House of 9 Chapter 7: Run, a yu-gi-oh! 5d's fanfic

Sloth: I believe now that this is the climax. I think it is. We'll see. With any luck (which I do think is on my side), I should be finished with this fanfic before Hallow's Eve. That's my goal!

Let me present you the seventh chapter.

Title: House of 9

Chapter seven: Run

Gentil coquelicot

J'ai descendu dans mon jardin

Pour y cueillir du romarin

J'ai descendu dans mon jardin

Pour y cueillir du romarin

Gentil coqu'licot mesdames

Gentil coqu'licot nouveau

Gentil coqu'licot mesdames

Gentil coqu'licot nouveau

Pour y cueillir du romarin

J' n'en avais pas cueilli trois brins

J'ai descendu dans mon jardin

Pour y cueillir du romarin

J' n'en avais pas cueilli trois brins

Qu'un rossignol vint sur ma main

J'ai descendu dans mon jardin

Pour y cueillir du romarin

Qu'un rossignol vint sur ma main

Il me dit trois mots en latin

J'ai descendu dans mon jardin

Pour y cueillir du romarin

Il me dit trois mots en latin

Que les hommes ne valent rien

J'ai descendu dans mon jardin

Pour y cueillir du romarin

Que les hommes ne valent rien

Et les garçons encore bien moins

J'ai descendu dans mon jardin

Pour y cueillir du romarin

Et les garçons encore bien moins

Des dames il ne me dit rien

J'ai descendu dans mon jardin

Pour y cueillir du romarin

Des dames il ne me dit rien

Mais des d'moiselles beaucoup de bien

Resting her forehand on her hand, Akiza wavered, "How long have I been asleep?"

Sherry smiled as she gazed into the tall vanity mirror, somewhat pleased by their reflections, "Not that long. You've been asleep for about half an hour."

Akiza's eyes widen, and she dropped her hand on her thigh. "What?! Half an hour?!" she gasped.

The French girl nodded.

"Why didn't you wake me up?! Now we only have forty minutes or so to get out of here!" Akiza chided Sherry, utterly upset that time had managed to slip out of her hands. "You knew that I fell asleep, didn't you?! And you didn't even bother to wake me up..." Crestfallen, Akiza stared back at her reflection which visibly showed the despair in her eyes and waited for the other girl to apologize to her.

Sighing as she reclined on the large bed, Sherry explained, "Akiza, you were dead asleep. I tried to wake you up. After all, I am in desperate need of your help."

Akiza, confused, asked Sherry with curiosity, "My help? What do you mean?"

"I need your help on something that is very important. So important that I don't believe words could describe how much value it holds," Sherry smiled, edging closer to Akiza.

She frowned. "More important than leaving this place?" Akiza questioned. "What can be more important than that, Sherry? I don't know how you and Kiryu- Wait. Where is he?"

"Oh. Him," Sherry sighed in annoyance, "He left me behind an hour ago."

Akiza dropped her jaw. "What do you mean by 'left' you behind?"

Concealing her smirk and creating a false story, Sherry shrugged, "We entered a music room, and he made the suggestion that we should look for a clue. All the while I was looking for it, he was watching me very closely. Then out of nowhere, he claimed that he was sick of dragging me around and told me that I'm was no of use, and he basically left me in the room. Before he did, however, he gave me this." Sherry pulled out the same knife the silverette had pulled out of his pocket.

"He gave you that?" Akiza, unsure whether to believe her story or not, asked. The dark blood made her blood run cold. "Whose blood is that?"

"Bruno's. Kiryu said that he killed him," Sherry fibbed, watching the other girl squirm in her seat.

Akiza stood up. She shook her head, "No... He wouldn't do that."

"Akiza. He himself told me that he did it. You wouldn't have known how he could have done it since you were the last one to regain consciousness. Anyways, he explained to me that he did it when all of us were out cold, and he faked his awakening to appear innocent."

"... I don't believe you..." Akiza whispered.

Sherry scowled, "That's fine. I didn't believe it myself. After he explained how he did it, he jumped out of the window. I wouldn't recommend any of us to jump out of one though. He fell to his death."

"But why? Why would he do that to Bruno?!"

