Dictionary

Case 9: Ceremony

I watched as the tip of Shining Gundam's head fell below the water. The hot sun forced me into taking off my leather jacket. I threw it down on the warm sand, and sat on it. I didn't like getting my pants dirty.

"What do we do now?" Cheese Monkey asked from the water. She had been playing around in the tides, but apparently had something on her mind. Dragonballs.

"HAVE FUN!" Zoe replied loudly. She was standing beside me, drinking from a coconut. Somehow she had managed to change without my noticing. She had on a blue two-part bathing suit, with white shorts on top and a straw hat, black sunglasses covering her eyes from the intense sunlight.

"What… what about the Dragonball? There is one here in Hawaii, right? YOU DIDN'T BRING US HERE FOR NOTHING, DID YOU, ZOE?!" hollered Cheese Monkey, clenching her fists.

"Blah, relax. There's a Dragonball here, alright. But… is it really that important?!" Cheese Monkey started making her way toward us, her feet stomping on the wet sand and leaving behind a tail of footprints.

"IS IS THAT IMPORTANT?! Of course it is! Devil Gundam is undoubtedly becoming stronger by the day, and so is Peggy! We don't have any time to be careless in any way! How could you possibly think we do?!"

"But… coconut!"

"No coconut!"

"COCONUTS! DANCING! AND FOOOOOOD!" Cheese Monkey stopped walking and looked down at her feet at the mention of the last word. Her face was shadowed by her bangs as a warm breeze brushed past us. Zoe and I had fallen silent.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Selena. You really miss Joey, don't you?" Cheese Monkey nodded.

"I wish he was ba-"

"YUGI MOTO!" cried a loud voice. I stood up from my spot with worry. In the distance of the sky, I could see a small twinkle of fire. It was getting larger by the second. In less than a minute, it was obviously a Gundam.

"Who's there?! I demand to know who's looking for me!" I answered back with a shout.

"Yugi Moto, it is I! Marik Ishtar! And I'm here to do what all the other fools before me couldn't do because of their weak power! I AM HERE TO CLAIM YOUR LIFE, AND CAPTURE YOUR SHINING GUNDAM!"

"Marik?! You're been taken by Peggy too?!"

"YUGI! There's no sense in asking! We have to stop him!" Zoe yelled at me. I ran toward the water, and snapped my fingers on the way.

"RISE, SHINING GUNDAM!" The clear blue water shook and rose. It poured down over the body of Shining Gundam. Before it had all cleared off, I had jumped into the cockpit and activated the mobile trace system as I put on my outfit. By that time, Marik's Gundam was flying in front of me.

"Ewww… what is that?!" I asked.

"This is Neros Gundam! YOU'RE DEFEAT! Gundam Fight Match, Ready?! GO!!! Silver Legs!" Neros Gundam put it's leg back and kicked across at the air, its foot leaving a silver blur in the air that came flying at Shining Gundam.

Shining Gundam took out its sword handle, which generated a purple blade. It slashed, tossing the attack aside. While it did this though, Neros Gundam managed to get behind Shining Gundam. It put its hands together, raised them over its head and then hit hard down onto the neck of Shining Gundam.

I felt a sharp pain run down my side. My vision was beginning to blur. I wasn't sure if I would be able to maintain my focus.

"Zoe… I can't do this on my own!" I yelled, blocking off another attack with my sword.

"BACK OFF MY LITTLE GIRL, BITCH!" Zoe yelled. She was already in Nobel Gundam, who kicked Neros Gundam toward the land, making it crush an area of trees as it fell on its back.

"NOT SO FAST! I'm now allowing this! My battle is against Yugi! LET ME GET YOU ANOTHER OPPONENT! COME OUT, GUN-"

"NOT SO FAST, CAT NOISE!" Cheese Monkey yelled. A blast of purple energy hit Neros Gundam in the chest, its source Wing Gundam's staff. The pain was enough to stop Marik.

"Woot! GO CHEESE MONKEY!" Zoe cheered.

"SHUT UP, ZOE! I told you we had to hurry! NOW WE HAVE THIS THING TO WORRY ABOUT!" Wing Gundam turned to Nobel Gundam to talk.

