ;) Yes, yes, chaseshipping in this story, I know. I was inspired by a review that asked if Otogi would ever get Honda. Akefia is a Shadow Man, just to clear that up. Um, about Mai and Yuugi, you see…no spoilers. Thank you for the awesome and LONG review!
SincerelyChristina: Alright, I'll see if I have time to watch it ;) I love Malik so much, I hate torturing him like this…okay, that's a lie :) I torture everyone that I love, like Ryou (my dear sweet Ryou) and Yuugi. I know what you mean, Bakura reminds me very much of my friend's fiancé XD He is so protective. I loved it when you said, "Hit him Bakura-hit him!" I just kept laughing! I always want to hit Yami. I think that Mai is going to drag this out as long as possible…or just leave without a trace, we'll see ;)
Zeladious: Well, thank you (super special awesome?) but I do not like your attitude, missy! Well, as long as you're happy about it, I guess; but I don't like it! :( Oh, by the way, what life? I'm sitting here, writing fanfiction for goodness's sake! :)
Great: I don't know why Ryou is so calm, while I was writing him he just turned out that way; these characters have a mind of their own, you know?
Ranko: I answered a lot of reviews but I still feel bad for the reviews I didn't answer! I apologize to all the people whose reviews I didn't answer. I do not appreciate you less! You know who you are, but I love you (yes, you, right there). So have a cookie!
Yuugi: Ranko twin does not own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh or the Forbidden Game series, both belong to their respected creators.
Yami: Yeah, and Ranko is making no money off of this; she's broke!
Ranko: Thank you for reminding me, Yami. Anyway, enjoy!
-/-
Yuugi poked Yami's chest. "All of this," he said, gesturing to the dark, dimly lit tunnel around them. "All of it is for me, right? I'm the one all this is for. So don't bring my friends into this. All this time, the fight has just been between you and me, yet you have always brought my friends into this. Well I've had enough. Talk to me, Yami, let's get personal."
Yami blinked as he absorbed all of this in, then he narrowed his eyes and straightened his back, trying to appear intimidating. "No, Yuugi, let's get general. You want to talk about life?" he spit out.
Yuugi bit his bottom lip to keep from shouting; there was a slight triumph in Yami's tone, as if he had already won.
Then Yami surprised Yuugi by saying, "Did you know that in the Congo there is a kind of fly that lays its eggs in human flesh? Little white worms then develop and live inside you forever. Sometimes, the worms surface and you can watch them crawl under your skin. Some even crawl into your eyeball, I've heard it's quite painful."
Behind him, Yuugi heard Anzu shriek in disgust.
"What's is your point?" Yuugi asked, beginning to lose his temper. "Are you implying that we are no better than worms?"
Yami scoffed. "Please, Yuugi, give your species credit. Humans are much more…inventive. Mustard gas, for instance? It touches you and your skin comes peeling off. It happened to many soldiers during World War I. You want to know the sick part? Some man invented that for the benefit of his brothers. Yet it caused so many other men pain and agony; all for the benefit of just a few people."
Yuugi curled his fingers into fists and shook his head. "Don't say anymore."
"That is how humans have always been Yuugi," Yami said, in an almost sympathetic tone. Almost. "That is how it has always been throughout history; humans never change. First cannibalism; ripping peoples' hearts out, still beating I might add. Where are we now? Drive-by shootings. Face it, Yuugi; people never change."
Yuugi took in a deep breath through the nose and sighed it out. "Okay…"
"Now do you see? Nature is cruel and ruthless. It spares no one."
"Okay…"
Yami tried to mask his shock at Yuugi's response. "And life is fragile and bewildering. And death—death is inevitable and worse than anything you can imagine." Yami said that last sentence rather loudly, as if he was making a point; he looked past Yuugi to the swan boat that was still floating peacefully in the dirty water.
"Who cares?" Yuugi heard Mai call.
Yami narrowed his eyes; he smirked and shook his head. "You amuse me, Mai; don't even try to fool me."
Yuugi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion; he looked over his shoulder at Mai who had turned pale as a ghost. "What? What is he talking about?"
Yami took Yuugi's shoulder and forced him to look back at him. "Never mind that; what matters is that you care, Yuugi. You care if it's a cruel and pointless universe. You care if you are surrounded by evil; you are pure light, Yuugi, you cannot handle the darkness."
