Pieces of Us, Chapter 3
By: Storychan
Author's Note: Hey, followers! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. My computer broke down, and the damage wound up being irreparable, so I had to buy a new one before I could work on this. T_T But, the new chapter is ready now, and I hope you enjoy it! It's over 4,000 words. It took a lot of work...including finding a reliable English to Coptic dictionary, and detailed episode summaries of canon episodes 1 and 2 (which this chapter takes place during). So, read on and don't forget to review! :)
-Storychan
Kisara's scream is mixed with another, and it takes a minute before I realize it's my own. I'm filled with a sorrow and rage that I don't fully understand, and before I know it, I'm screaming at Kaiba in words I don't even understand." ϩⲟⲟⲩ! " I cry with a ferocity that isn't mine. "ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲣⲱⲙⲉ!"
Suddenly, Jounouchi is grabbing my shoulders. I realize he's pulling me back, because, without realizing it, I've taken a step towards Kaiba like I'm going to start a physical fight with him.
Why did I do that? I think. I'm an athletic girl with a short temper, but even I'm not that foolish. Why was I screaming in the first place? What the hell did I just say to Kaiba?
"Ryuya-san!" Jounouchi is saying to me, eyes filled with concern. I realize I sound like a lunatic. Maybe I am a lunatic. Speaking in tongues and hearing screams that aren't there...or are they?
"Ryuya-san, what's the matter?" Jounouchi asks, bringing me back to reality.
"You didn't hear that?" I shriek at him, wrenching out of his grasp.
"Hear what?" he says, confused.
"Ryuya-san, are you feeling alright?" Honda asks. Anzu and Yugi are still paying attention to Yugi's grandfather, who is looking even worse for wear now that his precious card is wrecked. I feel a pang of guilt. If I hadn't given Kaiba my Blue-Eyes, he wouldn't have had four. Yugi's grandpa's wouldn't have been extra. And, so, Kaiba wouldn't have destroyed it.
"I'm fine," I lie, realizing that if I admit to hearing a phantom scream that nobody else could, these new friends will brand me a freak. "I...I was just angry at Kaiba for messing up Yugi's grandpa's Blue-Eyes."
"Yeah, he's a total bastard!" Jounouchi agrees. I nod, and try to shake the certainty I feel that Kisara's scream was real, and that Kaiba just destroyed a piece of her soul forever. Cards don't have souls, I tell myself, and try to focus on Yugi's grandpa, the one with the real problem.
"You called an ambulance for him, right, Katsuya-san?" I ask.
"Yeah, it should be here soon," Jounouchi nods, before adding, "And you can just call me Jounouchi, if you want."
"Ok, call me Sagiko, then," I suggest.
"I get that you want to kick Kaiba's ass right now, Sagiko-san, believe me," Jounouchi says, and I feel slightly bad that my righteous indignation is more for my has-to-be imaginary twin than my real new friend's grandfather.
"Yugi!" calls Kaiba, ignoring me and the others completely. I wonder if he even heard the gibberish I shouted at him earlier. "If you want revenge for your grandfather, Yugi, then duel me!"
The old man is injured, and Kaiba wants to play games? He really is a terrible person. He can't possibly be the Set I feel like I know.
Yugi hesitates, worried for his grandfather's health. As he should be.
"It's alright, Yugi-kun," Jounouchi says. "We'll take your grandpa to the hospital. You beat Kaiba good for him, ok?"
Yugi nods, a determined look crossing his face.
"The ambulance is here!" announces Anzu, who had been watching at the window.
"Honda!" Jounouchi calls. "Help me drag Yugi's grandpa out to the paramedics!"
"I'll help, too," I offer, grabbing Yugi's grandpa's shoulder. He moans weakly.
"You sure, Sagiko-san?" Jounouchi asks. "He's pretty heavy."
"Yeah," I assure him. "I was on a lot of sports teams in middle school. I'm strong."
"Wait!" Anzu says, pulling out a marker. "Yugi, come here!"
"What's she doing?" I ask.
"I'm going to mark our hands with a special sign," Anzu declares. "So that the strength of our friendship can help him defeat Kaiba."
Jounouchi, Honda, and Yugi stick their hands out.
"Me, too?" I say uncertainly.
"Why not?" Anzu smiles.
"Well, I only met you guys today," I say hesitantly.
"That's true, Sagiko-san," admits Yugi. "But...when I called you in the middle of the night, you came. And now you're helping take my grandpa to the hospital. Not everybody would do that for a classmate that just met today. As far as I'm concerned, you're my friend, Sagiko!"
