Chapter 3: - Seeking the Door
Yami knew that, as Pharaoh, he was not supposed to get involved in the training battles of his priests, in fact he was supposed to watch and observe, something that was, in fact rather interesting, as by doing that he could easily work out who favoured what type of monster and what strategy, noting that Mahado and his proto-Dark Magician, the Magus of Illusion, favoured a lot of the tricks that he and the Dark Magician pulled off in the modern age, while Seth, Seto's pre-incarnation, was full of the bluster that Seto had been back before Kari and Hogwarts had changed him.
"Seth." Yami rose from his throne, interrupting the argument that was rising from Seth's careless sacrifice of his comrade's monsters. "Battles cannot be won with strength alone."
"Perhaps, my Pharaoh," Seth said, not quite sneering, for that would have been disrespectful, "A practical demonstration?"
"Seth!" Siamun snapped, "You..."
"It's okay Siamun." Yami held up a hand, stepping off of the pedestal his throne stood on and moving to Mahado's side with a respectful nod at the High Priest, earning one back. "I would not be averse to teaching this lesson myself," He raised a hand and one solitary tablet rose from the ground, "And I will only need this one tablet."
"Are you certain, my Pharaoh?" Isis, the only woman among those who wore the Millennium Items, asked, concerned for Yami's safety.
"Seth." Yami gestured for the Priest to go ahead without even summoning the monster.
Seth's swordsman appeared. "My Pharaoh. If you're certain..."
Different lifetime same challenging tone, "Go ahead Seth." Yami snorted at him.
"Destroy the tablet!" Seth ordered, confident of his victory.
The tablet, the image only half formed, shattered into tiny pieces.
"I've won." Seth couldn't help the smirk.
"Not yet." Yami said, sensing the confusion from the priests that were watching. "For you see the monster I summoned was called Kuriboh and when you broke the tablet..."
The pieces each gained an image, and from those images sprang fuzzballs, hundreds of them, who attached themselves to the swordsman and exploded.
Seth staggered backwards as his monster dispersed, while the Pharaoh stood tall, dismissing the last of the fuzzballs. "Like I said, Seth, power doesn't mean everything."
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"Damn, Yuge, I can see how you got lost for three days." Joey complained as he opened a door and stepped through only to find himself standing, upside down, on a platform down and to their left.
Yugi chuckled slightly, avoiding an 'I told you so', though he totally had, after his fourth round of teasing, replied that if they had ever seen the inside of the Puzzle, they'd understand how easy it was to get lost in it. "The worst part is, this place keeps changing, so there's no way of mapping it. I tried."
"Three days?" Kaiba growled at Yugi, not having that sort of time and impatient to find and crush Bakura.
"Didn't you notice?" Joey looked amused, "Yami screwed up Yugi's lessons so bad, I thought he was gonna get Yugi kicked out of school."
Hermione, who had already heard this story, turned away as Seto made some comment about not being in school the majority of the time, and how was he supposed to know what was normal for Yugi, considering Yugi's abysmal tests scores and the amount of weirdness that followed the man around on a regular basis, to examine the room, and tried a different door.
She stepped through when the room seemed empty, looking around carefully, having almost fallen into one of the traps that laced the Puzzle already. She froze when she saw who was on the other side of the room. "YUGI!"
"Hermione!" Yugi darted though, urged on by her tone and stopping dead in his tracks when he saw what she'd seen causing Joey to barrel into him.
Seto took one step into the room, spotted who was on the other side, stepped around the Yugi and Joey pile which was sorting itself out, and stalked forwards. "Bakura!"
Bakura started laughing the moment Kaiba got halfway across the room and, as Yugi and Joey picked themselves up, his form shifted, turning from the white haired man who'd caused them so much grief, into a huge, dragonic serpent demon creature which launched a huge sphere of dark energy at them.
Yugi pushed Kaiba aside and threw up a barrier of pure white light. Instead of impacting and dissolving or exploding, like Yugi's friends expected, the sphere pushed against the barrier, trying to force it's way though.
"Out." Yugi demanded, strain obvious as he fought against the power trying to break through, "Out! OUT!"
Hermione was out first, then Joey dragged Seto out, leaving Yugi to back up slowly, releasing his shield only once they were all safely out and only Yugi was left opposite the open door.
The sphere struck the doorframe and exploded, the shockwave sending Yugi crashing into the wall the other side of the corridor. Surprisingly, the doorway remained intact, and when Hermione slammed the door shut, the demon made no effort to try to open it.
"Now you've seen the real enemy." Shadi said as Joey helped Yugi sit up, "The creature that controls the one you call Bakura."
