Post by Sage on Mar 19, 2008 15:36:59 GMT -5
I found this very interesting story and I decided that I'll continue it to find some creativity. I found it at this link:
www.fanfiction.net/s/3811901/1/Amnesia
*Note: This fanfic is very grusome, so if you don't like blood/people dieing, then you should not read this.*
I'll just paste it here because I feel like it.
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Chapter 1-Alone in the New Light
Light footsteps. A sigh into the empty air. 18-year-old Yugi Muto stared ahead dully in the empty shop, no-one was present, no-one was ever present. It had been 3 months and a year since that fateful duel, the last duel of his best friend's life, his other half: Pharaoh Atem. Since then, Yugi had been unable to continue with life normally, he had lost himself to depression. That was just weeks before Yugi's birthday. What Yugi hadn't learned that was upon arrival back in the real world, Atem had made a secret request to Tea, she had bought it after he was gone, a cartouche, the same as his own. The gift shocked Yugi when Tea presented it to him on his birthday, stating it was from Atem, his own name carved into the small tag in the symbols that were once Atem's language, the small tag didn't leave his neck, much like the Millennium Puzzle that had harboured the Pharaoh's spirit, almost like it would never leave him. 5 months later, Yugi lost his Grandpa; his heart had been unable to fight as October had set in, leaving Yugi alone with his life. Now with his taller stature, his deeper voice and his darkened eyes, Yugi had evolved from the naÎve young child they had protected. His mind also darkened with experience, the white purity tainted, hazed and drowning into grey. Now with his education over and his exam results out, Yugi remained in Domino, unable to break his roots, staying in darkness, losing himself in his uncaring nature. His lifestyle so much more relaxed-no-one would have imagined him ending up in such a way-his meals usually consisted of takeaways, the shop may have not been at its best, but the money was enough for Yugi to survive. He wiped away the sweat from his forehead, the day's heat was cruel, mid-August now as time slowed, his 18th birthday just two months earlier, he had lost track of time.
"Yugi" a squeak came.
Yugi stared up as sunlight poured into the room as the woman entered, throwing the door open, long red hair waved in the air as a familiar woman rushed excitedly into the room.
"Serenity" Yugi stated.
The slightly younger woman smiled, her pale hazel eyes watched Yugi as he slowly approached her, his legs entering the light. Serenity wore the same shirt that she had when Yugi had first met her during Battle City, the difference that separated the two were the thin white sleeves reaching down to have hands, despite the summer weather. Brown trousers and white trainers accompanied the shirt. Her eyes remained fixed on Yugi, glittering as her hair did against the sunlight, her long, warm hair that extended down to her rear, Yugi's eyes brightened as the sun reached his head.
"Yugi, are you well today?" Serenity asked.
"Yes, I feel the same as everyday" Yugi responded. "What about you? What brings you here?"
"What, I need a reason for visiting a friend?" Serenity giggled.
Yugi grinned, it was rare that Yugi smile or laughed, occasionally a word out of his mouth was rare.
"Well, I came to check if you were meeting us tonight, for Tea's party" Serenity added.
"You performing again?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah. And Joey said he'd stop by sometime today" Serenity replied. "We've only got a few weeks before Tea leaves for university".
"Don't I know" Yugi sighed.
"Yugi, don't worry" Serenity muttered. "Nothing's going to separate us. No-one's leaving you again for a long time".
She held Yugi's head to her, his blonde bangs brushed against her soft neck, he felt the warmth of her own body against his own, he decided to enjoy the moment, his eyelids slipped shut. He wished he could join Tea in the thrill of leaving home to explore life at university, but even with someone to care for the shop, he simply didn't have the money and student debt was one of his greatest fears. Serenity brushed Yugi's pale cheek with her warm hand, since losing Atem and Grandpa, the young Muto had only been out for needed and special occasions, relieved that Seto Kaiba had not attempted another tournament since Atem's leaving. He wished the group could have remained in the short time between the last tournament and finding Atem's memories, it was like Atem himself had stated before Battle City-their second tournament-to keep a lost mind was what he preferred.
"But I don't need to know the truth. Things are fine the way they are...the way they are..." [1
Yugi wiped away a tear while Serenity continued to embrace him as Atem's words echoed through his head.
Night fell upon Domino as the late hours took a hold, Yugi silently typed away on his laptop-his saviour from the real world and key to the preferred world of virtual imagination. Listening to Within Temptation's 'Memories' [2, Yugi found himself able to fix each line into context with Atem's life. He typed away on another fictional adventure, he had hoped for the chance to study a Creative Writing course at university, however, with the circumstances, he decided to practice his skills, writing novels about Atem, extending his other half's life and allowing his friend's memory to continue to exist. Yugi would then base the characters of Atem's friends on himself and their companions, maybe one day, Atem could exist again.
[1 A quote from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duellist Manga, Volume 10: Duel 88-The Lost Cards
[2 I do not own Within Temptation's 'Memories', I'm just a huge fan of it
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Chapter 2-Losing the White Heart
The light of the laptop was the only thing that broke the darkness, Yugi's eyes remained wide as he blue brightness focused on him, his blank eyes stared at it, his pupils barely existed in the night hours.
"Yuge" shouted the American-influenced voice Yugi had been waiting for.
"The door's open" Yugi called back, his eyes refusing the leave the laptop.
The squeak of loose footwear followed the click of the door before silence fell; it seemed Joey had stopped to follow the usual Japanese tradition. A moment passed before the blue light lit up the blonde hair and hazel eyes, he stared at Yugi.
"Ready Yuge?" Joey asked.
"I'll meet you there, Joey" Yugi mumbled.
"Are you working on another of those stories about Yami?" Joey asked.
"Yeah" Yugi replied. "I'm almost done on this chapter, then I'll meet you at the party".
"Wait, this isn't like that time you said you'd come over mine a couple weeks ago and never showed, is it?" Joey grumbled.
"No, I'll be there" Yugi protested calmly.
"Well, I'll tell Tristan, you're meeting up at his place, If he doesn't come, we'll come and get you and drag you to the party" Joey chuckled.
Yugi couldn't even muster a grin, Joey sighed before bidding Yugi farewell, he couldn't help but feel Yugi had drowned the real world and hidden himself in his laptop, like Seto Kaiba had done. Joey cringed at the thought of Yugi and Kaiba being so similar, but Yugi hadn't even lifted his eyes and glanced at Joey. The blonde just sighed as he shook his head slowly, his hand diving into his pockets he turned and silently walked away.
Inside, the darkness continued to linger around Yugi's withdrawn form, he continued to type silently, the outside world no longer mattered.
"How are you doing, Yugi?"
Yugi looked upwards, his laptop screen sinking below his sight, Atem stood before him, a spirit once again. Yugi's dull eyes lit up at the form of Atem-despite it being a transparent version of him, Yugi smiled his laptop falling with his legs as he sat high for Atem. He had visited several times since Yugi's 17th birthday, the only problem with Atem's visits were they did not exist, the Atem before Yugi was just a disillusioned memory of him; projected by Yugi's shattered mind for his broken eyes. This Atem was just a figment of Yugi's imagination, his mind, similar to an imaginary friend; he had no body, he had no mind, he barely had a voice, he wasn't Atem.
"Atem" Yugi called happily.
Atem smiled back, if he had emotions, he would have been thrilled to be seeing Yugi once again, but he didn't, it didn't. That wouldn't have mattered to Yugi had he known, he was just pleased he could see Atem's face, relieved enough that he could remember Atem.
"Aibou" Atem spoke again. "I hope you aren't planning on missing Tea's party, you know I'd come too to see the others if I could. This'll be the last time you'll see her until at least Christmas".
"I know Atem" Yugi chuckled. "Like I said to Joey, give me a minute and I'll finish this".
"What's that?" Atem asked.
"I told you Atem, these are the stories about you I write, it reminds me of the times we were together" Yugi replied, light-heartedly. "And it almost extends your life, I just felt it was a way of keeping you around".
Atem smiled at this, he was honoured that Yugi was so attached to him and the years they had spent as partners that he couldn't simply let them go as the others had done.