Yuugi shrugged Yami's hand off of his shoulder.
"So why not despair? Why not despair over this miserable world you are living in? There is nothing wrong with that. Things will be so much easier once you've given up. Just give up already, Yuugi. Aren't you tired of playing this game?" Yami's voice was hypnotizing but Yuugi would not be drawn into it.
There was a time that Yuugi denied Yami's touch. The thought of Yami's hand on his cheek made his skin crawl; but at the same time he knew he couldn't resist it. Now, he did not shudder in disgust when Yami touched him or held him, but now he did know he had the power to resist.
I am my only master.
Yuugi took a step back when he saw Yami's hand rise to caress his cheek. Yami could not hold back his surprise when he saw that Yuugi actually denied him.
Yuugi's eyes were hard as he stared into Yami's jewel like eyes. "Are you done now? Because I believe you! I get it, so just stop! You wanted to prove how much evil there is, well, you've won; I believe you! I don't know all the answers. I don't even know the freakin' questions. But let me tell you something, Yami, not everything is evil." Yuugi took a confident step forward and Yami took a step back. "I can't explain the evil that is out there, but that doesn't mean I have to join it! It doesn't mean I should ever give in. I told you from the beginning I wouldn't give into you."
"I never lose."
Yuugi had to resist the urge to snort. He was the King of Games, he never lost a game of any kind, this one was no exception. "I've got some bad news for you," Yuugi said with an edge to his voice. Yami raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Neither do I. I will never give into you. I'll die first."
The confidence in Yami's eyes slowly drained; his winning smirk was gone. Something cold and ugly took its place on Yami's face. Yuugi didn't flinch; he went on before Yami could make his next move. "You said that I was light and I couldn't handle the darkness in this world. You said that I care about whether it was a cruel and pointless universe, and I do." Yuugi's voice softened and he said, unexpectedly, "But I also care about you, Yami."
There was a collective gasp from behind Yuugi; he had finally said it.
Yami's eyes widened.
Yuugi continued to hold his eyes and move forward, smiling gently at Yami. "You wanted to show me how it was alright to be evil, because everything else is that way. But I'm not buying it. You wanted to prove how bad you are, Yami; that you are the villain. I'm not buying that either. You are trying to convince yourself that you are evil and I know that you aren't the bad guy in this story; you are just like a scared little boy."
Yami shook his head, taking steps back as Yuugi took steps forward.
"I care about you, Yami."
But Yuugi was stuck on one thing. 'Who do I love?' he thought. That was a secret he didn't even know.
"Yami, I—"
He disappeared before Yuugi could finish his sentence.
The gold coin fell spinning to the ground.
Yuugi bent over and picked it up. He held it in the palm of his hand, feeling the coolness against his skin. He looked solemnly at the spot Yami was once standing in front of him; Yami could never hold a good conversation. He sighed and looked back towards the boat; what he found was all of his friends looking back at him. Nobody seemed to know what to say; Yuugi registered the expressions of shock on their faces.
Yuugi didn't know how to explain it to them. There was this nagging voice in the back of his head telling him his friends wouldn't understand these complicated feelings Yuugi had towards Yami. He looked back down at the gold coin in his hands. They had never experienced all the sides of Yami Yuugi had. There was so much Yuugi had gone through with Yami; when did his opinion on the Shadow Man change?
It gave him a head rush.
Thankfully, Bakura broke the silence and snapped Yuugi out of his confusing thoughts. "You know, I think that we just won the Game." Ryou looked up and Bakura and nodded his head.
"You know," Mai said wryly. "I think that we should get out of here on foot." She jumped over the side of the boat and made a splash in the murky water; she began to help others out of the boat. "My guess is this thing isn't going to start moving again."
Yuugi nodded silently; he was still absorbed in his thoughts. He wanted to ask what Yami meant earlier but he knew that Mai would not answer him straight, and after what just happened, Yuugi did not want to get into a verbal battle with her.
So nobody talked as they sloshed through the water. They all held hands, like they did as they walked through the wall of fire. Mai was bringing up the front. Bakura was at the very back, Yuugi in front of him and Ryou in front of Yuugi. Seto was on the other side of Ryou and Anzu was on the other side of Seto, leaving Honda directly behind Mai.