"It's not my fault they showed up!"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP! Come out, Gundam Epyon!" In a nearby volcano, another Gundam rose, cracking its hiding place apart.

"… MY GOD, PEGGY HAS A LOT OF WORKER THINGS!" Zoe exclaimed. "Who's gonna fight that?"

"I'll do it!" Cheese Monkey answered, as Wing Gundam flew off toward the volcano and its opponent without even waiting for Zoe's answer.

Meanwhile, Neros Gundam turned to Nobel Gundam, "Now for you… I have the perfect opponent for you… WATCH OUT! Its RISING GUNDAM!" Marik screamed in his usual insane-like voice. Nobel Gundam turned around in time to grab the sides of a blue blade with its hands. It's wielder, Rising Gundam.

"Who's there?!" Zoe asked as she pushed the sword away, causing Rising Gundam to step back. They were standing in the water, which was only up to their ankles. A window opened up on her screen as a connection was made with Rising Gundam. "PIXIE?!"

"That's right…" replied Pixie, her voice no longer sounding sweet but icy cold. It's true form.

"What has Peggy done to you?! Why are you fighting ME?" Pixie paused to laugh.

"Peggy hasn't done anything to me! I volunteered to join him! Long, long ago!"

"But… But you work for JAP… you betrayed your own nation?" Pixie cackled.

"JAP is nothing but a joke. JAP- Joined Anarchy of Peggy." Zoe fell silent.

"You… LIED TO SUMO MAMA?! OH, there's gonna be some hurt goin' 'round now!!!" Nobel Gundam shot straight out at Rising Gundam, who was surprised by the attack but managed to use its sword to block off the punch.

"BEAM RIBBON!" Rising Gundam's sword was caught by the pink glow, and pulled away by the ribbon. Rising Gundam reacted by punching Nobel Gundam's face, causing it to loose focus, giving Rising Gundam the opportunity to snatch back it's sword and put it back on its back.

"Beam Bow!" A gray circle on Rising Gundam's left hand spread out rods that made it look like a bow. Rising Gundam generated a green arrow it it's right hand and set it in the bow, firing with great aim. "RISING ARROW!"

Nobel Gundam did a back flip, barley missing the arrow. What she didn't know though was that I was intended to miss.

"Marik, now! Send her away!" Pixie cried as Nobel Gundam dodged the arrow. Neros Gundam stood from its place at last. Inside the cockpit, Marik took out his Millennium Rod.

"To Peggy you go!" he cried, pointing the rod at Nobel Gundam. Inside the cockpit, Zoe started sinking through the floor.

"AHHhhhhhHHhhhhHHHHH! YUGI! Help!" Zoe screamed as the liquid that made up her Gundam Outfit pulled her in. She took in one more breath as her head went below. I wasn't able to get to her in time, as Neros Gundam was getting back to attacking me and I was busy evading.

"ZOE! ZOE! Can you hear me?! ZOE!"…

* * *

Zoe fell through the liquid into a tank in the shape of a heart. The tank was filled with a clear red liquid, which as soon as she inhaled caused her to fall asleep. Her outfit dissolved in the liquid, leaving her naked. Wires with small round pads came out from the sides of the tank and attached themselves onto her skin, on different parts of her body. Finally, her arms were crossed over her chest. Pegasus put a hand on the smooth class surface and looked in at her face.

"Zoe Moto… You have eluded me for some time… you were never of any particular interest. But I made a mistake. Yami Yugi… he's of no use to me. All along you were the one I needed, the final ingredient. The cherry on the very top… Yami of Yamis."

Pegasus turned around. He was on a balcony with stairs that curved down on either side. The balcony was round, with the heart shaped tank at it's back. At it's front was a podium with an old book.

The stairs led down to a red carpet that led into a hall, with a ceiling as high as the room with the balcony. On both walls of the hall, were smaller, cylinder-shaped tanks. 10 in total, 5 on each side. At the foot of these tanks was come kind of ice formation, but that wasn't the interesting part. Inside the tanks were Yamis.

