In the Mood (Part 4)

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

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Yugi got the rest of his shirt buttoned up when he saw the large lion goddess come charging down the building. He immediately backed away, so far never having a pleasant experience with her!

Sekhmet stopped at the bottom. At least she didn't attack. Téa and Masika climbed off her back. Well, more like were slid off her back. Neither of them looked well.

While Yugi was petrified of Sekhmet, he couldn't help but notice her grooming Téa and Masika lightly. When she left, Téa and Masika didn't move. They didn't reach out for a hug, call out a name, nothing. What had happened? "Téa?"

"What the hell did the goddesses want you for, Masika?" Bandit King addressed Masika.

Masika looked toward Téa. Téa looked toward her.

"So?" Téa looked odd. "You guys wouldn't ever kill me."

Uh? That was weird. "Of course not."

"Heck no," Joey answer back, "we would never do that, no matter what."

"Even Atem." Téa looked toward Atem. "You'd never do that, right?"

///Atem: This is a bad question to be asking./// "You are my friend."

"Right." Téa nodded. "So you guys just have to work out something else." She gestured to her and Masika glowing like light bulbs. "Masika and I were this prophesized thing in Egypt called light goddesses. Well, not, we aren't goddesses, but it's what we were written down as. So, it counts. It's not defined as human sacrifice."

"What?!" Oh no, this wasn't happening! "You?! If we don't build the millennium items, then it's you?"

"No. No!" She sounded awkward. "It's not us, it's inside of us. This light stuff. If you figure out how to get it out, then you have a lot of power to gamble with instead of the millennium items. I don't know how to get anything out, so it's probably like killing us."

"It might not be." A prophecy? "We need to learn more about the prophecy. Maybe there's a ritual or something."

"Good idea, Yug, absolutely," Joey agreed. "There's gotta be a different way to get at your light bulb power. If they shoved it in, there's probably a test to get it back out."

"Look, I have some protection now. A lot of it, so I don't have to worry about anyone coming after me," Téa said. "Everything's fine again, so I need to get back to New York. My life is still there, and I have a real chance of getting it back. I'm going to pack up soon."

"What, you are just up and moving?" Joey asked her. "That's not good, Téa. Plus, you are a light bulb."

"I up and moved here, temporarily, until this situation was figured out," she said. "It's figured out now."

"You should stay," Yugi said. She really did glow like a light bulb. "We can find more about whatever this prophecy is, to get that power out, and help that way."

"I really want to get back to my life," Téa said, "and it's been long enough. It was great visiting, and I really appreciate everything you did. I promise, I will pay you back for it all. This was really the best extended vacation. Don't worry though. If you find something? Masika will be just over at Bakura's. You can try it on her, and if it works, then I'm just a phone call away."

"She's coming with us?" Bakura asked.

"Yep, she's with you," Téa all but demanded. "Oh, and hey!" She wrapped her arms around Yugi, in the fakest way possible. "Best news ever? Nobody has to worry about sharing bodies anymore. Everyone gets their own from now on. No more switching or anything. Pretty great. Oh, and these?" She took the necklace off. "No more of these sticking anymore. These actually belong to another dimension anyhow, so it's better to get rid of these. That's why Masika and I had to choose between you guys and the Bakuras. They just didn't want three items from another dimension to stay over here." She patted his chest while he took the necklace. "Oh! And. No more Sekhmet, Yugi, she promises she won't hurt you. No one will hurt you anymore, Yugi. Ever again. Everything's going to be fine."

///Atem: She's lying, Yugi. Her death must be a way to ignore making the millennium items.///

///Yugi: Which would never happen! We'll find another way to get at the power.///

///Atem: Yugi. You understand why she is nervous, and why she asked us those questions. Why she is leaving back to New York very quickly./// "We will do everything in our power to find different ways to pay the price while you are back in New York."

///Yugi: We never will, we'll never kill her for whatever those goddesses put in her. Why would they even do that, why not just hand it to us?///

///Atem: They want us to create the millennium items.///

///Yugi: Why?///

///Atem: I don't know why, but it's not an option.///

///Yugi: Well, neither is killing Téa.///

"Nobody here, ever, is ever gonna hurt you," Joey said to her. "Ever. Now, if going to New York gets your mind off of this, then okay. If you are just trying to run though, from whatever is going on, you're going to have to face it someday, Téa."

"Masika can be used," Téa repeated.