"Aibou, I don't have much time. But thank you. I'll always be here if you need me" Atem whispered.
"Atem, don't go! Don't leave me on my own again!" Yugi cried.
Atem noted the desperation in Yugi's cry, he stepped forward and reached out, his transparent hand touched Yugi's wrist, the alive one could feel the spirit's touch as Atem's hand passed through his skin, Yugi smiled.
Joey sighed as he finally reached Tea's house, the brunette opened the door, smiling cheerfully at Joey, she had not planned the party, but the others had convinced her, it was only a quarter hour since Joey had left to retrieve Yugi. Realizing the absence of the tri-coloured star beside Joey, Tea's smiled faded, Joey seemed distressed.
"Joey, are you OK?" Tea asked.
"I'm alright. I just wish Yuge was" Joey mumbled. "He's been so depressed since Atem left, it's not like him. I just wish he could get out and enjoy life with us. Get out of that laptop, out of that shop and come back into the light".
Tea stepped out into the dim street, stopping beside Joey and simply wrapping her arms around him, her head rested beside his, he looked down at it in the corner of his eyes.
"It'll be OK. Yugi'll come back one day" she breathed.
"But what about the Yugi we once knew? Something tells me Atem didn't mean for him to leave too" Joey sighed.
"Atem never meant for any of this to happen. It just did. I know he never wanted to leave" Tea whispered.
Serenity appeared at the doorway, the light from within shining out onto the cold street, she clutched the door frame, Joey had been like a big brother to Yugi and to see him suffer broke her, just as seeing Yugi suffer was breaking him. She returned to the inside as Joey and Tea shared that moment that made her wonder whether they were more than friends, were they growing more attached? Sometimes Serenity even wished they would, Joey had never been one for love, his passion was usually with fighting those that threatened his loved ones.
"Joey, I miss him" Tea sobbed.
"Me too. I'm sure if he could, Atem would save him. He's sinking into darkness. Maybe someone else is coming. Maybe they're influencing this" Joey whispered.
He wrapped his arms around Tea and held her close, while Atem was around, no-one would have ever guessed something like this could have happened. Silence in inside the building, no music played, it was best to wait for everyone to arrive, but it could be a while before that would happen, especially with Yugi's withdrawal from most of social life. She walked off into the building further, the silence was killing her, she needed to get someway to open Yugi's eyes to all his friends that were still around him. A knock at the open door drew her attention towards the living room again, she looked beyond the light and through to the darkness, Duke stood there. She made her way to the door, glancing on the outside, Tea and Joey had separated, neither looked the other in the eye, both seemed a little nervous. Although they had been growing closer, neither possessed the ability to admit they had felt a closeness towards the other over the passing months.
"Come in, Duke" Serenity whispered.
Duke then entered, he was still extending his Dungeon Dice Monsters, the game as popular as ever, he stood tall before Serenity, all seemed to have grown even just a little over the fifteen months that life had changed. They both looked out at Joey and Tea who faced away from the building, both looking out at the electronically brightened city, the stars above glistened as they did every night, every night they were hidden behind grey clouds. Serenity watched the pair silently, there wasn't anything to say, she looked down at Tea as Joey pressed his hand against her back.
Atem was gone. He was alone. The laptop was on the table, closed and dead. He had made a promise and remembered to actually keep it, he was making his way towards Tristan's house, the home in sight before him, he watched up grimly before approaching it.
'Well Atem, this is for you'
Joey and Tea entered the building, neither was sure what was happening between them, Serenity smiled as they entered. Since Duke's arrival; Vicky, Destiny, Bakura, Mai and Marik had all arrived, all watching the pair as they entered, Tea blushed where none could see, unsure whether Joey felt the same as she did, he seemed it. A ring from the phone, Joey answered it, the group watched him as he clenched his fist, he would occasionally tell him to calm down, it was a male.
"Alright, we'll be right there!" Joey called.
The phone fell onto it's receiver, a drop of sweat slid gracefully down Joey's face, he turned to the others, his skin losing colour.
"Joey, what is it?" Serenity asked.
"Just Tristan, he's taken a fall, I'll be right back" Joey stated.
"I'm coming too!" Serenity called.
"No, you have to stay here with Tea and the others" Joey protested.
"Joey, we need to go, the others can stay and party, we need to find out how Tristan's doing!" Tea answered.
Joey moaned as a response, things didn't sound too good, he led the girls away, leaving the rest behind in the house to solemnly play some music, no movement all about.
Joey through the door open as he arrived at Tristan's home, a panting, a whimpering coming from up the stairs. Tea and Serenity followed the blonde into the room closest to the top of the stairs. Inside, blood painted the walls, smeared into the colour of the paint, a sky blue now tainted into a sea of red chaos. Tristan lay upon the floor, the pool of blood around him, drowning him, next to him, a smaller man on his knees, a star of hair; black and blonde and pink and red. He turned to them, blood rubbed into his pale cheeks, his skin coloured by the foreign blood, his black shirt also splattered.
"Yugi, what happened!" Joey called.
Tears in Yugi's eyes, Joey knew something terrible had happened and Yugi had seen it, blood everywhere, soaked into Yugi's shirt, tainting his skin, Tea held her hand over her mouth, Serenity sank to her knees, both had tears running down their faces, it all too much to bear.
"Joey" Yugi sobbed. "I think Tristan's dead".
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Chapter 3-Blooded Eyes
Yugi and Tea sat with hands folded on their laps, Joey pulled his arms and up and crossed them over, Serenity stood beside Joey, her had balled into a fist, pressed against her chest and her beating heart. How could this have happened? Who had done it? What had Yugi seen that would haunt him for all eternity? Joey glanced at Yugi in the corner of his eye, the young one had lost his heart when Atem left, lost his mind when his Grandpa passed on, now his soul was torn by the loss of Tristan, what's worse was the death's status as murder. This was terrible! This was horrible! This was unbelievable! What did anyone have against Tristan anyway? No-one had enough against him to murder him. Tea stared down at her hand, the shivering palms before her, folded nearly, her finger entwined. A police officer made his way over, Joey stood beside Serenity, Tea and Yugi's eyes followed, they stared up at the authority figure stood before them, the man looked sternly upon Yugi, the short one's left cheek still painted with blood, his shirt darkened further by the stains of the redness.
"Yugi Muto, I hear you found Tristan Taylor's body" he spoke.
"You mean Tristan's definitely dead!" Joey yelled.
"He was pronounced dead at the scene as we escorted you four to here" the officer replied.
A sob escaped the confides of Tea's throat, she heaved as she roughly breathed in, trying to stop herself from wailing like a broken child. Serenity planted her face in her hands, unable to bear the fact that yet another friend was gone, another member of their gang, they had consider Atem that from the start, but somehow, when Yugi's Grandpa passed on, it had felt as though he had been such an impact on their lives.
"Y-yes, I found Tristan" Yugi choked.
Joey turned to Yugi, he was so fragile, he had been so fragile, he was beyond that now. What was he? What was his state of mind? Tea placed her left hand over her mouth, pressing her lips with her narrow fingers.
"I'm going to need to ask you some questions for a moment" the officer spoke.
"No way! If Yuge goes, we all go!" Joey yelled.
"Joey please" Yugi whispered. "I'll have to answer the questions so they can try and find out what happened".
Joey sat again, Serenity fell to her knees beside him, placing her hands on his left hand, resting upon his leg, he glared at the officer as he ld Yugi away. He led Yugi to a quiet room, locking the door form the inside, Yugi sat upon a chair, a desk beside it, his hand rested close to his crotch, withdrawing himself as he usually did, wishing he could escape. The officer sat in a chair on the other side of the wooden desk, he seemed relaxed, he was patient enough for the both of them, Yugi was tense, filled with fear, he was shaking, he was turning his head in all directions.
"It's OK, Yugi, calm down" the officer muttered.
He raised a gentle hand, leaving it hovering in mid-air before Yugi, the tri-coloured haired boy gasped at the sight of it, staring at it with horror, his eyes wide, fear consumed him.
