11/3/2013 – So sorry! I wish I could tell you the long list of things that kept me from updating sooner but you'll just tune me out. It's life, and I gotta survive it. At least you know this story will continue! Also, I got a new laptop! Cleaner, faster, and lighter. I also got the new and improved Microsoft Office 2013 and I love it!

"Speech"

Thoughts

"Foreign Language"

Dark Game: The Sennen Puzzle

Chapter 5: Sunset Snake Eyes II

"He's here already?" The thief had a split second to leap onto the next chandelier before the electric bullet broke through the window and hit the cord holding it to the ceiling. The glass breaking and the chandelier smashing on the floor below set the guards on high alert. They all ran to where the noise came from.

"So much for stealth," Yami muttered.

"Well, look who I just found, Yami Sennen," Yugi said loudly from the balcony he stood on the other side of the street. Despite the distance, the inspector was good at projecting his voice.

Yami smiled. "About time you showed up, Mr. Mouto. I was getting worried you took a wrong turn at the Welsh Triangle."

"The only one making wrong turns is you, Sennen. I suggest you surrender before I paralyze you with my good friend, the shock pistol."

"Now, see, a young bachelor whose best friend is a firearm has issues. A little dinner, a little dancing... I think I can help you out."

"Sounds romantic, as long as you don't mind dining in jail!"

"Nah, I hear the service is lousy."

"Once I catch you, you'll see for yourself!(1)"

The guards arrived to spoil the banter. They aimed their guns at the intruder just as Inspector Mouto fired his. Another window, another chandelier. Yami leaped from one to another as Yugi blasted them. The falling debris forced the guards to retreat as glass rained everywhere and some of the chandeliers smashed tables and slot machines. Yami reached a dead end and landed down on a roulette table. Yugi continued to chase him as long as he stayed in sight. Yami tried to lose him, leaping over slot machines and using them to cover his back.

Losing sight of Sennen, Yugi stopped shooting and saw all the destruction he caused.

"You can't escape me forever, Sennen," he called out one last time before stepping back and pulling out his walkie talkie to call for backup.

As men scrambled through the rubble, shouting profanities, Yami hid beneath a blackjack table behind some slot machines that were still standing. He put his binocucom over his eyes.

"Seto," he whispered. "Interpol is here! Our cover is blown. We need that distraction."

"You got it!"

Isis placed the detachable magazine back into the semi-automatic gun when she felt her right shoe vibrate softly. She nodded to herself and moved silently back to the front door where she left the guards. Her pride swelled slightly when she put the guns back in the men's holsters without them feeling a thing. The stage was set, she just needed to force the pieces to move. She reached for one of the guns again, only this time she allowed her thumb to bump gently against the gangster's side. The reaction was instantaneous.

"What the?"

Both crooks turned at the same time. Isis threw herself back, yelping when her butt hit the floor. She looked up fearfully at Ushio's men.

"You shouldn't try that, bitch," one of them said, smirking. "You could blow you pretty face up."

Isis wasted no time in getting back to her feet and running toward the stairs. She faintly heard one thug telling his partner he would go after her. She was six feet away from the top of the stairs about to go past the emergency fire hose when the man wrapped his arms tightly around hers.

"Where are you going, sweet face? I haven't even started yet."

As he rubbed his face against the back of her neck, inhaling her scent, she felt him pause when he reached her wig, no doubt brushing against the hair net and smelling the fake hair. That opening was all she needed as she brought her hands together and elbowed him in the solar plexus as hard as she could. She knocked the air out of him but he held on so she slammed her right heel on his foot. He lost his grip and with her arms free she brought her fist down on his groin. Once he was on his knees, she took his gun and smacked the butt on the back of his head. He crumbled. Isis dragged him into a room, not a moment too soon as his partner called from downstairs. She peeked downstairs so the guard would spot her, waving sweetly at him.

"Would you like to join us," she called out to him before disappearing back into the safety of the hallway.

The guard decided to play safe and called for backup on his walkie talkie before heading upstairs, gun drawn.

Isis' back was flat against the wall when the thug reached the top of the staircase.