///Atem: Masika is a spirit that came from the afterlife.///

///Yugi: That's still not right, Atem.///

Atem glanced at Dark Bakura. ///Atem: He would give anything to not have those items remade either. She could be doomed either way.///

///Yugi: Yeah, but what if it's too much power? What if he gets a hold of it and decides to actually just keep it? He liked power. Oh. I didn't . . . I'm not actually talking like this.///

///Atem: 99 people plus Téa in exchange for a spirit who should be in the afterlife. You are talking about it, Yugi. We will look and research into this prophecy. If we find nothing, then something must be done.///

///Yugi: It will never be Téa./// "Hm?"

"I said I was already going to book tickets," Téa said. "I didn't bring a whole lot, so it shouldn't take very long to leave."

"Right. You don't have anything to worry about," Yugi told her. "We'll figure this out. The glowing too."

"I know. It'll quit."

"It should probably quit before you leave," Yugi suggested. "Right. You don't have anything to worry about. We'll figure this out."

"I know. I just, I have no reason to stay, Yugi. I need to get back to my real life, you know?" Téa said. "It's okay. I'll be fine."

///Yugi: Her smile is so dead./// "Well, take a little time here before you go. No need to rush off."

"Yeah, but, I just really miss my home," Téa said. "Enjoy your life, Masika. Let's go see how Tristan's doing now." She walked off, straight toward home. Not even a look back at Masika when she said to 'enjoy her life'. That felt so cold.

"Come Masika, let's go," Dark Bakura said to her as the two of them also started to walk.

Bakura looked back at Yugi with a shrug. "What's really happening, Yugi?"

Yugi didn't know how to answer that. "Maybe we should all meet for one more game at your house before she leaves to New York?" The way she brushed that off so fast, like she wanted Masika gone quickly.

"That might be the best idea ever," Bakura agreed. "Good luck, Yugi. I hope Tristan is okay. I'm sure he has lots of visitors right now." He sighed. "It must be something terrible, she is absolutely lying about everything." Then he walked away.

"I don't know if she's lying about everything, but she is hiding several things," Atem said to Yugi. "She didn't give Masika an ounce of time to talk, sent her away without a proper goodbye, and is up and leaving to New York as fast as she can get a ticket." He glanced back to the direction Bakura walked. "One more game before she goes is good, Yugi. Isolating Masika to find out what really happened is better."

Really? "I don't know, Atem," Yugi reminded him. "You and her don't really ever seem to click."

"I was always trying to be friends to her for you," Atem corrected him. "This time." He didn't respond. "I need the necklace, Yugi."

"Not saying anything bad," Joey said, "but it can't be Téa."

"Can we change her mind?" Yugi asked Joey. When it came to Téa, usually Yugi knew how to handle her. But, that stubborn side of her. That firey side, it was there in full swing. When she got that stubborn, she didn't always step off easy.

"She got them eyes," Joey said. "I think whatever she's hiding, she's intending on taking it to the grave. I really hope that's not literal. Is she already on the chopping block and she's not telling us?"

Yugi gasped. ///Yugi: No!///

"She got Masika outta here like fast," Joey noticed too. "Yeah. I think Atem having a good old fashioned talk might work better."

Atem looked at the millennium necklace Yugi handed over.

"Let's just try to each research what we can about light goddesses first," Yugi said. "We have time."

"Do we? Téa is fine here, plenty of help and money, awesome friends, and she just shot out for the first ticket she can get to get out of here. It wasn't like her. Especially after being out here for so long," Joey said. "Shoot, it isn't like her to just up and leave when everything's all wonky. Tristan. These cards. She's running, guys. Maybe we don't have as much time as she's saying."

Atem clenched the necklace. "Joey's right, Téa's move was terribly fast. If something is going to happen, it may be soon. We should call up Bakura."

Yugi hated to move too fast, but what if Joey was right? Nobody there believed a word she said, even Bakura wasn't fooled. "Joey, you talk to Téa first. Then I'll talk to Téa. Atem?" Please let this end well. "You talk to Masika. We need to find out what's really going on, and how long we actually have before something happens to Téa."

"You talk first, Yug, tonight. Just make sure she doesn't leave tonight. If she does, then I'll come over and talk. Otherwise, I'll be here first thing in the morning. I'm sure I've got a nervous Mai at my house. I don't want her to bolt," Joey reminded him. "Right now, I don't want to leave her alone for very long. She can be . . . hard to read sometimes."

///Yugi: Yeah. Like joining the Orichalcos kind of hard to read./// "I get it, Joey. I'll talk to her first." He looked toward Atem. "You're going to need more than a Connect Four game this time."