Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series

Parallel

Chapter 063

Song: Deadmau5 - Bleed (Shwin Remix)

Originally Written: Sunday, May 01, 2022 928AM to 1004AM; Sunday, May 1, 2022 117PM to 155PM

. . . . .

Joey walked around the entire perimeter of the Kame Game Shop before he could bring himself to enter. The back wall of the game shop had been knocked down like it had been hit by a wrecking ball. The front of the shop was nonexistent. Yet the floors above were perfectly intact without any structural damage.

Seto waited patiently near the front of the store. Joey took a deep breath, and stepped under the caution tape wrapped around the building. He stepped inside. An unnatural chill he was learning to recognize immediately filled him. He looked around at all the intact shelves of the store. He whistled, impressed. He didn't know what Yugi, Bakura and Old Man Solomon did, but only the walls surrounding the shop were damaged. Items that should have been crushed were in perfect condition. Not a speck of dust or dirt covered them from what he could see. Most items were packed away in boxes, and not a single box had a dent.

The trio was strong in all the ways that mattered, yet that wasn't enough to stop the darkness that felled them. Joey pulled his coat tighter around himself and stopped further inside.

A faded, transparent Yugi waved at him. He was sitting casually on the floor, looking at him. Much of his torso, both his arms, one of his legs, and an eye were obscured by clouds of swirling purple and black. What wasn't shrouded in darkness seemed to glow, warding off much of the chill. A small body right around Yugi's height lay on the floor, covered in a large white sheet.

Joey jumped back.

Yugi smiled at him. "You made it back."

Tears filled Joey's eyes and ran down his face. Seto told him Yugi's soul was standing there in the shop, but it sounded so far-fetched that he hadn't believed it. "Y-Yugi."

"I'm sorry I failed. I'm sorry I didn't make it back to you guys."

Joey shook his head, barely able to stop himself from hugging Yugi. His arms would have gone right through him, and he wasn't sure he could handle that. "Y-ya did whatcha could. How were ya to know there was some kinda eldritch horror shit thing up in Amane and Ryou's ring?"

Yugi ducked his head.

"Chin up." Joey looked at him. He already had a fight with Tristan that Duke broke up because Joey refused to fight back. Tea gave him the tightest hug in the world. Arkana gave him a strange nod he was pretty sure was one of approval. "We still gotta chance, I think."

Yugi looked up.

"The others are outside. They can't see ya, but we got Seto, 'n Mokuba, 'n Tea 'n the others. 'N I think tha' Thief King guy put a part o' himself up in Mokuba's head, which is kinda wild." Joey shrugged his shoulders. He tried to ignore the two bodies behind Yugi, laying on the floor, also covered in white sheets. "And Zorc thinks I'm dead or awol, or not in Domino or whatever."

Yugi stared for a moment, then he laughed. "Bakura, the one in the ring, called him a violent savage."

"Sounds 'bout right. He fuckin' chased Seto, Mokuba and I in Seto's speeding car on foot. Jumped right on the roof and started stabbing the thing. Fuckin' nuts. Seto dropped the car on his head." Joey smiled a small smile.

"Then you shouldn't stay long. He probably survived that." Yugi lowered his eyes. "Pharaoh's in the basement."

Joey shook his head. He could feel the puzzle as though he were standing right next to it. He liked to think Pharaoh had sensed him. "If I take it, it still ain't gonna like me 'cause I'm not a descendant, righ'?"

Yugi shook his head, "It won't. You can take it, and give it to Seto or Ishizu, Pegasus or even Yami Marik. You don't have to keep it."

Joey squatted next to him, to rest his already shaky legs. "You're ma best friend, Yug'. Best friend in the entire fuckin' world. You asked me to do ya favor, but I gotta know the risks. If I go in half cocked...think I'ma get crushed..."

"I'll tell you." Yugi slowly explained. As he spoke, Joey thought, his mind racing far more than it ever had in school.

Seto's voice responded in his head. 'I would ask later. Duke is still holding Tristan down. We're starting to draw a crowd.'

Joey agreed. They'd say yes, but only because they were extremely upset. He'd still go in without one hundred percent dedication. Joey fell into one of the last conversations he'd ever have with his friend, Yugi Moto.