"Yugi, listen to me, no-one accusing you of anything. You're not in any trouble" the man whispered. "We just want to know what you saw when you found Tristan Taylor".
"I didn't see much, I just remember a bang when I reached the door" Yugi whispered. "I-I pushed open the door, but he was laying there, I had to throw myself against it, there was blood everywhere. I-I couldn't believe he was laying there like t-that. I went down beside him, trying to f-find out what had happened. He didn't a-answer me. I don't know what happened. It was just bloody. W-whatever had happened to him was awful, and I should have been there to help him".
"I know you're a good friend of Mr Taylor's, why did you visit him tonight?"
"I was meeting him for a p-party, we were going to meet up at his house before we went off to Joey's" Yugi replied.
"And this Joey, he's that energetic blonde boy, right?"
Yugi nodded, sure he hadn't seen the brutal attack on Tristan, but the blood was on his shirt, the sights stuck in his mind, the walls all around, plastered with his friend's blood, they were closing on him. He stared blankly towards the ground as the officer's words mumbled on, fading into blurs he paid no attention to.
"This is bad" Tea stated.
"Of course it is! Tristan's dead!" Joey yelled.
"No, I mean for Yugi" Tea replied.
"What do you mean?" Serenity asked.
"I read that since they found Yugi with Tristan that makes Yugi their prime-suspect" Tea explained.
"What! But Yuge wouldn't kill Tristan!" Joey called.
"I know, that's why it's so harsh. Yugi has been devastated by his family dying over the past year and whatever months, this is just another blow to the heart" Tea sighed.
"And he was there. He might have seen it all. And even if he didn't, the blood was still spreading, his knees where in the large pool, his shirt and skin were covered too" Serenity muttered.
Joey turned to the door in which Yugi and the officer had disappeared, wondering what was going through Yugi's failing mind. How was he doing against the question thrown at him? Was the officer giving him a chance? Serenity rose to her feet, Joey turned to her, she silently made her way away, he stepped forward when Tea did nothing.
"Serenity, where are you going?" he asked.
"I've got to call the others. It'll be too much if they see it over the news, that's just harsh!" Serenity replied. "We can't exactly say Tristan died from a fall".
Joey retracted his steps as Serenity continued further away, he sat beside Tea in the warm seat Serenity had left him, he placed his hand on her far shoulder, she turned to him, her eyes glazed with unshed tears. She laid her head against his shoulder, he closed his eyes as he focused on the pain she felt, her heart torn to shreds. Joey opened his eyes when he heard the click of a door, Tea made no movement, she stared blankly ahead, her tears dripping down her cheeks, off in her own world. Yugi didn't emerge, it wasn't his room Joey sighed before turning his face to Tea, small hairs tickled his skin, he dared not laugh, not now. It had to keep running through his head: Tristan was dead, Yugi was a suspect automatically, life was falling apart.
"Are you kidding me!" Vicky gasped, horrified.
"No, it's all true" Serenity protested.
"But how can that be! Who did it?" Vicky asked.
"We don't know, we're at the hospital, they said they'd have to do a post-mortem" Serenity mumbled.
"Aw, Serenity. I'll tell the others before the media can do anything" Vicky promised.
She shut her phone, the street before her cold, dark, lonely, she stared at the skies above, stars twinkling. Ever child was told when someone died, they'd watch over them from up there, Vicky stared up, thinking about Atem, Grandpa and now even Tristan, things could only get better, right? No. Now she had to tell the others, she turned to the light behind her, they had no idea, their worlds were about to be shaken by the murder and the theory to that murder. She turned to the building, she couldn't put it off, pacing slowly, her mind racing with all the reactions, all the questions, what would they think? She entered the light, the others all turned to her, she seemed reluctant, her hand clutching her phone shivering.
"What's up?" Duke asked.
"Joey..." she stammered. "Joey, Tea, Serenity and Yugi are...they're at the hospital".
She didn't know how to break it, what could she do? Faces stretched as surprise overcame them, she gulped.
"It's that bad? Is Tristan alright?" Bakura queried.
"Actually" Vicky breathed. "He's dead".
Bakura stepped back, taken aback by the revelation, they had been told Tristan had taken a fall, not that he had died or was in a critical condition at the time.
"What do you mean? A fall can't do that!" Duke called.
"They say it was murder" Vicky replied. "They found Yugi with him when they arrived, he'd be the one to know who did it".
"So what does it matter if Yugi didn't see it? He wouldn't have done it!" Marik shouted.
"Calm down Marik" Mai hushed.
"Yugi being with Tristan automatically makes him a suspect in the eyes of the police, what Yugi did or didn't see is out of everyone's hands" Vicky sighed. "We'll need to find someone who would have a motive to get Tristan out of the way so we can clear Yugi's name".
"But isn't that what the police and all those detectives are for?" Mai asked.
"No-one knew Tristan better than Yugi and Joey" Destiny replied.
"What did they say was happening?" Duke asked further.
"They'll carry out a post-mortem on Tristan's body" Vicky sighed. "Until then, we don't know what happened or what will".
Destiny closed her eyes, a guilty look upon her face, she had not been paying attention to the outside world for the past hours, now the consequences were dire, a friend's life had slipped away. She felt partially responsible and now, with Yugi as a suspect, things were only getting worse. But it was too late now, she did not possess the power to bring Tristan back, nor had she to save the others. She felt now, it was in the hands of those that were involved more than those dang powers, it was up to Yugi to clear his name, it was up to him and those he knew he'd need, even with her power, she had no full control, she herself did not know who had done it.
'Yugi' she thought.
Out there, in the city, in the hospital, Joey sighed as he sat between Tea and Serenity, Yugi then made his way towards them. Joey's head lifted his head slightly, Yugi seemed dazed, exhausted by the lateness and the complexity of the night.
"Yuge!" Joey called.
He rushed to Yugi, placing his hands on the smaller's shoulders, Yugi glanced up at him tiredly, Joey pulled Yugi to him, the tri-coloured haired boy rested his head against the top of Joey's chest, just below the blonde's neck, Joey turned to the girls as they stood, slowly approaching the pair.
"Are you OK, Yugi?" Tea asked.
"Tea" Yugi breathed.
"Did they go rough on you?" Joey questioned.
"I'm fine, really guys" Yugi sighed.
Joey placed his hands against Yugi's back, holding the smaller boy close to him, refusing to let him go, refusing to lose him. Yugi felt tears fall from his closed eyelids, he was lost. Joey closed his own eyes, Yugi's tears landed on his bare arms, the cold liquefied crystals splashing down or simply just sliding down Yugi's face, running along his neck. Serenity and Tea joined in, pressing themselves against Yugi, he looked up as he reached their necks, he thought of Atem instantly, after all, this was how Atem looked at them all, the same height. He looked between Serenity and Tea, seeing Atem's spirit standing there, watching him with narrow sympathizing eyes.
"Atem?" Yugi asked.
The girls retracted, Joey"s arms weakened against Yugi, the smallest stared where his partner had been, the others stared down at him, Atem was gone.
"What?" Tea asked.
"I just saw Atem, he was standing there" Yugi whispered.
He pointed ahead to where Atem had been, the three watched the spot that Yugi pointed to, nothing. Yugi clenched his fist and pressed it against Joey's chest softly, he pushed his head against his friend, looking as though he feared the presence of his other half's spirit, Joey looked down at Yugi. He seemed worried, it wouldn't have been like Atem to hide from the others, however, a small smile wiped its way onto Yugi's face.
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Chapter 4-I Miss You
"Yugi, you must calm down, they're not blaming you" Atem spoke.
"Calm down? How can I calm down, Atem? They're accusing me of killing my friend. Sure they may not act like they're accusing me, but I know they are. I was there!" Yugi protested, panicky.
"Yugi, you're one of Tristan's closest friends. Why would you have killed him?" Atem asked.
"I don't know! I wouldn't have!" Yugi shouted.