Peggy climbed down the right set of stairs and made his way into the short hall, his hands behind his back. Slowly he walked down it, looking at the tanks on the right. Yami Mai, Yami Kaiba, Yami Tea, Yami Tristen, and Yami Joey. Peggy stepped closer to the tanks and bent down. On each ice formation, was a shallow square-shaped dent with a word inscribed in all capital letters. He read them off from Yami Mai to Yami Joey.

"Beauty, Anger, Moral, Courage, Innocence…" Pegasus stood and walked to the left wall. He walked past and looked into each tank. Yami Bakura, Yami Mokuba, Yami Keith… the last two were empty. Peggy read their inscriptions from Yami Bakura, to the last one.

"Sincerity, Hope, Strength, Determination, Greed…" Peggy sighed. "The ingredients for a human heart, the Yami Shogen no Shinkan, all as instructed by the Claire Bible… No normal heart… The heart to end it all." Peggy looked up from the middle of the hall at Zoe. "With the Yami of Yamis to pull out the negative parts of each Yamis's represented trait, the heart will loose all sight of good… then I can insert the Yami of Yami's ability to pull out the darkness into the heart, and make it draw out the evil in the heart of every inhabitant of the Earth, and then have all that darkness consume the world… the Apocalypse."

* * *

"MARIK! What have you done with my Yami?!" I barked. Shining Gundam grabbed Neros Gundam at the throat. Marik couldn't speak, so Yugi loosened his grip.

"P… I'm not telling you where she is. But I have to go, and so does Duke."

"Duke?! Duke Devlin? WHERE IS HE?!"

"YUGI! I'm having some trouble here!" Cheese Monkey said. I turned around. Gundam Epyon had a cord coming out of its arm, which attached to a sword that was trying to cut through Wing Gundam's staff.

"Well I can't do anything about it, I have Marik here!" I gasped. "DUKE IS IN GUNDAM EPYON, ISN'T HE?"

"Yes, and we have to go!" Neros Gundam removed Shining Gundam's hand from its throat, and stepped back.

"Where are you going, Ishtar?! We're not done battling!"

"Consider it a tie, Yugi Moto."

"… What?! A tie?! The real Marik Ishtar would never settle for a tie… You really have become a Peggy slave!"

"Soon it won't matter who I belong to. You're ALL doomed." Inside the cockpit, Marik took out his Millennium Rod again. He raised it high, then looked at me one more time. "Goodbye."

"NOOOOOOOO!" Shining Gundam ran toward Neros Gundam, but his reaction was too late and Neros Gundam had disappeared by the time he reached the spot. Up near the volcano, Gundam Epyon did the same thing. I fell to my knees.

Wing Gundam approached Shining Gundam slowly. "Yugi, you can't give up… isn't there anything you can do?" Cheese Monkey asked. I thought hard, but my mind kept being distracted by thoughts of Zoe. All our time together, the lessons I had learned, our special bond…

Wait. Our bond. The sacred connection… I could use that.

The cockpit door opened. I stepped out in my Gundam Outfit and stood on the dock. Wing Gundam looked at me.

"You have a plan?"

"Yes. I will get Zoe back."

"You… you'll have to go on your own. When Gundam Epyon broke out of the volcano, the lava flow went wild. Look, there are people in danger! I have to help them!"

"But what if we need your help?"

"You'll be fine. At the same time I can locate the next Dragonball. Go now, we don't know how much time we have! Stop Peggy." I nodded. My hands held on to the Millennium Puzzle, and I closed my eyes for concentration. I focused on Zoe. I focused on stopping Peggy. I focused on being with Zoe. The floor below me began to swirl as its structure was ruptured and an opening was made. The Millennium Puzzle began to glow, I fell through the hole. The tip of my hair went through, and the swirl stopped. It was back to normal.

Cheese Monkey smiled. A hopeful smile. Wing Gundam turned around and made its way toward the volcano. "I'll get there when I can…"

* * *

Pegasus stood in front of the podium on the balcony in his usual red tuxedo. He had a smile on his face as he watched two figures walk into the hall before him. An insane smile.