"You're a friend of all of us," Jounouchi agrees, and Anzu and Honda nod heartily. And so, I reach out my hand and let Anzu draw on it.
"I'm not sure I can win," Yugi confides.
"You're the best duelist I know," Jounouchi assures him. "I know you can do it. And know what? I'll stay here with you, just to be sure. Anzu, Honda, Sagiko? You guys take Yugi's grandpa and get out of here."
With that, we leave Yugi in the KaibaCorp lobby to duel Kaiba. I hope he wins. I hate Kaiba right now and wish I'd never made that deal with him. It feels like a deal with the devil.
By the combined force of Honda, and I, Yugi's grandpa is taken to the parking lot and lifted onto a stretcher the paramedics brought. One paramedic places an oxygen mask on him while another questions Anzu about his sudden collapse.
"Are you going on the ambulance with us, Sagiko-san?" Anzu asks.
"Uh, yeah," I decide. "Just let me call my uncle first and tell him where I am, ok? I'm sure Manami-chan's woken him up by now, and they're probably both freaking out."
"You live with your uncle?" Honda blinks. "Why?"
"Well, I..." I stammer.
"Honda!" Anzu chides. "This isn't the time, and you shouldn't be prying into Sagiko-san's family situation, anyway!"
"It's ok," I say, but I'm grateful. I don't want to talk about why I don't have a family of my own. I duck into a corner and dial Manami's number.
Her voice on the other end is frantic. "Sagiko!" she cries. "Where are you? Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," I swear.
"Well, how am I supposed to know that when you disappear in the middle of the night after some random phone call?"
"I'm sorry," I say remorsefully. "I shouldn't have just run off like that."
"Well, why did you?" Manami snaps. She's angry. I don't blame her. She must have been worried sick about me. We just moved into this city, and I'm already caught up in a bunch of craziness.
"Yugi was in trouble," I explain. "Listen, his grandpa collapsed and I need to go with him to the hospital."
"Oh my god," Manami whispers, her tone becoming sympathetic. "We just met him at his shop this afternoon...Is he going to be ok? What happened? Was it a heart attack?"
"It was...Kaiba," I grimace. "That douchecanoe we met on the train? He kidnapped Yugi's grandpa and stole his Blue-Eyes, and the stress about killed him!"
"KIDNAPPED?" Manami cries out in shock. "What the hell? If I had any idea he was so dangerous, I wouldn't have let you sell the Blue-Eyes fate brought you to him! Y-you don't think he would've kidnapped you if you'd refused to sell, do you?!"
"I don't know," I said honestly. Why had I trusted Kaiba in the first place? Because he looked like the nice guy from my nightmares? These nightmares, that other life - whatever it was - had caused me nothing but trouble. And now I kept hearing that voice from my nightmares, the voice of Kisara, even when I was awake. I'd heard it tonight when Kaiba ripped the card. I wanted desperately to tell Manami about that, but I was scared that if I told her I was hearing voices, Uncle Takumi would drag me to a shrink before I could say Special Summon.
Speaking of Uncle Takumi, apparently he grabbed the phone from Manami, because his tired voice came on the line next.
"Sagiko-chan?" he said wearily. "I don't know what's going on, but I think you should come home. It sounds like you're around dangerous people!"
"I'll be home soon," I promised. "I just need to make sure Yugi-san's grandpa gets to the hospital safely first."
"Ok," Uncle Takumi says, but he doesn't sound happy about it. "I'll pick you up from Domino Hospital after you get there, alright, Sagiko? Just...take care of yourself. You're the only niece I have."
"I know, Uncle," I said, a lump in my throat. He'd already lost Aunt Chouko. Of course he wanted to make sure everyone else in his life was safe. "I'll call you when I know Yugi's grandpa is secure."
Hanging up, I walked back out to the ambulance and got in. Anzu and Honda were already inside. Yugi's grandpa was muttering something.
"Sssh, don't try to talk," Anzu muttered to him soothingly. Then, I realized that what he was saying was my name: "Ry...yu...ya...-san?"
Why would he be calling to me? He knew all the others better!
"W-what is it, sir?" I asked, startled, and took his hand.
"H-how...how do you...kn-know Coptic?" Yugi's grandpa strained himself to say.
"Coptic?" I blinked. "What's that?"
"You...s-screamed at Kaiba-san...in Coptic," Yugi's grandpa explained. "Earlier...when h-he...ripped the card. I...I used to be...an archaeologist. Coptic...is the l-language of...the Ancient Egyptians...who I studied."
