YUGI
Yugi woke up to a room. A familiar room he had not seen in ages. Young. Innocent. It now had some other things inside of it too, like his new games. "Huh?" Last time that happened without the Millennium Puzzle, it was Shadi using the Millennium Key to check his mind in Duelist Kingdom. Shadi was gone now too. Why am I here? Why could he possibly be there?
Maybe it was just a dream. Maybe he was dreaming of the past. Sure, that was possible. So wake up and dream about something else. It wasn't working, and it didn't feel like a dream. He recognized that feeling. It's impossible. It's absolutely impossible, it can't be. It couldn't.
Yet, Yugi grabbed the familiar door. "The sooner I see this is a dream, the sooner my mind will let me wake up." When he opened it, he saw the familiar pharaoh's door. Just a dream, it has to be.
Then, he heard the creaking sound of the door opening. Out of the shadows, Atem was there. "Yugi?"
"This has to be a dream," Yugi said. "This has to be."
"You've grown," Atem said. " . . . what happened?"
What happened? "I'm dreaming is what's happening," Yugi said, "because this can't be real. You moved on."
"I was supposed to." Atem looked confused. "We dueled. I lost. Then, I was right back here."
"What? No, you've been gone for years!" Yugi said. He looked at himself. He still looked the same. "It's been some time. You found peace. What happened?" Atem didn't look like he knew any better than Yugi. "This can't be."
"As many times as you say it," Atem said, a sad dissonance within his voice, "it must be. I have not been allowed to leave."
"But you did. I know you did." Yugi hated to tell him. He went through everything that happened with Kaiba after he was gone. "You were gone, you weren't here, at all." Yugi lived, he went on with his own life. There was no one else inside of him anymore.
"Then I must have found peace, but it's been interrupted." Atem looked around himself. "This looks like the puzzle, Yugi. Yet, it doesn't feel the same."
"That's because it can't be, all the millennium items fell into a huge pit, trapped in a crumbled up-" Yugi stopped. He wasn't making Atem feel any better. He had lost his memories of being in the afterlife and he was brought back there. Nothing ever happened without a reason. "Sorry. I thought it was over. It was supposed to be over." Yugi learned to go on without him. He even proved it by dueling Atem! So why?
"There must be something bigger than us," Atem said. "Affecting destiny once again. I know you can carry on without me, Yugi."
"Then why? Why are you here again?"
Domino City Museum
Atem opened his eyes in a gasp. He realized he was standing straight up in something. A . . . coffin. No. "A tomb." He looked outward and saw Ishizu Ishtar along with Marik and Odion.
They each bent down toward him, while Ishizu started the greeting.
"Welcome, Pharaoh," Ishizu said to him. "On this day, you were ordained to be given life."
Life? Atem stepped out of the open tomb. He had regal egyptian clothes on, no doubt from them. "What is happening? The last thing I remembered was being beaten by Yugi, going through a door to the afterlife, and then I woke up once again with Yugi."
"Temporary," Ishizu said. "You now have your own body."
He touched his chest and his hands. "Why?" None of it made sense.
"No one knows," Marik answered. "My sister hasn't had the millennium necklace since it was banished, but she kept seeing one future. This future."
"No one gives a second life body," Atem said. What would ever call for such an extravagant thing?
"We believe there it to be a battle that will need you as your own self to fight it," Marik said. "That's our guess. We sadly don't have any more facts." He gestured to a suitcase Odion was holding. "Here are more modern day clothes for you. We can help care for you until we know what is going on."
No. "I need Yugi's number." He would have a number, he was much older now. Looking at his hands, Atem could see that he too seemed older than before.
"We have acquired that." Marik gave him a phone. "This is yours now, Pharoah. We tried to put any of your allies in the past for you, to give you your best chance of finding out what is going on."
All they knew was that he would be back, but nothing else. Yes, he would have to dig for answers. He clicked on Yugi's name on the phone. "Yugi?"
"Click the phone icon on the next screen," Ishizu told him.
He clicked on the icon and held the phone up to his ear again. Nothing.
