Yu-Gi-Oh - Vampire Empire
Normal lives in Domino City were shattered when the arrival of beings from another world arrived. Amongst the few survivors, Yugi Muto and his companions must fight back the threat and protect their true target. Rated for language, violence and character death.
Chapter Ten - Ominous Gust
Yugi stepped out of the shadows hanging over the backstreet that he, Yami and Vicky had travelled into and through, gazing cautiously either side of the opening. His heart thumped against his chest, a constant reminder that they were on the run, hiding like convicts from the looming structure hovering over the city; eyes that were attempting to locate them. The short teenager pressed his back to the wall behind him, taking sharp breaths in an attempt to calm himself. Yami continued into his field of view, eyeing his companion agitatedly.
"Yugi, are you sure you're fine to continue on straight away? Why don't we rest for a moment?" he sounded mellifluously.
"No, I'll be fine. I can't hold you guys up, I've got to be stronger than this. It's something I promised myself I'd do when we couldn't protect the city the first time" Yugi protested uneasily.
"Yugi…" Vicky breathed anxiously; the last thing they could afford was for Yugi to tire simply because he had become desperate to prove himself. Prove that he was capable of fighting on the battlefield he had stepped into.
The brunette's brow furrowed worriedly, watching as Yugi slid down the wall, the rough bricks scratching at his back, threatening to tear the fabric of his shirt. His rear hit the ground; the darkened alley had become a place for brief rest. Yami stepped beside Yugi, unable to put his mind at ease, unable to convince himself that Yugi was right. Doubt clouded his thoughts, his mind set on continuing the supposed role that had been bestowed upon him after the Puzzle's completion in protecting the young male that had released him. Even after his liberation from the artefact, he was still persistent to show his gratitude to Yugi for returning light to him, for setting him free in such a fascinating world - each time Yugi would reply with that it had been fate's choice and he didn't have to make up anything to the boy.
His eyes wandered to Vicky who remained standing, gazing at the sky as though searching for something. Her eyes grimly scouring for something that couldn't be found. Yami stepped towards her, allowing Yugi to rest; the movement attracted her attention, her eyes falling to greet him.
"We'll get through this" he sounded bluntly.
The girl nodded in response, her jaws locked against each other without any sign of parting to answer verbally to the claim. The fact intrigued the taller male while the shorter remained oblivious of their presence opposite each other. Yami found his eyes also gradually rising to the blood red sky, locking onto the fortress that hovered leisurely over the city, his eyes narrowing, filled with abhor for the beings inside of the floating castle. They had invaded a foreign world and the right to a normal life from each citizen of the city. They had trespassed and taken control. The blood gushing through his veins flowed faster, his hatred for the monsters provoking a rush of determination to eradicate them from the humans' plain.
From the cold concrete, Yugi glanced up, catching the flame burning in his eyes. One that he had seen rarely, even during tournaments and life-deciding duels - a flare of vengeance. A chill rushed down Yugi's spine, the young champion still felt intimidated by how his former Other Half's temperament could descend into chaos. Without giving his doppelganger an opportunity to notice the concern in his large amethyst eyes, Yugi picked himself from the ground, brushing where the dust and debris from the alley had clung to his trousers.
"We should press on. If we don't, we'll make ourselves vulnerable. And delay ourselves from meeting with the others" he stated.
The other two glanced at Yugi as he turned his back to them. Before either could say a word, he advanced.
--Kaiba / Tea / Ryou--
The brunette female strolling between the men in her company gave a heavy sigh, seizing the white haired man's attention, his chestnut eyes shifting to her. In her eyes, he witnessed the doubt she held over the possibility of such a risky approach to the enemy succeeding.
"Tea?" he asked.
"Hm?" Tea sounded, glancing at him.
"Is everything alright? Are you worried about what we're doing?" Ryou inquired, curious as to why she reacted to the sound of his voice like she wasn't expecting it.
