Clear Skies

Chapter 5: Can't Run From Karma

            Yugi's eyes fluttered open. His bed was harder than he'd remembered. He sat up and rubbed at his back. His other palm rested upon cold stone. He blinked and observed his surroundings; he appeared to be in an alley between a pair of stone buildings. Sunlight slanted upon him from the azure sky. "Am I dreaming?"

"It feels too real to be a dream."

Yugi glanced up to find the pharaoh standing by his side. Once again, they wore the same pair of light blue pajamas. Yugi grasped his puzzle. "How are we both here? What is this place?"

"Yugi, look!" the pharaoh exclaimed. He pointed to the end of the alley, where a familiar face was peeking around the corner. Yugi and the pharaoh darted after her.

The alley opened to a small square with a gurgling fountain decorating its center. The tan, stone buildings flanked every side of the square, and paths opened to the north, south, east, and west. Yugi was curious as to where they led but the large crowd gathered in the square stole his attention. They were staring at him and whispering. Yugi glanced down at his pajamas and blushed.

"They're..." The pharaoh's hesitation worried Yugi. The man hesitated maybe once a year. His shocked expression only made Yugi worry more. "They're Duel Monsters."

"What?" Yugi said on instinct. He looked back to the crowd, and this time he focused on the little details: the pointed ears of the Celtic Guardian, the perched form of Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress on a distant roof, and the pointed cap of who they'd recognized earlier: Dark Magician Girl. "What- where are we? Have we been sucked into another virtual reality program?"

"They're moving," the pharaoh observed. The crowd was parting, and a dark figure emerged from the path they created. This monster wore bulky armor of dark gold color, and a black cape trailed from its steps. It held a lengthy white sword in its grip. A helmet covered its head, and a black visor shadowed its features. It walked past Yugi and the pharaoh and into the alley they'd awoken in.

"Bui! Bui!" A brown fuzzball landed in Yugi's arms. He smiled and patted Kuriboh's head. Its eyes upturned with its glee. Kuriboh floated from his grasp and pushed Yugi towards the armored monster. "Buiii!"

"I think it's telling us to follow that monster," Yugi said, "but should we?"

"I believe we should place faith in our monsters," the pharaoh said, and that was that. They sprinted to catch up with the armored monster. "Excuse me. Are you leading us somewhere?"

The monster continued on without word. Yugi glanced to Kuriboh, whose eyes were tilted down. Yugi decided it was his turn. "H-hey, you! Knight man! At least, I assume you're a knight, with the armor and sword and stuff. A-anyway, if you want something from us, you need to talk to us!"

The knight stopped in stick-straight form like a military salute. In a fluid turn of the heel the knight faced him, and its cape swirled with the movement like a stalking shadow. Yugi was overcome with the sense that he was in the presence of something so ancient and different from himself it was beyond his comprehension.

The knight pointed up a set of stairs leading to a sky-blue pavilion and led the way. Yugi gulped down any arguments he had. Kuriboh offered a supportive pat on his shoulder.

At the pavilion's apex, sunlight glittered on a trio of icy statues. The crystalline figures were lifelike renditions of three gigantic dragons, and they formed a triangle around an altar in the center of the pavilion.

The knight marched to the far dragon and paused in its stick-straight position again. Yugi pulled himself out of his amazement from the draconic statues and ran to the knight's side with the pharaoh.