[ Letters from the Past ]
Story By Jennie Arnold

I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh! title, characters, or episodes. This is not an episode and never will be.
This story takes place after Yami leaves Yugi and the gang. The friends are happy for Yami but grieve him at the same time. Yugi, of course, is taking the loss of Yami the hardest. He puts on a brave face and smiles but his friends know that he is not the same. He goes through life on automatic. He is just so lonely.
One day, Yugi gets a note:

Yugi,
I thought that you and I could never be together again. I thought that I was strong enough to live life without you. I was wrong. I cannot live without you. Our destinies must still be connected. Come with me and meet me in the alley behind your Grandfather's game shop. We must reunite before it is too late. The world needs us once more.
Your partner and friend,
Pharaoh Atem

Yugi read this message with a surge of joy. Yami would be back! He would no longer be lonely. It would be just like old times! Yugi had to call the others. They all came and read the message.
Joey and Tristin had the same thoughts as Yugi. This would be great! Tea, however, saw it as something else.
"Why is Yami coming back? I mean, it will be great to see him, but what about Egypt and his responsibilities there? He can't just give that up."
"He wouldn't do anything like that, Tea," said a confidant Yugi. "The world has relied on our packed before. It must be something like that. He wouldn't leave Egypt for anything less."
"Yugi's right!" Yelled Joey."But just to be on the safe side I'll go with you."
"Me too!" Cried Tea and Tristin in unison.
"When do we go!" Joey yelled excitedly.
"Oh no! The Pharaoh never gave a time!"
"Do not worry," said a suddenly approaching Grandpa. "The present and past can only meet at midnight. The Inbetween."
"What's the Inbetween?" Asked the four friends together.
"It is a special time for opposites to meet and come together. At midnight, day and night meet. Time is weakest then: it is confused. That is why the Pharaoh must come at midnight.He can travel with ease through the barrier because it is weak."
"Where did you learn that, Grandpa?"
"Oh, here and there." Stated Grandpa, vaguely pointing to a map of Egypt.
"Alright. If you guys still want to come we can meet him when he comes through the barrier behind the shop."
The gang told their parents that they would be spending the night at Yugi's house. It seemed like an innocent thing to do. No one would suspect a thing.
Time seemed to slow. The clock in the corner chimed each hour. The group sat in silence, just listening to the clocks chime. Yugi didn't even want to look at the clock. It would just tell him that a minimal amount of time had past and that he had a long wait ahead. Yami was probably in the same situation: just waiting for a clock to chime the Inbetween.
The entire group knew the gravity of the situation. Even Joey and Tristen stopped talking. They all sat in silence until a magical sound was heard. The clock chimed nine, ten, eleven, and now finally, twelve. This was it. The Inbetween had come.Yami was there, in the present time, in the alley behind the game shop. Yugi could almost feel him.
The four friends got off the couch with hope in their eyes. They moved slowly to the door and walked, single file to the alley. It was dark in the alley but the longing to see Yami drove them on. After all this they could not turn back. Joey shined a flashlight all over the alley but it was empty.
"He's on his way," said Yugi. "He has to be."
Joey suddenly dropped the flashlight. The others turned to look at him but all four soon found hands over their mouths.
"Hey! What's going on," mumbled Tristen.
A silhouette appeared and light flashed. The hands were removed from the gang's mouths and a voice everyone recognized said, "Yugi, I need your help."
It was the pharaoh. Yugi rushed to him and they both hugged and smiled. "I couldn't wait to see you! But then, this isn't a social call," Yugi stated. He was concurred that Yami returned so quickly but over joyed that they were together again. Yami's feelings were harder to read.
"No. This is more than a visit. Romans are attacking Egypt. Their weapons are stronger and their warriors more numerous. All of my advisers believed we could beat them threw magic but even the cards cannot stop them. Life means nothing to them." Atem was visibly shaken now. His eyes no longer had their determined spark. He looked around and saw the fallen men. "They have already come for you," Yami said looking at the knocked out bodies. "The Romans will do anything. You must come back to Egypt with me before it is too late."
"But that can't be right," Tea said with a puzzled look on her face. "The Romans did not attack Egypt until the death of Cleopatra."
"Rules like that no longer exist. We changed time. I have cheated death and became pharaoh. The Romans found the wrinkle I made in time and have used it against me. If I allow this to happen, more wrinkles will appear and time itself will break. We need to stop the Romans and put time right."
"How are we going to do that?" Exclaimed a shocked Joey.
"Come with me to Egypt and I will explain. We must leave this place. It is not safe to stay at an Inbetween these days." The Pharaoh boldly walked through a tunnel of light. Yugi and his friends quickly fallow, unsure of what to expect. The light pushed them through at amazing speeds. Galaxies and planets swirled by them as stars shot through. They kept going and going until blinding lights flashed. They all closed their eyes.
When their eyes came open they were standing right next to the great pyramids. The large structures seemed to touch the cloudless sky.
Atem smiled at Yugi and said, "We're home." With those soft words, Yugi knew everything would work out. Yami was right. They were mint to be together. Their destiny was to save the world.
Over the course of a week, Yugi saw how desperate the Pharaoh's situation was. Every time ten Romans were killed, twenty more would come to take their place. Yugi knew that there was a solution. All he had to do was find it. He looked down at the millennium puzzle. The interlocking pieces gave him an amazing idea.
"If more people used their Kas against the Romans they would be killed before the Egyptian Army got over whelmed."
It was so simple. Almost too simple to be true. Was the answer really right infront of them? There was only one way to find out.
Atem and Yugi stood together and called their Kas. Two Black Magicians stood with the rest of Egypt's Kas. The Romans came in mass numbers. Each side stood and faced the other in a starlight line. They looked into each others' eyes. Not with hate but with respect and apology, like a noble warrior. Although they felt respect, they charged at each other. The Kas did what they could with the Egyption warriors. Their weapons seemed crude compared with the Romans'. Still the Egyption side was winning. The Romans began to retreat. The battle was won.
Although the Egyptions won, Atem could not call it victory. They won because the Romans were suprised by the large force. Egypt would not be so lucky next time. They needed a plan and a good one. He looked to Yugi (who was asurpisingly good strategist) ans Tea (who knows the most about history). They devised somthing rather strange.
Tea knew that the Romans were very superstitious. They took warnings from the gods very seriously. The plan was to use their own gods against them. Atem used magic to make the image of a very large, fierce looking bust appear above the city. The Romans stood in fear but the Egyptions were calm. Egypt had seen plagues before. The bust told the Romans that the nation of Egypt was not theirs' to punish but the gods'. If the Roman army did not leave each day, the gods would not only punish the army but the whole nation. The rulers would be punished first, then the wealthy, then the army, and finally the peasants. Needless to say, the army left.
With Egypt safe, the four friends needed to return to their own time. Yugi was heart sick. He already gave up Yami once. Why did he need to do it again? But his Grandpa and friends needed him. They gave him the power to leave. When he got home there was a note on his bed:
Yugi,
I know it is hard to believe, but leaving you was just as hard for me as it was for you. I felt your regret.
I was so grateful when our destanies lead us together but now I am saddened that it was for such a short while. I never want to be without you.
This note is magic, made out of the same enchanted paper as the cards. When you need a friend to talk to that understands every part of you, just write on this paper and it will come to me too. I will write you back and we will never part.
Your friend and Partner,
Yami

[ The End ]