In the hall, Duke and Marik walked in happily.

"Master, we have returned." Marik shouted.

"Excellent, get in your places now. We're ready to begin." Pegasus answered. Marik and Duke walked toward the two empty tanks. Marik stood in front of the one that read "GREED", with his back facing it, and merely fell back. His body sank in completely, and he fell asleep. Duke did the same with the tank marked "DETERMINATION".

Pegasus felt his heart jump. His plans were coming together. With this, he wouldn't need the creature that was waiting for him deep below the ground. He wasn't even fond of it. He didn't think it'd be very useful, it wasn't even his idea to make it. Someone else had persuaded him to, guaranteeing it would be worth his while. So far it hadn't been.

Now Pegasus was ready. He opened the book on the podium, and started reading out loud.

"Gathered here, the 10 souls, all powered by emotion. Hearts are ruled by the emotions of these souls- beauty, anger, moral, courage, innocence, sincerity, hope, strength, determination, greed. Combined together, a replica of heart can be made. Fuse these spirit's energies into one and create the heart to match no other." The tanks in the hall began to fill with a white light one by one. The light threw a beam of energy up in front of the balcony that became a black ball generating shocks of electricity.

"Drawn out by the po-"

"PEGASUS! Stop!" cried Yugi. Peggy turned around angrily.

"I thought you had been taken care of! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm here for my Yami. Give her to me! WHERE IS SHE?!"

"Uhhh… behind you." Yugi turned around to face the tank.

"Oh…"

"I'm not letting you stop me! DEVIL GUNDAM!" Wires flew down from the ceiling and grabbed Yugi, pulling him up. "HAH! Let's see you escape from that!"

"Let me down!"

"NO!" Pegasus turned back to the book.

"Drawn out by the powers of the Yami Shogen no Shinkan, take on an 11th force, that of the Yami of Yamis. Take her power and make it your own; draw out the evil of the entire planet, the dark feelings in every life force. Call them to you, let them rage." Zoe began to glow yellow. Yugi gasped, afraid of what was coming.

The yellow glow came out in a swirl that flew into the black ball. Once all of it was inside, the ball flashed, and four red orbs came out and surrounded it.

"Pegasus Jane Crawford, Lord of Akumu. You have gathered together the forces to give me a form in this universe, I, the Lord of Shadows. In this state I can do anything, and as my choice, I have decided to carry out your wish for an Apocalypse." Pegasus bowed.

"I thank you, Master. I humbly except your generous offer…"

"It is more complicated then that, Pegasus. This form you have given me is not complete-- this is not a proper heart. I'm loosing my grip on this universe and it is taking all my power to sustain my self. You have left out one ingredient…"

"Pardon me, Sir, but I have followed the instructions carefully to every detail. I have found every Yami necessary for this to work…"

"Look again…"

"Pegasus! STOP! You can't do this, so many people will die! Let the Lord of Shadows be lost in the mark of time! Please!"

"Shut up, Yugi-girl… let me concentrate!" Pegasus said, as he flipped through the pages of his old book. It was obviously a lost cause. Yugi turned to look down into Zoe's tank.

"Zoe! ZOE! If you can hear me, do what I tell you! Wake up, don't let Peggy win! You're letting him use you; you can't do that! Make him pay! Do something to stop him!" Yugi cried desperately.

Inside the tank, the Yami of Yamis was frowning. "Z… oe? I am… Yami…" She breathed out, letting bubbles of air come out of her mouth and float to the top of the tank. Her eyes remained shut.

"Zoe! I could loose you-- FIGHT PEGGY!"

"Shut UP, Yugi! Just SHUT UP. She can't do anything!"

"I could take you on, GIRLYPANTS!!!" Pegasus gasped loudly, and put a hand lightly to his chest.

"YUGI MOTO, I am appalled… HOW DARE YOU?! Zoe belongs to the Lord of Shadows now. She's not even Zoe! She is the Yami of Yamis! ZOE IS GONE FROM EXISTENCE!"