No one really seemed to have the energy to talk after Yami's last and most terrifying attack; he hit them where it hurt and it revealed their deepest fears and deepest secrets to the people they hold dear. But that had made them stronger as well. In the end, after all that was let out into the open, their bond was stronger; there was nothing between them now.
It was a relief whenever Yuugi could see Mai's form silhouetted against a lighter blackness and to breath in the fresh air. They were at the end of the tunnel. Yuugi saw where his thoughts were going and he didn't want to sound cliché. They were at the end of the dark tunnel…and they could see the dock.
"What the hell is this?" Honda shouted in surprise. "Can you please explain this to me?"
When they all got out of the tunnel they saw why Honda was in such a state of shock.
The park was awake.
All the lights that were off had been turned on and all the rides were going. The fairy lights flickered different colors in the trees. The fountain water glowed different colors and hues under them.
Everything was going, just as it had been in the daytime, all at once. Yuugi would have thought that it was all a dream—it looked exactly how an amusement park looked at night, completely magical. Except, it was still deserted and everything was being operated by themselves.
'Beautiful,' Yuugi thought; but it was still unnerving.
Then, off in the distance, Yuugi saw the amphitheater lights on the central island of the lake, glowing brightly.
"Now we find the bridge?" Honda guessed.
Mia unzipped her jacket pocket and pulled out two gold coins; she handed them to Yuugi and the boy tested the weight of all three coins in the palm of his hand. It felt good; it was very satisfying. He closed his hand around the coins, hearing them make a soft clinking sound.
"There's something we have to do first," Yuugi said solemnly. He began to walk further into the park. He looked over his shoulder and smiled softly. "Follow me."
Elsewhere ~
Yami was on his knees, his face in his hands. He was shaking but he wasn't crying. He didn't understand; he didn't understand what to feel and he didn't know what the truth was anymore. He was always so sure he knew what he wanted; he was always so sure he knew who he was.
Yuugi's tender and loving eyes flashed back in his mind.
"I care about you, Yami."
He clenched his eyes closed tighter, biting his bottom lip until it bled. Now, he just didn't know.
He heard soft footsteps approach him from behind. He didn't have to turn around to know who was standing behind him. "Marik, Akefia…" Yami said softly, dare he say, pathetically. "Who am I? I…I don't know anymore. I don't know who I was before I was this creature I am now. I don't even know my real name!"
Marik and Akefia exchanged sad looks. Yami, their leader, was falling apart. They had decided to follow Yami because he was different than the other Shadow Men. Yami broke the rules, he was curious, he was adventurous, and he was unbelievably kind to be a Shadow Man. But then again, they were all so different than normal Shadow Men.
Akefia shouldn't be able to feel compassion towards Ryou the way he did, and Marik shouldn't still be able to feel love towards Malik—Nahum's reincarnation. They were all outcasts in the Shadow Realm. They were young and considered naïve. Yami was the only one that actually gave a damn about the two of them.
It broke their hearts to see their leader looking this…defeated.
Yami shook his head. "I…I just don't know!"
The slave boy that looked so much like him smiled at him, sympathy in his dark-hued amethyst eyes. "You pretend to be strong, but really you are just like a little boy."
He felt his face growing hot. "Sh-shut up!" he said, wiping away the fat tears that were rolling down his cheeks.
The slave boy shook his head and grabbed an clean rag from his pocket, using it to dry the prince's eyes. "It's okay, you're human. You are allowed to show weakness."
"I can't do that!" he cried in outrage, swatting the boy's hand away. "I will be the future Pharaoh one day! I am not aloud to have any weaknesses."
The slave boy sighed tiredly. "Even if you are the future Pharaoh and considered a god, that doesn't mean you cannot feel human emotions. It is okay to be confused, or angry, or upset." The slave boy smiled at him again, his eyes lighting up. "If you ever need to break down, just come to me! I will always be there for you. So, its okay to be confused."
"I wish I knew what all of this meant," Yami said, fisting the area of his shirt that was over his heart.
Elsewhere ~
Yuugi stood in front of the gypsy-fortune telling machine, his vision swimming with unshed tears. "Mother," he said softly.