"What was that?" Hermione squeaked slightly.
"Its name is Zorc." Shadi explained as Yugi, shakily, got to his feet, "It is the one that wants the shadows freed, for if they are freed, he will be too and it would not be long before he destroyed the entire human race."
"Let me guess." Seto glowered at the shut door, "We need to beat it."
"You cannot beat it, Seto Kaiba." Shadi snorted. "Even the Pharaoh at the height of his powers couldn't defeat it. He could only seal it, locking it inside the puzzle with him."
"It's been here, the whole time?" Yugi demanded, remembering the monster he'd been fighting when Yami had found him back when he'd gotten lost and knowing it had taken both of them to defeat it. That monster had looked like a weedier version of the beast that had just attacked them.
"Indeed. But things have changed. The Pharaoh will require his name and the other half of his soul if he's to reign victorious."
Joey looked at Yugi, who had just nodded at this statement, wondering what was meant by that.
"We should move on." Shadi looked around, "Time is short, and all the help in the world will not save the Pharaoh, should Zorc awaken before you find the Pharaoh's name."
Yugi looked around at his friends. Each of them nodded at him.
"Let's go."
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If one word could describe Tea's mood right now, it would be pensive.
For more than four years she had been at Yugi's side, facing everything he'd gone through with him as a friend. Even before he'd completed the Puzzle she'd been at his side, trying to help him. For another four she had lived on letters and supported Yugi that way, because she hadn't been able to get to him to help any other way while he had been at that school of magic.
Last summer had shown her that they still needed each other, even when they didn't really know what to say to each other anymore, and now, when Yami's story was coming to its close, she couldn't be there. Couldn't be where she was supposed to be, at Yugi's side, for what was likely to be the final battle.
There was a feeling in her heart that something was wrong and there was nothing she could do to help.
There just hadn't been enough warning.
It hadn't been because of the dance school. She would have dropped that in a heartbeat if that had been the only thing stopping her, no matter what it meant.
It hadn't been because of her passport, that was always up to date in case she had to travel.
No, the reason she wasn't there was money. She hadn't had enough time to gather the money she needed to buy the tickets to Japan.
She knew that they'd had the tablet brought over to Domino, to prevent Yami's forced departure, but nothing was certain. He could stay or, with the completion of his destiny, he might leave without meaning to...
And she was kicking herself.
This could be it and she couldn't be there.
"Gardener."
She snapped out of her reverie, to find her teacher was watching her carefully. "I'm sorry," Tea started, "I haven't..."
"You're not with it today." Lydia frowned, "The last time you were this out of it, your brothers were coming over..."
Tea let out a small, slightly bitter laugh. "I wish."
"Then what is it? Because if you don't pull yourself together, I'm going to have to pull you out of the production."
"One of my brothers..." Tea paused, wondering how to continue. It wasn't like she could tell the truth. "He's terminally ill..."
"I'm sorry." Lydia apologised honestly, not knowing what else to say. "How long?"
"I thought it would be years, but I got a phone call this morning. There's a possibility that he could be gone by the end of the day." It wasn't a complete lie. Yugi had told her a week ago that they were going to the museum this week, but he had phoned this morning to tell her that today was the day.
Lydia pursed her lips. Suddenly Gardener's lack of concentration made sense. "I'm surprised you're here."
"I don't have enough money to go to Japan." Tea admitted heavily.
Silence fell for a moment, then, "Hang in there until practise is over, then I'll take you out. You can't be on your own while you're waiting for news like this." Lydia put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Who knows, he could pull through yet."
Tea gave her teacher a small, watery smile. "Maybe." It was possible. They'd gone through worse. After all, after Yugi's soul had been taken by Dementors last year, they'd thought he was gone forever and he was still around... "Thanks Lydia..."
"No problem." The black haired, willowy woman smiled softly, "Now, come on, we still need to get you through that last number."
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"Where did he go?"
It was late and Nen had only just gotten a chance to rest, so to find a pissed off Mana blocking his route to the bed was not something he appreciated. "Who?"
"You know full damn well who!" Mana snapped, "Where has Mahado gone?"
"He would not tell me." Nen bit back, a little sharper then intended, still peeved that the High Priest had taken a full complement of men without giving him any warning, "But I did see him speaking with the Pharaoh earlier."
"I tried to speak with the Pharaoh," Mana grouched, "He's refusing to speak with anyone right now. Even me."
Nen frowned, wondering why and if it had to do with Mahado taking off.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Mana murmured as she sank onto the bed, miserably, taking her head dress off and running a hand through her hair.
"I am certain Lord Mahado will return safely." Nen tried to reassure his friend. "It would take a lot to hurt him..."