"I don't know, Akiza. What matters the most, we don't have a murderer in the house anymore," Sherry walked over to the vanity mirror, inspecting herself as she twirled. "No murderer whatsoever."

"What about the host? He is the reason why we're in this mess," Akiza asked as she glanced at the small clock on the wall. It read 11:23. She bit her bottom lip. If they remain in the room as they talked, time will definitely pass them quickly.

"Oh, we don't have to worry about him," Sherry smirked into the mirror. Akiza failed to hear her comment, Sherry could tell as Akiza's attention was fixed on the clock. "Do you... want to leave this room now, Aki?" She asked, almost too sweetly.

Akiza flinched at Sherry's sudden change of voice. Not to mention how she used her nickname. "Uh...Yes. We need to get going."

Sherry smiled as she opened the door, "Yes. Yes we shall. I'll explain my reasons why I need you, if you'd like."

I also want to know where Crow is, Akiza thought while nodding to her response. "Why do you need my help?"

"It's a very... interesting reason I have," Sherry started as she led them down the hallway and down the stairs. "First, do you have a map?"

Akiza pulled out her map, and handed it over to the blonde girl. As Sherry studied it, Akiza hesitantly asked, "Where's Crow? Do you know where he went?"

"I do not. I found you alone in the room. I would say he left you, but who knows. Oh, we're on the second floor."

"I hope he made it out without me," Akiza stared at the ground. "I am disappointed that he could have left me, but I'd rather have him alive and out than dying somewhere far away."

Subconsciously hissing, Sherry changed the subject, "I need your help, Aki. I need you to use your psychic abilities for something really important to me."

Akiza eyed at her, "My abilities? What could they do? Just tell me already!"

Sherry grabbed her hand, stopping Akiza from climbing down the stairs. Her aura grew fierce and became un-calm which frightened the psychic. Softening a smile when Sherry realized that she was starting to scare the girl, Sherry revealed, "I need them to help bring back my parents."

Dumbfounded, Akiza freed her hand. "'Bring them back'?! What- what are you talking about?!"

"Aki, after Kiryu left me, I went around the other rooms, and I stumbled upon a library. In there, I found books that explained how to bring back the dead! I read them, and much to my pleasure, most of the methods to bringing back the dead involve certain powers. Powers like yours, Aki! I really didn't believe until I stumbled upon a written document by the host himself on how to revive the dead! He had been able to successfully revive the dead. Aki, you'll never know how happy I was to read this!" Sherry, talking too fast, pulled out a wrinkled paper out of her pocket and showed it to her. "It says that powers like yours can actually bring the dead back! If we follow the same methods and diagrams as shown here, you can actually bring my parents back!"

Seizing the document, Akiza studied it, trying to understand it. According to the document, her powers, if used correctly, could be used in a similar way alchemists hone their own abilities in animating a corpse. Her abilities, with enough energy and stamina, more than likely can revive the dead. As much as Akiza was actually willing to lend Sherry her powers, the psychic shook her head. "I don't know, Sherry. I don't know if this is safe," she wavered.

Sherry sighed, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Isn't there a catch to bringing back the dead? We shouldn't mess with the dead since that's disrespectful, and we could bring some sort of disaster upon us all. Besides, Sherry, we're trying to escape this chateau before midnight!" Akiza argued.

Sherry crossed her arms and scowled, "You're not joking, are you Aki?"

"Why would I? We need to get out."

"Well, I need your powers!"

Akiza climbed down the stairs, contending with Sherry, "This can wait! The others are probably out already, and we're the only ones still in the house!"

Watching her climb down the stairs, Sherry felt her heart shatter. Is Akiza really going to do that? To me? She tried to stay calm, but she struggled to fight back her anger. "That's not fair! You have no idea how much I suffered without my parents!"

"Sherry, they're dead! I don't think it's even safe to bring anyone back to this world if it already crossed over!"

"Just because of that reason you're not going to help me?!"

"Try to understand- we don't have time for this!" Akiza shrieked. Why doesn't she get it?!

Distraught that she was being denied of help, Sherry ran past her and blocked Akiza from climbing down the same staircase they saw earlier in the night with the host. Fear in her eyes, Sherry demanded, "Akiza! Don't step down the stairs!"

