Warning: There is a little bit of blood/gore in this chapter. Sorry, but Yami takes no prisoners. Also, no Issun or Ammy in this one. (Well, kinda. Ammy is hinted at.) Sorry Issun fangirls (again)!

I tried to control myself. Marco? Gone? How? "Azumi, tell me exactly what happened."

She didn't respond.

"Azumi!" Come on, I thought, Snap out of it!

"Waka," Kusa pulled me to the side. She began speaking in our native language, "Let her calm down. If something happened that frightened her so badly she can't talk, it must have been pretty scary."

I took a deep breath, then turned to face the Celestial, "Très bien. Alright. Azumi," I lifted her face so she was looking at me, "If you can't tell us what happened, then at least take us to where you last saw him."

She nodded, tears in her eyes, then led us deeper into the Ark. It got darker and darker as we descended. I activated Pillowtalk to give us some light. Holding it out in front of us, we finally came to a place right beside a staircase that led down to another floor.

"Right here?"

She nodded.

"Okay, show me exactly where you and he were standing."

Facing the stairs, she stood to the left of it. Then, she pulled me over in front of them.

I studied where we were both standing, "Well, he probably just snuck downstairs to play a prank on you."

Kusa regarded me with sarcasm that had just a hint of fear in it, "In the middle of a conversation?"

"Sure! That would add more drama."

Azumi gave me look of doubt before she decided to speak again, "I'm not so sure..."

Then, she was cut off abruptly. A dark shadow loomed over her, and she disappeared.

"Azumi?" I called out, "This isn't funny!" I swept my sword over the ground, searching for any sign of her. I prepared myself for the worst. But even that wasn't enough to prepare me for the grisly sight that awaited me.

Oh, I found her, alright. But it was not pretty.

There she was, lying on the ground, her body covered in blood. One of her arms had been nearly ripped off, and her neck was at an odd angle, as if someone had snapped it. Then, as I watched, the shadow that had grabbed her ate at her corpse until there was nothing left. It was horrifying. I still can't get that image out of my mind.

Kusa grabbed my arm, "Waka?"

"I'm here," I answered.

"I'm frightened."

"I know. So am I," I looked back at her and smiled halfheartedly, but it wasn't very convincing, "But don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

Suddenly, a deep, evil laugh echoed through the Ark.

"Wh- Who's there?"

A deep voice answered, "Why, I think you know who I am." The voice seemed to seep into my head, letting all kinds of fears in with it, "I am Yami, The Absolute Ruler of Darkness. And I inhabit this ark, myself and my minions. You thought Orochi was bad? He is nothing, NOTHING, compared to me."

I swept my sword back and forth, "Stay away from us!"

The voice chuckled, "Ah, you foolish man from the Lunar Realm. You cannot stop me. I have already devoured all the Celestials aboard this ark. And now, I shall devour you. But, rest assured, I will not devour you quickly. Slowly, oh so slowly, until you beg for death to overcome you. But, I am a gentleman. Ladies first."

"No!" I yelled, "Please! Don't harm her. You can do what you like with me, but please, don't hurt her!"

"Waka..." I heard a whoosh of air from behind me, right beside where Kusa was.

"No!" I spun around, and felt something scrape across my chest. But I didn't think too much of it, because suddenly the voice, Yami, chuckled again.

"Waka!" Kusa screamed. Her grip on my arm tightened, then loosened. She was then pulled away, as if by an actual person.

"Kusa!" I yelled, "Kusa!" I turned around, searching for her, No, please, no!

I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye, "Kusa!" I ran towards her.

She wasn't much better than Azumi. Her once-blue-and-purple kimono was now torn and covered in blood. There was a hole in her stomach, as if something had pierced it. "No," I said, "No, no, no, no, no."

"Waka," Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Kusa, I'm so sorry," I told her. I lowered my head, "This is all my fault."

"No... If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. If I'd stayed home, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe all of this could have been avoided."

"Kusa..."

She caressed my cheek with her hand, "But I don't regret it. At least I got to be with you one last time."

"No..."

"Waka," Her voice was getting weaker and weaker, "Don't- You- you can't..." Then her hand fell, and she closed her eyes.

"No..." I said, "No, this can't be happening. No, no, no!" Tears spilled out of my eyes as my body shook with grief.

"Aw, I hate tearful goodbyes. Oh, well."

"Yami," I hung my head in defeat, "Just get it over with. You can't take anything else from me."

Yami evidently thought this was amusing. He began to laugh again, louder and louder; until I couldn't take it anymore.

I don't know what I would have done, but at that moment, there was a blinding flash of light, "Waka..."

I know that voice, I thought. "Kusa?" It sounded like her, but it also sounded like someone else's voice I had never heard before, although I recognized it.

"Waka, you can't give up. You never gave up when you fought with bullies when you were younger. You didn't give up when fighting Orochi. You can't give up! Not now, not ever!" The voice faded away.

My body was still shaking, but not because of grief or fear. Because of rage. "Yami!" I yelled, "You should have killed me when you had the chance. Because now, I will kill you."

I leaped to my feet, sword in hand. I only hesitated for a moment, then ran down the stairs. As soon as I reached it, I began hacking away at the rudder.

"What are you doing?"

When it was broken, there was an immediate reaction. The ark tilted dangerously to one side.

"What have you done? You've destroyed us all!"

I faced the darkness, a triumphant look on my face, "I don't know what you're talking about. You said that you had already killed everyone on this ark. I am the only one left, correct, ma chérie? You were planning on killing me anyways. All the better if I can take you with me."

There was a deep growling sound, "You may have won this time, but make no mistake. If you survive this, we will meet again. And it will be the end of you!"

Yami's rant was cut short when the ark made contact with the ground. I flew up, then crashed back down again. I landed on my left arm and felt it snap beneath me.

"Aagh!" I cried out in pain. It was then that I realized how hurt I was. Now that I wasn't distracted, I could feel my shirt was warm and wet. My chest felt like it was on fire. I struggled to my feet, then felt my way towards the door, Pillowtalk in hand.

When I got there, I found that it had been knocked loose and it was hanging off it's hinges. I staggered through... and fell into open air. The shock of the freezing water paralyzed me for a moment, but I somehow floundered my way to shore. I took a few painful steps, then fell down.

It hurt too much to move. I couldn't get up. It was so cold...