"Can I stay here tonight?" The girl asked.
It wasn't unusual. He had his own room, and he had often had Mana around to stay. He had heard the jokes being bruited around by his men and while he had stopped the crudest ones before they had gotten out of hand, men were men and the entire palace knew they weren't really together so, other than a warning from Mahado and the Pharaoh, who had been Crown Prince at the time, no one of import had brought it up.
"Of course." Nen nodded, grabbing an extra blanket so that they both had protection from the cold night air.
"Thanks, Nen."
"What are friends for?"
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Joey knew the sight that was before them. It wasn't the first memory they'd run into and there was no way he'd forget that castle, no way he didn't recognise who was duelling, or what was happening in the scene unfurling beyond them.
Yugi froze up the moment he saw it, the memory flooding his mind, the emotions that he'd felt at the time of these memories racing through him once again, causing him to collapse to his hands and knees at the same moment the Yugi in the scene in front of them did.
Joey was the first to react, moving to Yugi's side and grasping his friend's shoulders, "Yuge!" Joey shook his friend, trying to snap the Prince out of it, concerned by the blank look in his eyes, "Yuge, come on pal." Joey turned to look at the others but Hermione was already moving to shut the door.
The door slammed and Yugi gasped for breath, as though his head had just broke the surface of the lake.
"I thought you'd talked that over..." Joey indicated the door, feeling his friend shake in his grip.
"S...sorry." Yugi stammered, "Talking about it is very different from being dropped into the memory headfirst..." He shook off Joey's support, and stood up.
"Is that the first time you've seen that from Yami's perspective?" Joey asked, as Hermione hovered nervously, not knowing what to say, and Kaiba looked away, refusing to look at Yugi.
"That wasn't..." Yugi straightened up, "That was my memory. My emotions..."
"Yugi..." Seto spoke up, turning to look at Yugi, who was still a little pale but was recovering from the shock rather quickly, "I..."
"You were trying to save Mokuba." The Prince replied, giving Seto a small, reassuring, smile. "There's nothing to apologise for."
"Still..." Seto frowned when he saw the look Yugi gained as the hikari looked at their surroundings, "You've worked something out."
"I have." Yugi nodded. "This maze. I've worked out why it keeps getting more and more complicated."
"Go on." Hermione prompted, when Yugi paused as though considering the best course of action.
"This maze doesn't represent the questions in Yami's mind. If it did then it would be getting simpler, not harder and it would be his memories we kept running into, not ours."
"The maze is reflecting our minds." Seto caught it quicker then Hermione did, but only by milliseconds, nodding as he got it.
"The more worried and confused we get the more the more complex it gets." Yugi continued his explanation. "So at this rate..."
"We'll never find the door, because we won't find the answer." Hermione nodded.
"That's all well and good," Joey complained, "But if that's true, how do we find the door?"
"I was here once before, with you." Yugi looked at Shadi, who nodded, "And when we were here, we found a room with large stone tablets that had pictures of Duel Monsters on. At the opposite end of that room was a set of doors, huge doors, which were covered in Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Back then I didn't read Egyptian, and even if I had it was just after I fought with Pegasus, I was in no shape to do anything, but I think that doorway is the one we need."
"Why haven't you mentioned this before?" Seto demanded.
"Because I followed the path he," Yugi indicated Shadi, "took last time. The room isn't there."
"Then why bring it up?" Joey growled, frustrated.
"Because I think we can call the door to us." Yugi replied, patiently. He closed his eyes. "We have to search for him, for the Pharaoh, not for Yami, not for Muto, but for the Pharaoh. If we search for Yami or Muto, all we're going to get is who he has been, not who he is now."
"I'll try it." Joey nodded, remembering that moment in the pyramid in India when Yami had appeared to be wearing his clothes from ancient Egypt and holding onto that memory.
"Ok." Hermione nodded, "I'll try."
"If it gets us into this damn game..." Seto nodded.
Yugi closed his eyes, Joey, Hermione and, reluctantly, Seto followed suit.
"Pharaoh, I know you can't hear me," Yugi murmured, "But I'm coming. I'll get you home safely."
'Pharaoh,' Kaiba snorted, having once promised himself he would never call Yugi or Yami by that title, even in the confines of his own head, 'I'm going to find you, if only to make sure you don't get killed before I take your title.'
"I've had your back far too long to let you go down now, Pharaoh." Joey growled, "Especially to Bakura."
"Pharaoh. I'm coming to help." Hermione whispered.
Yugi opened his eyes as he felt the magic that surrounded them surge towards them.
There was no flashy light show. No impressive display.