"I'm fine. I'm worried about the others. At least we're not in any danger yet, but we don't know what could have happened to them" the brunette answered, creasing her brow.
"We should focus on ourselves or else that could be our downfall if we were to run into trouble" Ryou muttered.
"An idea would be to keep quiet" Kaiba scowled. "If you don't want them to find us; then keep it down or you may as well attract their attention purposely".
Tea sounded her frustration in the form of a moan, her eyes falling downcast. Ryou noted the mismatched personalities in their trio - while both Tea and Kaiba shared the same shade of chocolate brown hair and deep sapphire eyes, their characters couldn't have been further apart. His eyes drifted from the pair, observing the ruined street around them, business structures in disrepair, homes that presented no life, the road torn. The families crossed Ryou's mind - how did children deal with this apocalyptic world? Did their pets understand? What about the vulnerable and lonely elders in their twilight years? How many people had died over the past days into weeks? Tea dared not speak again; she locked up her concerns about their comrades, leaving Ryou feeling very uncomfortable, strolling along the empty streets, no words to shift their focus elsewhere.
He eyed Kaiba following another corner, how could the company president feel so calm? Because he was used to being under pressure? Because he had faced peril before? The same could be said for Tea, yet she focused more on the risks rather than moving ahead, concentrating on where their destination lied. Silence had never felt so awkward, not any occasion he could recall at least. It put him on edge, even the sound of a stone skipping ahead after a narrow encounter with the sole of a shoe could be enough to unleash the panic the three held - no matter how well Kaiba would hide it, he couldn't be completely fearless. It was what Ryou believed. Anything that came from something the three of them didn't cause would lead to chaos. That feeling led Ryou to resort to whatever in order to speak, to end the tense quiet.
"Tea, how long did the others say it would be before we meet up?" he inquired.
"I think they said a couple of hours" Tea whispered, hoping not to aggravate Kaiba further. Even if she perceived his attitude as childish, he was still one of the best duellists in the world; they may need him.
"I see" Ryou sighed. "Everything's going to be fine. We'll fight against whatever took over and get the city we know back. And everyone that has been taken. Just like Hiro".
"Just like Hiro" Tea muttered, casting her eyes forward.
The embers of her fire flickered, the memory of a classmate - someone she had known - falling victim to the intruders. Perhaps it was all she needed. Without taking in the comment about someone the pair knew, Kaiba rolled his eyes at Ryou's baseless claims that they could restore the city. He had his motivation to fight, but he wouldn't be blinded by optimism, even if they could win, it would be a gruelling war. One he would not allow to end without wreaking his revenge.
--Joey / Tristan / Destiny--
Joey dashed ahead, paying no attention to any distance growing between him and the two in his company. Behind, Destiny had been able to stay close, gradually falling back. Tristan had recovered the distance that had been created at the beginning of the race, yelling constantly about why Joey had left the site of Youhei's demise so suddenly.
"Joey, are you even listening?" he bellowed.
The blonde gave no reply, his narrow eyes focused ahead. The shift from his usual light-hearted disposition stunned Tristan - someone who had been Joey's friend for years, before the emergence of Yugi and Tea in their lives. The brunette could only conclude that something had happened in those moments he had been missing from the scene of the duel's aftermath. Something major. His legs quickened slightly, close to reaching the limits of his body's speed, a movement enough to move him by Destiny's side, his eyes landing upon her face.
"What's going on?" he inquired.
"Youhei died from that duel. I'm not sure whether that's the sole reason for Joey's dash though" the female answered. "Through Youhei, the master sounded a threat - one I believe was directed at Yugi. That may be why Joey's acting strangely, why he won't wait for us to catch up".
"Yugi?" Tristan echoed. "I really thought we were done with all this".
"I'm sure everyone was convinced" Destiny panted. "But it seems that's not the case, there's something that wasn't conquered before the Ceremonial Duel".
"I can't decide which is worse - having them all appear one after another or waiting so long we actually believed we were finished, only to find whoever's behind this wave is capable of annihilating the city" Tristan sighed, shaking his head.