Ancient Egyptians? I dropped the old man's hand in shock. My nightmares had revolved around another life in Ancient Egypt...and now I had spoken in a language that hadn't been used since that era?
"Y-you...called Kaiba-san...ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲣⲱⲙⲉ...w-which means...evil man," Yugi's grandpa choked. "H-how...did you...know that?"
"I don't know," I admitted, aloud, before I could stop myself. Anzu and Honda stared at me in silent shock, while Yugi's grandpa drifted into unconsciousness.
What the hell was happening to me?
I didn't say another word to anyone for the rest of the ride. I was still shaking when we slid into the parking lot of Domino Hospital and watched Yugi's grandpa get wheeled into the operating room.
"How do you think Yugi's duel is going?" Honda said finally, breaking the silence.
"I tried calling him, but he didn't answer," Anzu frowned.
Then, my uncle walked in, beckoning to me. "Sagiko!" he called. "It's late. Let's go home."
"But I'm still worried about Yugi's grandpa..." I protested.
"There's nothing you can do for him right now anyway, Sagiko-san," said Honda. "Go ahead home and get some sleep. I'm sorry you got dragged into this."
"It's alright," I said, trying to smile. "That's what friends are for."
"We'll call you as soon we as we know anything," Anzu vowed.
"Thanks," I said, bowing, and followed Uncle Takumi out of the hospital. It was starting to rain as I climbed into the passenger's seat of his Honda Civic.
"I hope we can get home quickly in this weather," Uncle Takumi frowned. "You know Manami is worried about you."
"I know." I sighed. "But...wait. I know it's late, but can we make a pit stop first?"
"Where?" asked Uncle Takumi, bewildered. "Don't you want to go home and rest?"
"Yeah, but there's something I have to do first," I said. "Take me to KaibaCorp headquarters."
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"Sagiko-san?" cried Jounouchi, surprised to see me walking back in to the KaibaCorp lobby.
"Hey, Jounouchi-san," I said unsmilingly. "Where's Yugi?"
"Kaiba took him into this room with a huge duel arena," Jounouchi explained. "C'mon, I'll show you. He needs our support. He ain't doing so hot." He led me into the arena, and my eyes widened in surprise.
Kaiba had all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons on his field!
And then, the echoing voice of Kisara hit me like a freight train.
SISTER, IT HURTS!
SAGIRA! A PART OF MY SOUL HAS BEEN...AAAAAGH, WHAT HAPPENED TO IT? IT'S GONE!
SISTER...I...I CAN'T SPEAK MUCH LONGER TO YOU IN THIS FORM. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. FIND THE PAINTER.
"W-what?" I cried. "I...I don't understand! What do you want from me?"
"Sagiko-san!" Jounouchi cried. "Who the heck are you talking to?"
But I couldn't reply to him, because I was straining to hear the voice of Kisara, who I was becoming more and more sure was real.
THE PART OF MY SOUL I HAVE LOST IS NOT GONE. SOULS CANNOT DIE, SAGIRA. BUT WITHOUT THE CARD, THAT PIECE OF ME CANNOT RETURN TO THIS WORLD. FIND THE PAINTER AND FORCE HIM TO MAKE A NEW CARD TO HOLD MY SOUL. AND THEN, DEAR SISTER, WE SHALL BE REUNITED.
"Wait!" I cried. "Who is The Painter?" But then I realized that Jounouchi, and now even Kaiba and Yugi, were staring at me.
And then, I fainted.
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When I woke up, sun was streaming through my window, and at first, I thought the events of the previous night were a dream.
But then a booming voice with a thick accent I was sure I recognized called out, "Oh, awesome, Sagiko-chan, you're awake!"
"J-Jounouchi-san?!" I cried, sitting up in my bed. He was standing at the foot of it! He was in his school uniform and looking down at me with a smile on his face.
"Cute nightgown," he smirked. I blushed and pulled my covers around myself. "What the heck are you doing in my room?!" I shrieked.
"Well," he said, scratching his head, "When you didn't show up to school today, I got worried and came to visit you. Your cousin let me in."
Manami... I wanted to kill her for this! But then, another thought than my own embarrassment reached my brain: school. Did Jounouchi just say I missed it?
"What time is it?" I cried, freaking out and diving for my alarm clock.
"One o'clock," Jounouchi replied.
"In the afternoon?!" Had I seriously slept all day?