"Try texting him," Marik suggested. "He might not answer if he doesn't recognize the number."
Text what? Atem gave it back to him. If only I could reach Yugi. I don't want to stay with the Ishtar's, I want Yugi.
Pharaoh Atem?
Yugi, we still have a connection? I am alive and in the Domino museum. What a strange phrase he had to say. I was given my own life back.
Oh! He sounded shocked. But? Uh? That's . . . not a thing?
I've never known it to be, Atem admitted. The Ishtars have been prepared for me. They didn't seem to know anything else though, and he would be much comfortable being near Yugi. Will you help me find out what's going on?eah, I'll be right there.
New York City
Téa
Téa ran down the streets, trying to find her way home. When she awoke, she wasn't inside of her body, it had been possessed by someone else. She had screamed in terror and fright, not understanding what was happening. All she had known was that someone grabbed her from behind before she went in.
And now, she was running as fast as she could from an explosion that had taken place near her that had been caused by a duel monster and someone trying to take over her body.
Téa, think about where you are running. You don't know where you are.
You think I don't know that? Téa cursed. I'm in the middle of nowhere, I don't belong out here. Who are you and what are you doing? I have a real problem with people trying to take over my body, I don't like it!
I know, which is why I have tried to never interact. I was sent here, within you, years ago. I have never caused you harm.
No brainwashing? How can I believe you?
You went through releasing the Pharaoh. You went through your graduation. You have lived as a dancer in New York. I have not influenced you in any way since that day you were nabbed in the alley.
So it was real. I didn't dream it?
No. I didn't want them to hurt you. You've shown nothing but compassion for others. What little thoughts were crossing over, I completely stopped. Most days, I don't even look out.
"Look out of where?" Téa asked.
Your soul.
Téa inched around the corner, checking her directions. "You know me so well and I know nothing about you. For years, you kept silent, and now you pop up to ruin my life?"
I saved you, Téa, but it came at a great cost.
Fine, but who are you and what are you doing inside of me?
You met me once. Well, we never officially spoke. It was brief, but you must have felt a close connection to my situation. You were there when I ran toward my cat, Ebonee, trapped in a card. Next thing I knew, my soul was within you. Destiny must have meant us to be together, but I did not want to frighten you.
Card. "You're the card that petted the kitty. The Masika card."
I should not be surprised that on one random day, you remembered a name of a spirit that you never even spoke to. You connected for some reason.
Well I didn't mean to, so go away. Téa moved around another corner. Her surroundings still weren't familiar. Her phone was gone. What to do? Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Think that. This is tough.
Left, Téa. Do not interact with any cars coming down the street.
A dark alley wasn't any better. "I don't know where I am, no one's around, and I need a phone."
Téa, your heart is racing, you need to calm down to think logically.
You can calm down, your dead already! Oh! Téa hit her head. She felt terrible. I didn't mean it, I'm sorry.
Yes, you did. You have every right to be angry. I stayed within you without a word when you hardly knew me. So, come in and meet me. I will watch for you.
What? Come in where?
Téa Soul Room
"This is . . . where am I?" Téa looked around herself. Nowhere near her dank and dark surroundings. "I've been taken to some kind of room." It looked strangely familiar. She picked up her old dancing shoes that were on the floor. What were they doing there? Seeing a door beside herself, she opened it and looked outward. A hall with another door. "This place is crazy. Where am I?" She opened the second door.
And yelled in surprise as she saw herself. "Another me?"
Quiet. Reserved. She had sat in the middle of the floor. It was her, yet not. The clothes were of a blue dress with red bows attached. Oh no, that's Masika's dress! Impossible! I'm in my own head!
I have seen many impossible things.
She can still hear me in here too. "It doesn't matter if I speak out loud." Téa looked around. "Where am I and why are you really here?" Did she really used to look like me?
"No, I am just a reflection of my vessel. I am Masika. You know that." The woman stood up and moved around.
She knows my name. "You're Masika," Téa said to her. She looks like me now instead of Cecelia Pegasus. Like Atem appeared as Yugi. Does this mean? "How? I don't have any millennium item like Yugi, you can't be here."
