Ranko: First, let me just give a big THANK YOU to those who were excited for The Shadow Game movie and mentioned it in your review. If you didn't mention it, then I still love you :)
Yami: Hey, Ranko, I noticed a few people were wondering who Ray (the firefly) would be. I thought it would be obvious when you found out who Louis (the alligator) was.
Yuugi: Oh well, they will find out this chapter.
Ranko: I just want to tell you guys how much I love you! When I was writing the song "When We're Human" last chapter, I was ready to go to bed and I didn't realize I forgot to leave out a few lines. So thank you to those who told me what I had missed and those corrections have been made :)
SincerelyChristina: Yes, I cannot wait either! Okay, now I get it; I was wondering when I read the review, "What happened to Ryou again?" I torture that boy so much I lose track of it sometimes. Bakura, oh Bakura…he is a bastard but we love him anyway. No, he doesn't usually tell the truth, but maybe…we'll see how this goes ;) Thank you, I love the puppyshipping moment too (if that's what you want to call it). I don't know how to spell her name either; I don't judge :) I enjoyed writing Atem and Yuugi bicker as much as you liked reading it!
XxBlackRoseWitch378xX: Yes, you did figure out Malik's role :) here's a cookie. Yay for puppyshipping! Ray will be given to the sweetest and most lovable character that you will probably hate me for what I do to him ;) Yes, please check out HeartlessAxel, she is awesome!
SincereJoyy: I love alligator Tristan! He is just so cute! I just had to make him Louis because of the stupid plot bunnies in my head *_* Yes, Bakura can be very scary, I just try to picture him with bunny ears on his head and that makes it all better. I could never make Seto a bad guy even if I tried. Yes, I love The Princess and the Frog but I thought, "Hmm, I'm gonna add more plot to this!" Thank you, thank you, I am also excited about the movie ^^
GirlsRule2013: Thank you for pointing out my mistake and I hope that I fixed it though I may have forgotten again .
puredarkwolf: Thank you so much for mentioning that, I went back and fixed it as soon as I read you review. Here's a cookie!
Little Yugi Moto: Yes, you do ;)
Animesaki: My reviewers are too smart, they always are one step ahead of me -_- I'm sure that you probably did figure out what direction this story is going in but we'll see ;) I know what you mean, Bakura is just a big meanie-head (sounds like I'm six)! I'm glad that I made you laugh and I hope you approve of my choice of Ray!
yugioh fan: Unfortunately, dearie, I do not think that Dartz will be in this story either. I apologize but there is no way for me to fit him and if I do find out a way, I will try it.
Yuugi: Ranko twin wants to say she loves all of her reviewers and appreciates all the kind words everyone sends in and the time it takes to review. Though she cannot answer all of them. Thank you!
Yami: Ranko twin owns nothing in this story and is not making a profit off of it!
Ranko: Enjoy!
-/-
There was a sort of peaceful quietness on the Mazaki estate. It was a beautiful afternoon and Joey had just got done picking up lunch for Anzu and Prince Atem. He had noticed this morning that Atem had been acting a little differently than when he saw him the other day, and his voice sounded strange as well.
Joey shrugged and asked one of the maids where Anzu and the prince were and she answered that they had moved to the gazebo out in the garden.
Joey sighed and began to trek back over to the garden. He was just there, why didn't he see them before? When he got to the garden he saw Anzu and the prince talking animatedly, sitting at the table on the gazebo. Anzu looked excited as she talked with Atem.
Joey smiled and walked a little closer so he could deliver the food and hear what they were saying.
"Oh, Prince Atem," Anzu said. "I cannot apologize enough! I am so sorry about what happened last night with those two frogs. It was absolutely mortifying!"
Prince Atem shrugged. "It was no trouble at all, Anzu. You see, I have dealt with far more…unlikely events back in my country. I only hope that you are okay," he said in a sweet voice, reaching across the table to hold her hand.
Anzu blushed and giggled, looking down at their intertwined fingers. She looked back up to say something and noticed something that was very off about Prince Atem. "Um, Atem, your eyes…they uh…changed color."
Atem sat up with a start and grabbed a spoon that was resting on the table. He looked at his reflection and noticed that his eyes did change from a deep ruby red to an icy blue. He pretended to drop the spoon and when he bent down to pick it up, he checked the snake pendant and saw that it was slowly losing blood; he gasped
Atem sat back up. "Oh, uh, you see, Anzu, my eyes do tend to change colors in different…lighting." He internally face-palmed. "It is a special family trait."