"Well, when you collapsed at KaibaCorp last night, I figure your uncle was worried about you and decided to let you take a day of rest today," Jounouchi guessed. "Still, I figured it was time for you to wake up. I was going to Yugi's house to play Duel Monsters and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."
"Oh, uh, alright," I decided. "But, um, could you go into the other room so I can get dressed?"
"Oh...s-sure," Jounouchi said, flushing and leaving the room with a nervous slam of the door.
I quickly dressed in a red-and-black-striped shirt and grey skirt before venturing into my living room. "Hey, Sagiko-chan," Manami waved from the kitchen, looking from me to Jounouchi, then back to me with a smirk. I gave her my best glare. She stuck her tongue out at me. "I made you breakfast," she said. "Or, I guess at this hour, it's lunch."
"Lunch?" grinned Jounouchi, who had sat down on my couch. "I love lunch!"
"You can join me, then," I offered. "I mean, as long as Manami made enough food."
"I always make more than enough food!" Manami laughed, walking into the room with a tray. "I know you, Sagiko, you eat like a bear!"
"S-shut up, Manami!" I flushed. Did she have to tease me like that in front of my new friend?
"It's cool," Jounouchi said, surpressing a chuckle. "I eat like two bears." I smiled at him, suddenly feeling more at ease.
"What'd you make, Manami-chan?" I asked.
"Your favorite," Manami replied. "Curry."
"Curry?" Jounouchi repeated. "No way, that's my favorite, too!"
"Get out!" I grinned. Manami gave us each a dish of the curry and we all sat and ate together.
"You feeling ok, Sagiko-san?" Jounouchi said in between massive bites. "You kind of scared me last night."
"Dad was scared, too," Manami added. "He said you passed out?"
"Yeah, I guess I did," I told her. I didn't tell her about the part where I heard Kisara's voice telling me to find somebody called The Painter. I had no idea who she was talking about. I still didn't want to admit she was real.
"I'm feeling much better now," I told her and Jounouchi. It wasn't a total lie. "More importantly, is Yugi's grandpa alright?"
"Yeah," Jounouchi said. "Anzu called me and told me he's doing a lot better, too."
"That's great," I said, feeling relieved. If the poor old man had been made seriously sick because of Kaiba's twisted game - which had only begun after he'd acquired my Blue-Eyes - I never would have forgiven myself. Then, another question occurred to me. "Did Kaiba defeat Yugi in their duel?"
"No, Yugi won!"
"That's impossible! He had three Blue-Eyes on the field!" One of which used to be mine. All of which spoke to me in Kisara's voice before I Smurfed out on you.
"It's true, he did, but you're never going to believe this, Sagiko-san," Jounouchi grinned excitedly. I could tell he'd been waiting to tell me this since he got here. "Yugi summoned Exodia!"
"What?!" I cried, dropping my curry bowl in shock. "Impossible! Nobody's ever been able to successfully summon Exodia before!"
"Yeah! I know! Frickin' incredible, right?" Jounouchi whooped. "That's why I'm going to talk to Yugi's grandpa today, and ask him to teach me how to duel like Yugi does!"
"For real?" I smiled. "Think he'd teach me, too?"
"Won't know until you ask!" Jounouchi said cheerily. "C'mon, let's go!"
"Ok!" I said. "Manami! Tell Uncle Takumi I won't be back until later, ok?"
"Got it! You too have fun," Manami smiled at me. She'd kept looking at Jounouchi knowingly and winking at me all through lunch. I wondered what her deal was. "You can come if you want, Manami-chan," I told her.
"You sure?" she blinked.
"Yeah. We're just going to Yugi's."
"Ok," she said, and I couldn't figure out the weird look she was giving me. Shrugging, I took off with her and Jounouchi for Kame Game Shop.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Hey, Jounouchi!" Yugi called happily as Jounouchi, Manami, and I walked up the stairs of the game shop into the loft where he and his grandpa lived. "Oh, you brought Sagiko-san! And Mahomura-san! Cool!"
"Hi, Yugi-san," I greeted him. I saw he was sitting on the couch with the TV on. Anzu and Honda were there, too, and waved at Manami and I.
"Missed you at school today, Sagiko-san," said Anzu. "You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied again, hoping she wouldn't bring up my spontaneous ability to speak Coptic, which was mysterious even to me.
"My dad and I decided to keep her home for the day," Manami clarified. "I hear she had a rough night last night."
Honda, Anzu, and Yugi looked at me, unsure of how much detail to share.
"What's on TV?" Jounouchi asked, rescuing me by changing the subject.
