Sixteen's Story: Part 2

I have no idea how long I was out for. There’s no way of keeping track of the time here. All I know is that when I came around the other Yugi was sicker than before and my chest hurt.

I tried reaching down the link for my other self, recognising the pain of having my other self torn from my heart and praying I was wrong. Unfortunately I wasn’t. I couldn’t feel the comforting, protective embrace of my darker self. Which meant he wouldn’t be able to reach me either. Or use the link to locate me.

Still he’ll find a way to come and get me. He’s Yami. He doesn’t lose and this was just a game of Hide and Seek, albeit one with huge stakes. Yami had won games with greater prizes than just my safety before. I have faith in my other self. He won’t abandon me.

I have to wonder if the Pharaoh’s got some way of keeping tabs on what we’re doing, because it wasn’t long after I woke up that he somehow came through the door. Not the door frame. The door.

Glowering at him had no effect. In fact all it did was amuse him. The Pharaoh moved further into the room, looking between the pair of us and chuckling. Not a mirthful sound, more one of vicious amusement. He introduced me to the mage Yugi, and vice versa. Apparently I’m not Yugi anymore. I’m ‘Sixteen.’ At least according to the Pharaoh.

When he started draining something from the other Yugi, a pained whimper escaping Fifteen as light drained from him to the Pharaoh, I couldn’t stand aside. I tried to pull him away from the other Yugi, only for contact with the Pharaoh to turn the spell on me.

There was a sharp pain as part of my soul tore away and the light I’d only ever willingly shared with one other person was pulled into the Pharaoh. He shoved me away as I was reeling from the spell’s actions and took a little more from Fifteen, finally stopping when the other Yugi almost passed out.

Then he made a snide comment about me ‘waiting my turn’ and stalked out of the room. Once again going through the door quite literally.

It took a while for both of us to pull ourselves together. I recovered long before Fifteen, as he recommended I call him, if only to prevent confusion. It took Fifteen much longer to recover than me, partly because the Pharaoh had taken so much more from him and partly, he explained, because while my soul was already recovering his had stopped healing a while back. The Pharaoh had been taking too much from him for too long and it wouldn’t be much longer before he was gone completely.  

I tried to reassure him. If he just hung on a little longer, his Yami would be here and then we’d both get away. After all there was no way a real Yami would ever abandon his light.

Fifteen’s response was a bitter chuckle. I had been lucky when I had been taken. My Yami was alive. Fifteen’s Yami had gotten into a battle of magicks with the Pharaoh and been destroyed while trying to prevent the kidnapping.

There wasn’t much I could say to that. If anything I envied his fortitude for hanging on this long without the hope of his Yami coming to rescue him. When I asked him what had kept him going, Fifteen just smiled at me sadly and said I’d understand later.

Instead of letting me dwell on it, he offered to tell me stories about himself and the previous Yugis who had dwelt in the cell. It was, he explained, part of a promise he had made to Fourteen. That if he didn’t make it out, he would pass their stories on to the next Yugi to come along. It was a way of making sure none of them were forgotten. Almost all of them had secretly hoped that their Yami was still looking and they had wanted to be able to give their other selves some closure. Even if they couldn’t return themselves.

I promised Fifteen the same. It was the least I could do.

Not Very Clever Bad Guys

“So…”

Yugi frowned as he heard Joey’s footsteps stop and turned to look at his best friend. “Joey?”

“Is it polyjuice or a disguise charm?” Joey asked, considering him carefully.

“Wha… what do you…?” Yugi stammered.

“I know you’re not under mind control,” Joey continued, projecting a false sense of calm, while under the surface his emotions were boiling, it had been hard enough for him to follow this fraud this long, “So it has to be one of the above, because I know Yugi’s evil twin, and you’re not him.”

“I never said I…” Yugi stepped backwards, “Joey, please, we have to find the others…”

“Come off it, I know you’re not really concerned about the others.” Joey growled, stance turning threatening, “I only followed you to make sure you weren’t the real Yugi.”

“What are you talking about?” Yugi asked, nervously backing away from Joey, “Of course I’m the real Yugi.”

“Please.” Joey’s scowl froze Yugi in place, “Yugi would never get the names of his friends wrong, or mix up the names of the Duel Monsters in his deck, so I ask again, polyjuice or a disguise charm?”

‘Yugi’ smirked. If Joey had had any doubts left, they were washed away by the foreignness of the look, “Polyjuice.”

“Thought so.” Joey snorted, “Where’s the real Yuge?”

“Oh don’t worry, he’s fine… for now at least. As long as he keeps following you around, he’ll be kept safe.” ‘Yugi’ replied, nonchalantly, “Well, obviously he’s not following you, but you understand what I’m getting at.”

Joey growled, causing ‘Yugi’ to smirk.

“And your plan is?” Joey questioned, his anger obvious.

“Why would I tell you?” ‘Yugi’ laughed in disbelief.

“Because that’s what bad guys do typically?” Joey snorted back, only restraining himself from going and pounding the information out of the bad guy because he was wearing Yugi’s face, which had probably been part of the plan.

“Well I’m not your typical bad guy.”

“No, you’re someone stupid enough to impersonate my best friend.” Joey growled, taking a step forward and scaring ‘Yugi’ into taking a step back, “It’s bad enough that you thought you could fool me with a fake Yugi, but if you tried it with Yami there’s going to be hell to pay.”

The Fake Yugi blanched slightly and looked down the right corridor, confidence fading for a few seconds.

Joey smirked slightly, “Yami’s going to wipe the floor with whoever you’ve sent to trick him, and then he’ll hunt down everyone that helped him. I’m looking forward to joining up with him and helping.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” ‘Yugi’ activated his Duel Disk, shuffled his deck and put it in the deck slot.

“Fine, I’ll kick your ass then find my friends.” Joey did the same. This was too weird. He knew the person he was facing wasn’t Yugi, but whoever it was, was a very good actor… he’d have to watch that didn’t put him off if he wanted to win this Duel.

“Ok then Joey,” ‘Yugi’ said, a little slowly and a little sadly, the villain throwing himself back into the role in order to throw him off, “It’s time to Duel.”