The door just appeared in front of them.
"Guys."
"It worked?" Hermione squeaked, having been the first to react.
"Looks like it." Joey grinned.
"About time." Kaiba snorted.
"Shall we then?" Yugi asked, putting his hand on the door. Ignoring the hieroglyphs.
The door opened without effort, as if just waiting for him to touch it, revealing...
"Bloody hell!" Joey did a good impression of Ron as he beheld the huge landscape below them, "Is that...?"
"Ancient Egypt."
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"No..." The whisper escaped his throat without Yami being aware of it as he stepped down from his throne to move over to the tablet that now housed the soul of the man who had been his friend and protector since childhood. "Mahado..."
He knew that monster that was now pictured on the tablet all too well. There was no way he couldn't.
Upon his death, Mahado had become the Dark Magician. The same Dark Magician that had been stood at his and Yugi's side for the last three years...
"Gods..." Yami reached for the tablet, and then pulled back. He'd feared something like this was coming, but it still hit him hard. He'd been remembering more and more about his friend and this death hit him as hard, if not harder then Kari's had.
Seth and Akhenaden were talking about something, but Yami was too deep in shock to pay attention, though something told Yami he should be doing just that.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Before anyone could move, someone had darted into the throne room and sunk to their knees in front of the tablet.
"Mana." Her scream had knocked the Pharaoh out of his shock and he, in a move that was almost instinctual after the events of the last month, moved to her side, crouched to her level and taken her into his arms, letting her cry on his shoulder.
"It's not fair." He heard her sob, felt her shaking in his arms. She pulled away from him and tear filled dusty blue met ruby as she pleaded, "You have the power to summon him from the stone, don't you?"
Yami hesitated, not because he didn't want to see his friend, but because he wasn't sure he could bare to see him in the guise that he had been locked into for over five thousand years.
"Please, Pharaoh!" Mana begged.
"Mana." Isis spoke up, "Your master is weak." She paused when she saw the look he was getting from both Mana and the Pharaoh, "I meant no offence, just that he has just fought in a great battle. He needs time to recover his strength."
Yami nodded but Mana just started sobbing again, clinging to his chest.
"My Pharaoh." Seth spoke up as Yami rubbed her back, offering what little support he could, "I must speak with you."
Yami looked around and spotted who he was looking for, the blonde who was stood just outside the door, getting as much information from his men as possible. "Nen!" Yami waved him over as best he could.
The Chief of the Royal Guards started and turned to look at him, moving to his side and bowing, "Yes, my Pharaoh?" He asked, trying to keep his emotions out of his voice and failing.
"Take Mana up to my rooms." It was phrased as an order but Yami's tone made it a request, as he eased Mana away from him so he could deal with whatever Seth wanted, "Stay with her. Any reports that need to be made to you can be taken there. I will send food and drink up shortly."
"Yes, my Pharaoh." Nen rose and nodded, taking Mana's hand and leading her from the room.
"Alright, Seth." Yami turned to face the Priest with the Millennium Rod who looked so much like Kaiba, though all he wanted to do was find somewhere quite and alone to grieve, "What is it?"
"Isis cannot see the Tomb Robber, Bakura. Either he is dead, or he has claimed the Ring."
Yami nodded, having assumed that Bakura would have seized the Ring upon Mahado's death and already desiring to reclaim it from the Tomb Robber, if only to avenge his fallen friend. "I assume from your interruption, you have a plan."
"I do, my Pharaoh." Seth nodded, "Allow me to place guards within the city. I believe I will have more luck finding Bakura if I search the city and crack down on those criminals who would aid him."
Yami nodded, "Place the guards, but do not, under any circumstances, allow this to degenerate. The guards are to protect the people, not frighten them. I will not condone any violence against an innocent person, do you understand me, Seth?"
Seth watched him carefully, making Yami wonder if what he had said had been out of character for his ancient persona, then the High Priest nodded. "I will keep the peace, my Pharaoh, be assured of that."
"All right." Yami nodded, "Speak with Nen, he will know which guards would be best suited to your task."
"My Pharaoh..." Seth sounded aggrieved that he should have to take advice from someone below him.
"Nen knows his men better than you do, Seth. It is a wise man who knows when to seek assistance."
Seth bowed to avoid the Pharaoh seeing his scowl. "I understand, my Pharaoh."
Yami just snorted, not believing him for an instant, "Go." Yami dismissed the High Priest, who left the room rapidly with Kalim, who held the Millennium Key, in tow.
"My Pharaoh, what should we do with..." Isis hesitated as she indicated the tablet of the Dark Magician.