"Destiny always gets its way, no matter how much you rebel. You don't have to wear a millennium item if the gods want you to connect with it."
"Oh just say it so casually," Téa shouted. She covered her ears. "No, I shouldn't yell. You did nothing wrong, and you even saved me."
"Don't be frightened," Masika said gently. "I can see outside of here. You are safe, but after all this time, you deserved to meet with me face to face."
Yeah. That was good of her, Téa really wanted to see who was controlling her but Téa began to feel awful. "I don't feel so good."
"I do not either," Masika said.
I never told her to creep into my soul, I never said it was open for business. She has been here for years without a word to me.
"We cannot hide our words from each other in here. Verbal or thought, in or out. Not anymore. It is a tied connection or none, and now that you know of me, none will be too scary for you anymore."
I see that. "I'm sorry." I'm not. You shouldn't be here. Téa covered her face. "I know you can hear those thoughts, so I am sorry, I just don't know what to do now."
"You feel like you've had your soul invaded by someone you don't know. It's not a welcoming sensation. You feel blame and fault for it, even though you wanted to help that day you saw me. It's not hard to understand. I was human once too. Invasion is never a good feeling. I tried to prevent that feeling."
She talks like Atem. "Yeah." Might as well try to speak out loud. "Sorry. I once had someone try to take my body from me and leave my mind in a digitized state. Sort of like leaving it in the shadow realm you could say. He almost won, if it hadn't been for The Dark Magician Girl. So. Some of that is bubbling up." She wasn't a terrible person. "It's not an easy thing to get over." Oh, why am I babbling?
"I didn't know the reason I was here, Téa."
Hm. "So? Are you supposed to help save the world or something?"
That comment just made her smirk. "Of course not. I don't have that kind of power."
"Hmm." Téa thought back to the dream time, the first time she was taken in the alley. "I had been braiding my hair all of a sudden. Did you cause that back then?"
"No," Masika said. "When we become one, we shared feelings across each other without intent. I used to wear mine in a similar fashion. I buckled those feelings out even tighter after the attack."
"But I thought Egyptians had short hair?" Téa asked. "Wait. Later on they had long hair." My studies are rusty. With Yugi deeply involved in Egyptian culture back then, she had been a little interested in it when she was younger. "Sort of. I thought it was a class thing."
"You are an interesting one, Téa," Masika admitted. "Yes. I was given as a wife to a rich man."
Maybe that's why she sounds like the pharaoh. When?
As soon as I was pretty enough.
Don't tell me she was that young. How young? How old was he? Oh, quit prying mind.
Masika was quiet. "He was considered elderly when I married him at thirteen."
Oh, gross! Ew! Sorry! That's kind of old. "Right. Sorry." I hope he was good to her.
He was better than all of the others.
Others?! More? Oh so double gross! But did you love him? Any of them? Gross.
"Your world now and my world back then were different. It's hard to compare and share how it worked. That's all I can say."
"But hang on, Divinity," Téa asked. "My cat?" Masika had loved her cat that appeared on the board all those years ago so much, everyone assumed she went in peace because of it. "Did you make me want my black cat?"
"I did not bother with putting anything into jeopardy when the King of Egypt was here. After you came to New York and felt more alone, our connection grew stronger. Plus, Divinity has always taken good care of you."
"I took good care of her." Téa corrected her. "She is sweet. I knew there was a reason I kept wanting a black cat. Even when things got hard and I had her for a little while, I kept sharing my food until I could get cat food."
"Egyptian cats helped to make our lives safe, keeping away pestilence. For not living in my time, your home has suffered in similar ways."
Oh come on, it was a mouse just one time.
Outside again
Téa opened her eyes. She was in the middle of the darkness again. "That really did help, Masika, thanks." She started to take off, a little less scared. "It would have been a dead giveaway if my cat had an Egyptian name." Then again? "Actually, probably not. I never would have guessed this outcome."
Téa, there is something you should know. I didn't save you easily.
