Oh. My. Gravy. It is hotter than HELL here today. I'm melting. And I'm not allowed to turn on the AC because it isn't "hot enough in the house yet." Ugh, I swear I'm going to melt. Anyhoo, here's the next chapter.
xxxx
"So, which one of them are we supposed to root for?" Mokuba asked.
"We have to root for Yugi," Alissa answered. "The Pharaoh has to lose in order for his spirit to be set free." The group watched as the duo shuffled their decks and put them into their duel disks.
"I guess we're about to find out who the true King of Games is," Seto replied.
"Here we go."
"Are you ready for this, Yugi?" Atem asked.
"That's what we're here to find out!"
"Let's duel!"
xxx
The group watched as Atem's life points dropped to zero. It was over. Yugi had won. From the beginning of the duel, it appeared that Atem had the upper hand. They were only a few turns in when Atem was able to summon all three of the Egyptian Gods. Somehow, Yugi was able to defeat all three of them, proving that despite the fact that it was always Atem dueling, Yugi was the true King of Games. Yugi fell to his knees in tears when the realization of what winning meant hit him. Atem approached Yugi with a smile.
"Well done, Yugi." He frowned kneeled down next to Yugi and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "A champion doesn't belong on his knees, Yugi. You've achieved a great victory for us both."
"I was so caught up in playing the game that I forgot what winning would actually mean. By winning, I've sent you away for good."
"No, you've opened a door for me. Thanks to you, my spirit can finally be at rest, Yugi. Fate brought us together for a reason, and we have fulfilled our destiny." Yugi sniffled and slowly got to his feet
"I'm going to miss you."
"We'll never really be apart, Yugi. The kindness you've given me and the courage I've given you will remain with us and bind us forever." Suddenly, the eye carved onto the wall behind them began to glow.
"Whoa! What's up wid da eye?" Joey asked.
"The Eye of Wdjat that guards the door to the Spirit World has awakened. The Pharaoh is now free," Ishizu answered.
"So this is it?" Tea asked sadly.
"The time has come," Ishizu announced. "Tell the Eye od Wdjat your name."
"I am the song of King Aknamkanon. My name is, Atem." The Eye of Wdjat grew even brighter than before as the doors behind it slowly slid open. As soon as the doors slid open completely, Atem began to walk forward.
"Pharaoh!" Tea, Joey, Tristan, and Alissa shouted together. Atem stopped and turned to face the friends who were now approaching him.
"Don't go!" Tea begged.
"So this is how it ends?" Tristan asked. "You think that you can just show up and change everybody's lives and then just leave?"
"We don't want to say goodbye," Alissa said sadly.
"I know you walking through those doors means your spirit will finally be at rest, but that doesn't make saying goodbye any easier," Tea cried. "It doesn't seem fair! I feel like we were just getting to know you! It's just not easy when you have to say goodbye to your best friend and you don't understand why it has to be that way!"
"True friends may be hard ta leave, but dere impossible ta forget. His stay here may not have been as long as we woulda liked but we're lucky we knew him at all."
"Joey's right. The Pharaoh isn't going anywhere because everything his given us is staying in our hearts forever."
"It's like we always say," Yugi said with a sad smile. "It's your move." They all watched as Atem walked into the light to join his friends that had passed thousands of years before. The doors slowly slid shut behind him.
"He's gone." Joey placed a comforting hand on Tea's shoulder as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Suddenly, the ground began to shake.
"It's an earthquake!" The platform that held the Millennium Stone collapsed, dropping the Millennium Items into the dark abyss below.
"The Millennium Items are gone!"
"We should do da same, Yug!"
"Run for your lives!" The group ran towards the entrance of the tomb. The group barely made it out before the tomb collapsed completely.
"So this is the end?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah, it feels weird," Joey answered with a nod.
"What were you geeks expecting?" Seto asked with a roll of his eyes.
"I don't know. Maybe some music or fireworks or somethin'. How about ya make one of your wrap up speeches, Yug?"
"Um, okay. Well, sometimes the end of one adventure is just the beginning of another."