"Regional championship," Yugi answered. "it's the finals. Insector Haga is about to duel Dinosaur Ryuzaki!"
"My money's on Ryuzaki," said Jounouchi, flopping down on the couch. The others made room for Manami and I to sit.
"Don't be so sure," said a creaky voice from the stairwell, and in walked Yugi's grandpa with a large box. "Haga-san is stronger than he looks."
"Mr. Mutou!" I called out. "Glad to see you up and about!"
"Ah, yes, I'm doing much better now," Yugi's grandpa replied. "Nice to see you again, Ryuya-chan. Thank you for accompanying me to the hospital last night."
"It was no trouble," I said, even though that wasn't entirely true. "Oh! Do you remember my cousin Manami from yesterday at the shop?"
Manami bowed. "Ah, yes! Nice to see you again, as well." We returned our attention to the TV, and found Yugi's grandpa to be correct. Haga had won.
Jounouchi asked the old man how he knew, and pleaded with him to teach him some more dueling tricks. I admitted I'd love to learn some myself.
"What's in the box?" Yugi asked, and I remembered that his grandpa had been carrying one when he walked in.
"I don't know," Yugi's grandpa replied. "Let's have a look."
"Whoa!" Yugi cried, reading the package. "The return address says Industrial Illusions!"
"The company that created Duel Monsters?" Jounouchi whispered in wonder.
"Yeah, but why would they be sending anything to me?" Yugi wondered aloud. "Hey, Sagiko-san, there's something addressed to you, too! But...how would they know you'd be here?"
"What?" I blinked. "They couldn't possibly. That's nuts. Lemme see that."
Yugi opened the box to reveal two gloves, four star-shaped pins, and a videotape. He shoved the latter into the VCR beneath his TV. A wicked-looking face appeared on the screen, with long, white hair that shrouded one eye.
"Aknadin?" I cried, a memory that wasn't mine rushing back to me.
"Aknadin!" I cried, my voice shrieking loud in the silent shadows that surround us. "At last, I have found you! You imprisoned Kisara and forced her to fight! You tried to extract her ka by force! My sister died protecting Set from you!"
"Have you come to take revenge, Sagira?" Aknadin chuckled. "Foolish girl. Soon, Zorc Necrophades will devour you all! And to venture into the Shadow Realm where your twin trapped me to exact your vengeance, you are foolish indeed. How is it you even come to this realm without perishing?"
"Kisara was not the only one with a powerful ka!" I cried. "My dragon has shielded me with its black wings and guided me to you, so that I torment you for eternity as you tormented the sister I love."
"Eternity?" Aknadin scoffed. "You may have the ka of a monster, but you are not immortal. Zorc shall destroy you. He shall destroy all loyal to the Pharoah!"
"I am not the Pharoah's pawn," I sniff. "I come here on no agenda but my own. I swear I shall make certain you never harm anyone I love ever again! Even if you and I are reincarnated, I will make certain that in the next life, you shall fail at all your wicked endeavors!"
It wasn't until I snapped out of the memory this time that I realized it was Sagira's. No! Kisara's voice had come to me in nightmares before I started hearing it while awake. Now memories of that life were coming to me in the waking world, too? I was losing my mind! I looked again at the man in the video. He wasn't this...Aknadin person. Aknadin was old and tanned, and this man was young and pale. I was being ridiculous, surely, thinking they had anything to do with each other. Aknadin probably wasn't even real.
"My name is Pegasus J. Crawford," introduced the man in the video. "I am the CEO of Industrial Illusions."
Oh.
Whoa.
"I do hope you liked my present, Yugi-boy," Pegasus smirked. "And you, too, Sagi-girl."
I jumped as if electrocuted. "How the hell did he know I would be here?" I cried.
"Oh, I know everything about you, Sagi-girl. Probably more than you know about yourself. I've been watching you for some time now. You intrigue me. After all, your name - and the name of your sister - were inscribed in hieroglyphics right next to the ones that inspired me to create Duel Monsters."
"What?" I cried, shocked. Then, I became even more shocked when I realized that because this was a videotape, Pegasus must have known what I was going to say before he even pressed "record". Impossible.
"Anyway, Sagi-girl, why don't you just sit down like a good little girl? I'd like to turn my attention to Yugi-boy here. I heard he defeated young Kaiba-boy in a duel and thought I would challenge him myself."
"You expect me to duel against a video recording?" Yugi asked, confused.
"Yes," the videotape of Pegasus smirked. How did he know what Yugi was going to say?