"Place Mahado's tablet within my tablet shrine." Yami ordered, "And get food and drink sent to my rooms." His shoulders sank as all the emotions that Mana's scream had startled out of him, sunk back in, "If I am needed again today," He said softly, "You will find me there."
Isis smiled softly, sadly, with great understanding, "I understand, my Pharaoh."
"Seth." Yami rose from his throne, interrupting the argument that was rising from Seth's careless sacrifice of his comrade's monsters. "Battles cannot be won with strength alone."
"Perhaps, my Pharaoh," Seth said, not quite sneering, for that would have been disrespectful, "A practical demonstration?"
"Seth!" Siamun snapped, "You..."
"It's okay Siamun." Yami held up a hand, stepping off of the pedestal his throne stood on and moving to Mahado's side with a respectful nod at the High Priest, earning one back. "I would not be averse to teaching this lesson myself," He raised a hand and one solitary tablet rose from the ground, "And I will only need this one tablet."
"Are you certain, my Pharaoh?" Isis, the only woman among those who wore the Millennium Items, asked, concerned for Yami's safety.
"Seth." Yami gestured for the Priest to go ahead without even summoning the monster.
Seth's swordsman appeared. "My Pharaoh. If you're certain..."
Different lifetime same challenging tone, "Go ahead Seth." Yami snorted at him.
"Destroy the tablet!" Seth ordered, confident of his victory.
The tablet, the image only half formed, shattered into tiny pieces.
"I've won." Seth couldn't help the smirk.
"Not yet." Yami said, sensing the confusion from the priests that were watching. "For you see the monster I summoned was called Kuriboh and when you broke the tablet..."
The pieces each gained an image, and from those images sprang fuzzballs, hundreds of them, who attached themselves to the swordsman and exploded.
Seth staggered backwards as his monster dispersed, while the Pharaoh stood tall, dismissing the last of the fuzzballs. "Like I said, Seth, power doesn't mean everything."
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"Damn, Yuge, I can see how you got lost for three days." Joey complained as he opened a door and stepped through only to find himself standing, upside down, on a platform down and to their left.
Yugi chuckled slightly, avoiding an 'I told you so', though he totally had, after his fourth round of teasing, replied that if they had ever seen the inside of the Puzzle, they'd understand how easy it was to get lost in it. "The worst part is, this place keeps changing, so there's no way of mapping it. I tried."
"Three days?" Kaiba growled at Yugi, not having that sort of time and impatient to find and crush Bakura.
"Didn't you notice?" Joey looked amused, "Yami screwed up Yugi's lessons so bad, I thought he was gonna get Yugi kicked out of school."
Hermione, who had already heard this story, turned away as Seto made some comment about not being in school the majority of the time, and how was he supposed to know what was normal for Yugi, considering Yugi's abysmal tests scores and the amount of weirdness that followed the man around on a regular basis, to examine the room, and tried a different door.
She stepped through when the room seemed empty, looking around carefully, having almost fallen into one of the traps that laced the Puzzle already. She froze when she saw who was on the other side of the room. "YUGI!"
"Hermione!" Yugi darted though, urged on by her tone and stopping dead in his tracks when he saw what she'd seen causing Joey to barrel into him.
Seto took one step into the room, spotted who was on the other side, stepped around the Yugi and Joey pile which was sorting itself out, and stalked forwards. "Bakura!"
Bakura started laughing the moment Kaiba got halfway across the room and, as Yugi and Joey picked themselves up, his form shifted, turning from the white haired man who'd caused them so much grief, into a huge, dragonic serpent demon creature which launched a huge sphere of dark energy at them.
Yugi pushed Kaiba aside and threw up a barrier of pure white light. Instead of impacting and dissolving or exploding, like Yugi's friends expected, the sphere pushed against the barrier, trying to force it's way though.
"Out." Yugi demanded, strain obvious as he fought against the power trying to break through, "Out! OUT!"
Hermione was out first, then Joey dragged Seto out, leaving Yugi to back up slowly, releasing his shield only once they were all safely out and only Yugi was left opposite the open door.
The sphere struck the doorframe and exploded, the shockwave sending Yugi crashing into the wall the other side of the corridor. Surprisingly, the doorway remained intact, and when Hermione slammed the door shut, the demon made no effort to try to open it.
"Now you've seen the real enemy." Shadi said as Joey helped Yugi sit up, "The creature that controls the one you call Bakura."
"What was that?" Hermione squeaked slightly.
"Its name is Zorc." Shadi explained as Yugi, shakily, got to his feet, "It is the one that wants the shadows freed, for if they are freed, he will be too and it would not be long before he destroyed the entire human race."