Anzu gave a weak smile. "Oh, I see, well—" Before Anzu could say anymore, Atem got up and pulled Anzu up with him, holding her close.
His legs and arms elongated and the suit he was wearing no longer fit his longer arms and legs. "Um, Miss Anzu, I know that we have only known each other a short time, but I cannot deny that there is a…" His chin grew sharper and his cheekbones became more distinct. "A connection."
Anzu looked at him confusedly as she wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Atem twirled her around so her back was against his chest.
"Even though, our time together has been brief, it has been heavenly," Atem said as the color began to drain from his hair and faded to brown.
Anzu pushed him away and fixed her hat that had fallen in front of her eyes. "Please, Prince Atem, you're making me blush."
Atem fell to his knees and hid his face in her dress. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me and one day becoming Queen of Kehmet."
Anzu did not even notice that his hair was beginning to fall limp. There were stars in her eyes and she pushed him away. He quickly put his hat on his head and covered his face with the collar of his shirt.
"Are you serious?" Anzu asked breathlessly.
"As the plague," Atem answered, his voice muffled from his shirt.
Anzu tackled him and had him pinned against the banister of the gazebo. "Yes!" she cried, her voice pitching from her excitement. Atem's shirt had fallen away from his face and he quickly grabbed the flowers that were in the vase on the table and positioned them over his face.
Anzu snatched them away and began to stroll out of the gazebo, walking on cloud nine, as she was giggling like a school girl. "We have so much to plan!" she cried. She suddenly let out a high-pitched squeal and ran back towards the mansion. "Send out the invitations! I'm having a Mardi Gras wedding!"
As soon as Anzu was out of sight, Atem changed completely back to Seto. He sighed in relief that his cover had not been blown and he reached into his shirt for the snake pendant; it was completely out of blood.
Bakura appeared from the shadows of the gazebo and moved to stand beside Seto. He took the pendant from around Seto's neck and held it in his hand. He scowled when he noticed there was no blood in the glass. "No!"
"What do we do now?" Seto asked.
Bakura began to pace. "Well, because of Malik's little slip up…" Seto flinched at that but Bakura didn't notice. He put a finger to his chin in thought. "I am reduced to asking for help from my friends on the other side."
Seto was about to ask why that was such a bad thing when they heard a rustling. They both turned quickly and saw Joey standing at the edge of the gazebo, his eyes wide and mouth agape. He was pointing at Seto and looking at Bakura. "Did…did you just change from Atem…to Seto?"
Seto gaped as well and tried to form words but his shocked mind could not form a sentence. Bakura glared at Joey and took a few steps forward until he was standing right in front of the blond.
Joey looked like he wanted to run and get as far away from there as possible but it didn't look like he could move. Bakura threw purple dust in Joey's face and the boy started to cough as a thick smoke encased his whole body and he felt himself changing.
He felt his clothes getting bigger and bigger, until they fell around him and he was trapped in the fabric. He pulled himself out and then he was staring up at the white haired man who had turned him into whatever he was now.
"There can be no witnesses," Bakura said as he raised his foot, intending to squish the lightning bug that was once the blond boy.
Joey screamed and felt himself being lifted in the air; he heard a strange fluttering sound and realized he had wings. He quickly flew away before Bakura could step on him.
Seto still stood in the gazebo, just watching the scene that just went on in shock. "Why did you do that?"
Bakura cursed silently under his breath. "I had to make sure that the little bug wouldn't tell anyone. If he did, then our whole plan would be ruined. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
Seto stared off in the direction the firefly took off. "Yeah, I guess so."
In the swamp, later at night ~
"Now, this restaurant of yours," Tristan said as he was floating along the Bayou. The two frogs were on his back and they had started talking about their dreams. Yuugi had mentioned owning a restaurant and it got Tristan excited. "What kind of food will it have? You're Japanese, right?"
Yuugi nodded. "Yeah, I'll have the spice of New Orleans in my food but also will stay true to my culture," he said. "You see, my grandpa wanted me to own a game shop like he did. But I really wanted to be a chef like my mother and father were."
"What happened to your mom and dad?" Tristan asked.
Yuugi smiled sadly. "My dad died when I was just a baby and my mom was killed in a car accident when I was thirteen."
Atem, who really hadn't been paying attention to Yuugi and Tristan's conversation, had sat up at this part. He was sitting on Tristan's head and he stared back at Yuugi who talked about his parents' deaths as if it was nothing. Atem's parents weren't dead and he couldn't even imagine them not being in his life, even though they did cut him off.
