For those that don't follow: When I say 'Yami' i mean just the word 'Darkness' literally.
Names:
Malik: Dark Malik or Yami Malik
Marik: Tomb Keeper or Marik
Bakura: Theif King or Tomb Robber
Yep, (looks at watch)... I still don't own Yugioh!
Chapter Three: Shadows and odd numbers
The soft sound of her own footfalls and the sound of tiny teeth tearing at poultry were the only noises that Amanda could hear as she padded around the kitchen. She paced back and forth quickly as questions consumed her mind.
'What am I going to do? I can't just kick them out in the middle of my dog infested neighborhood in their damn little box. And I don't know anyone who would want all six of them… damn.' I cursed quietly under my breath.
I glanced backwards over my shoulder as only three kittens had begun devouring the last shreds of chicken I had left out. I swallowed a snort as the largest of the three, the blond cat, had just comically swallowed his meal before plunging snout first into the bowl of milk mixed with cream I had left for them all.
'Greedy much?'
I failed as I chuckled quietly to myself though I swore I saw a look of embarrassment cross the smaller platinum blond cat's face as he rubbed his paws over the milk mustache he had received, in a very human like gesture to clean his face off.
I sighed, 'Yep these three little guys are strange… '
Suddenly I frowned.
Three?
Looking around I realized that the two glowering cats that had been sitting across from each other in my dining room had vanished.
I stalked towards the living room.
My eyes were greeted with another empty room as I looked up and down for the larger blond cat that had strolled out of the kitchen after my incident.
Yes I call my medical attacks incidents.
Amanda pouted in frustration, not really looking forward to tearing her own house apart in playing hide and seek with the alley cats. With one last glance at the other band of snacking felines I quickly began searching for the three other seemingly more mischievous animals.
Royu glanced up from his meal to notice the ridiculous stunt Marik had pulled as he practically attacked the girl as she sat down a bowl of sweet smelling milk.
He smiled and watched Marik's eye twitched as they heard muffed laughter from the girl, who was had taken a break from pacing to watch them for a moment.
Surprisingly Marik suddenly wore a sheepish expression as he quickly wiped away the milk dripping from his whiskers.
Royu also noticed Yugi giggling soundlessly as he in turn turned his own face away to hide his amusement.
'My, how much they've changed since their last duel…' Royu wondered bravely to himself as the events of the last shadow game between Dark Malik and the Pharaoh played out from his mind during battle city.
He hadn't exactly been there for the event of battle city, in fact, he had been dragged into it more than anything, but he had seen enough from within the sentient ring to understand what had transpired while the spirit of the ring had roamed free with his body during the tournament.
Royu shudder at the awful memories of the gruesome things that the malicious spirit had been the cause of during battle city and the events that followed after.
That same spirit that was still alive in a sense to haunt his waking hours once again…who was still only yards away under the same roof…his own terrifying darkness that never seemed to go away…
…His yami
The wooden door opened smoothly as a smooth fur paw nudged slightly against it.
The intruder sauntered into the dark room and paused briefly to allow his new nocturnal instincts to kick in as his heightened lilac eyes orbs made out the details of this new room. With the soft sunlight ghosting past the dark drawn curtains he could faintly make out the furniture and the mess of various papers, sheets, and clothes sutured across the wooden floor.
A bedroom, he realized.
Malik narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he observed the mess.
He pawed his way through the piles of rubbish as his hungry eyes searched for something in particle.
'Yes…there it is.'
He smirked as he looked upwards at the white sheets of that pathetic mortal girl's bed before coiling his muscles and springing atop of it. Once there his eyes rested curiously on the faint gold glow emanating from the center of the plush comforter.
"What is this device?" He asked out loud, his mouth crawled upwards in distaste at the strange technological contraption that had been leaking the wisps of dark mist like shadow magic he had been hunting for.
He growled warily in distrust at the contraption.
He disliked technology, seeing how he had only his lighter half's memories to rely on about these modern day contraptions, which wasn't much considering how his host had grown up in a ancient crypt most of his life.
He snorted as he nudged the cell phone with a single claw in impatience as a small electrical spark of magic shocked his paw. He scowled angrily.
"I don't have time for this foolishness…reveal yourself shadows!" The golden glowing eye of hours melted into existence on the dark feline's forehead as the shadows twisted to obey the deranged man's command.