The gypsy's lower lip opened and closed, her eyes looking side to side and then up and down.
Mai had told him that there was nothing Yuugi could do to save her. Yuugi knew that and he accepted that. He was even more certain now that he was here. There was no way to put her soul back into her body, if she even had her body. There was no way to undo what the Shadow Men had done to her and Yuugi's father.
But Yuugi had an idea. There may be something he could do. And he knew that his mother would rather be dead than like this. The only question was whether it would work or not.
"Mother, I thought of something, something I read in yours and father's journals. It's a way to help you. But I need to know if it will work, and if it's what you want." Yuugi felt himself choking on his own words a few times.
Yuugi knew that his mother couldn't really look him straight in the eye, but he had a feeling that she was listening.
Yuugi swallowed and continued, "I read the notes in your journals, and I now know that runes can do things. They can do things here and change reality. They can…make things happen. You know which one I am talking about, don't you, mother? It is Gebo. Do you understand?"
"What?" Ryou whispered to Bakura softly.
Bakura appeared to be thinking about this for a moment. "Gebo…Mai, which one is…?" He trailed off when he saw how wide Mai's eyes were and how they were brimming with tears.
After a frenzy of motion coming from the gypsy in the box, Yuugi interpreted that as a very positive, and excited, "Yes."
Yuugi felt hot tears roll down his cheeks. "Alright, I love you, momma." Yuugi was happy that this time he had to let his mother go, he had the chance to say "goodbye" and "I love you" one last time.
Yuugi asked for Bakura's pocket knife. He thumbed open the blade and set it against the old fashioned wooden cabinet, just above the glass. Bearing down hard, he carved a diagonal stroke, than he crossed another one over that and made a slanted X.
Gebo—the rune of sacrifice.
Yuugi always knew this rune was important, but he never thought it would be used for this.
Yuugi took a deep breath and pinched his left index finger between his middle finger and thumb. He watched the end go purple with blood; resolving himself, he pricked his finger. He squeezed his finger and painted the X with his blood.
He took a step back and just stared at the machine. There was a heavy silence between Yuugi and his mother trapped in the box. They were both waiting for something and Yuugi's mother's eyes flicked side to side in anticipation.
For a moment, Yuugi was afraid that he had lost his nerve. That he couldn't do it; he thought he was going to act selfishly and keep his mother trapped in this imprisonment as he went on a fruitless search for another way to set her free. Then his mother's eyes looked straight into his and it was like the word was pulled out of him.
"Gebo," he said.
It happened instantly, as soon as Yuugi choked out the word. It was like bolts of electricity shot through the little doll's body. Every part of the figure that could move was thrashing frantically. It shook so hard that it rattled the box that was trapping it.
Then it was over; it had happened so quickly. The figure sagged lifelessly. Its arms fell to its side and its little mouth hung open. Yuugi thought that it reminded him of a marionette puppet whose strings had been cut.
Yuugi, holding his breath, looks at the figure's face.
The doll's eyes were dull; it no longer held a spirit. The eyes were not sad anymore.
This was just a broken doll now.
Yuugi covered his mouth with his hand to keep from sobbing as he stared into the figure's lifeless, spiritless eyes. The suffering was gone as well; the sadness that had broken Yuugi's heart. Yuugi wanted to believe that the perfectly painted on lips had turned upwards in a smile, and the now colorless glass eyes looked at peace.
Yuugi touched his hand against the glass.
"You can be with dad now."
A click made him look down. There was a small piece of paper that was sticking out of the slot. Yuugi took it and held it in his shaking hand. He read it quickly and then let out a broken cry. He began to cry harder than before and sobbed violently. His legs felt weak and he fell to his knees, clutching the little card to his chest.
I LOVE YOU, YUUGI.
He felt Ryou's arms wrap around his shoulders, rocking him back and forth. He never knew Yuugi's mother and he didn't know what the card said but all of that didn't matter. What mattered was that his friend needed him, and he would always be there.
"Hey, Yuugi, Soren's head is moving again," Anzu said softly.
Yuugi looked up and wiped his eyes to clear his vision. He saw Soren's bodiless head shake side to side, and up and down; it looked like he was trying to get their attention.