"Dat's better."
xxx
Seto Kaiba sat at his desk in his home office. He had returned from Egypt a week ago and decided, after quite a bit of convincing from Mokuba, to take it easy and work from home for the week. He reached for his mug of coffee with one hand, while the other hand continued to type. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. He sighed in annoyance before saving his work and heading towards the front door. He opened it to reveal Alissa standing with her guitar case in one hand and a wrapped box in the other.
"Hey."
"I wasn't expecting you."
"Yeah, um sorry about that. I was going to call first, but I figured that it would be a quick enough visit. I wanted to drop of Mokuba's birthday gift. We weren't exactly on speaking terms a couple weeks ago so I never got the chance to give it to him."
"You didn't have to get him anything."
"I wanted to. Is he home or should I just leave it with you?"
"He's out with some friends from school." He paused to take the present out of her hands. "Why didn't you just use the side gate and drop it in the back?"
"I don't exactly have granted access anymore. Sorry if I interrupted you. I thought that you'd be at work."
"At Mokuba's request, I'm working from home for the week." He gestured to the guitar in her other hand. "Is there a reason you brought your guitar along?"
"Oh, Burger World is starting this thing where they have a performer come every Tuesday to play live music. I have an audition in forty-five minutes so I thought I'd drop off Mokuba's present on the way."
"Well, if that's all you needed, then I should get back to work."
"Wait! I, um, forgot to tune my guitar before I left. Could I use your piano?"
"Make it quick." She nodded in gratitude before entering and making her way up to the piano room. She worked on tuning her guitar for a few minutes before Seto entered the room.
"I'm just about done. Here, how does it sound?" She strummed each string and looked up at him for an answer.
"It's in key if that's what you're asking."
"Okay good," she paused to look at the piano. "You said that you use to play right?"
"I did."
"Do you remember how?" He rolled his eyes.
"Of course I remember. It's like learning to ride a bike, once you learn how you always remember."
"Can I hear you play something?"
"Don't you have your audition to get to?"
"How about this, I'll run through my audition song one more time and you can jump in if you know it." He could tell what she was doing. She was trying to win him over. She wanted them to be a couple again. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea, but found himself moving to sit on the piano bench anyway. She smiled at him before she started strumming softly. A few seconds later, he found himself playing along with her. Then, she began to sing.
"Highway run
Into the midnight sun
Wheels go round and round
You're on my mind
Restless hearts
Sleep alone tonight
Sending all my love
Along the wire
They say that the road
Ain't no place to start a family
Right down the line
It's been you and me
And lovin' a music man
Ain't always what it's supposed to be
Oh, girl, you stand by me
I'm forever yours
Faithfully
Circus life
Under the big top world
We all need the clowns
To make us smile.
Through space and time
Always another show
Wondering where I am
Lost without you
And being apart
Ain't easy on this love affair
Two strangers learn to fall in love again
I get the joy of rediscovering you
Oh, girl, you stand by me
I'm forever yours
Faithfully
Whooa, oh-oh-ooh
Whooa, oh-oh-ooh, oh
Whooa, oh-oh-oh, oh-whoooooa-oh
Faithfully
I'm still yours
I'm forever yours
Ever yours
Faithfully." They each played the last chords before Alissa looked at him with a small smile.
"You're really good."
"You sound surprised? What, did you expect me to be mediocre?"
"Of course not. Well, thank you for rehearsing with me one last time."
"I didn't really have much of a choice. You wouldn't have left until I said yes."
"Still, thanks." She set her guitar down gently and sat on the bench next to him. "So is the piano hard to play?" He moved over on the bench a little bit to create more distance between them. He needed to make it clear that they had to stay broken up.
"You'll be late to your audition. You should leave."
"Yeah, you're right. Well thanks again."
"Bye." I'm screwed.
xxxx
Ugh! This chapter is just…ugh. For one, it's really short. Second, it's not my best…at all. Writer's block attacked my brain. It took my HOURS to write just this up. So, I'm sorry for the short and uninteresting chapter. Next chapter will be better. Until next time! I love you guys:)