"NO SHE'S NOT!" Cheese Monkey screamed as she ran in through the hall and jumped up onto the balcony between Peggy and the tank. "I'm here now, Yugi! I got the Dragonball! I'd've been here sooner, but I had to take care of Pixie! Plus they had a party in my honor… BUT I'M HERE NOW!"

"It doesn't matter! I already told you! Zoe is gone! SHE EXISTS NO MORE!"

"NO… I WILL get Zoe back! I'll get her back! I WILL GET ZOE BACK! I… need… ZOE! Zoe is all I need! I will… GET HER BACK!" Yugi started to fight the wires. His arms tried to pull away and his legs kicked where they could. "Zoe! You will be my bride!"

Cheese Monkey ran over to the tank, and put her hands against it. She made a fist and tapped on it. "Are you awake, Yami of Yamis?… I mean Zoe."

"You've been selfish and reckless since you were… a child…" Yugi said. The wires around his left arm started to rip. In the tank, the Yami of Yamis was wincing with the struggle of the confusion in her mind.

"I… am… Z… o…e. No… Yami… I am…"

"You cry too easily… and expect too much of people." Yugi continued, the wires around his legs now beginning to tear. "AND YOU ALWAYS BRING ME BAD LUCK!"

"Bad luck… I am a part of the Lord of Shadows… Yami of Yamis… No… I am…" the Yami of Yamis said in her tank, her eyes still closed, and her wince still strong.

"But you've always been sweet… and so gentle. Being with you or not being with you…" Yugi continued to try and break free.

"I am... sweet…" Yami of Yamis said. She made a small noise from the struggle going in her heart.

"Being with me… or not being with me… MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!" the wires around Yugi's left arm ripped entirely. More grabbed it, but his arm fought them as well. "The air… the world… would be different! I WOULD BE DIFFERENT!"

"I… am… Z…o… e?" Yugi pulled away from the wires with all his strength, ripping them off every few moments only to have more grab him.

"COME BACK, ZOE! YOU WILL BE MY BRIDE! And I… I… will be…"

"Y… Y… ug… YUGI!!" Zoe cried out, her eyes opening, her moth letting out a gasp.

"YOUR PRINCE!!!" Yugi broke free of the wires and fell down to the floor. "Pegasus, the time has come!!!"

"Yugi… is this a dream?…Yugi!!!" Zoe cried from her tank. Cheese Monkey stepped to the side to let her see Yugi. Zoe put her palms on the surface of the tank and banged on it. "YUGI!!!"

"Zoe… are you alright?" Yugi asked, turning to her.

"Forget about her! Yugi Moto, as you said, the time has come! Our opportunity has come to fight and see who is victoria!!"

"Zoe comes first! ALWAYS!"

"Grrr… not when Pegasus Jane Crawford is in the matter! DEVIL GUNDAM!" The wires attatched to Zoe released shocks of electricity. Zoe's eyes widened with pain.

"AUGH!!"

"Z… ZOE!!! Zoe, hang on!"

"Yugi, I'll take care of Peggy! You help Zoe!" Cheese Monkey said. She and Yugi changed places. Yugi ran up to the tank.

"ASTRAL VINE!!" Yugi conjured the spell in his hand and threw it at the tank. Nothing happened.

"I WONT ALLOW IT! BURST RONDO!" Peggy's spell hit Yugi in the back and made him fall to the floor in pain. Then Peggy turned to his book and immediately saw something that just seemed to stick out. "I see now… what I missed… the final part!"

"CRAWFORD, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Cheese Monkey barked. Peggy lowered his head.

"It was there… all along… right there… the final ingredient." Peggy grabbed a dagger from under the podium and held it tightly in his hand. "I know what was missing…" Pegasus raised the dagger. "Another Yami! The final Yami! THE YAMI OF TERROR!" Pegasus stabbed himself with an insane look. An eerie grin that made a chill run down Cheese Monkey's spine stuck on his face as he fell to the floor in a bloody mess. A black energy flew out from the stab and flew into the black ball quickly.

"Yes… that was it, terror. The last piece of a heart… Now I can properly take the power of the Yami of Yamis!" spoke the black ball.

"No you can't! The Yami of Yamis is gone! There is only Zoe!" Cheese Monkey replied.