A suddenly gust of cold air brushed through the girl's thin green school shirt as she felt the hallway drop to a freezing chill. I jumped onto my toes as the wooden floor went mind numbingly cold and stung my bare unprotected feet.
"W-why did it suddenly get so c-cold!"I yelped as the house dropped about some twenty degrees.
Hissing I clutched my arms around me as I quickly tiptoed down the hall towards my room, trying to forget the burning sensation running under my feet.
"Ugh I need socks." I moaned as I suddenly noticed a draft coming from my open bedroom doorframe.
"What the hell are they doing?…" I walked faster to my door now that I was sure that one of the cats must have wandered in here...and had done something to make my house go haywire.
Placing a hand on the smooth cherry wood door frame I had only a few moments to distinguish the figure of a spiky feline on top of my bed and the faint golden glow that shone from its forehead like some flickering spark of fire.
Dark black and violet tentacles withered and twisted around the golden feline outline as they faded in and out of thickness, ranging from as fine as mist to as solid as my wrist.
I stood stunned at what I was witnessing as the misty appendages contorted, shrinking and swelling in rhythm like the breathing of an indescribable beast of darkness.
I felt something softly brush past my calf, breaking my terrified concentration on the hopelessly impossible scene before me. A noise somewhere between a squeak and a shriek flew past my lips as I jumped and snapped my eyes downwards towards a small black bundle of fur at my side. Deep, wise, amethyst orbs penetrated my soul as they started at me in alarm and apprehension. The darkest cat's body was poised and tense in unease and nervousness rolled off his forms in waves.
My eyes widen a fraction more in shock as I noticed the same golden eye symbol that was positioned on the other blond one's head unfolded across his sleek yellow striped forehead.
I tore my eyes away from the deep bottomless violet pits and focus my attention back on the impossible event unfolding before me on my bed.
But it was too late.
An arm width swell of sluggish shadows merged together and flushed past my face at an impossible speed rendering my sight worthless for a moment.
My skin felt as if on fire as the shadow-like arms suddenly grabbed hold of my upper arms and around my torso before with enormous strength, they began squeezing harshly, successfully knocking the wind out of me as I felt my feet leave the icy floor.
My brain felt like it was stuck in a perpetual brain freeze as I struggled to catch my breath while the world tilted violently as I was being shaken around like a ragdoll.
My hearing grew faint as I made out a flurry of loud cat yowls and hisses, like two street cats fighting in a deserted alleyway past the blood rushing in my ears. I closed my eyes as I gave up on trying to understand what was happening as I clenched my teeth, grinding them together and I prayed for this nightmare to end soon so I could wake up from it just fine.
Suddenly the cat noises grew unclear and human voices began to take their places, but I didn't dare open my eyes.
"Release her now Dark Malik!" A powerful yet authoritative thundered out over the rush of blood traveling through my head at an alarming tempo.
"As much as I would like for the insignificant wench to be killed, this is not my doing pharaoh." Another deeper yet darker more malice filled voice taunted back towards the first sarcastically.
The voices tuned themselves out again and became nothing but a conjoined mess of words. I fought the urge to suddenly dry heave as I was flipped upside down and smashed against my bedroom wall.
'What the hell! Make it stop please!' I mentally wailed as my head throbbed painfully and I shuddered as my blood turned ice cold. I could feel it pushing slowly and sluggishly through my veins as my chest tightened painfully.
My heart rate was beating to hard, this wasn't good!
'Somebody…anybody…help m-me' A cloud enveloped my brain as everything in my mind's eye became hazy. The voices were back this time, but there were more than two now. I simply tuned them out as I felt my hold slipping. On what I don't know, and I don't want to know what would happen if I let go...
'Fight it…' a tiny voice suddenly whispered.
I could hear it as clear as day, even past the walls of pain that made me deaf to everything else, but it was still faint enough to be blown away by the slightest breath of wind.
'Fight it…' the tiny voice whispered again. 'Don't give up, fight the darkness…for us…and for them…'
The girl's mind reeled in pain as the shadows begin to consume her vision. Thrashing around she tried to make sense of the voice floating around her head.
'What…How? How! Please make it stop!'
'Just let go…' The voice responded simply as I felt its tiny presence leave my conscience and listened as its small words fade out into oblivion. I sucked in a breath as the air around me grew colder and my heart sped up faster.