"Let me guess." Seto glowered at the shut door, "We need to beat it."
"You cannot beat it, Seto Kaiba." Shadi snorted. "Even the Pharaoh at the height of his powers couldn't defeat it. He could only seal it, locking it inside the puzzle with him."
"It's been here, the whole time?" Yugi demanded, remembering the monster he'd been fighting when Yami had found him back when he'd gotten lost and knowing it had taken both of them to defeat it. That monster had looked like a weedier version of the beast that had just attacked them.
"Indeed. But things have changed. The Pharaoh will require his name and the other half of his soul if he's to reign victorious."
Joey looked at Yugi, who had just nodded at this statement, wondering what was meant by that.
"We should move on." Shadi looked around, "Time is short, and all the help in the world will not save the Pharaoh, should Zorc awaken before you find the Pharaoh's name."
Yugi looked around at his friends. Each of them nodded at him.
"Let's go."
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If one word could describe Tea's mood right now, it would be pensive.
For more than four years she had been at Yugi's side, facing everything he'd gone through with him as a friend. Even before he'd completed the Puzzle she'd been at his side, trying to help him. For another four she had lived on letters and supported Yugi that way, because she hadn't been able to get to him to help any other way while he had been at that school of magic.
Last summer had shown her that they still needed each other, even when they didn't really know what to say to each other anymore, and now, when Yami's story was coming to its close, she couldn't be there. Couldn't be where she was supposed to be, at Yugi's side, for what was likely to be the final battle.
There was a feeling in her heart that something was wrong and there was nothing she could do to help.
There just hadn't been enough warning.
It hadn't been because of the dance school. She would have dropped that in a heartbeat if that had been the only thing stopping her, no matter what it meant.
It hadn't been because of her passport, that was always up to date in case she had to travel.
No, the reason she wasn't there was money. She hadn't had enough time to gather the money she needed to buy the tickets to Japan.
She knew that they'd had the tablet brought over to Domino, to prevent Yami's forced departure, but nothing was certain. He could stay or, with the completion of his destiny, he might leave without meaning to...
And she was kicking herself.
This could be it and she couldn't be there.
"Gardener."
She snapped out of her reverie, to find her teacher was watching her carefully. "I'm sorry," Tea started, "I haven't..."
"You're not with it today." Lydia frowned, "The last time you were this out of it, your brothers were coming over..."
Tea let out a small, slightly bitter laugh. "I wish."
"Then what is it? Because if you don't pull yourself together, I'm going to have to pull you out of the production."
"One of my brothers..." Tea paused, wondering how to continue. It wasn't like she could tell the truth. "He's terminally ill..."
"I'm sorry." Lydia apologised honestly, not knowing what else to say. "How long?"
"I thought it would be years, but I got a phone call this morning. There's a possibility that he could be gone by the end of the day." It wasn't a complete lie. Yugi had told her a week ago that they were going to the museum this week, but he had phoned this morning to tell her that today was the day.
Lydia pursed her lips. Suddenly Gardener's lack of concentration made sense. "I'm surprised you're here."
"I don't have enough money to go to Japan." Tea admitted heavily.
Silence fell for a moment, then, "Hang in there until practise is over, then I'll take you out. You can't be on your own while you're waiting for news like this." Lydia put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Who knows, he could pull through yet."
Tea gave her teacher a small, watery smile. "Maybe." It was possible. They'd gone through worse. After all, after Yugi's soul had been taken by Dementors last year, they'd thought he was gone forever and he was still around... "Thanks Lydia..."
"No problem." The black haired, willowy woman smiled softly, "Now, come on, we still need to get you through that last number."
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"Where did he go?"
It was late and Nen had only just gotten a chance to rest, so to find a pissed off Mana blocking his route to the bed was not something he appreciated. "Who?"
"You know full damn well who!" Mana snapped, "Where has Mahado gone?"
"He would not tell me." Nen bit back, a little sharper then intended, still peeved that the High Priest had taken a full complement of men without giving him any warning, "But I did see him speaking with the Pharaoh earlier."
"I tried to speak with the Pharaoh," Mana grouched, "He's refusing to speak with anyone right now. Even me."
Nen frowned, wondering why and if it had to do with Mahado taking off.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Mana murmured as she sank onto the bed, miserably, taking her head dress off and running a hand through her hair.
"I am certain Lord Mahado will return safely." Nen tried to reassure his friend. "It would take a lot to hurt him..."
"Can I stay here tonight?" The girl asked.
It wasn't unusual. He had his own room, and he had often had Mana around to stay. He had heard the jokes being bruited around by his men and while he had stopped the crudest ones before they had gotten out of hand, men were men and the entire palace knew they weren't really together so, other than a warning from Mahado and the Pharaoh, who had been Crown Prince at the time, no one of import had brought it up.
