Agreement (Part 2)

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

"Your spirit isn't any extra happy about it, trust me. Atem didn't like to completely take charge for long, it really is a punishment. But? It had to be done, Téa."

"Why?" Téa asked. "I'm losing my body. Half of my control, for what? For how long? What did they do? What did Masika do?"

"She asked for help from the gods, and she reached Atem. He said they'd pay the price and I don't blame them." Yugi reached for her hand. She gave it willingly. "The ability to summon the card monsters to aid her, she got that power originally from Egypt's sacrifices. When Atem went to the afterlife, that power was gone. She couldn't use it. She prayed to the Egyptian gods as a last resort, but Atem heard her calls. Atem contacted her, to tell her to do it. He knew he was needed, just like last time. Without that, she couldn't do anything."

///Téa: So. Without them. I'd be a goner./// "Atem. The Pharoah. He . . ."

"He gave the Egyptian gods control of our bodies," Yugi said it for her. "There was no magic, no soul on the line, no saving the world, but it was the hardest situation the Pharaoh had to fight because I wasn't there. I wasn't close enough to you to do anything!"

"D-do we know exactly what happens, Yugi?"

"No, Téa. No one knows, which might be part of the punishment too."

"It's not fair," she said to Yugi. "Even you are being punished?"

"I said I understood, and I accept the punishment. There's no choice now." Yugi gestured to his puzzle. "We can't turn our back on this. Trust me, Téa. Touch the puzzle and let's do this. If we take too long, something else might happen to make Atem pay the price." Yugi shook his head. "I don't want to find out what."

"Like losing ourselves for good." Téa understood. "No choice?"

"No choice."

"Who . . . starts?" Téa asked.

"I don't know," Yugi admitted. Now, he gave her the letter.

He softened the blow for her, but it really was right there. A sun and moon difference of change between souls. No missions, no clauses, just instructions and why.

"We'll still be here to make decisions."

"Are you sure about that?" she had to ask. Téa was nervous. It was normal to be nervous, she was losing half her body's control. "What if we can't be beside ourselves? What if that's the real punishment?"

"I don't know fully. No one knows fully." Yugi recovered. "I'm not perfect and neither are they. It sounds like we are going to switch evenly. Maybe there is more to it. Maybe I'm destined to never speak to Atem again. Maybe it means something else entirely. I don't know." He gestured to the puzzle. "We'll all find out the truth soon."

"Then when I touch it, if I'm not here, she decides my life for me." It was hard to bear. To hear! That the life she was supposed to live in her body, wouldn't be by her.

"Téa, things get worse if you don't agree. Trust me." Yugi gestured to the puzzle. "If we don't do this, they might punish the spirits harder."

"Do they know everything we know?" Téa had to ask.

"Well? I don't know," Yugi said honestly "They can get very involved in your thoughts, and you in theirs. You'll find the right balance soon. When you do?" He smiled. "It's amazing. It's like having a best friend always there with you. That's why it was . . ."

"It was so hard to say goodbye?" Téa looked at the puzzle.

"Yeah, but I got over it. I got stronger. I grew up, without his presence inside of me," Yugi admitted. "So while I feel the connection, it's also . . . it hurts. This never should have happened again. Reconnecting. It feels different this time too."

Téa had a feeling she knew what was next. "I hope she can dance and act?" Yeah. That look from Yugi.

"This isn't how I wanted this discussion to go," Yugi said to her. "While I was with Atem, the first time, he knew a lot of things right from my memories. My grandpa. The game shop. My bully." His lip quipped up. "That's why I thought he was part of me at first, and he did too. Uh? But, this time. He doesn't really get any of my newer memories since he's been gone."

Oh. Oh no.

"Go ahead though, test it," Yugi insisted. "Do you have enough money saved up for the time it'll take your spirit to basically learn everything you know?"

///Téa: Even if I did, I'm no teacher. This spirit. It's been hiding inside of me, not knowing much of anything except when it mattered. She just peeked. Teaching her even average life is going to be tough./// "No."

"Yeah. I don't think Atem is going to be moving dynamically through all the classes I had to learn to create my games since he wasn't there," Yugi said. "I had to learn a lot. I couldn't just write a game down on paper and get Mokuba to produce it, you know?" He moved his hand behind his head. "I'm sure I can teach him one day, but it won't be easy. I have enough that I can keep my head above water until then. But, I can . . . I can help you too?"

"That'd be nice, but that's a lot of charity." She didn't feel right about that. Yugi had made that kind of success. He would be able to last years off his savings if he had to. "I could use the help, but I don't want you to provide everything," she answered. "It's not like I'm Mrs. Yugi Muto."

Yugi sort of . . . zoned out for a second. He had a goofy look on his face. "I don't mind. I mean!" He shook his hands out. "Taking care of you I mean! I-it's only right, you didn't ask for this to happen. Besides, I mean, who needs wife status for that anyhow?"