Atem gulped and felt like he needed to comfort the boy; it was the least he could do. "When we are human again you will have to cook me something of yours." He internally face-palmed; way to go.
It snapped Yuugi out of his depressing thoughts though. "No way will ever cook for such an arrogant and pompous prince like you," Yuugi said, crossing his arms over his tiny chest.
Tristan rolled his eyes at the two frogs on his back; can someone say: lovers' quarrel?
Atem snorted and turned away from Yuugi. "Fine, I didn't want to eat anything you made anyway." Atem rubbed his stomach. "I am really hungry though," he said to himself. At that moment, a group of flies buzzed past his head. His long frog tongue flicked out slightly past his green lips. He looked puzzled. "That's…interesting."
He hopped off of Tristan's head and into the water. Tristan stopped his floating to watch was Atem was going to do. Yuugi turned around and gave a questioning look towards Atem who looked to be stalking the flies. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Atem made a shushing noise, his eyes still trained on the flies. "You are frightening the food," Atem said in a low whisper. A moment later, his frog tongue shot out to catch the bug that was flying in the air. He missed and his tongue shot back at him, snapping back in his mouth.
Atem chuckled. "This is harder than it looks." He picked himself up and went back to attacking the flies, trying to catch himself dinner and failing miserably at it.
Yuugi laughed softly at Atem's failed attempts when he saw a firefly land on a dandelion weed.
Yuugi's tongue flicked out. He let out a squeak and covered his mouth with his hands. "No…no, no, no, no, no!" Yuugi said in a rush, shaking his head furiously. "I already kissed a frog, there is no way that I am—" Before Yuugi could finish his sentence, his tongue flicked out again.
His tongue jerked him in the direction of the firefly. He didn't realize this, but Atem had also set his sights on that bug and was currently sneaking up on it from the other direction.
Atem took aim and then shot his tongue out the same time as Yuugi did. Their tongues met in the middle, knotting together. It broke the dandelion and the firefly flew off in fright. Yuugi and Atem were jerked forward to follow their tongues.
They crashed into each other and their mouths mashed together. They fell back into the water together and they both let out a grunt of pain. Yuugi looked at the frog-prince in annoyance and Atem shrugged his shoulders.
"Herro," he said, his words muffled.
Yuugi stood up, forcing Atem up with him, and the smaller frog began to throw curses at him but Atem couldn't understand any of them. Yuugi tugged at his tongue, trying to untie them and Atem was trying to tell Yuugi that that wouldn't work and he was just making it worse.
"Dis iz arr ya fauld," Yuugi said.
"Ma fauld?" Atem asked.
"Yeth!" Yuugi cried. They continued to tug in separate directions to get their tongues unraveled.
"I hade dis," Yuugi mumbled.
"Yeah, an I lave it stho mush," Atem said in annoyance.
In the middle of their argument, Tristan burst through the tall grass. "Hey, where did you guys…oh," he said quickly when he noticed the position his friends were in. "Um, do you want me to leave you two alone?" he asked.
Yuugi shook his head. "Notting happend!" Yuugi cried.
"Yeah, notting happend," Atem said.
Tristan looked a little closer at their situation; their tongues seemed to become even more knotted during their struggle. "Hold on, guys! I'll go find something that may help!"
"Noh! Waith!" they cried at the same time but Tristan was already gone.
Yuugi and Atem immediately started arguing again about who's fault this was, but they could barely understand each other.
"Led me tell ya someting, princeth," Atem said.
"I ahm a boy!" Yuugi cried in frustration.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here," a voice said with a thick Brooklyn accent. The firefly that had gotten them into this mess flew up to them. "It looks like you two got a little carried away."
Atem frowned. "I ahm im noh relaythonship wit dis waitar," Atem said in annoyance. Yuugi kicked him and Atem grunted in pain.
"Alright, well, your current position doesn't seem to agree with that, froggy," the firefly said. "Lets shine a little light on the situation, shall we?" The firefly shook his whole body and turned on his light. He flew around the pair a few times and tsked. "Yep, you guys sure are in a sticky situation; let see if I can help."
He studied the series of knots and made small noises like "Oh" and "Mm-hm"
He finally gave a shout of triumph. "I see the problem!" he cried. He took the end of one of their tongues that was sticking out of knots and gave it a firm yank.
Yuugi and Atem's tongues quickly unraveled themselves. Yuugi and Atem were launched backwards in opposite directions.
"It's about time that I introduce myself," the Brooklyn firefly said as the two frogs put their tongues back in their mouths.