"Why not? The exit is just in front of us!"

"Don't It's not safe! Help me first and then you can go!"

"Sherry! Stop it! You're really scary! You might as well be the host if you're blocking my way!"

Without thinking, Sherry blurted out, "I am not! That bastard lied that he would help me bring back my parents in the first place even after I helped him!"

Akiza stepped back, horrified. "You... you helped him?" She squeaked.

Sherry hesitated to answer her.

Filled with so many mixed emotions, Akiza cried, "YOU HELPED HIM?!"

"I did," Sherry whispered before she screamed, "I did, Akiza!"

"Why? Why would you do that?!" Akiza demanded, walking backwards until she was stopped by the wall behind her. "You- you lied to me! You made this mess, didn't you?! You dragged us here, all of us, and you probably killed Bruno! Kiryu! Crow! What did you do to them?! What about the host?! Where is he?!"

"Akiza. Calm down," the French girl sibilated, pinning Akiza's wrists above her head. She smirked as the other girl writhed hopelessly in her grasp. It would've been cute if she hadn't rejected Sherry's request. Was it too much to ask? Sherry wondered.

"Get off of me!" Akiza screeched as she tried to kick her, wanting so desperately to escape from her.

Sherry rolled her eyes, "I won't. Not until you agree to help me bring back my parents."

"No! How about you tell me why you brought us here and what you did to the others!"

"You want to know?!" Sherry stared into Akiza's eyes, reading the fake bravery in them. She knew full well that Akiza was terrified of what she could do to her, and for that reason, Sherry tightened her grip on her wrists.

"I do," Akiza answered nonchalantly.

Squeezing the her wrists so hard to the point Akiza was whimpering in pain, Sherry explained coldly, "I brought you all here in case this would happen. In case you wouldn't help me! If you don't lend me your powers, I can do it on my own but not without the bodies of the others."

"So you lied to me about finding the document."

"Of course I did. Everyone has to lie, don't you agree? Even that host lied to me! He said he would help me bring them back if I helped him gather bodies for his own personal needs. He offered me that if I helped him set up the game, he could allow me to keep a couple of the bodies of the guests that could be used for my mother's and father's place! A body for a body! A life for life!" she paused in order to laugh. "He had other plans, however. Yes... that man had other plans than to help me! Help me?! That was the last thing he wanted to do! He wanted your bodies for his collection! He has a room, one with so many caskets. He had a disorder of some sort. What was it? Necrophilia? I'm not sure, but one thing that is for sure is that I don't need his help. I will bring them back on my own, with his help or yours!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a yellow-crowned parrot frantically flew past Sherry's head, screeching, "'I'll help you, Sherry. I'll help bring them back alive. You are correct. A game. I wish all of the remaining guests the best of luck!"

Akiza gasped as she recognized the same phrases were of the same phrases the host had spoken. The bird's voice was also his. "Oh no..." she whispered.

Sherry dropped Akiza's wrists and cursed at the bird, "How did you get out?! That can only mean..." She ran her hands through her hair, "Damn it! Someone found Crow!"

Finally free, Akiza did what she could only think of. She ran past her and headed towards the west wing instead of climbing down the stairs, having a horrible feeling that the main exit was not safe. Not when she spotted a huge alchemy-design on the marble floor, waiting for an unlucky victim to step on.

Sloth: "Nice Poppy" is a children's song which is quite different from the previous choices I used in the earlier chapters. It tells of a tale of a woman, I'm assuming, who is picking flowers and spices, and in the middle, a nightingale tells her that men are worthless. The main character in the last verses starts to wonder why the bird said nothing about women. I'm not to sure what it means, but I've incorporated this song into the chapter how Sherry was distraught from the host's lie and wondering why Akiza wouldn't oblige to help her.

Yellow-crowned parrots are found in the Amazon forests, and much like the other parrots, it can mimic human speech, however, these are highly known for being able to mimic human speech almost flawlessly. Fun fact!

And now we know Sherry's motive. What about the others? I can't wait to reveal it all~

Here we go. Two more chapters.

Oh, and there will be blood, gore, and ,once again, psychological characters.

For now, I bid farewell.

-Sloth