"True," she admitted. "Even if I did marry, I'd still want to do my own thing." Run her own life. Make her own money. "What do you think Masika could do?" Wait. The dream. The future that she had seen? ///Téa: I called Yugi The Greatest Pharoah. I would never say that. Masika had called Atem The Greatest Pharaoh though. It was Masika in that dream./// "Maybe the Game Shop is the future."

Yugi looked confused. "The Game Shop?"

"The necklace." Téa touched it lightly. "Even though it's inside of me, it actually works too. I saw a vision of me and you in the Game Shop. Just like this. I had the necklace. You even had the puzzle, like now again," she said. "Except I called you The Greatest Pharoah."

"The . . . Greatest Pharoah?" Yugi looked around, like he was trying to think. "That's what Masika called Atem."

"Yeah," Téa agreed. "It didn't make much sense at first. But, if . . ."

"The Game Shop." Yugi's confusion brightened to a huge smile. "That would be a bright idea! I know how to run the Game Shop, it was my legacy. Well, is. Grandpa wants to pass it down to me. I just, I didn't really need it. I want it though, so but, . . ."

"You already make enough from your games," Téa said. "Much more than The Game Shop could provide."

"Yeah, but I still really love it, and I loved the Game Shop growing up." Yugi smiled at her. "The business wouldn't be as hard to learn. Grandpa and I could show you and the spirits. I'll teach you, and Grandpa can teach when I'm not around! Then, when we are all learned up with that, we can start working on teaching the spirits the other things they need to learn so we can run our own personal lives again."

Téa smiled, trying to make this transition easier. "Yugi, I'd be honored to work with you. But? Atem? I mean, The Pharaoh and Masika, running the Game Shop?" Was it really the future?

"Sure, why not? If Atem could handle the Great Leviathan, I'm sure he can handle taking cash and paying bills." Yugi cracked a smile. "Our lives are screwed right now, Téa, and we need to make do how we can until we find a way out of it."

"Isn't? Isn't." How could she ask? "There were monsters and enemies out there, but there was always a way to win. Isn't there something out there that we could just dig up and maybe give to the gods or something instead?"

"Atem and I will be scouring for any kind of clues to end all of this. But . . . I don't know how long this will take, Téa. What should we even look into?"

"How to get your body back after a Pharaoh wills it away to gods. I don't think that title will be on a bookshelf." Crazy. ///Téa: We went through so much. We stopped so many things./// "Do you think Atem can settle down into such a simple life after everything he's been through?"

"He doesn't get a choice, as long as he's in me, he's not going to fight me on it. Besides. What else are you going to do that the spirits know?" Yugi asked. "All they seem to know is cards and games."

Cards. "Yeah. I guess the other choice is learning tournaments with Joey."

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///Yugi: Joey?! Going with Joey? No way, I don't want her to be going with Joey! Téa is wonderful. Joey is wonderful. If they know how wonderful they are, and then he's there with her all the time and no one else, then no! Joey can't have Téa!/// "You don't want to do that. Go with Joey on his duels and-?" He held up his hand, like he didn't even want her to think about what he said. "It'd be dragging him down. He's involved with Mai things. It's dangerous around him. Being with me won't be bad," Yugi promised. "The Game Shop thing won't last forever, it's just a way to start with the spirits in our lives. You'll eventually get back to New York with Masika having learned your skills. Look? It's called taking a break from the spotlight. This is a big life changer, Téa."

"Yeah, because it takes my life," she responded.

"Well, without it, you wouldn't have a life worth living. I hope Masika sealed herself away, when you have these bad thoughts, it's best not to explode in front of them."

"I can't believe I cursed him again," Téa said. "Just walking home because my car wasn't working. Atem was at peace and I messed it all up. I remember Atem, when you were gone from him, and he had to be you, alone? He felt such guilt about the orichalcos, Yugi. He didn't enjoy having your body all to his self. It was pretty apparent, that most times-"

"Even when he was in control, most times I was right there with him," Yugi finished. He smiled with a degree of empathy. "Never thought I'd get so close up in this kind of topic with you, Téa."

///Téa: There would be no reason to before. No one understood until they had a spirit with them./// Téa looked at the puzzle. "As soon as I touch it. So will this be, like the countdown of when we change?" She looked at her watch. "2: 56."

"I don't know. If it's a whole sun and a whole day, or if it's half the time split between the sun and moon in the sky? There's just no telling."

"Not until we do it."

"Yep. Do it with me, Téa." As soon as he said it, his face lit up bright and he put his hands up, waving them in a defensive motion. "I mean the change, do the change!"

"Of course you did, Yugi." She tried not to laugh. At least it broke the tension for a bit. ///Téa: Okay. No more putting it off./// Téa reached toward the puzzle. ///Téa: Yugi's right, it's just taking a break. Learning this new life I need to lead right now. It's not forever./// She touched his puzzle.

It shined beneath her hand.