As the duel started, Yugi's whole vibe changed. Suddenly, the look in his eyes was older. Wiser. More confident, too. His posture changed, making him seem taller, and his lips curled into an uncharacteristic smirk. When he spoke, his voice also took on a majestic tone that I had never heard before. Or maybe I had. In my dreams.
"Pharoah?" I guessed.
Yugi's head jerked around to look at me. The look in his eyes was sad. "Did I...know you?" he asked in that deep, mysterious voice. "A long time ago?"
"You're...not Yugi, are you?" I realized. No. No way. This can't be happening.
"I am a two thousand-year-old spirit," the voice emanating from Yugi's body confessed. "Sadly, I cannot remember my past, or you. I do not even remember my name. But, you may call me Yami."
"Jounouchi, did you hear what he just said?" I said, begging to go back to a reality where things made sense. But Jounouchi wasn't moving. Neither were Anzu, Honda, Mr. Mutou, or Manami. I waved my hands in front of their faces. Nothing. They were frozen!
"What the hell is this?" I cried.
"Welcome to the Shadow Realm," Pegasus smirked. The Shadow Realm?! That was what Aknadin had called the place where Sagira confronted him, in my memory! I wasn't sure if I could convince myself anymore that these memories were just nightmares and hallucinations. The coldness of the shadows encroaching all around us felt alarmingly real.
"Enough of this," Pegasus said. "Let the duel begin, Yugi-boy. After all, we're on a time limit." I looked down at a small clock on the VCR and saw that this was true. Yami Yugi began dueling Pegasus as I watched, mystified, questioning everything I knew about reality.
Had I really been a shapeshifter called Sagira in a past life, who knew a pharoah?
Had I really had a sister called Kisara, who died to save Kaiba's doppelganger, Set?
Had I really been murdered by a monster called Zorc Necrophades?
It was really starting to look like all of my nightmares were real. I didn't want to believe it. But, I wasn't sure I had a choice.
"Sagiko-san!" Yami Yugi called to me, and I saw that he wasn't faring well in his duel. "It feels like this Pegasus is reading my mind!"
"Right you are, Yugi-boy," Pegasus smirked, and lifted up a lank strand of bone-white hair to reveal a shining golden eye. The very same eye that Aknadin had possessed in my vision. My memory. "This is the Millenium Eye, which allows me to read your thoughts," Pegasus explained. "A Millenium Item much like your Millenium Puzzle, Yugi-boy." For the first time, I noticed a shimmering golden pyramid hanging from Yugi's neck. I felt certain that the pharoah in my nightmares had worn one just like it.
It was him who spoke to Peagsus, saying, "Millenium Item or no, I shall still defeat you, Pegasus!" He summoned Summoned Skull, and it looked indeed like he was going to win. But then the timer buzzed, indicating that Yugi's time was up, and Pegasus had won by default.
"Too bad, Yugi-boy," Pegasus smirked. "But I do still hope you'll join me on my island for the Duelist Kingdom tournament, no?"
"Why would I do anything you say?" Yugi snapped.
"I thought you might say that," Pegasus sighed. "So, I shall provide some...motivation for you to visit me."
Suddenly, Yugi's grandpa slumped over as if dead! I turned back to the TV, and Yugi's grandpa was now inside it somehow, screaming for help!
"What have you done, Pegasus?!" Yugi cried.
"I have taken your grandfather's soul," Pegasus cackled, "and you must duel me to get it back."
How was this even possible? I thought. My life has gone insane! Maybe this is all just another nightmare. But then I pinched myself, and the pain forced me to conclude this was no dream.
"You're a monster!" Yugi cried.
"Actually," Pegasus giggled. "The one with a monster hidden in her soul is Sagi-girl. Or, I hear that in this life, that piece of her is missing...Pity." The image of him on the recording turned and looked me straight in the eye. I shivered. "I should like to duel you, as well, Sagi-girl. What do you say?"
"Never!" I cried.
"Oh, really?" Pegasus said, raisng an alabaster brow. "Well, I hear that sisters have always been an excellent motivator for you, eh, Sagi-girl?"
"What are you talking about?" I cried.
And then I watched, helplessly, as Manami's body slumped over, and her soul disappeared into the TV as well.
"NO! MANAMI!"
"I'll see you in Duelist Kingdom, Sagi-girl," Pegasus crooned, and then the videotape clicked off, taking Manami's screaming face with it.
I sunk to my knees, screaming. I had lost two lifetimes worth of sisters in a day.
I had to get them both back!