So. Hi then. This is kinda old, but still decent. You can either think of this as five individual drabbles or as a story as a whole, either way it only sort of works. This may become the first chapter of something, one day, if I ever write more. For now, just think of it as five, rough, drabble-ish things with bad endings.

Disclaimer: YuGiOh and all related characters are copyrighted to Kazuki Takahashi and not to myself. This fanfiction is a work of fun and not intended to infringe upon this legal copyright

Time After The Tone.

By Scarab Dynasty.

Satoshi Avenue, Domino City, Apartment Twelve. 2:00 a.m.

'Mai? Mai, wake up!'

'…Mff.'

Damn him.

'Look, seriously, wake up.'

She loves him really she does, but damn him to the Shadow Realm all the same. Maybe then she'd be able to get a decent nights—

'Mai!'

She shuffles and turns over so she's facing in his direction, only he's not lying where he had been a few moments ago. Somehow, he's on the other side of the room, struggling ridiculously with various articles of clothing. It's still an amusing sight, even if she does see it on an average of once per month, or maybe more, depending on how often he oversleeps. It's not usually as dark as it is now, though, so there's usually more to see.

Hm. 'Ach! Okay, that's so not my shoe, it's got a heel! And where are my pants already? Mai!'

She sighs, a scrunched up blink reminding her of her failure to remove her mascara last night. 'Joey, hun'm 'wake, what is it?'

'Phone just went off.'

She yawns. Re-buries her face in the pillow. 'S'nice, Joe. Tell 'em… leave message.'

'Wasn't just for you. And it wasn't that creep from the social call out, either. I think…' Joey stops looking for pants and she reacquaints whatever focus she actually has right now with his face. '…I think the King of Games just asked for my help. Our help, really.'

That wakes her up at least enough to manage a fairly intelligible: 'Wha—?'

'Yeah. That King of Games. Only apparently he was too busy to come to the phone himself, so Yugi… you know the drill, where the heck are my pants?'

Mai gives Joey a long, unblinking stare. Which is quite an achievement, really, given the fact that her eyes are half filled with sleep and mascara and that he's staggering around the room in a manner resembling an (admittedly rather cute) monkey in his search for decent clothing. Her head is reminding her of last nights (or was it this mornings?) tequilas and she knew she shouldn't have touched the things in the first place. '…Continent?

'Europe, some place called Austria.'

'Exact nature of problem?'

'Phantoms. Possessions and stuff. Or maybe the undead. He says he can't get close enough to tell without nearly havin' limbs ripped off.'

'Lovely. Threat of death?' By now Mai is out of bed herself and scrambling for a skirt which covers enough to be reasonable in a Central European Climate.

'Not as high as the threat of bein' possessed but there all the same.'

'End of the world?'

'Nah, not right now, but maybe the end of Europe.'

Well, okay, Mai bites back a yawn. Just Europe, then. She never much liked that corner of the world any…

…Who was she kidding?

She throws an old pair of underwear off in a random direction, vaguely thinking to herself something about how this, too, happens about as regularly as Joey sleeping through the alarm clock. She doesn't think she'll ever get used to either, really. 'Wonderful. When's the flight?'

'Done. He called Kaiba.'

Another rather sudden wake up call, that. 'Wow, this is bad, isn't it?'

'Still not seeing pants here.'

'Oh, find them yourself, Wheeler, what do I look like, your wife?'

'Well you would, but you keep saying n—'

'Just hurry up and find the pants, Joey.'

She scours the desk for make up remover, finds it and makes a beeline for the bathroom. Joey trips over something on the floor. Whatever it is, he's now fairly mixed up in it and doesn't seem able to stand up again. She'd stop and grin, if they had the time to spare. Kaiba doesn't like to wait for long.

In an internationally-extended family like this one, a good night's sleep really is totally out of the question anyway.

'…Joey, where did you just throw my high heels?'

Taylor Residence, Domino City, 2:10 a.m.