"Of course." Nen nodded, grabbing an extra blanket so that they both had protection from the cold night air.
"Thanks, Nen."
"What are friends for?"
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Joey knew the sight that was before them. It wasn't the first memory they'd run into and there was no way he'd forget that castle, no way he didn't recognise who was duelling, or what was happening in the scene unfurling beyond them.
Yugi froze up the moment he saw it, the memory flooding his mind, the emotions that he'd felt at the time of these memories racing through him once again, causing him to collapse to his hands and knees at the same moment the Yugi in the scene in front of them did.
Joey was the first to react, moving to Yugi's side and grasping his friend's shoulders, "Yuge!" Joey shook his friend, trying to snap the Prince out of it, concerned by the blank look in his eyes, "Yuge, come on pal." Joey turned to look at the others but Hermione was already moving to shut the door.
The door slammed and Yugi gasped for breath, as though his head had just broke the surface of the lake.
"I thought you'd talked that over..." Joey indicated the door, feeling his friend shake in his grip.
"S...sorry." Yugi stammered, "Talking about it is very different from being dropped into the memory headfirst..." He shook off Joey's support, and stood up.
"Is that the first time you've seen that from Yami's perspective?" Joey asked, as Hermione hovered nervously, not knowing what to say, and Kaiba looked away, refusing to look at Yugi.
"That wasn't..." Yugi straightened up, "That was my memory. My emotions..."
"Yugi..." Seto spoke up, turning to look at Yugi, who was still a little pale but was recovering from the shock rather quickly, "I..."
"You were trying to save Mokuba." The Prince replied, giving Seto a small, reassuring, smile. "There's nothing to apologise for."
"Still..." Seto frowned when he saw the look Yugi gained as the hikari looked at their surroundings, "You've worked something out."
"I have." Yugi nodded. "This maze. I've worked out why it keeps getting more and more complicated."
"Go on." Hermione prompted, when Yugi paused as though considering the best course of action.
"This maze doesn't represent the questions in Yami's mind. If it did then it would be getting simpler, not harder and it would be his memories we kept running into, not ours."
"The maze is reflecting our minds." Seto caught it quicker then Hermione did, but only by milliseconds, nodding as he got it.
"The more worried and confused we get the more the more complex it gets." Yugi continued his explanation. "So at this rate..."
"We'll never find the door, because we won't find the answer." Hermione nodded.
"That's all well and good," Joey complained, "But if that's true, how do we find the door?"
"I was here once before, with you." Yugi looked at Shadi, who nodded, "And when we were here, we found a room with large stone tablets that had pictures of Duel Monsters on. At the opposite end of that room was a set of doors, huge doors, which were covered in Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Back then I didn't read Egyptian, and even if I had it was just after I fought with Pegasus, I was in no shape to do anything, but I think that doorway is the one we need."
"Why haven't you mentioned this before?" Seto demanded.
"Because I followed the path he," Yugi indicated Shadi, "took last time. The room isn't there."
"Then why bring it up?" Joey growled, frustrated.
"Because I think we can call the door to us." Yugi replied, patiently. He closed his eyes. "We have to search for him, for the Pharaoh, not for Yami, not for Muto, but for the Pharaoh. If we search for Yami or Muto, all we're going to get is who he has been, not who he is now."
"I'll try it." Joey nodded, remembering that moment in the pyramid in India when Yami had appeared to be wearing his clothes from ancient Egypt and holding onto that memory.
"Ok." Hermione nodded, "I'll try."
"If it gets us into this damn game..." Seto nodded.
Yugi closed his eyes, Joey, Hermione and, reluctantly, Seto followed suit.
"Pharaoh, I know you can't hear me," Yugi murmured, "But I'm coming. I'll get you home safely."
'Pharaoh,' Kaiba snorted, having once promised himself he would never call Yugi or Yami by that title, even in the confines of his own head, 'I'm going to find you, if only to make sure you don't get killed before I take your title.'
"I've had your back far too long to let you go down now, Pharaoh." Joey growled, "Especially to Bakura."
"Pharaoh. I'm coming to help." Hermione whispered.
Yugi opened his eyes as he felt the magic that surrounded them surge towards them.
There was no flashy light show. No impressive display.
The door just appeared in front of them.
"Guys."
"It worked?" Hermione squeaked, having been the first to react.
"Looks like it." Joey grinned.
"About time." Kaiba snorted.
"Shall we then?" Yugi asked, putting his hand on the door. Ignoring the hieroglyphs.