Atem leaned against the counter, they were home again, Yugi pacing around, Atem seemed completely relaxed, he would be, he wasn't the one being accused of killing one of his closest friends. Yugi sighed, this was too much, what was he going to do? He couldn't even remember what he had been doing between Joey leaving and arriving outside Tristan's. He had no-one with him, except Atem, but he had learned that no-one else seemed to notice him, he was alone in this, Atem, his voiceless partner would have backed him up if he could, but naturally, if Yugi explained Atem's involvement, they'd put him down as schizophrenic. He was at a loss, he didn't know what he was going to do. Time was running out, they'd need him back for questioning and all he could do was pace around the shop, the sigh on the outside stating 'closed'.
"Yugi, why don't you have a rest, you didn't sleep much during the night. I can't let you wear yourself out" Atem suggested.
"Thanks Atem. But what if the others come?" Yugi asked.
"Don't worry Yugi, all you need to worry about is yourself at the moment. If you're not ft for further questioning, they may come up with a theory linking your tiredness to Tristan's death" Atem replied.
Yugi placed his hand over his mouth, yawning as he realized how right Atem was. Things weren't going to get better instantly and staying awake every minute wasn't going to help them move along quicker.
Hours later, Yugi awoke once again, peace remained all around, the almost eerie silence he had become accustomed to, he sighed, he was all alone. He then made his way down to the lower half, the sun was beginning it's descent, Yugi could see the sky behind him starting to colour again, oranges and pinks, the colours that would usually occur early evening, he sighed, Atem had love to watch it all, after all, his ancient culture had worshipped the sun, the god of Ra in the sky. Yugi looked around, just as every evening for the past 15 months, the shop was empty, cold, silent. He was tired of this, despite his longing to preserve his family's memory, he wanted to be able to have someone to talk to, with the other remaining Muto travelling the world, he had no-one other than the spirit of Atem. What was he going to do? The phone then began to ring, Yugi sighed, it was going to be the police, no-one else ever called, the voice he despised was about to hiss down the phone. He picked it up and growled under his breath, waiting for that dang voice.
"Yugi".
It was Kaiba, what was he doing? Why was he calling now of all times? Since Atem's leaving, the gang had barely seen Kaiba let alone heard from the man that accused them all of making Atem up.
"Let me guess! Yugi growled. "You want to hold a tournament and I'm invited. You'll beat with this awesome new card you have and win back the title Atem and I 'stole' from you before Duellist Kingdom. Sorry Kaiba, I don't duel, not at the moment and not with people who still think I made Atem up".
"Sarcasm won't get you anywhere Yugi" Kaiba hissed. "Actually, I thought I should check up on you, I heard you were a suspect in the case of Tristan's death".
"Great!" Yugi moaned. "Word spreads quickly. Now all of Domino is going to think I'm some sort of seducing, silent, Pharaoh-imagining murderer!"
He slammed the phone down before Kaiba could protest with some kind of remark against the existence of Atem. He wanted someone to talk to, but someone he cared about, someone that could hold him close the same way Serenity had done, someone that could comfort him successfully instead of failing in the way that Kaiba had only started attempting.
As the sun fell and the different, darker colours took hold of the sky, Yugi continued typing away at the laptop once again, for reasons even he didn't know, the memory of holding that Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon card with Yami high above their heads continued to replay itself over in his mind. He began to write about a new story that had brought to his head, Yami as a dragon warrior in a kingdom where instead of cats and dogs, dragons were pets and partners instead. Yugi was thoroughly enjoying the new idea and remembered that he had a place on the Internet where he would show these to the world, spreading the memory and influence of Atem.
"One day Atem" he muttered. "I'll make it up to you".
He then realized how frequently Atem had been returning lately, normally the Pharaoh's spirit would appeared before him once every few months, but he had appeared several times in the past few days, Yugi was pleased that he cared so much about his partner. His smile faded, there was a problem, if he was worried about Yugi, then it was eating away at himself, he was supposed to be concentrating on resting his spirit and enjoying the afterlife where they would one day meet up once again. Yugi sighed, anger rushing over him, anger at himself, anger at whoever killed Tristan, he was ready to explode after this sudden rush of anger.
Time ran on, from evening to night to early morning. Yugi awoke when the sun held itself high after its rise, he groaned as he pushed himself from the bed. As he prepared his breakfast, he turned the TV on, rubbing the crusty sleepers from his eyes, he listened as the news blared out quietly. Cracking some eggs open and dropping them into the frying pan he turned to it with tired narrow eyes as the news reporter spoke of recent developments.
"And last night a new shocking twist in the case of Tristan Taylor's murder" he spoke. "One of Tristan's best friends, Duke Devlin has been found dead in his apartment".
Yugi's eyes widened. What! Duke was dead? Him too? There was another murder? This couldn't be! Questions and thoughts rushed through Yugi's head, maybe this was someone targeting his friends because of their links to him, or maybe he was next. He pulled the frying pan and half done eggs away settling down on the table, he rushed to the edge of the room and pulled the phone from its receiver, pushing it against his ear and dialling the needed number in his frenzied panic.
"Joey!" he called.
"Yuge, I take it you saw the news" Joey replied.
"What the heck is going on?" Yugi shouted.
"I dunno" Joey answered. "But we're meeting outside Duke's pretty soon".
"I'll come too" Yugi offered.
"OK, they said they found some CCTV footage of outside Tristan's pad, they're checking it over soon" Joey explained.
Yugi nodded, although Joey couldn't see it, they both agreed the footage would reveal, if not at least shed some light on the situation. He turned back to the half-cooked food, he wasn't in the mood for eating, but his stomach protested, pulling in and growling, it eventually forced Yugi to resume his breakfast. After half an hour of waiting for it to heat up and slow eating, Yugi was done and reading the newspaper, trying to see if there were any leads other than himself involved in Tristan's death.
Outside and across the road; Joey and Serenity stood alone, silently, gazing up at the upper levels of the Black Clown Game Shop where Duke would have been when he died. A car drove behind them, the only one that had for a quarter hour, it halted just beyond them on the other side of the road. A man left it and walked along, neither Joey nor Serenity aware at the time, he stopped outside the Turtle Game Shop and knocked on the door. He turned to see Joey and Serenity solemnly mourning their friend, their latest friend to be murdered at least. Yugi answered the door, the man turned back to him, he didn't look like the type that should be accused of murdering someone, especially since the man murdered was his friend also.
"Hello sir" Yugi spoke.
"Yugi Muto" he replied. "I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Tristan Taylor".
Yugi found himself spun around before handcuffs slapped themselves over his wrists, his hands clenched he gasped, at a loss for words as the man continued about saying stuff, he wasn't paying attention. The man then led him to his car, he turned and noticed Joey and Serenity on the other side of the road.
"Joey!" he screamed.
Both Wheelers turned and gasped in horror, noticing Yugi's hands behind his back, they raced across the road to aide him.
"What's going on?" Joey shouted as they continued.
"They're arresting me on suspicion of murdering Tristan!" Yugi cried.
He found himself at the car door, the man pushed his head down and forced him inside, Joey yelled out as he confronted the man, Serenity stood behind him defensively.
"What are you doing!" Joey snapped.
"Calm down, Mr Wheeler" the man spoke. "I'm an officer so I know what I'm doing, we're just taking Yugi down to the station".
"He didn't do it!" Joey shouted.
"We'll see about that" the man sneered.
The door slammed shut, Yugi tried crying out to Joey, but his words faded behind the glass of the window, tears in his eyes, he was a frightened kid that needed protecting once again. Joey pushed his hands against the window, also calling to Yugi, but with his louder voice, he was able to slightly penetrate the barrier between them.
"Don't worry Yuge. I'll find out who did it. I'll get you outta there!" he called.
He removed his hands as the car started and simply watched as it left them behind, taking Yugi to be dealt with the reality of their theory, Serenity held Joey's hand, terrified for Yugi.
"What'll we do?" she asked.
"We gotta get the others and prove Yugi's innocent" Joey mumbled.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's it of the story that was posted. As I said, I want to continue it. I will not claim these first four chapters or any characters as mine, but I will claim the following chapters that I write as mine. All credit for this story and it's characters go to the owners.
www.fanfiction.net/s/3811901/1/Amnesia
*Note: This fanfic is very grusome, so if you don't like blood/people dieing, then you should not read this.*
I'll just paste it here because I feel like it.