Yuugi got up on shaking legs, with the help of Ryou and Bakura, and walked over to the glass casing with Soren's head in it.
"Can you hear me?"
The head bobbed.
"Did you see what I did?"
Bob. Bob.
"Do you want me to do it for you too?"
Soren's head moved up and down almost frantically; Ryou hid his face in Bakura's shoulder so he didn't have to see that.
Yuugi felt fresh tears prick the back of his eyes; he swallowed. He carved Gebo over the head and stabbed his middle finger, tracing the pattern with his blood.
He was about to say the word that would invoke the rune…and then Ryou screamed.
Yuugi turned around quickly and froze. Soren's headless body was there, dripping wet, and had his disfigured hands clamped around Ryou's neck, lifting the boy up in the air. Everyone shouted at once and Bakura ran to attack it.
Soren released Ryou with one hand and pushed Bakura aside with the other; Bakura fell to the ground hard. Soren was much stronger than he remembered.
Soren's head was shaking violently in the cabin—as if he didn't want anything to do with the disgusting body that Mai and Bakura had begone to attack; Ryou's face was turning red and he clawed at Soren's slimy hands; his fingernails came away dirty, like he had been running his hands through mud.
"The Shadow Men must be controlling his body!" Honda cried over the shouting. Mai had been slammed into an old machine and it broke under her weight. Honda had pulled Anzu back where they would be more safe.
Seto rushed over to Yuugi when Soren lifted Bakura by his shirt and threw him against the wall; his head banged violently against the wall and he collapsed on the ground in a heap, his eyes were closed.
"Bakura!" Ryou choked out.
"Yuugi, hurry up!" Seto cried, holding Yuugi's shoulders and shaking him.
Yuugi had been in a daze; it was like this whole fight was a dream and he was just waiting to wake up. He looked at Seto with glazed over eyes and then looked over Seto's shoulder. Bakura was passed out on the ground, Mai was fighting that thing alone, and Ryou was being choked to death.
Yuugi finally snapped out of it.
He turned back to the cabinet with Soren's head in it and shouted, "Gebo!"
Soren's jaw dropped open, so open that it looked like it popped out of place, revealing blue teeth and black gums. His eyes rolled back in his head. There was a noise coming from his open mouth, it was sort of like a scream, but it was as deep as a groan.
Soren's body jerked once and then began to spasm, its grip had slackened and it had dropped Ryou to the ground.
The boy gasped for air and then when his vision cleared of the little black dots, he rushed over to Bakura and began to check the man over to see if he was seriously injured anywhere.
Meanwhile, Soren's body began to jerk violently, just like the doll's body had. It was like bolts of electricity were running through the body; its arms were flailing, and finally it collapsed on the floor like a limp doll that had been dropped.
There was a deafening silence for a moment, and then all hell broke loose again.
The arcade began to rumble and quake. All the machines and games were activated at once. Wooden cabinets were practically exploding and glass was breaking all around them.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Honda shouted over the noise, running towards the exit with Anzu in tow; the girl was so shaken up she could barely use her legs. They stepped over Soren's lifeless body.
"Someone help me with Bakura!" Ryou cried in hysterics.
Yuugi and Seto rushed over to the couple. Seto slung Bakura over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and Yuugi helped Ryou walk. Ryou was crying and screaming for Bakura and Yuugi prayed that the man was okay.
Yuugi had a strange sense of déjà vu. It was like he was in Ryou's nightmare all over again. There was chaos all around him as he was frantically trying to reach the exit. Mai was reaching out her hand for him to take. As he stepped out, the building collapsed. Only this time, he had Ryou clinging to his arm; safe and sound.
When they got outside, Seto dropped Bakura on the ground and laid the white haired man on his back. Ryou dropped to his knees and rested Bakura's head on his lap; Ryou's tears rolled down his cheeks and dropped onto Bakura's face.
"Please…please still be alive…don't leave me here. I need you; please…don't leave me."
Honda kneeled down next to Bakura's head. The brunet sighed. "I got this. I'm trained for a situation like this." Honda leaned over Bakura like he was going to give the man CPR, instead…
"Wake up, asshole!"
The reaction was almost immediate; Bakura's eyes snapped open. He sat up abruptly and grasped Honda's neck, beginning to shake him. "Call me an asshole one more time! I dare you! Don't you ever scream in my ear again or I'll—!"