'Yeah. Tristan Residence here. Taylor, I mean… Tristan I… yeah. Me. Who's there?'

'Tris? That's you, right?'

'Urgh… whatimemizzit?'

'You're sober, right, man? Tell me you're sober.'

'Hm. Well, enough so that I don't wanna confess my undying love to anyone or anything but not so much that things aren't moving funny so… yeah. W-what's up?'

'Uh, yeah, Mai's car's being repaired so we kinda need a ride somewhere'

'Um, not sober enough for that.'

'Oh… damn it. We really need your hand in this, man, are you sure you're over the limit?'

'Totally. Yeah. S'late, man, there's been work party over here. Tariku was dancin' on the tables an' everything…'

'Okay, fine, we'll come around. Where do you keep the keys?'

'What?'

'The keys, Tristan! For the motorcycle! I'll drive it.'

'Guh? But Joe, you can't drive a motorcycle. 'Sides there are three of us, right?'

'So? I learn fast! Besides, we have to get to Kaiba Corp in the next hour or else he cuts us off.'

'Wait, Kaiba? Which Kaiba? Jerk Kaiba or… or little, not-so-jerky-kinda-cute-Kaiba?'

'Actually I don't know. Probably the second one, point is we've gotta get there like now. And then we have to get to Austria.'

'Whoa, hang on, lemme get a glass of water or something, what're you talking about now?'

'You've seen the news, right? The weird flying people an' the creeping buildings on the International Channel? That's where Yugi is right now.'

'…That's real?'

'Of course it's real, man, it's on the news! Almost everything that's on the news is real!'

'Yeah, but… kinda thought that was all the alcohol talking. You're sure he's in—'

'Yep.'

'And you're positive we have to be—'

'Uhuh.'

'…Kaiba?'

'Yeah, him. Look, I'm coming round so for God's sakes be decent.'

'Uh, sure. Decent. Yeah… there's gonna be issues there, man.'

'…Tristan, I'm ashamed of ya.'

'Oh, bite me, Wheeler.'

Click.

New York City, Carmen Street Apartment Block 3, 1:00 a.m.

When she arrives home after teaching the older evening class, there are a total of ten messages on her answering machine which, frankly, only usually happens when she hasn't been able to pay the bills or if Yugi or Yami has been in an unusually communicative mood.

Today it's neither.

'Hey, you're reached Téa Gardener's home line. Sorry I can't take your call right now but leave a message and provided you're not someone trying to sell me house insurance again, I'll be sure to get back to you. Thanks!'

Click.

'Téa? Yeah, it's me here. Sorry about the time difference and all, I hope you're not asleep. How's America? Uh, wait; hang on going off topic here. Bad time for asking that stuff. After all you can tell me all about how the good ol' Little Apple is when you get where we're going. Cause… well we're going there and Yugi's in trouble and we're all in a jam 'cause of it, which you probably already know about, if you've seen the internet because—'

Beep.

Click.

'Wow, that thing doesn't give you much time to talk, huh? Sorry, let's start over. For one thing, when I said it was "me" before, what I meant what that it's Joey over in Japan, by the way. Well, actually by the time you get this we might already be halfway to Europe, so don't be surprised if I don't—'

Beep.

Click.

'Uh yeah. Me again. Still Joey. We're still having a problem here and it's not just with your answering machine. To be more specific, the problem's halfway round the world in Europe, where Yugi is right now. He called me an' then we both called everyone else. I know that you probably have this really busy dancer's schedule and have loads of stuff to do but we figured we might kinda need you, so I'm sending this message to check tha—'

Beep.

Click.

'Damn it, Téa how am I supposed to deliver an important message if that damn machine of yours keeps cutting me off in the middle of a—'

Beep.

Click.

'Oh for crying out loud, this thing must be broken if it's—'

Beep.

Click.

'Téa I really need to tell—'

Beep.

Click.