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Chapter 1-Alone in the New Light
Light footsteps. A sigh into the empty air. 18-year-old Yugi Muto stared ahead dully in the empty shop, no-one was present, no-one was ever present. It had been 3 months and a year since that fateful duel, the last duel of his best friend's life, his other half: Pharaoh Atem. Since then, Yugi had been unable to continue with life normally, he had lost himself to depression. That was just weeks before Yugi's birthday. What Yugi hadn't learned that was upon arrival back in the real world, Atem had made a secret request to Tea, she had bought it after he was gone, a cartouche, the same as his own. The gift shocked Yugi when Tea presented it to him on his birthday, stating it was from Atem, his own name carved into the small tag in the symbols that were once Atem's language, the small tag didn't leave his neck, much like the Millennium Puzzle that had harboured the Pharaoh's spirit, almost like it would never leave him. 5 months later, Yugi lost his Grandpa; his heart had been unable to fight as October had set in, leaving Yugi alone with his life. Now with his taller stature, his deeper voice and his darkened eyes, Yugi had evolved from the naÎve young child they had protected. His mind also darkened with experience, the white purity tainted, hazed and drowning into grey. Now with his education over and his exam results out, Yugi remained in Domino, unable to break his roots, staying in darkness, losing himself in his uncaring nature. His lifestyle so much more relaxed-no-one would have imagined him ending up in such a way-his meals usually consisted of takeaways, the shop may have not been at its best, but the money was enough for Yugi to survive. He wiped away the sweat from his forehead, the day's heat was cruel, mid-August now as time slowed, his 18th birthday just two months earlier, he had lost track of time.
"Yugi" a squeak came.
Yugi stared up as sunlight poured into the room as the woman entered, throwing the door open, long red hair waved in the air as a familiar woman rushed excitedly into the room.
"Serenity" Yugi stated.
The slightly younger woman smiled, her pale hazel eyes watched Yugi as he slowly approached her, his legs entering the light. Serenity wore the same shirt that she had when Yugi had first met her during Battle City, the difference that separated the two were the thin white sleeves reaching down to have hands, despite the summer weather. Brown trousers and white trainers accompanied the shirt. Her eyes remained fixed on Yugi, glittering as her hair did against the sunlight, her long, warm hair that extended down to her rear, Yugi's eyes brightened as the sun reached his head.
"Yugi, are you well today?" Serenity asked.
"Yes, I feel the same as everyday" Yugi responded. "What about you? What brings you here?"
"What, I need a reason for visiting a friend?" Serenity giggled.
Yugi grinned, it was rare that Yugi smile or laughed, occasionally a word out of his mouth was rare.
"Well, I came to check if you were meeting us tonight, for Tea's party" Serenity added.
"You performing again?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah. And Joey said he'd stop by sometime today" Serenity replied. "We've only got a few weeks before Tea leaves for university".
"Don't I know" Yugi sighed.
"Yugi, don't worry" Serenity muttered. "Nothing's going to separate us. No-one's leaving you again for a long time".
She held Yugi's head to her, his blonde bangs brushed against her soft neck, he felt the warmth of her own body against his own, he decided to enjoy the moment, his eyelids slipped shut. He wished he could join Tea in the thrill of leaving home to explore life at university, but even with someone to care for the shop, he simply didn't have the money and student debt was one of his greatest fears. Serenity brushed Yugi's pale cheek with her warm hand, since losing Atem and Grandpa, the young Muto had only been out for needed and special occasions, relieved that Seto Kaiba had not attempted another tournament since Atem's leaving. He wished the group could have remained in the short time between the last tournament and finding Atem's memories, it was like Atem himself had stated before Battle City-their second tournament-to keep a lost mind was what he preferred.
"But I don't need to know the truth. Things are fine the way they are...the way they are..." [1
Yugi wiped away a tear while Serenity continued to embrace him as Atem's words echoed through his head.
Night fell upon Domino as the late hours took a hold, Yugi silently typed away on his laptop-his saviour from the real world and key to the preferred world of virtual imagination. Listening to Within Temptation's 'Memories' [2, Yugi found himself able to fix each line into context with Atem's life. He typed away on another fictional adventure, he had hoped for the chance to study a Creative Writing course at university, however, with the circumstances, he decided to practice his skills, writing novels about Atem, extending his other half's life and allowing his friend's memory to continue to exist. Yugi would then base the characters of Atem's friends on himself and their companions, maybe one day, Atem could exist again.
[1 A quote from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duellist Manga, Volume 10: Duel 88-The Lost Cards
[2 I do not own Within Temptation's 'Memories', I'm just a huge fan of it
- Here's the link to Within Temptation's 'Memories' if you've never heard it. It's a really great song and it goes very well with this story. Maybe that's just my opinion, but it still goes along very well. Also, it is probably something this Yugi would listen to because it's gloomy and sad. And this version has the lyrics in the description. Enjoy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0rNputcfK0 - Here are a few Yu-Gi-Oh! videos with this song.
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RhVwjQxg3U
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tlLMt8YsRQ
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCAZ_YmFJds
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Chapter 2-Losing the White Heart
The light of the laptop was the only thing that broke the darkness, Yugi's eyes remained wide as he blue brightness focused on him, his blank eyes stared at it, his pupils barely existed in the night hours.
"Yuge" shouted the American-influenced voice Yugi had been waiting for.
"The door's open" Yugi called back, his eyes refusing the leave the laptop.
The squeak of loose footwear followed the click of the door before silence fell; it seemed Joey had stopped to follow the usual Japanese tradition. A moment passed before the blue light lit up the blonde hair and hazel eyes, he stared at Yugi.
"Ready Yuge?" Joey asked.
"I'll meet you there, Joey" Yugi mumbled.
"Are you working on another of those stories about Yami?" Joey asked.
"Yeah" Yugi replied. "I'm almost done on this chapter, then I'll meet you at the party".
"Wait, this isn't like that time you said you'd come over mine a couple weeks ago and never showed, is it?" Joey grumbled.
"No, I'll be there" Yugi protested calmly.
"Well, I'll tell Tristan, you're meeting up at his place, If he doesn't come, we'll come and get you and drag you to the party" Joey chuckled.
Yugi couldn't even muster a grin, Joey sighed before bidding Yugi farewell, he couldn't help but feel Yugi had drowned the real world and hidden himself in his laptop, like Seto Kaiba had done. Joey cringed at the thought of Yugi and Kaiba being so similar, but Yugi hadn't even lifted his eyes and glanced at Joey. The blonde just sighed as he shook his head slowly, his hand diving into his pockets he turned and silently walked away.
Inside, the darkness continued to linger around Yugi's withdrawn form, he continued to type silently, the outside world no longer mattered.
"How are you doing, Yugi?"
Yugi looked upwards, his laptop screen sinking below his sight, Atem stood before him, a spirit once again. Yugi's dull eyes lit up at the form of Atem-despite it being a transparent version of him, Yugi smiled his laptop falling with his legs as he sat high for Atem. He had visited several times since Yugi's 17th birthday, the only problem with Atem's visits were they did not exist, the Atem before Yugi was just a disillusioned memory of him; projected by Yugi's shattered mind for his broken eyes. This Atem was just a figment of Yugi's imagination, his mind, similar to an imaginary friend; he had no body, he had no mind, he barely had a voice, he wasn't Atem.
"Atem" Yugi called happily.
Atem smiled back, if he had emotions, he would have been thrilled to be seeing Yugi once again, but he didn't, it didn't. That wouldn't have mattered to Yugi had he known, he was just pleased he could see Atem's face, relieved enough that he could remember Atem.
"Aibou" Atem spoke again. "I hope you aren't planning on missing Tea's party, you know I'd come too to see the others if I could. This'll be the last time you'll see her until at least Christmas".
"I know Atem" Yugi chuckled. "Like I said to Joey, give me a minute and I'll finish this".
"What's that?" Atem asked.
"I told you Atem, these are the stories about you I write, it reminds me of the times we were together" Yugi replied, light-heartedly. "And it almost extends your life, I just felt it was a way of keeping you around".