Joey stepped out of the game shop. He looked around at Duke, Mokuba, Seto, Tristan, and Tea. Joey told them all of Yugi's responses and greetings to them. "I need ta think. It's not going anywhere unless they grab me, but I gotta think. 'N I gotta make some phone calls."

They didn't understand fully, but accepted his response.

Joey thought having a man who previously tried to kill you guard you was a strange experience. He looked at Yami Marik sitting in a window in the room. His legs hung out the frame, and Joey couldn't decide if the teenager was going to jump. Mokuba had taken to talking to him. Even with the Thief King occasionally taking Mokuba over for short periods of time, not much seemed to improve Yami Marik's mood. Often he was lost in thought.

After they left the game shop empty handed, Seto had dragged Joey and the others to Domino Clocktower. Yami Marik waited for them there. He told them he was truly sorry for their loss, but not for what he had done during Battle City. Tea had calmed everyone down in her understanding way. She hadn't drawn any symbols on his hand, but Joey knew it was only a matter of time before she did.

Joey hung up his cell phone, and moved down to another number on the list.

Seto shrouded him and the others in a barrier shield when nondescript shadows from the darkness attacked them. Mokuba explained that they needed to keep the Zorc in Amane's body from realizing that Joey was walking around. That was where Yami Marik came in.

Joey quickly realized the teen wasn't on Pharaoh's side, rather he was on Seto's. Seto, who outright said the Pharaoh's court was wrong in turning the Ishtar clan into vassals without giving them the choice in leaving. Seto gave Yami Marik some sense of freedom. So he'd follow him.

Joey thought Seto was strong after that stunt with the car. Up until Yami Marik laughed and said Seto was strong, but his training was unrefined. Amane was no match for him, but Zorc would kill him. Then Seto agreed, saying that summoning Blue Eyes White Dragon like he did the last time was a fluke, and he couldn't get the dragon to show up again. Yami Marik stood behind and guided him. Yami Marik didn't have as much magic as Seto, but he sure knew how to use it. The teen had Seto's blue eyes in the flesh within five minutes, and then he had summoned a snake-man duel monster Mokuba called Diabound within another two minutes after that. In those moments, he was glad that Yami Marik decided to play the card game instead.

"That's another go ahead. From Mako." Joey rocked his foot back and forth. He was sitting on the couch in another of Seto and Mokuba's mansions. How many they had, Joey didn't know, but he really hoped they didn't run out of hiding spots.

"Talk to everyone you've ever met. Within reason." Yami Marik coached.

Joey sighed a weary sigh. He lost count of how many times he had explained the story. He started with his father, who he couldn't find or contact. Then his mother, and then Serenity. The hardest was Hirutani's gang. He needed Seto to perform a trick with his magic to get them to believe. The look Hirutani gave him and Joey reminded Joey that he was only alive because he had actually earned Hirutani's respect.

Calling Rex and Weevil was awkward, but they too said okay. Mai cried, but said okay, and Joey wasn't sure if she had meant it. Mako was the latest in a long line to say yes.

"You're the one who said 'One 'no'." Yami Marik said in response to his sigh.

"Yea, I know. I just...damn. You don't think about how many people you know." Joey ran a hand through his hair, he dialed the next number. He also hadn't realized just how many people knew Yugi solely from the game shop. Those that realized that Yugi was a different person outside the school, just like they were. Out of respect, he'd call Yugi's parents, even though he didn't really know them.

"Most likely, it will only affect those closest to you." Yami Marik leaned forward. Mokuba grabbed his shirt and pulled him back in. Yami Marik looked back at him. "The gods have better things to do."

"Like reminding their vassals that gravity exists." Mokuba returned Yami Marik's look.

"I doubt that one, Thief."

Joey didn't know how Yugi and Pharaoh dealt with the fate of the entire world resting on their shoulders. It was a much different feeling than being one of the ones helping to support that weight. He looked at Seto curled up on the other side of the couch he was sitting on. Seto was well over seven feet tall, yet could curl up in a little ball with the best of the short people. Joey hoped his brand of luck spread out far to those around him.