"Now!"

A black woman had gotten a hold of the emergency fire hose. She unleashed a full blast of water right past Isis, hitting the gangster in the face. With a gargled scream he fell back down the stairs. A small group of women came out from their former prisons holding small water balloons in their hands. Three balloons were handed to Isis and she took a frontal position at the stairs with the other women.

"Ready," she instructed them.

Just then, more men appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Now!"

Balloons rained on the gangsters before they could draw weapons. Most got hit in the head and chest. All the men gagged as it turned out the balloons were full of cheap perfume, the stench eating up the air in the room. Those who got hit in the face screamed as it burned their eyes.

"Fall back," Isis ordered.

From the yells and profanity she heard, Isis figured Ushio's men were done playing around. Those who managed to recover drew their guns and ran up the stairs. The women either hugged the walls or ducked. The gangsters reached them and opened fire... or not. Their guns clicked over and over but they didn't shoot.

"It's stuck!"

The woman at the hose let loose another wet blast. The men slipped and stumbled over each other and back downstairs for them.

"Yes," Isis said cheerfully. "That's what happens when you stick chewing gum on the magazines!"

Once she made sure their enemies weren't getting back up, Isis signaled the women to move forward. The ones who hadn't join the fight came out of hiding and followed the rest out, their savior as well. Before going out the front door, Isis activated the nearest fire alarm.

The back doors on the getaway van opened wide and Marik rode the motorbike out, stopping short a few feet from the larger vehicle.

"My turn!"

"Just remember, Marik," Seto called from the van. "Your job is to make noise. If you run people over, even Ushio's men, it gives others better chances of shooting you."

"Relax, that's what the bulletproof vest and the helmet are for. See you on the other side!"

Marik rode the bike to the front of the 7-Eleven before making the engine roar and riding down the street. The bike was as loud as Marik's maniacal laughter as he sped up. He threw gas grenades through the windows of the bars and nightclubs he passed, drawing out gangsters. Soon he had a bunch of them chasing him. Marik left them in his dust.

"Ah, my adoring fans. They multiply by the country!"

Fire alarms, gunshots, and screams caught the attention of the thugs inside the Purple Dragon. Most of them ran out the door while others were busy looking for Ushio's top dogs, who were nowhere in sight. With the commotion being led away from the elevator, Yami and Bakura came out of their respective hiding places.

"Your girlfriend sure likes to make an entrance," Bakura said.

"Shut up," said Yami. "You got the password?"

"Of course I got it, your Highness. I'm just wondering how exactly you obtained yours."

Instead of responding, Sennen typed in the first password. It cleared out, and then Bakura typed the second one. The elevator opened for them.

As they rode the elevator up, both thieves raised an eyebrow at the choice of elevator music (Imagine the Warriors opening from the Jap version of Yugioh as elevator music. LOL).

"Hm, Duel Monsters King," Bakura scoffed. "Can you believe this loser?"

"It's not as bad as Magician Babe." Yami made the same face he had when the guy he interrogated gave him the password. "I don't want to know how this moron spends his weekends."

The elevator stopped. The thieves set their backs against the walls in case they got shot at. The doors opened. Nothing but the elevator music for the first ten seconds.

"Just come out already," a rough voice said from the outside. "I don't have all day."

Yami poked his head out first. The penthouse had two floors. On the first floor the left side had a white and black Japanese style sliding door leading to the bathroom. In front of it there was an ebony couch and a matching table with a bonsai tree on it. A large Japanese vase rested against the wall behind the couch, a collection of ancient Japanese weapons displayed on the way next to it. On the right there, what looked like a fountain constructed on the floor with a white dragon statue spitting water into it turned out to be a pool for some koi fish. A huge painting of the Battle of Shanghai (1937) hung from the wall in between the two sections; a staircase led to the second floor which, by what little they could see, only held Ushio's ebony king size bed. A glass chandelier took up two thirds of the ceiling. And the former Fiendish Five member that Dark Game was hunting that night stood in the middle of it all, in front of his painting.

"Damn, this guy is huge," Bakura commented when he saw Ushio. "And look at his talismans."