"I know, you had to use a monster," Téa said. "It tore up that block. I'm guessing my co-worker won't be coming back tomorrow?"
He is dead.
Maiming him would have been right. Who knew what he would have done, but? Killing?
The deed is done. That is not the concern though. It's how I did it. I made a decision, and I don't know what the consequences will be for my actions. I summoned The Dark Magician with your card.
"My cards are all fake, just pretty cards to remember my friends," Téa said crossing a street. She noticed a building she saw once.
Only to your official Earth Battles. Your card was still in the image of The Dark Magician. Although it paled in comparison to the power I could have called forth from the original stone tablets, although it was in fact quite glittery and shiny, in which I have to say they were pretty, and it worked just as well as your official cards.
Nevermind the Pharaoh statement. This spirit is really wordy and branches off into different subjects once you talk to her long enough. "The Dark Magician?" Téa asked. The environment was becoming clearer. She knew where she'd been. "That's what caused the destruction."
It's not the first time I have summoned to protect you. In the alley years ago, I summoned Flame Swordsman. There were no consequences that could befall on you.
"Are you kidding? I could be imprisoned!" Téa said, making it clear. "Please don't do that."
You haven't seen the big picture, Téa.
Jail and murder wasn't the big picture?
Well, let me try again. Though imprisonment is bad, you'll find that you don't really escape punishment either way, with what the Pharaoh had done, while he was not a pure Egyptian God, his power reigned supreme and back then, your friend Yugi was the pharaoh's vessel. I could summon the Flame Swordsman because the Pharaoh was still here.
Yugi.
Home wasn't far away now. Téa never went that direction to her house, it was to the North of her. She readied her keys. Practically a couple of blocks away.
But? Who are they? Téa heard Masika tell her to run again as people started to run at her. "I don't get it, now who wants me and why?"
Téa, I need to take over.
No way, you're going to kill them. She couldn't go around killing everyone. Téa was lucky that she wasn't found the first time around, but she couldn't count on that luck. She kept running, but some others were coming in another car. "What do they want from me? I'm not worth all this to anyone."
You'd be surprised, Téa. Let me take over.
No. Téa was willing to learn to live with the spirit until she figured out what she needed to do, but she couldn't just let her kill. I can lean to maiming, can you get us out here maybe just maiming? At least it wasn't the end of their lives.
Doubtful. All you have is the Red Eyes Black Dragon. It will burn them alive with more damage than the Flame Swordsmen.
Others in these buildings around here could be hurt too. Téa tried to reason with her. She wanted to escape, but she didn't want to kill anyone. How many times in the past had she met someone she thought she would absolutely hate forever, and they ended up being redeemed? For all she knew, they could be after her for some mixed-up reason.
She ducked through a few more streets, trying to circle around back home.
You are noble, but you are also being naïve. I cannot let you fall now. If I do, everything I just committed with the Pharaoh will have been for nothing.
With the Pharaoh? "You don't mean Atem, do you?" Oh. Oh now she went quiet. Is Atem involved in this? Masika?
MASIKA
"Who else was The Greatest Pharoah," Masika answered, having taken control of Téa against her will. There was a time and place for peace, and this wasn't it. Of course, that is what she had appreciated about her all those years. But, it wouldn't be what got her killed.
Holding up the second summon monster, she could use the Red Eyes Black Dragon, once. Téa was correct though, she couldn't just use it out in the open, innocents did live nearby. The street, in the middle. My power has never been that great, it will barely have enough time to breath fire. Five seconds or so. From the look of how many were out, perhaps Téa wasn't the only one being abducted that night.
No, too convenient. Masika checked herself over. That man that the Dark Magician killed must have slid a tracer on her. Masika held up her card. It was glittery, shiny as it turned. Kind of pretty. They were coming, each from the other side of the street.
Chanting quickly, the task was done. Masika started to run to a nearby market as she checked herself over again.
A small sensor on the side of her dress, sewed in. Finally finding it, she ripped up the clothing that was stitched around it. Tracking her all this time.