'Gah! Austria National Airport! End of the world! Yugi's screwed! Help! Get there—'

Beep.

Click.

'—by five am, or… or be square or… something! Damn it—'

Beep.

Click.

'An' throw this freaking machine in the garbage while you're at it for cripes—'

Beep.

Click.

'—Sakes!'

Beep.

Whir.

Silence.

Domino University Residents Area: Twelve, Apartment Three. 2:23 am.

Phone.

Phone ringing. Now. In the middle of the night. Or possibly some time after midnight so that would make it early morning, not that he's concerned about the details.

But yes, phone ringing, very loudly in a way that's probably going to wake his flatmates if he doesn't hurry up and answer it. He waits patiently for it to stop. It doesn't.

Answering phones in the middle of the night is a habit he's never been able to grow out of before (probably something to do with the tendency of certain evil spirits to use them as a channel through his subconscious) so perhaps, then, it's only slightly surprising that Bakura no longer leaps out of bed in a panic at the first hint of a ring.

Yeah. Bad. Phones are bad. No doubt somebody like Kaiba invented them and never thought to give them "off" buttons. Which meant Bakura is reduced to scrambling for the thing for several seconds. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) whoever it is making the call is a rather patient individual…

Which actually narrows the list of possible callers down to exactly one.

'Nggh… H'lo?'

Someone answers, and Bakura learns that not only is it a call from the other side of the planet, it's also being put on reverse-charge. Typical.

Many apologies follow.

Mm. No. No, s'quite alright, Yugi, really. I… what?'

Well, not quite the other side of the planet, precisely, but it might as well be, as its culture is so inherently different to the one he's used to.

For now, though, he doesn't care.

He hears a word that sounds disturbingly like "Australia," and then another which sounds rather like Yugi is talking about stick insects.

'Insects? Hang on, Yuugi, what?'

He blinks several times to convince himself that what he's hearing hads absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he's still half asleep. 'Oh, right, you said poltergeists… bad connection, I'm afraid.'

'…'

'Uh, Yugi wait, go back to the bit about Austria. What was that about a phantom epidemic?'

'…'

'Oh, I… of course. Well I…'

He's pulling himself out of bed by now and a flatmate is banging on the walls. Ah well. He can apologise later.

'…'

'No, I'll be there. I know I don't have to be but… It's tomorrow. No, no, it's just a practise exam I really don't have to be there.'

'…'

'Yugi there's honestly no point in arguing with me I… Oh, hello, Yami! How's Europe? As I was saying to Yugi there, my determination has increased ten-fold since I met you two, so I am most definitely coming out there. Don't feel guilty, really there's no need. I'm awake now and it's entirely my decision. See? Independent thought and everything. Bakura isn't even in town… no I won't be telling him about this.'

'…'

'I'm very glad to hear that you're proud of me, Yami.'

'Oh, and Yami…?'

'…'

'You know, I really would be much better off as a coward. Yes. See you in a few hours.'

Click.

Kaiba Corporation, Domino City, 2:22 am.

'Hi! This is Yugi Mutou's mobile line… not that he has a non mobile line right now, but anyway, if you really need to talk and I'm not here… which I guess I'm not right now, then you can leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you at the—Oh good grief, Yami, be careful with that oil caske—!

'Ooh, damn it, not again…'

Beep.

'Look, Yugi. Or Yami… damn it, whichever of you gets this first. Why the hell do you think I'm an international taxi service? I arrive home at one-thirty a.m. and what do I find? Three answering machine messages requesting permission to use our long distance aircraft!

'I don't care if there are demons running rampant in the streets of Paris again, never mind Austria. Not every end-of-the-world crisis is something we –or more specifically I– have the time or the energy to deal with. Can't you leave it to the authorities for once, for goodness sakes? I'm trying to complete resource mergers here. I am not carrying your buddies halfway around the globe so that you can stop another apocalypse. Tell them to get their own transportation!'

Click. Hang up.

Dial, dial.