Atem smiled at this, he was honoured that Yugi was so attached to him and the years they had spent as partners that he couldn't simply let them go as the others had done.
"Aibou, I don't have much time. But thank you. I'll always be here if you need me" Atem whispered.
"Atem, don't go! Don't leave me on my own again!" Yugi cried.
Atem noted the desperation in Yugi's cry, he stepped forward and reached out, his transparent hand touched Yugi's wrist, the alive one could feel the spirit's touch as Atem's hand passed through his skin, Yugi smiled.
Joey sighed as he finally reached Tea's house, the brunette opened the door, smiling cheerfully at Joey, she had not planned the party, but the others had convinced her, it was only a quarter hour since Joey had left to retrieve Yugi. Realizing the absence of the tri-coloured star beside Joey, Tea's smiled faded, Joey seemed distressed.
"Joey, are you OK?" Tea asked.
"I'm alright. I just wish Yuge was" Joey mumbled. "He's been so depressed since Atem left, it's not like him. I just wish he could get out and enjoy life with us. Get out of that laptop, out of that shop and come back into the light".
Tea stepped out into the dim street, stopping beside Joey and simply wrapping her arms around him, her head rested beside his, he looked down at it in the corner of his eyes.
"It'll be OK. Yugi'll come back one day" she breathed.
"But what about the Yugi we once knew? Something tells me Atem didn't mean for him to leave too" Joey sighed.
"Atem never meant for any of this to happen. It just did. I know he never wanted to leave" Tea whispered.
Serenity appeared at the doorway, the light from within shining out onto the cold street, she clutched the door frame, Joey had been like a big brother to Yugi and to see him suffer broke her, just as seeing Yugi suffer was breaking him. She returned to the inside as Joey and Tea shared that moment that made her wonder whether they were more than friends, were they growing more attached? Sometimes Serenity even wished they would, Joey had never been one for love, his passion was usually with fighting those that threatened his loved ones.
"Joey, I miss him" Tea sobbed.
"Me too. I'm sure if he could, Atem would save him. He's sinking into darkness. Maybe someone else is coming. Maybe they're influencing this" Joey whispered.
He wrapped his arms around Tea and held her close, while Atem was around, no-one would have ever guessed something like this could have happened. Silence in inside the building, no music played, it was best to wait for everyone to arrive, but it could be a while before that would happen, especially with Yugi's withdrawal from most of social life. She walked off into the building further, the silence was killing her, she needed to get someway to open Yugi's eyes to all his friends that were still around him. A knock at the open door drew her attention towards the living room again, she looked beyond the light and through to the darkness, Duke stood there. She made her way to the door, glancing on the outside, Tea and Joey had separated, neither looked the other in the eye, both seemed a little nervous. Although they had been growing closer, neither possessed the ability to admit they had felt a closeness towards the other over the passing months.
"Come in, Duke" Serenity whispered.
Duke then entered, he was still extending his Dungeon Dice Monsters, the game as popular as ever, he stood tall before Serenity, all seemed to have grown even just a little over the fifteen months that life had changed. They both looked out at Joey and Tea who faced away from the building, both looking out at the electronically brightened city, the stars above glistened as they did every night, every night they were hidden behind grey clouds. Serenity watched the pair silently, there wasn't anything to say, she looked down at Tea as Joey pressed his hand against her back.
Atem was gone. He was alone. The laptop was on the table, closed and dead. He had made a promise and remembered to actually keep it, he was making his way towards Tristan's house, the home in sight before him, he watched up grimly before approaching it.
'Well Atem, this is for you'
Joey and Tea entered the building, neither was sure what was happening between them, Serenity smiled as they entered. Since Duke's arrival; Vicky, Destiny, Bakura, Mai and Marik had all arrived, all watching the pair as they entered, Tea blushed where none could see, unsure whether Joey felt the same as she did, he seemed it. A ring from the phone, Joey answered it, the group watched him as he clenched his fist, he would occasionally tell him to calm down, it was a male.
"Alright, we'll be right there!" Joey called.
The phone fell onto it's receiver, a drop of sweat slid gracefully down Joey's face, he turned to the others, his skin losing colour.
"Joey, what is it?" Serenity asked.
"Just Tristan, he's taken a fall, I'll be right back" Joey stated.
"I'm coming too!" Serenity called.
"No, you have to stay here with Tea and the others" Joey protested.
"Joey, we need to go, the others can stay and party, we need to find out how Tristan's doing!" Tea answered.
Joey moaned as a response, things didn't sound too good, he led the girls away, leaving the rest behind in the house to solemnly play some music, no movement all about.
Joey through the door open as he arrived at Tristan's home, a panting, a whimpering coming from up the stairs. Tea and Serenity followed the blonde into the room closest to the top of the stairs. Inside, blood painted the walls, smeared into the colour of the paint, a sky blue now tainted into a sea of red chaos. Tristan lay upon the floor, the pool of blood around him, drowning him, next to him, a smaller man on his knees, a star of hair; black and blonde and pink and red. He turned to them, blood rubbed into his pale cheeks, his skin coloured by the foreign blood, his black shirt also splattered.
"Yugi, what happened!" Joey called.
Tears in Yugi's eyes, Joey knew something terrible had happened and Yugi had seen it, blood everywhere, soaked into Yugi's shirt, tainting his skin, Tea held her hand over her mouth, Serenity sank to her knees, both had tears running down their faces, it all too much to bear.
"Joey" Yugi sobbed. "I think Tristan's dead".
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Chapter 3-Blooded Eyes
Yugi and Tea sat with hands folded on their laps, Joey pulled his arms and up and crossed them over, Serenity stood beside Joey, her had balled into a fist, pressed against her chest and her beating heart. How could this have happened? Who had done it? What had Yugi seen that would haunt him for all eternity? Joey glanced at Yugi in the corner of his eye, the young one had lost his heart when Atem left, lost his mind when his Grandpa passed on, now his soul was torn by the loss of Tristan, what's worse was the death's status as murder. This was terrible! This was horrible! This was unbelievable! What did anyone have against Tristan anyway? No-one had enough against him to murder him. Tea stared down at her hand, the shivering palms before her, folded nearly, her finger entwined. A police officer made his way over, Joey stood beside Serenity, Tea and Yugi's eyes followed, they stared up at the authority figure stood before them, the man looked sternly upon Yugi, the short one's left cheek still painted with blood, his shirt darkened further by the stains of the redness.
"Yugi Muto, I hear you found Tristan Taylor's body" he spoke.
"You mean Tristan's definitely dead!" Joey yelled.
"He was pronounced dead at the scene as we escorted you four to here" the officer replied.
A sob escaped the confides of Tea's throat, she heaved as she roughly breathed in, trying to stop herself from wailing like a broken child. Serenity planted her face in her hands, unable to bear the fact that yet another friend was gone, another member of their gang, they had consider Atem that from the start, but somehow, when Yugi's Grandpa passed on, it had felt as though he had been such an impact on their lives.
"Y-yes, I found Tristan" Yugi choked.
Joey turned to Yugi, he was so fragile, he had been so fragile, he was beyond that now. What was he? What was his state of mind? Tea placed her left hand over her mouth, pressing her lips with her narrow fingers.
"I'm going to need to ask you some questions for a moment" the officer spoke.
"No way! If Yuge goes, we all go!" Joey yelled.
"Joey please" Yugi whispered. "I'll have to answer the questions so they can try and find out what happened".
Joey sat again, Serenity fell to her knees beside him, placing her hands on his left hand, resting upon his leg, he glared at the officer as he ld Yugi away. He led Yugi to a quiet room, locking the door form the inside, Yugi sat upon a chair, a desk beside it, his hand rested close to his crotch, withdrawing himself as he usually did, wishing he could escape. The officer sat in a chair on the other side of the wooden desk, he seemed relaxed, he was patient enough for the both of them, Yugi was tense, filled with fear, he was shaking, he was turning his head in all directions.
"It's OK, Yugi, calm down" the officer muttered.
He raised a gentle hand, leaving it hovering in mid-air before Yugi, the tri-coloured haired boy gasped at the sight of it, staring at it with horror, his eyes wide, fear consumed him.