I felt the same tugging sensation of unconsciousness pull at me as I fought the urge to give in to the torment.
'I need to do something and I need to do it fast'
Opening my eyes and braving the morphing darkness I suddenly found myself encompassed in I quickly tucked my head into my neck and focused every ounce of strength in keeping calm and my panic at bay…as I prayed for something, anything, to happen.
I wasn't disappointed.
A mere moment later I felt unexplainable warmth sweep through me and bubble within my chest. As I felt the fire burn pleasantly in the my core I squeezed my eyes tight once more before tilting my head back as I followed the voice's advice and let go.
The world turned bright as it blinded all in the room in a fiery blaze of sunlight again.
Cries of pain mixed with shock echoed around the room as all the cats hid their eyes from the burning golden magic. The shadows seem to wither in pain and as quickly as they had come they vanished and a loud crash rang out as the girl fell back onto the wooden floor.
The solid noise against wood and the abrupt darkness signaled that the episode was over as the various animalized spirits crawled out from their hiding spots. Stunned but wary everyone stood in their separate spots as they tried to make sense of what had just transpired.
"Is she alive?" Royu questioned warily as he remained rotted to the spot, halfway concealed behind a curtain, as he stared attentively around for an answer. A dismissive snort could be heard from another corner in the darkness.
"Yes, unfortunately" Yami Malik sneered as he stewed in his anger. "How in the name of Ra did this insignificant wench de-spell my shadow magic!"
A lower more threating growl rang out from another corner as a ghost like form floated out of the darkness.
"Your shadow magic? If I saw correctly you had no command over those shadows Malik. They were beyond your control and did as they pleased". Bakura chuckled amused, as he staked out in the center of the room.
"Then were you the one controlling them Bakura?" Yugi challenged as he and Atem emerged from underneath the bedspread. The white cat hissed threating at the smallest feline in annoyance at his accusation and ignorance.
"No, this was not my doing. Besides if the shadows were once again in my control wouldn't you think I would have just killed all of you instead?" He smirked, his teeth flashing in the darkness.
Yugi flinched at the glare but stood his ground at the threat. Atem inwards smiled at his lighter half's bravery before he shot at glare of his own at the thief.
"If not either of you two then who was controlling the shadows?" Atem questioned.
No one answered nor no one in the room moved as they ponder over it. As they uncomfortable silence stretched on someone from above cleared his throat. All of the feline snapped their heads up, their ears all perked, as the last feline bound spirit spoke.
"I think I found what is causing all of this mayhem…" Yugi looked around in confusion from where his friend's voice had came from.
"Where are you Marik?"
"Up here" He called as his sandy blond ears poked out from above the bed. With a few steady leaps and a few more unsteady ones they all appeared on the white comforter and they cautiously circled around the device that both sandy colored cats had found.
"Is that a phone?" Royu voiced in disbelief as he observed the seemingly harmless cellular device that was leaking warped wisps of dark energy from its speakers.
"Apparently…" Marik muttered as he reached out to nudge it with his paw.
"I won't if I where you, that's what activated the shadows in the first place." Marik quickly withdrew his paw in haste, as if the metal burned him.
"You would know this how?" He growled as he questioned his darker half.
Dark Malik stayed quiet not really needing to grace his lighter conscience with an answer. Bakura crept closer to the device that had become infested by shadows. His smirk dropped as he scowled in displeasure. Only Royu seemed to notice and after a hesitant second he voiced his own question softly, almost wishing his yami wouldn't hear him.
"Do you know where they're coming from?" Royu flinched as a stony glare was leveled at him. He silently cursed himself for even bring his attention to himself. Bakura's taunting smirk returned as he watched his previous host squirm in fear at his gaze.
"Don't ask questions if you don't want me to answer them." Royu gulped but refused to look away.
Bakura's smirk widened as he enjoyed causing his lighter side the same spike of fear as when they had been sharing a body.
He glared for another moment briefly before seeming to ignore Royu and lean down to inspect the trinket again.
Royu stood frozen stiff in terror, his nightmares still raging in his mind from his yami's soul piercing glare.