Ushio had a total of five talismans: A medallion hanging from a chain around his neck, a large gold ring on his right middle finger, his belt buckle, and both his shoe buckles. Each talisman had a different symbol, except the shoe buckles, yet they were all made of gold and glowed the same color.

"Yami Sennen," Ushio said placidly. "And a rat."

"Fuck you, Hulk!"

"I take it you came for these?" Ushio pulled a leather pouch from his inside coat pocket and shook it slightly. They all heard the soft clicking of gold pieces hitting each other before the pouch disappeared into the coat again. "Come and take it from me."

"So," the white-haired thief said. "What powers do you think the talismans are giving him?"

"We can only find out as we go, Bakura."

"You're the official leader, right? First dibs are yours."

"Gee, thanks."

As they talked, Ushio slowly advanced toward them. He didn't pull out his gun, he didn't call for his men; he just approached them. With both thieves having the ability to think on their feet, both had their sense screaming at them to get away from this guy. No later opportunity came when, in a blink of an eye, Ushio was already inches from them swinging his right fist in Yami's direction. Sennen's reflexes are what saved him, raising a shield of shadows a split second behind Ushio hit it. The results were not what Yami expected as it was he who was thrown back by the force a few feet before he landed on his back, sliding to a stop in front of the elevator. He quickly sat up looking at his opponent in shock.

Bakura had gotten out of the way the moment Ushio was upon then, retreating to what he believed was a safe distance at the top of the staircase. He stared down at their enemy in wonder.

"Super strength," he asked to himself.

"And speed."

Bakura cried out in protest as the much larger man that was already behind him grabbed the back of his shirt and lifted him like a tissue. Yami was on his feet, calling out for Bakura, but it was too late. Ushio tossed him into the koi fish pool. The water level was too low to break his fall so he hit his head on the bottom. The white-haired thief had enough energy to roll over before he lost consciousness. He lay face up in the shallow pool.

Yami reached out his shadow control toward Ushio's shadow… and nothing happened. If anything, his senses hit a wall.

"He's protected against shadow magic, of course," the thief muttered. "That only leaves one ability, which, with my luck, is probably the worst."

Sennen made his shadow come to life and envelop his body like a second skin up to his neck. His backpack seemed to melt into his back. To public view, he looked like he wore a one piece bodysuit.

"Come on, Ushio," he called. "I remember how you laughed at my father's misery. Let's see if you can do the same to me."

"You look as fragile as your mother," Ushio mocked him. "I bet you'll scream like her too."

Ushio moved faster than a cheetah. Yami had learned his lesson and put more strength into his shield. His opponent slammed his fists against it like a punching bag. While the defense held this time, Sennen was pushed back with each blow, his feet dragging. Ushio was too fast to avoid the strikes individually and too strong to match his blows with an offense since his magic wasn't focused on brawns.

I have to get those talismans off him!

The thief was pushed back into where the couch and table were. When he felt his calves tap the table's rim, he let himself fall back onto it. The gang leader tried to crush him against the piece of furniture but Yami turned into a shadow, flat on the table like an ink puddle. Ushio's fist impacted, the table splitting in two like cheap wood. The shadow fell onto the floor harmlessly and moved beyond the damaged goods, a good five feet away before turning back into Yami with the shadows covering him up to his head, leaving only his red eyes visible. His enemy didn't give him any time to breathe, rushing him and punching him in the face. Sennen flew straight through the glass sliding door of the bathroom, crashed into the sink, breaking it away from the wall, and landed on the Jacuzzi that was filled with soapy hot water. The shadow armor prevented the blow from breaking his jaw, and possibly snapping his neck. The thief looked up at Ushio slightly dazed.

"So this is what Marik's victims go through," he mumbled to himself.

Ushio walked through the broken glass door. "That was fun while it lasted," He wrapped his large hand around Yami's neck and lifted him out of the water. "But now I have to—"

Bang! While the sound was that of a real gun, the bullet that hit Ushio on the back of his head bounced off like a BB pellet.