"Yugi, listen to me, no-one accusing you of anything. You're not in any trouble" the man whispered. "We just want to know what you saw when you found Tristan Taylor".
"I didn't see much, I just remember a bang when I reached the door" Yugi whispered. "I-I pushed open the door, but he was laying there, I had to throw myself against it, there was blood everywhere. I-I couldn't believe he was laying there like t-that. I went down beside him, trying to f-find out what had happened. He didn't a-answer me. I don't know what happened. It was just bloody. W-whatever had happened to him was awful, and I should have been there to help him".
"I know you're a good friend of Mr Taylor's, why did you visit him tonight?"
"I was meeting him for a p-party, we were going to meet up at his house before we went off to Joey's" Yugi replied.
"And this Joey, he's that energetic blonde boy, right?"
Yugi nodded, sure he hadn't seen the brutal attack on Tristan, but the blood was on his shirt, the sights stuck in his mind, the walls all around, plastered with his friend's blood, they were closing on him. He stared blankly towards the ground as the officer's words mumbled on, fading into blurs he paid no attention to.
"This is bad" Tea stated.
"Of course it is! Tristan's dead!" Joey yelled.
"No, I mean for Yugi" Tea replied.
"What do you mean?" Serenity asked.
"I read that since they found Yugi with Tristan that makes Yugi their prime-suspect" Tea explained.
"What! But Yuge wouldn't kill Tristan!" Joey called.
"I know, that's why it's so harsh. Yugi has been devastated by his family dying over the past year and whatever months, this is just another blow to the heart" Tea sighed.
"And he was there. He might have seen it all. And even if he didn't, the blood was still spreading, his knees where in the large pool, his shirt and skin were covered too" Serenity muttered.
Joey turned to the door in which Yugi and the officer had disappeared, wondering what was going through Yugi's failing mind. How was he doing against the question thrown at him? Was the officer giving him a chance? Serenity rose to her feet, Joey turned to her, she silently made her way away, he stepped forward when Tea did nothing.
"Serenity, where are you going?" he asked.
"I've got to call the others. It'll be too much if they see it over the news, that's just harsh!" Serenity replied. "We can't exactly say Tristan died from a fall".
Joey retracted his steps as Serenity continued further away, he sat beside Tea in the warm seat Serenity had left him, he placed his hand on her far shoulder, she turned to him, her eyes glazed with unshed tears. She laid her head against his shoulder, he closed his eyes as he focused on the pain she felt, her heart torn to shreds. Joey opened his eyes when he heard the click of a door, Tea made no movement, she stared blankly ahead, her tears dripping down her cheeks, off in her own world. Yugi didn't emerge, it wasn't his room Joey sighed before turning his face to Tea, small hairs tickled his skin, he dared not laugh, not now. It had to keep running through his head: Tristan was dead, Yugi was a suspect automatically, life was falling apart.
"Are you kidding me!" Vicky gasped, horrified.
"No, it's all true" Serenity protested.
"But how can that be! Who did it?" Vicky asked.
"We don't know, we're at the hospital, they said they'd have to do a post-mortem" Serenity mumbled.
"Aw, Serenity. I'll tell the others before the media can do anything" Vicky promised.
She shut her phone, the street before her cold, dark, lonely, she stared at the skies above, stars twinkling. Ever child was told when someone died, they'd watch over them from up there, Vicky stared up, thinking about Atem, Grandpa and now even Tristan, things could only get better, right? No. Now she had to tell the others, she turned to the light behind her, they had no idea, their worlds were about to be shaken by the murder and the theory to that murder. She turned to the building, she couldn't put it off, pacing slowly, her mind racing with all the reactions, all the questions, what would they think? She entered the light, the others all turned to her, she seemed reluctant, her hand clutching her phone shivering.
"What's up?" Duke asked.
"Joey..." she stammered. "Joey, Tea, Serenity and Yugi are...they're at the hospital".
She didn't know how to break it, what could she do? Faces stretched as surprise overcame them, she gulped.
"It's that bad? Is Tristan alright?" Bakura queried.
"Actually" Vicky breathed. "He's dead".
Bakura stepped back, taken aback by the revelation, they had been told Tristan had taken a fall, not that he had died or was in a critical condition at the time.
"What do you mean? A fall can't do that!" Duke called.
"They say it was murder" Vicky replied. "They found Yugi with him when they arrived, he'd be the one to know who did it".
"So what does it matter if Yugi didn't see it? He wouldn't have done it!" Marik shouted.
"Calm down Marik" Mai hushed.
"Yugi being with Tristan automatically makes him a suspect in the eyes of the police, what Yugi did or didn't see is out of everyone's hands" Vicky sighed. "We'll need to find someone who would have a motive to get Tristan out of the way so we can clear Yugi's name".
"But isn't that what the police and all those detectives are for?" Mai asked.
"No-one knew Tristan better than Yugi and Joey" Destiny replied.
"What did they say was happening?" Duke asked further.
"They'll carry out a post-mortem on Tristan's body" Vicky sighed. "Until then, we don't know what happened or what will".
Destiny closed her eyes, a guilty look upon her face, she had not been paying attention to the outside world for the past hours, now the consequences were dire, a friend's life had slipped away. She felt partially responsible and now, with Yugi as a suspect, things were only getting worse. But it was too late now, she did not possess the power to bring Tristan back, nor had she to save the others. She felt now, it was in the hands of those that were involved more than those dang powers, it was up to Yugi to clear his name, it was up to him and those he knew he'd need, even with her power, she had no full control, she herself did not know who had done it.
'Yugi' she thought.
Out there, in the city, in the hospital, Joey sighed as he sat between Tea and Serenity, Yugi then made his way towards them. Joey's head lifted his head slightly, Yugi seemed dazed, exhausted by the lateness and the complexity of the night.
"Yuge!" Joey called.
He rushed to Yugi, placing his hands on the smaller's shoulders, Yugi glanced up at him tiredly, Joey pulled Yugi to him, the tri-coloured haired boy rested his head against the top of Joey's chest, just below the blonde's neck, Joey turned to the girls as they stood, slowly approaching the pair.
"Are you OK, Yugi?" Tea asked.
"Tea" Yugi breathed.
"Did they go rough on you?" Joey questioned.
"I'm fine, really guys" Yugi sighed.
Joey placed his hands against Yugi's back, holding the smaller boy close to him, refusing to let him go, refusing to lose him. Yugi felt tears fall from his closed eyelids, he was lost. Joey closed his own eyes, Yugi's tears landed on his bare arms, the cold liquefied crystals splashing down or simply just sliding down Yugi's face, running along his neck. Serenity and Tea joined in, pressing themselves against Yugi, he looked up as he reached their necks, he thought of Atem instantly, after all, this was how Atem looked at them all, the same height. He looked between Serenity and Tea, seeing Atem's spirit standing there, watching him with narrow sympathizing eyes.
"Atem?" Yugi asked.
The girls retracted, Joey"s arms weakened against Yugi, the smallest stared where his partner had been, the others stared down at him, Atem was gone.
"What?" Tea asked.
"I just saw Atem, he was standing there" Yugi whispered.
He pointed ahead to where Atem had been, the three watched the spot that Yugi pointed to, nothing. Yugi clenched his fist and pressed it against Joey's chest softly, he pushed his head against his friend, looking as though he feared the presence of his other half's spirit, Joey looked down at Yugi. He seemed worried, it wouldn't have been like Atem to hide from the others, however, a small smile wiped its way onto Yugi's face.
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Chapter 4-I Miss You
"Yugi, you must calm down, they're not blaming you" Atem spoke.
"Calm down? How can I calm down, Atem? They're accusing me of killing my friend. Sure they may not act like they're accusing me, but I know they are. I was there!" Yugi protested, panicky.
"Yugi, you're one of Tristan's closest friends. Why would you have killed him?" Atem asked.
"I don't know! I wouldn't have!" Yugi shouted.