Yugi watched his friend sadly, remembering the time he was forced to share his body with the spirit of the ring, much like he had to share his own body with the spirit of the puzzle, Atem. Yugi looked to his yami's gaze and saw sympathy in his stare as observed the boy's aura of fear and a tinge of anger as well at the fear his former enemy had installed into this harmless soul.
Marik caught the end of the tense conversation and sighed silently in sympathy and hopelessness for his light haired friend. His yami on the other hand only sneered at the lighter half's reaction and then frowned inwardly to himself as he wished his own lighter conscious would be as timid as this pathetic excuse for a mortal.
"This is a brand of shadow magic I am unfamiliar with" Bakura broke the tense silence as he pulled back and glare at the phone harshly, as if the contraption was to blame for his predicament.
Yugi sighed as Atem frowned, both of their tails twitched simultaneously in displeasure.
Suddenly a paw shot out from the group and pushed a button on the dial keys as bright sparks shot to burn the offending limb. They jumped back as they watched Royu yelp and limp backwards from the nasty shock of magic he received.
Bakura wheeled around to him.
"Are you stupid mortal!" He barked as Royu avoided his gaze. " I told you it-" He was cut off in mid rant when suddenly the cell phone beeped to life and the electronic voice played to life.
"One new message. Message: unknown caller. Message received."
They paused as a recorded conversation begun to play out. It seemed at first that the girl conversing with no one. Malik snorted at her stupidity while glares all around again silence him.
Suddenly the sound of heavy breathing became apparent on the other end of the line and they listened as they girl grew annoyed, then frustrated, and eventually worried. Suddenly a thunderous inhuman roar and a scream deafened them all as it played out across the speakers. As the screech faded away and the roaring echo stopped ringing in their ears they all could make out many low, rough, garbled voices speaking in unison.
"As long as there is light there will always be darkness…" the demonic voices chanted until they were cut off as the message stopped playing.
With a final beep the phone shut off and the swirling shadows faded away as the device served it's last purpose. They all stood much like before, glued to their spots in a stunned silence as they stared at each other blankly. No one moved when the sounds of the girl stirring from the floor drifted to their sensitive ears.
Amanda groaned as she rubbed her forehand against her palm before trying to blink away her pounding headache with little success. Standing up and opening my eyes drained all the energy left in me as I staggered to my bad. Ready to plop down and sleep until eternity. I raised my brows in surprise at the horde of kitten clumped onto my mattress.
"What?" I murmured in sleepy surprise before spotting something shiny.
"Ah hey my demon possessed phone, I knew it was around here somewhere…"
I joked lightly as I grabbed it and turned to place it on my dresser, not seeing the flabbergasted looks that were given to my back. The cats took her joke literally and Dark Malik glowered in annoyance when the damn device did nothing to the human girl.
She turned back to them and made shooing motions with her hands.
"Get off…or I'll squish you all" Amanda deadpanned as she waited calmly for the cats to jump off and stalk towards the door.
Once free of cats, the girl fell ungracefully into her comforter and sighed in her pillow. Oddly enough it smelled like mixture of different things she had never smelled around her home before…never mind her own pillow. A twinge of palms, the scents of sandstone, sun, and olden paper, the smell of linen and leather…the list went on and on as I chalked it up to my overworked brain nearly dying in the last few hours. I groaned as I threw my pillow over my eyes.
Today had been too much…way too much and it wasn't even night yet.
'What with finding a box full of kittens that looked as if they had been abused with color dyes on my doorstep; collapsing from my medical issues; get my ass handed to me by that…those things!'
My eyes shot open as memories of darkness flooded my mind's eye. I placed a hand to my increasingly burning forehead and winced.
'Those things…what on earth was those things?' I frowned as I rubbed my throbbing head.
'Yeesh that shadow thing, the voice, the same light again from the night before…' I moaned as the migraine skyrocketed and I dug my fingers into my scalp, pleading for the pain to go away.
"Thinking…hurts too much… I'll figure it out in the morning."
Giving out one last sigh I pushed through the headache as I succumbed to sleep in the middle of the afternoon.
Unbeknownst to the girl, later the afternoon as she slept a dark shadow trailed in to the room and bounded onto the virgin white satin sheets next to her and stopped before her head.
The last thing I could feel was a warm pressure against my chest and a tickling sensation in the hollow of my neck as the pain in my forehead subsided and I finally feel asleep.
Thank you and please review! Or message me if you have a question.