"Why does this guy hide guns under his sofa when he's invulnerable," came Bakura's voice from the distance. The white-haired thief was dripping wet and standing next to one of the sofas holding a smoking revolver.

Sennen used the distraction to his advantage and grabbed the medallion talisman. With large man's reflexes, he was already throwing his smaller opponent out of bathroom half a second later. Bakura barely moved out of the way before Yami crashed fully into him but his hand got smacked, knocking the gun into the fountain. Yami rolled to his side groaning as the shadows peeled off him and Ushio faced them again holding a semi-automatic.

"Enough! I got cops to get off my streets tonight, so I'll finish this now."

Ushio pointed his gun at Bakura first before Yami chuckled, making the man look at the fallen thief.

"Not quite," Sennen said as he showed them both the talisman still clasped in his right hand with the broken chain still hanging from it. "I bet I know what this one did. Now your mine!"

The gang leader fired his gun too late as the world around turned pitch black. He cursed Sennen's name while firing in different directions until his magazine ran out. That's when he heard it, moaning a growling coming from his feet. When looking down Ushio sees at least ten undead humans rising from the ground like crossing through fog. All the corpses were missing teeth, some an eye or two, and hair, and their rotting smell made Ushio choke on his own screams of terror as the undead overpowered him despite his super strength and speed and bit into his legs and arms, tearing his flesh off piece by piece.

Yami and Bakura looked up from behind the couch they ducked behind after Ushio emptied his gun, seeing the man struggle with invisible forces. Bakura snorted.

"You know, this is funny."

"We can enjoy the view later, I have to get those talismans off."

The thieves quickly moved a little close to the thrashing giant. Yami used shadow tendrils to remove the shoe buckles, taking away the super speed ability, before moving toward the belt buckle.

Despite the struggles, the moaning of the undead, and his screams of terror, Ushio faintly heard the sound of metal clicking against the floor. Somehow, he suddenly realized he was being eaten alive… but he didn't feel any pain. Looking down at his waist, he saw his belt buckle snap off by itself and disappear into the darkness, and again he heard metal hitting what he now guessed was the tile floor of his penthouse.

"Illusion, break!"

"Bakura, look out!"

Ushio shocked them both, especially Sennen, by not only breaking out of the illusion but also doing it by shouting a counter spell in Egyptian.

"I did learn a few things from our resident sorcerer, Shadi," Ushio said.

Even without his super speed, the bigger man still backhanded the nearest thief (Yami) hard enough to make him crash against his partner and both flew into the air and landed on the fountain. The duo rose to their knees, sputtering water.

"You see," Bakura said. "This is why I don't wrestle with Marik anymore!"

"Dammit," Yami cursed. "I took all the talismans except the ring. It's the one that gives him super strength."

"So I can shoot him now?"

"No need," Ushio said, bringing their attention to his now reloaded semi-automatic. "I'll shoot you both."

"That won't work now, you know," Yami said casually.

Before Ushio could reply they all heard the elevator's bell signaling someone else had just entered the penthouse. The gang leader smirked, knowing it was most trusted thugs, the only ones who knew his passwords to come this far. He could take the talismans from them to protect himself against Sennen's shadow magic.

"This is Interpol! We got the building surrounded!"

To Ushio's utter disbelief, it was Inspector Mouto's voice he heard coming from the elevator. He glanced back at the thieves only to find the fountain empty except for the koi fish. He found himself alone in his wrecked penthouse. Slowly moving forward, his shoes crunching due to the glass stuck to them, Ushio ended lined up with his elevator, where Mouto stood by himself right in front of the doors pointing his shock pistol at him.

"Yugi Mouto," Ushio said in slight surprise. "Is that really you? I haven't seen you since we both went to Domino High! You look about a quarter inch taller than I last saw you."

"Drop your weapon, and put your hands where I can see them, Ushio," Yugi said with authority. "You're under arrest!"

"Oh, I bet," Ushio stretched his arms to the side either in a welcoming friendly gesture of just carelessness. "What, Interpol sent you? Do they know I killed your dad? I bet they don't since they allowed you to come. How's your granddaddy, by the way? Did he walk again after I shot him in the back? Did your mom do well in therapy? I see you did well yourself."