Home was too dangerous, but the market would have a few night people working. They could open up the doors for the emergency.
"Hello?!" She banged on the doors of the shop. "Help, please help, someone is chasing me!" When someone came to her aid, she rushed inside.
Then crumpled to the ground. She saw the spirit of Téa right next to her also crumpling down. There was a vicious pain in her chest. Oh no, I knew it. I knew it! Masika looked back at Téa. Your life was worth this curse.
Kul Elna
Masika coughed and gasped, looking around. She was in some kind of underground. In front of her was a place with the millennium items. Most of them anyway. Uh? "Téa?" Voice, she had voice.
She could feel. She was cold. She was scratched. She started to try and stand up.
Bakura's Home
Bakura was playing a game of solitaire, unwinding from his day, when he heard a strange sound come from his Monster World room. He got up and checked it out. "Oh my!"
It was - was it- it was Téa! And? She was. She was . . .
She stood up. In. Nothing. "Bakura?"
Oh. Great. "Hello?" He watched her walk toward him. "You know, I am just going to go and get you some clothes!" Anything please? He went to his closet and grabbed some long shirts. The pants might not fit, but he got some anyway. "You could help out, you know."
No, this is better. I'll meet my old friend later.
Old friend? "Isn't that Téa?"
If she came to me? No. Especially as comfortable as she is at being naked. The other one could never be mistaken for her.
So, not Téa. He went back to the room and gave the clothes to her. He tried not to stare, but she didn't seem bothered by her presence at all in front of him. "Thank you," she said politely. "Bakura. Sorry about your world."
"So, you know about him?" Bakura asked. Bakura the Bandit Thief King,Dark Bakura, devoid of Zorc, had come back to him without the millennium ring. He wasn't sure what to do about it at first, but he was always able to keep him under control. He had harsh words and views, but he wasn't Zorc. He never even wanted to try and hurt Yugi or anything when he came over.
As more time went by, he even seemed to be more mellow, and expressed concepts in new ways to Bakura that he didn't know before. However, he hadn't ever mentioned knowing someone that looked like Téa. "Who are you?"
"Masika," she answered. "I . . . have been given the gift of life again." She looked at her hand. "Where is my vessel, Téa Gardner?"
Oh. "Is she your reincarnation?" Bakura had revealed how he actually looked just like him, and how Yugi was almost a perfect image to the Pharaoh.
"I don't know," she answered. "I need to find her, she is in trouble." She started to get more frantic. "She is in trouble in New York City, Bakura, we need to help her."
"We are in New York City. I was here for a convention," Bakura told her. "That's a good bit of luck."
It's not luck. If someone as unimportant as Masika came back to life, then something done by the gods is going on. We should get Téa. But, don't dwell on me with them.
I can't just hide your presence when something crazy like this is happening.
"Try." Hmm. The Bandit King found himself in control of Light Bakura. He could only be given control if Light Bakura allowed it. "Masika."
She just grinned at him miscievously. "Bakura. Do you know anything about what's going on?"
"Not the slightest. Let's go."
"I was in Kul Elna," she said softly to him. "Then I came to you. Like I always used to do. I was . . . given a body again." She didn't look proud, she looked scared. "The gods don't gift second lives. I've never seen it for humanity. I've never even heard of it, except for the pharaohs."
"It was just jabbering back then, that whole second life thing for pharaohs. They were no more important than you or me," he insisted. "Let's go get Téa before Yugi gets involved." The last thing he wanted was for Atem to make some stupid appearance from the dead.
Atem's line always took everything from him. He wasn't getting Masika too.
Téa
Téa yelled as she felt something pulsating through her chest. "What is that?!" It hurt so much, like her heart was ready to explode. She banged on the ground in the middle of the shop while a couple of workers gathered near her.
She watched, half in horror and terror, as something started to rise out of her neckline. It felt choking, restricting, and a part of her felt like she was about to die. Then, there was an explosion of pain and blood as something burst forth.
Under the bloody mess, she made out the eye on the millennium necklace, before she fainted.