Atem leaned against the counter, they were home again, Yugi pacing around, Atem seemed completely relaxed, he would be, he wasn't the one being accused of killing one of his closest friends. Yugi sighed, this was too much, what was he going to do? He couldn't even remember what he had been doing between Joey leaving and arriving outside Tristan's. He had no-one with him, except Atem, but he had learned that no-one else seemed to notice him, he was alone in this, Atem, his voiceless partner would have backed him up if he could, but naturally, if Yugi explained Atem's involvement, they'd put him down as schizophrenic. He was at a loss, he didn't know what he was going to do. Time was running out, they'd need him back for questioning and all he could do was pace around the shop, the sigh on the outside stating 'closed'.
"Yugi, why don't you have a rest, you didn't sleep much during the night. I can't let you wear yourself out" Atem suggested.
"Thanks Atem. But what if the others come?" Yugi asked.
"Don't worry Yugi, all you need to worry about is yourself at the moment. If you're not ft for further questioning, they may come up with a theory linking your tiredness to Tristan's death" Atem replied.
Yugi placed his hand over his mouth, yawning as he realized how right Atem was. Things weren't going to get better instantly and staying awake every minute wasn't going to help them move along quicker.
Hours later, Yugi awoke once again, peace remained all around, the almost eerie silence he had become accustomed to, he sighed, he was all alone. He then made his way down to the lower half, the sun was beginning it's descent, Yugi could see the sky behind him starting to colour again, oranges and pinks, the colours that would usually occur early evening, he sighed, Atem had love to watch it all, after all, his ancient culture had worshipped the sun, the god of Ra in the sky. Yugi looked around, just as every evening for the past 15 months, the shop was empty, cold, silent. He was tired of this, despite his longing to preserve his family's memory, he wanted to be able to have someone to talk to, with the other remaining Muto travelling the world, he had no-one other than the spirit of Atem. What was he going to do? The phone then began to ring, Yugi sighed, it was going to be the police, no-one else ever called, the voice he despised was about to hiss down the phone. He picked it up and growled under his breath, waiting for that dang voice.
"Yugi".
It was Kaiba, what was he doing? Why was he calling now of all times? Since Atem's leaving, the gang had barely seen Kaiba let alone heard from the man that accused them all of making Atem up.
"Let me guess! Yugi growled. "You want to hold a tournament and I'm invited. You'll beat with this awesome new card you have and win back the title Atem and I 'stole' from you before Duellist Kingdom. Sorry Kaiba, I don't duel, not at the moment and not with people who still think I made Atem up".
"Sarcasm won't get you anywhere Yugi" Kaiba hissed. "Actually, I thought I should check up on you, I heard you were a suspect in the case of Tristan's death".
"Great!" Yugi moaned. "Word spreads quickly. Now all of Domino is going to think I'm some sort of seducing, silent, Pharaoh-imagining murderer!"
He slammed the phone down before Kaiba could protest with some kind of remark against the existence of Atem. He wanted someone to talk to, but someone he cared about, someone that could hold him close the same way Serenity had done, someone that could comfort him successfully instead of failing in the way that Kaiba had only started attempting.
As the sun fell and the different, darker colours took hold of the sky, Yugi continued typing away at the laptop once again, for reasons even he didn't know, the memory of holding that Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon card with Yami high above their heads continued to replay itself over in his mind. He began to write about a new story that had brought to his head, Yami as a dragon warrior in a kingdom where instead of cats and dogs, dragons were pets and partners instead. Yugi was thoroughly enjoying the new idea and remembered that he had a place on the Internet where he would show these to the world, spreading the memory and influence of Atem.
"One day Atem" he muttered. "I'll make it up to you".
He then realized how frequently Atem had been returning lately, normally the Pharaoh's spirit would appeared before him once every few months, but he had appeared several times in the past few days, Yugi was pleased that he cared so much about his partner. His smile faded, there was a problem, if he was worried about Yugi, then it was eating away at himself, he was supposed to be concentrating on resting his spirit and enjoying the afterlife where they would one day meet up once again. Yugi sighed, anger rushing over him, anger at himself, anger at whoever killed Tristan, he was ready to explode after this sudden rush of anger.
Time ran on, from evening to night to early morning. Yugi awoke when the sun held itself high after its rise, he groaned as he pushed himself from the bed. As he prepared his breakfast, he turned the TV on, rubbing the crusty sleepers from his eyes, he listened as the news blared out quietly. Cracking some eggs open and dropping them into the frying pan he turned to it with tired narrow eyes as the news reporter spoke of recent developments.
"And last night a new shocking twist in the case of Tristan Taylor's murder" he spoke. "One of Tristan's best friends, Duke Devlin has been found dead in his apartment".
Yugi's eyes widened. What! Duke was dead? Him too? There was another murder? This couldn't be! Questions and thoughts rushed through Yugi's head, maybe this was someone targeting his friends because of their links to him, or maybe he was next. He pulled the frying pan and half done eggs away settling down on the table, he rushed to the edge of the room and pulled the phone from its receiver, pushing it against his ear and dialling the needed number in his frenzied panic.
"Joey!" he called.
"Yuge, I take it you saw the news" Joey replied.
"What the heck is going on?" Yugi shouted.
"I dunno" Joey answered. "But we're meeting outside Duke's pretty soon".
"I'll come too" Yugi offered.
"OK, they said they found some CCTV footage of outside Tristan's pad, they're checking it over soon" Joey explained.
Yugi nodded, although Joey couldn't see it, they both agreed the footage would reveal, if not at least shed some light on the situation. He turned back to the half-cooked food, he wasn't in the mood for eating, but his stomach protested, pulling in and growling, it eventually forced Yugi to resume his breakfast. After half an hour of waiting for it to heat up and slow eating, Yugi was done and reading the newspaper, trying to see if there were any leads other than himself involved in Tristan's death.
Outside and across the road; Joey and Serenity stood alone, silently, gazing up at the upper levels of the Black Clown Game Shop where Duke would have been when he died. A car drove behind them, the only one that had for a quarter hour, it halted just beyond them on the other side of the road. A man left it and walked along, neither Joey nor Serenity aware at the time, he stopped outside the Turtle Game Shop and knocked on the door. He turned to see Joey and Serenity solemnly mourning their friend, their latest friend to be murdered at least. Yugi answered the door, the man turned back to him, he didn't look like the type that should be accused of murdering someone, especially since the man murdered was his friend also.
"Hello sir" Yugi spoke.
"Yugi Muto" he replied. "I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Tristan Taylor".
Yugi found himself spun around before handcuffs slapped themselves over his wrists, his hands clenched he gasped, at a loss for words as the man continued about saying stuff, he wasn't paying attention. The man then led him to his car, he turned and noticed Joey and Serenity on the other side of the road.
"Joey!" he screamed.
Both Wheelers turned and gasped in horror, noticing Yugi's hands behind his back, they raced across the road to aide him.
"What's going on?" Joey shouted as they continued.
"They're arresting me on suspicion of murdering Tristan!" Yugi cried.
He found himself at the car door, the man pushed his head down and forced him inside, Joey yelled out as he confronted the man, Serenity stood behind him defensively.
"What are you doing!" Joey snapped.
"Calm down, Mr Wheeler" the man spoke. "I'm an officer so I know what I'm doing, we're just taking Yugi down to the station".
"He didn't do it!" Joey shouted.
"We'll see about that" the man sneered.
The door slammed shut, Yugi tried crying out to Joey, but his words faded behind the glass of the window, tears in his eyes, he was a frightened kid that needed protecting once again. Joey pushed his hands against the window, also calling to Yugi, but with his louder voice, he was able to slightly penetrate the barrier between them.
"Don't worry Yuge. I'll find out who did it. I'll get you outta there!" he called.
He removed his hands as the car started and simply watched as it left them behind, taking Yugi to be dealt with the reality of their theory, Serenity held Joey's hand, terrified for Yugi.
"What'll we do?" she asked.
"We gotta get the others and prove Yugi's innocent" Joey mumbled.
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That's it of the story that was posted. As I said, I want to continue it. I will not claim these first four chapters or any characters as mine, but I will claim the following chapters that I write as mine. All credit for this story and it's characters go to the owners.