'…Hey, this your line, mutt? Yeah. Look… The craft's in the hanger now, so you had better get the hell over here already.'

Click. Hang up again.

'Fucking heroics…'

Cairo, 8:00 p.m.

She's not at all surprised by his dramatics when he picks up the phone. She remembers him too well from Battle City and beyond. He always was… enthusiastic.

'Téa? Téa, girl, is that you? Man where've you been I'm been at this phone for hours, we're halfway there already! They're starting to shut down the airlines over there, if you don't get on a plane soon then—'

'Ah… my apologies, I believe you have me mistaken for someone else, Joseph.'

'What? Wait, Ishizu, is that you? Aw, damn it, I thought you were Téa. Thought I missed her call and I just pressed redial!'

'Sorry to disappoint you but I thought it best I called and Yugi's line was unsurprisingly busy.'

'But aren't you in Egypt, or something? How did you know to call, anyway?'

'I watch the international news, Joseph.'

'…Whu?'

She suppressed a soft sigh. 'There are incidents of various people leaping from tall buildings and gaining supernatural un-powered flight over in Europe plastered all over the Cairo News broadcasts. Also, the incidents are penetrated by multiple storms of what viewers have described as "black swirling energy". I made the connection fairly quickly.'

'Uh… right… so can you help? You know what's going on here, right?'

'I'll have to tell you what I told Yugi, Joseph… I don't have the foggiest.'

'..Great. Even the ancient mystic lady is stumped. Now I know we're all screwed.'

'I am far from ancient.'

'No offence, man. I'd offer a compliment but Mai's right besides me and she'd probably not like it much for me to comment on the assets of another lady when I'm around her, y'know?'

'…Yes. This would be the old "who is wearing the trousers?" relationship issue that's so commonly spoken of in other cultures, would it not?'

'Well it was nearly not me, that's for sure! Damn things weren't anywhere I looked for 'em!.'

'…I won't ask, Joseph.'

'Thanks. Seeya in Europe?'

'Most likely. Until then.'

Click.

She hangs up, without waiting for a response and leaves the building where the phone booths are contained. It's not really late enough to be growing as dark as it is right now in the sandy streets of Cairo.

Ishizu knows it's going to be a long few days.

Austria, Vienna, 3:00 a.m.

Yami's face is dirty. He's also bleeding, but Yugi can't tell where from, exactly, and since it's been going on that way for at least an hour, he's trying to regain his composure and remain calm about the fact.

'They can't get in, right?'

'Quite sure,' Yami sits down. Which is good, because Yugi was about to make him take a seat anyway. 'They don't… give me command of darker elements via my name usage for nothing, you know. The building manager…' he hesitates, and Yugi tenses in preparation of what's coming. 'I'm sorry, Yugi. I wasn't face enough,' his fists clench tight around the puzzle about his neck and Yugi reaches out to touch Yami's shoulder. 'Yugi?'

'…Yeah?'

'You're alright?'

'As much as anyone can be. We're… we'll be okay. We know what to do.' He squeezes Yami's shoulder that little bit tighter and a part of them both wishes they were still the same person. 'I've solved worse puzzles than this before, haven't I?'

'Just try not to pass out again.'

'I did not pass out.' Yugi gives him a playful scowl. Another thing that's surprising is that they still have the ability to joke.

'I know, Yugi. I know.'

Yugi realises he's still holding the phone off the hook and quickly places it down. In just a few minutes it's going to start ringing again. This is something he knows for certain, because he knows they're going to get back to him.

Somewhere outside, a chilling scream bursts through an otherwise silent Austrian evening.

'It's a long way,' Yami says, evenly. 'All the way from Japan to Europe. The flight would take several hours if it's even within their capabilities…'

Yugi looks up and gives him a small but infinitely reassuring smile. 'They'll be here.'

Yami believes him.

Ring. Ring.

Click.

'…Hello?'

Reviews and concrit are much appreciated.