Agreement (Part 1)

DIMENSION: ANIME (The One That Pays to Save the Day)

Téa was quiet on the stairs. Yugi looked absolutely distraught. Wrecked. His eyes were so wide and his breathing had picked up like he ran a marathon. "Yugi?"

"It was for the best," Yugi said to her as he pocketed the letter he picked up from beneath Ebonnee. "I used to do this all the time. It's like . . . learning to ride a bike again."

Hm?

"Sorry. Masika and Atem, they have the ability to shut you out. When you want them out, you can tell them to go too. It's how you get privacy or it would probably drive you crazy." Yugi was fidgeting. "Did you know you were caught, Téa?"

Téa nodded. "Yeah. Masika got me out. I remember something about it, but I don't remember it all. When I woke up, she had used a card's magic. Even if it wasn't a real card."

"Masika is a good spirit, Téa! A very good spirit," Yugi said quickly. "Atem cursed himself to save you, but without her actions, he couldn't have done that. They both helped you or . . ." She thought he would hold back again, but he didn't. "That man would have grabbed you and forced you into hard enslavement probably in another country."

Téa froze, hearing those words. They would have enslaved her . . . "but-"

"Joey's trying to save Mai from marrying a man that deals in human trafficking, and you apparently got wrapped up in it!" Yugi was being openly honest. "Whether it was being friends with Mai, or because Joey's been messing around with a person named Skeezy, you got pulled into trouble. It wasn't your fault at all."

Oh. Joey. Mai. "Thanks." Still? "Yugi? She got away with murder. With my body."

"Oh?" That was an odd little 'oh' Yugi had.

"Eight people in total have been killed by her."

"It's not your fault," Yugi said. "She was doing what she had to, to protect you. Using the cards. She isn't bad, and neither are you. You have to trust her. You really have to trust her. She did what she did for you. I doubt the authorities will find you. If they did, they couldn't pin much on you."

That was it? That's what Yugi thought? "Are you sure?"

"Oh yeah, pinning magic is tough," Yugi agreed. "Tough, tough, tough. I mean, Atem was a little . . . gungho once or twice. The spirit wanted you safe, and she did what she could. Before she used your fake cards you said you bought? She tried. She was . . . she'd been with you since High School. Even if you didn't know, she's been there for a lot of things. She knew you and she wanted you safe."

Yugi was clearly wanting her to trust Masika more, even though he didn't really know her either. "I understand. I don't have much of a choice but to understand. Do you have any idea why fate stuck her with me?"

"You wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her. She's probably helped you out even more than you know of."

"Umm." Did that mean she was her more often than she thought? "She took away my body more than twice?"

"That's not what I meant," Yugi corrected himself. He fidgeted with the rope on his puzzle. "She hasn't taken over your body much extra probably. It's that when she was you? You didn't know what was going on. Atem can do that too, and we can do that to them. It's not one-sided. Did we talk about this already? Yes, okay, we did." Yugi let go of the rope. "Then, I guess there's only one thing left."

Téa watched as he touched the eye decoration on her necklace.

"I willingly understand this. It's a price paid by Masika and Atem," Yugi explained. "It's not just them though, we are their vessels, so we are getting the brute end of this too." He went quieter. Softer. "Things are going to change, Téa. But? It's really not so bad. You can wander around or nap or even stay beside yourself when the spirit takes you over. You can't go real far, but you can move."

Oh. "It's a weird feeling," Téa admitted. "At first, I couldn't see her at all, but now I actually can see her," she said. "Most times she said she liked to just stay silent inside my soul, not even looking out unless she sensed something wrong."

"Yeah, that? That is what you call privacy. She gave you privacy," Yugi said, like he hadn't explained that three times already. "Then you get it. You can get that. They can get that too."

"Three times you said that, Yugi," Téa pointed out. "Why did you say it three times?"

"As you understand the feelings inside you more, it's easier to navigate," Yugi said. "They'll help, otherwise thoughts will drive everyone crazy. A lot are just unconscious and Yami, I mean Atem, always put like a small filter, where only thoughts targeted toward him came through. You should ask about that. It'll make you feel better and less like someone hears your every thought."

Hm "I didn't know that, but it makes a lot of sense." She sighed. "What I think verses what I try to politely say. They are almost opposite."

"Yeah. She'll be able to turn that down. Experiment. You have to learn to navigate. So? It's time to talk about the price." Yugi gestured toward his old puzzle. "It begins when you've touched the puzzle, and it doesn't end until the gods say so."

'Til when? "What? Then how long?"

"I don't know. There isn't a date."

Téa looked at the puzzle. "Are you saying she's going to be with me for the rest of my life?"

"I don't know." Yugi didn't answer that well. His voice had lost its usual pitch. "The letter said there will be a sun and moon difference. Atem and I think it's referring to a switch. A switch being when we switch who is in control."

"Control?"

"We aren't going to get the luxury of choice anymore, Téa. Every so often, it sounds like, maybe, everyone switches?"

What? What?! Téa's eyes were wide, frozen in fear. "Yugi."