The door opened without effort, as if just waiting for him to touch it, revealing...
"Bloody hell!" Joey did a good impression of Ron as he beheld the huge landscape below them, "Is that...?"
"Ancient Egypt."
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"No..." The whisper escaped his throat without Yami being aware of it as he stepped down from his throne to move over to the tablet that now housed the soul of the man who had been his friend and protector since childhood. "Mahado..."
He knew that monster that was now pictured on the tablet all too well. There was no way he couldn't.
Upon his death, Mahado had become the Dark Magician. The same Dark Magician that had been stood at his and Yugi's side for the last three years...
"Gods..." Yami reached for the tablet, and then pulled back. He'd feared something like this was coming, but it still hit him hard. He'd been remembering more and more about his friend and this death hit him as hard, if not harder then Kari's had.
Seth and Akhenaden were talking about something, but Yami was too deep in shock to pay attention, though something told Yami he should be doing just that.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Before anyone could move, someone had darted into the throne room and sunk to their knees in front of the tablet.
"Mana." Her scream had knocked the Pharaoh out of his shock and he, in a move that was almost instinctual after the events of the last month, moved to her side, crouched to her level and taken her into his arms, letting her cry on his shoulder.
"It's not fair." He heard her sob, felt her shaking in his arms. She pulled away from him and tear filled dusty blue met ruby as she pleaded, "You have the power to summon him from the stone, don't you?"
Yami hesitated, not because he didn't want to see his friend, but because he wasn't sure he could bare to see him in the guise that he had been locked into for over five thousand years.
"Please, Pharaoh!" Mana begged.
"Mana." Isis spoke up, "Your master is weak." She paused when she saw the look he was getting from both Mana and the Pharaoh, "I meant no offence, just that he has just fought in a great battle. He needs time to recover his strength."
Yami nodded but Mana just started sobbing again, clinging to his chest.
"My Pharaoh." Seth spoke up as Yami rubbed her back, offering what little support he could, "I must speak with you."
Yami looked around and spotted who he was looking for, the blonde who was stood just outside the door, getting as much information from his men as possible. "Nen!" Yami waved him over as best he could.
The Chief of the Royal Guards started and turned to look at him, moving to his side and bowing, "Yes, my Pharaoh?" He asked, trying to keep his emotions out of his voice and failing.
"Take Mana up to my rooms." It was phrased as an order but Yami's tone made it a request, as he eased Mana away from him so he could deal with whatever Seth wanted, "Stay with her. Any reports that need to be made to you can be taken there. I will send food and drink up shortly."
"Yes, my Pharaoh." Nen rose and nodded, taking Mana's hand and leading her from the room.
"Alright, Seth." Yami turned to face the Priest with the Millennium Rod who looked so much like Kaiba, though all he wanted to do was find somewhere quite and alone to grieve, "What is it?"
"Isis cannot see the Tomb Robber, Bakura. Either he is dead, or he has claimed the Ring."
Yami nodded, having assumed that Bakura would have seized the Ring upon Mahado's death and already desiring to reclaim it from the Tomb Robber, if only to avenge his fallen friend. "I assume from your interruption, you have a plan."
"I do, my Pharaoh." Seth nodded, "Allow me to place guards within the city. I believe I will have more luck finding Bakura if I search the city and crack down on those criminals who would aid him."
Yami nodded, "Place the guards, but do not, under any circumstances, allow this to degenerate. The guards are to protect the people, not frighten them. I will not condone any violence against an innocent person, do you understand me, Seth?"
Seth watched him carefully, making Yami wonder if what he had said had been out of character for his ancient persona, then the High Priest nodded. "I will keep the peace, my Pharaoh, be assured of that."
"All right." Yami nodded, "Speak with Nen, he will know which guards would be best suited to your task."
"My Pharaoh..." Seth sounded aggrieved that he should have to take advice from someone below him.
"Nen knows his men better than you do, Seth. It is a wise man who knows when to seek assistance."
Seth bowed to avoid the Pharaoh seeing his scowl. "I understand, my Pharaoh."
Yami just snorted, not believing him for an instant, "Go." Yami dismissed the High Priest, who left the room rapidly with Kalim, who held the Millennium Key, in tow.
"My Pharaoh, what should we do with..." Isis hesitated as she indicated the tablet of the Dark Magician.
"Place Mahado's tablet within my tablet shrine." Yami ordered, "And get food and drink sent to my rooms." His shoulders sank as all the emotions that Mana's scream had startled out of him, sunk back in, "If I am needed again today," He said softly, "You will find me there."
Isis smiled softly, sadly, with great understanding, "I understand, my Pharaoh."