"The power lives on inside her… I want it." A black beam with a light purple glow whipped out from the ball and hit Zoe in the chest, going into her heart. Zoe screamed, her eyes closed in pain.

"ZOE! Fight it! DO SOMETHING!" Yugi cried. Tears were filling Zoe's closed eyes.

"Uuuggh… Y… Yugi? Yugi?" Zoe opened her eyes slightly, the tears still coming. "It's you… it's really you!!"

"Zoe…"

"YUGI! YUGI! YUGI! I knew you would come rescue me! It's not a dream! You really ARE my prince!!"

"ZOE! Come on, I know you're happy and all, but you have to fight it!" Yugi answered as Zoe closed her eyes again from an increase in pain.

"I know what I have to do…" Zoe said distantly.

"There is nothing…" the black ball said uncertainly.

"I have one idea…" Zoe opened one eye, gritting her teeth. "FIREBALL!" The beam of black turned red for a moment. "SEA BLAST!" The beam turned blue for a second. "WINDY SHIELD!" The beam turned gray. "DUG HAUT!" The beam turned green. "Aaaaannnddd… ELEMIKIA LANCE!" The beam turned white. "TAKE THE PURITY WITH IN ME! My magic! The spells I use to fight evil! INCLUDING YOU!"

"Nooooooo! I'm not giving up that easily… There is one more… thing… to do…" Rings of black appeared around Zoe. "Life… force…" Cheese Monkey growled.

"Let her go…"

"You don't rule me I am superior to you."

"That's what you think…"

"What are you doing, Selena?" Yugi asked. Cheese Monkey ignored.

"You, who is a part of the king of nightmare; You, who is released from universe; A freezing black blade of darkness; Be my power, be my arm; Togehter we walk on the path of destruction; Crashing down the soul of Gods! Darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night! RAGNA BLADE!" Yugi gasped, his eyes wide. Thick black lighting with black electricity appeared in Cheese Monkey's hands.

"You… had it all along? And didn't tell us?" Yugi asked, completely shocked.

"I got it from the tomb… I didn't tell you because I was afraid to use it… now I'm not." Cheese Monkey jumped, raising the spell, and then throwing it down on the black orb. The spell was cut through the ball, which quickly put itself back together,. Cheese Monkey fell down onto the balcony.

"No… I must hurry!" cackled the black ball. A beam of blue came out from Zoe's chest, and into the ball. The tank's glass shattered, the red liquid spilled out, and Zoe fell onto the floor. "AHHHHHHH!"

The four red orbs around the ball began so spin around it rapidly. They flew out into the hall as four beams of red light, and crashed into four tanks. The floor began to shake.

Yugi ran over to Zoe, and got on his knees. He laid her unconscious form on her back and put her head on his lap. "What's going on?!"

"You have slowed me down…" the ball's voice whispered away as it dissolved.

Down in the hall, the red lights had done something. Out of one tank flew out a swirl of water that circled around the ceiling above us. Out of another a swirl of fire, another a tornado, and another a rope of dirt and mud. The four swirled all around us angrily.

"What's going on?!" Yugi asked again.

"We are the Four Egyptian Gods of the Elements who were lost in the flow of time, now restored to this world."

"What do you want?!" Cheese Monkey asked.

"Power… We were put away from this world long ago because we could not get along and our arguing nearly destroyed the planet. Now that we our back, we will restart out war." The four swirls became straight and flew through the ceiling in different directions.

"… What are we going to do about them?" Yugi asked.

"I'm not sure… we might have to stop them… we might not. Now that we don't need the Dragonballs, I guess we should stop them."

"Yeah… We really don't need the Dragonballs now that Pegasus is dead… Case Closed."

Yugi and Cheese Monkey just stood there for a while, Zoe on Yugi's lap. However, neither of them realized Yugi's voice echoed deep below the ground. Deep, deep down into a holding bay with a sleeping monster. Yugi's voice echoed deeper into it.

Not that Pegasus is dead… Pegasus is dead… Pegasus is dead.

A pair of scary green eyes lit up in the darkness… It wasn't over.