"Drop your weapon!"

"You never did learn anything in school, did you?"

Yugi shot at Ushio's gun with an electric bullet. The gang leader yelled in pain and threw the smoking away, facing the inspector.

"I hope that puny gun of yours packs a bigger punch because it'll take more than that to stop me."

Ushio slowly advanced toward Mouto like the old days in high school, huge and menacing. Instead of shooting him, the inspector did something that would shock Dark Game and his own teammates: he holstered his gun. Ushio grinned like a predator, thinking he intimidated the small man, who just stared at him straight in the eyes. Throwing a punch that would've split open Yugi's skull, the former Fiendish Five member was again shocked when Inspector Mouto merely stepped to the side, dodging the strike, grabbed his wrist and twisted it until it cracked and Ushio grunted in pain. Yugi then kept an iron grip on his arm and spun on his balls of his feet, using his shoulders and back as support to throw the much larger man around and onto the staircase. Ushio landed upside down, knocked out by the impact, which also made pieces of gold spill from his pocket and click all the way down the staircase and onto the tile floor.

That's when Rebecca and Malik finally stepped out of the elevator to survey the scene. They knew their friend could take care of himself and wanted to make the first move. They stood side by side with Yugi, holstering their guns when they were sure it was safe.

"Are you alright, Yugi," Rebecca asked concerned. She knew better than anyone how much Ushio truly terrorized her cousin in the past.

"I'm alright, Becky. Thank you."

"Well, Sennen's gone again," Malik said.

"Dark Game disappeared off the radar soon after sending us those passwords," Rebecca said.

Yugi nodded, still staring curiously at the gold pieces. Something about them looked oddly…familiar. The gold ring on the fallen former yakuza brought his attention away from the trinkets. It was still glowing up until Yugi removed it, studying the symbol.

"What is that, Yugi," Rebecca asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "But I bet this and those gold pieces have something to with the Sennens' legends of their Egyptian roots." Mouto crouched down to get a closer look at the pieces with Malik and Rebecca cuffed the gang leader.

"You left the puzzle pieces," Seto asked incredulous.

After Yami and Bakura reunited with Seto, Isis and Marik in an alley just outside the casino, Marik proceeded to speed down the roads and loose Interpol while Seto erased their electronic tracks with his systems. It was only a few minutes away from the city that their fearless leader left the casino without grabbing the pieces of the Sennen Puzzle.

"We got pummeled twice," Bakura protested.

"Four times, I think" Yami said. "I don't know. My head is still pounding."

"And we took enough baths to last us the week."

"But now Interpol has some of the puzzle pieces," Isis said, resting her head on her hand while looking at the guys. "What now?"

"Guys, there's no need to panic," Yami said. "The pieces will be safe with Yugi until we steal them back. He's in charge of chasing us, there's no way he'll let Interpol keep the pieces here in the U.S. Let's focus on our next target."

While both Interpol and Dark Game talked, they were being watched through what looked like a swirling vortex inside a dark room in an undisclosed location. A man dressed in a long robe and turban and a woman dressed like a female version of commando with a headband and combat boots, and a belt carrying six grenades stared at the image of Yami speaking to his teammates.

"Two down," the woman said. "Just as the master planned. How do we approach the next phase again, Shadi?"

Shadi moved his hand in front of the vortex. The image changed from Yami to Yugi holding a puzzle piece close to his face, examining it.

"Now I lure the target in," Shadi said. "You just need to distract the prince so he and the inspector don't end up in the same location at once again."

"Aww, I wanted to capture the target," the woman whined a little. "He's so cute I just want to blow his face off."

"I know, but the master grows restless. We must free him soon. We can't do that without Sennen, and if we don't make him suffer in the process the master will be most disappointment."

"Yeah, I know," the woman shrugged. "He'll be an easier catch if he goes to your place." She grinned. "I'll handle the handsome prince."

(1) More sweet banter from the game!

Sorry to rush, guys, but I gotta got to work. I'll check for errors when I come back! I just really wanted to update this thing already! See ya in the next chapter! Let me know what you think so far.