"Bakura!" Ryou cried, flinging his arms around the man's neck. "You're alive!"
Bakura dropped Honda when Ryou hugged him; Bakura awkwardly hugged his boyfriend back. "Um, yeah, I am." Ryou's face was buried in Bakura's shoulder, wetting his shirt with his tears. He mouthed to his friends: I died?
"I thought I had lost you," Ryou said weakly, hugging Bakura tighter.
Bakura patted Ryou's back. "Are you talking about that little bump on the head I got from being thrown against that wall? That was nothing. You should know by now that I've had worse injuries." Bakura pushed Ryou away so he could look the boy in the eyes. "Besides, I wouldn't leave you now that I've just gotten you back."
Ryou laughed and pecked Bakura on the cheek.
Mai cleared her throat. "I hate to ruin the moment, but I think we should keep moving. I think Yuugi made the Shadow Men mad."
Everyone nodded in agreement, Seto helping Bakura and Ryou to their feet. The Shadow Men were obviously not very pleased after what Yuugi did to their prisoners. They made that clear after they sent Soren's body to kill them and tried to crush them to death in that arcade.
They wondered around the lake until they found the bridge.
"Um, I don't think that was there before," Honda said, pointing to the bridge that started where they were and ended somewhere on the island. It was like a double rainbow; it was just as long and just as steep, as well.
"Maybe it wasn't lit?" Anzu suggested; everyone gave her a look. "What?"
"I think we would have noticed the St. Louis Arch whether it was lit up or not," Seto said, gesturing to the large, glowing bridge that reminded Yuugi of white opal.
"Its going to be just as hard to climb," Bakura muttered.
"Well, we're going to have to do it," Yuugi said, his hands on his hips. He stood in front of all of his friends and gestured to the glowing bridge behind him. "We have to get to Jounouchi and Malik. After what I did to my mom and Soren, they could do something horrible to our friends. They may try to stop us so we're going to have to be quick. We are going to win this Game."
Mai put a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, hot shot, let's do this. But where do we put the coins in?"
As if Mai's words made it appear, a neat little tollbooth appeared by the bridge. By it was a barbed wire fence blocking them from traveling across the bridge unless they paid the toll.
Attached to the tollbooth was a coin receiver where there were three spaces for irregular shaped coins. When Yuugi put the coins in, they slipped into place perfectly and neatly. They gleamed in the glow of the bridge.
Yuugi looked back at his friends.
This was a big moment. They had won the Game—the last Game, and they were going to collect their prize. It was such a good feeling; Yuugi felt as if he was drifting across the sky on a cloud.
'Take that, Yami.'
"Does anyone want to push it?" Yuugi asked, gesturing to the still open coin slot.
"Go ahead, Yuugi; you've earned it," Anzu said sweetly.
Yuugi was tempted to say that it wasn't him who did it all; he really had no idea what he would have done during all three of these Games without his friends there to help him, guide him, and support him. He took a deep breath and smiled; he wasn't the only hero in this story, but they already knew that.
Yuugi pushed the tray in and felt it lock in place. The fence dissolved like glitter falling from the sky.
"After you," Yuugi said.
-/-
Ranko: Oh, Yuugi, you are just the sweetest thing. I feel like I have to go back and read through The Shadow Game when you were still a scared little boy who didn't know what was going on.
Yami: I miss that Yuugi.
Ranko: Me too.
Yuugi: Hey!
Ranko: Sorry. But anyway, it is really sad, because my baby is growing up. I feel like I should save this speech for the last chapter when I'll probably be crying. But anyway, if any of you think that this is the second to last chapter or something like that, you are wrong.
Yami: Yes, there are actually 16 to 17 chapters in this story.
Ranko: Don't remind me. What am I going to do?
Yuugi: Ranko, you're forgetting something.
Ranko: I am? Oh yeah! But that's a secret! They'll find out at the last chapter.
Yuugi: So review…
Ranko: WAIT! I have one more thing to say! PLEASE READ THIS! I am doing a 50 word prompt challenge and I am getting the 50 words from you all! So leave in your review a SINGLE WORD that I can use! If you have already sent in a word, you can't send in another. Thank you!