"My name is Joseph but everyone calls me Joey. Call me Joe and you are asking for trouble," he said, giving the two frogs 'the eye.'
"Hello, Joey," Atem said. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but have we met before?"
Joey looked at the frog as if he were crazy, maybe he was. "I have never had a frog acquaintance before in my life."
Atem shook his head. "No, we are not really frogs," he said, indicating to himself and Yuugi. "We were once human and we got changed into frogs because of voodoo magic. My name is Atem, Prince of Kehmet."
Joey gave the frog-prince a look and then snapped his finger…or what passed as fingers for a bug. "Oh yeah! I know Prince Atem! I met him on the streets, we performed together!"
Atem smiled. "Yes, I remember you now, Joey! I knew that accent sounded familiar. You are friends with Tristan, are you not? What are you doing as a bug?"
Joey flew around anxiously. "Atem, I have to tell you something important. I was changed into a bug by the Shadow Man, Bakura! It was because I saw…" Joey choked on his words. "There is…" He couldn't talk past the sudden lump in his throat. "Your cousin…"
Joey couldn't tell Atem what he saw; Bakura's spell not only turned Joey into a firefly but it also prevented him from telling anyone that he saw Seto posing as the Prince Atem.
"Joey, are you okay?" Atem asked.
Joey cleared his throat. "Y-yeah, I'm fine; it wasn't anything really important."
"Oh," Atem said silently. "Well, my friend, Yuugi and I were going to Devlin's so hopefully he could reverse the spell and change us back to human. Maybe he can help you too."
Joey smiled brightly. "Yeah, that sounds…wait," he said, his expression changing to confusion. "You said you were going to Devlin's?"
Yuugi answered for Atem. "Yes, is there something wrong?"
Joey scratched his head. "Yeah, you guys are going in the wrong direction. What kind of idiot told you to go—?"
Before Joey could finish his sentence, Tristan burst through the tall grass with a large stick in hand. "Hey guys! I found a stick that may help!" He noticed his two frog friends separated from each other. They were both giving him a look, arms crossed over their chests, a firefly buzzing next to them.
Atem took a step forward. "Hey Tristan, we found Joey," he said, pointing to the firefly.
Tristan's face broke out in a grin. "Yo, Joey! What are you doing as a firefly?" he asked as his friend flew next to his face.
His friend laughed. "I could ask the same thing about you. Why are you an alligator?"
"Devlin," Tristan answered simply.
Joey nodded in understanding and said, "The Shadow Man."
Yuugi moved to stand next to Atem. "Yes, and Joey told us that you have been leading us in the wrong direction."
Tristan's smile dissolved from his face and he dropped the stick. His eyes began to look around, a nervous habit of his as he twiddled his massive alligator thumbs. "Yeah, um, you see, about that. Uh, I—I was confused by the geography and it was night and everything."
Joey snorted. "Please, you could find your way to Devlin's any time of day during any season." Joey flew back over to Yuugi and Atem and whispered to them, "He and Devlin have a history, if you get what I mean." Joey winked and Yuugi blushed.
"Shut up, Joey!" Tristan said, embarrassed.
Joey just smirked. "Yep, he worked with Devlin for a few years and then left when he found out Devlin's feelings for him were a little bit more than friendship. Ever since then, Devlin has been pursuing Tristan. Never thought he would turn the poor guy into an animal though."
Joey buzzed by Tristan's head; Tristan swatted the pesky firefly away.
"Don't worry, lovebirds," Joey said to Yuugi and Atem, chuckling slightly. "I met a few firefly friends and we can take you to Duke Devlin."
Joey whistled and from the trees came hundreds to thousands of fireflies. It looked as if all the stars in the sky had fallen and surrounded them.
"It's beautiful," Yuugi said dreamily. Atem nodded in agreement and looked over at Yuugi to say something but his words caught in his throat when he saw the firefly lights reflected in his large, round eyes that had remained amethyst.
"These are a few friends?" Tristan asked Joey. Joey laughed and flew away.
He flew to a few fireflies that were still resting on the trees. "Yo, Valon! You ready for a little Bayou medley!"
The firefly chuckled and picked up a small instrument made off twigs and leaves and a spiders web, much like Atem's ukulele. "Ready when you are, Joe!"
Joey gave him a look. "Don't call me that," he said as the other fireflies laughed along with Valon.
"Let's get to it, guys!" Valon said to his other two firefly friends as they began to play similar instruments, sounding very southern.
Joey flew back over to Atem and Yuugi. "Come on, guys! Just follow the lights!" With that he flew off.
"We gonna take you down, we gonna take you down, we gonna take you all the way down."
Yuugi smiled and took Atem by the hand, who had been dancing to the music, and pulled him along.
"Gonna take you down, we gonna take you down, we gonna take you all the way!"
Tristan danced along the bank of the river following the bobbing lights of the fireflies.
The fireflies led them over the Bayou and through the dry land.
"Goin' down the Bayou, goin' down the Bayou, goin' down the Bayou."
Yuugi and Atem followed the line of lights through every tight squeeze and small space. They hopped through a hollow log and Tristan tried to follow them but his newer larger body would not fit through the log and he got stuck.
"Takin' you all the way."
"Let me introduce you to everyone," Joey said as he flew alongside Yuugi and Atem. "That there is little Noah and by him is Mokuba! Oh yeah, and that's cousin Rebecca!" He pointed to a firefly whose light was out. "Yo, Becca, your light is out."
Rebecca heard Joey and she shoot her bulb, lighting it up.
"We gonna pull together, down here that's how we do."
Yuugi and Atem had lost the lights and were left in the dark. Joey noticed this and whistled. Suddenly the two frogs were surrounded by patterns of lights and they hopped from lily pad to lily pad across the Bayou.
"Me for them and them for me, we all be there for you."
Tristan swam past them much more quickly, accelerated by the fireflies.
"We gon' take ya, we gon' take ya, we gon' take ya all the way down."
The fireflies flew past Tristan and Yuugi and Atem were able to pass him.
"We know where ya goin' and we goin' with you, takin' you all the way."
Yuugi and Atem followed the fireflies, ducking under and over tree roots and pushes, laughing all the way.
"Goin' down the Bayou, goin' down the Bayou, goin' down the Bayou…"
Tristan tried not to trip over the fireflies as they went past his feet and he fell on his face, almost landing on a group of fireflies ahead of him.
"Takin' you all—"
All the fireflies shot up in the air and then burst into fireworks.
"Yeah, you know!" Joey shouted in glee after the explosion of lights.
They reformed their line and kept bouncing along, down the Bayou.
Yuugi and Atem hopped onto Tristan's back and followed the glowing trail of friendly fireflies.
Joey led the line and shouted, "C'mon y'all, keep that line flowin' and lights a'glowin!"
Elsewhere in New Orleans ~
In a much darker place in New Orleans, one can find the Shadow Man's shop at the end of an alley that no one paid any mind too. In his shop, Bakura was conducting business with his friends on the other side.
Candles were lit all over the room and there were runes and different designs drawn on the floor with different colored chalk. There was a strange other-earthly glow in the room as Bakura stood before a large mask, its eyes glowing a deep shade of purple.
Bakura was pacing before the large mask, which was surrounded by much smaller masks that were laughing at him, his top hat in his hands and his hair a wild, tangled mess.
"Friends, I know that I am already deep in debt with you already but you see, I need your help," Bakura said.
The masks mumbled to each other in what seemed to be another language.
"You see, our little frog-prince escaped and I need your great assistance to help get him back," he said humbly.
The larger mask scowled at him as the smaller masks around began to chatter excitedly.
Bakura cringed but didn't let it show. "I know what you are thinking, what is in it for you?" He put his top hat back on and began to pace in much broader steps. "You see, when I get rid of Mr. Mazaki I will be running this town! I will have it in the palm of my hands and you all will have all the souls you crave for!"
The masks grinned wickedly.
"Yes, I knew you would like that," Bakura said, chuckling. "So what do you say, we got a deal?" he asked, holding out his hand as if to shake.
The larger mask smirked and dropped open its bottom jaw. Shadows of different shapes and sizes came rushing out of its open mouth, laughing manically and shaping themselves to the walls of the Bakura's shop.
Bakura laughed and jumped up in the air with just plain excitement. "Yes! Now we're cooking with fire!" He addressed all the shadows surrounding him in the room. "I want you to find our little frog prince. Search everywhere! And bring him to me alive! We need his little heart pumping…for now."
The shadows grinned evilly.
"Now, go!" Bakura cried.
The shadows let out one ear-piercing laugh and then slithered out of the room through cracks in the doors and windows. They moved along the walls and the shadows of buildings, screeching into the night.
-/-
Ranko: Not one of my better chapters, but I liked it! Sorry if the song was lame, I tried my best, because it is one of my favorite songs from the movie.
Yami: Do I sense Blindshipping in the making?
Ranko: Maybe…
Yuugi: Please review and tell Ranko what you thought of this chapter!