"I just hope this isn't the beginning of a new era of threats lining up to face the others" Destiny murmured.
"I'm with you there, I don't think I can handle another few years of this" Tristan sighed, exasperated from the bouts against darkness slipping through to the human world, to the tranquil lives of innocent people.
"Well hopefully, you won't have to" Destiny answered without taking her eyes from Joey. "But we need to learn just which way the others are, we could be blinding running away from them as we speak".
"But as usual, he doesn't contemplate that possibility" Tristan moaned.
"Give him the benefit of the doubt, he just duelled an innocent guy infected by the enemy and watched him die before us" Destiny protested softly, she too had been there; she too could feel Joey's frustration.
"Joey!" Tristan yelled, glaring ahead to the blonde dashing several feet ahead. "Where are you heading? We could be running away from Yugi and the others".
Joey pace began to slow, coming to a gradual halt. Destiny and Tristan came to a standstill either side of him, Destiny inches from his Duel Disk, gazing at him apprehensively.
"Joey… if this is about Youhei, I understand. I saw it too" she uttered sympathetically. "I can't allow them to use innocent people as bait and then strip them of their ruined lives. But if you want to help Yugi, we need to think about what we're doing".
"Yeah, man. If they're trying to recruit Yugi, then we have to think logically and stay strong" Tristan added, raising a loosely clenched fist by his side.
Joey's neck twisted, his eyes moving towards the brunette by his side. The silence throughout the seconds unnerved Tristan, Joey's disposition had taken a battering in the moments following the duel's end; this was simply the result of that.
"He doesn't want to recruit Yugi" the blonde mumbled, locking his blazing hazel eyes onto Tristan. "He wants to kill Yugi".
--Yugi / Yami / Vicky--
Yugi shrugged off the fatigue that slowly crept up his body, cursing himself for his lack of physical strength. A short distance behind, Vicky remained by Yami's side, watching the shorter of the men anxiously. Even from behind, it was apparent that Yugi had worn himself out. She averted her eyes to Yami, grateful that she could stand with someone else she trusted, someone she could confide in.
"Yugi's going to wear himself down until he can no longer move, isn't he?" she uttered nervously.
"It seems he's that determined to atone for not being able to protect everyone when this began" Yami muttered, sounding very like he bore no sympathy for his modern world counterpart. "If he reaches the end of his endurance, we'll have no choice but to carry him, we can't let him leave himself vulnerable to the enemy".
Vicky nodded in response to the suggestion, both felt close to Yugi and neither would allow him to fall and sit where the enemy could reach him. But waiting until he collapsed was something she felt quite uncomfortable with, why allow him to wear himself down so far rather than merely pick him up while he had little strength left to fight with?
"Yugi" she called, hurrying behind the shorter male. "Why don't we take a break? We'll all getting a little tired and that won't do we're better off worrying the others for a short while rather than take longer because we've worn ourselves down and taking even longer. What do you say?"
"We should carry on" Yugi mumbled tonelessly, his eyes concealed by the shadow of his bangs hanging over his lashes.
"Yugi…" Vicky sighed, defeated. The boy continued to walk on ahead like stopping meant death, leaving her standing along until Yami caught up with her. "This isn't 'The Long Walk'".
"His determination… it can be a deadly thing, Joey could relate" Yami mumbled. "It seems we have no choice but to wait".
"That's no good. Yugi won't be in a fit state to do anything if we're confronted before we get to the rendezvous point" Vicky lamented heavily. "Are you really willing to take that risk?"
"Ordinarily, no. Yugi and I have shared his body throughout periods of peril like this. This occasion is the first where we stand separate" Yami answered colourlessly, his eyes locked onto the undersized student. "If anything like this happened before, I would just use the Puzzle to take control of Yugi's body; the will only needs to activate one way for the switch to occur. That way, I could bare some pain and allow Yugi to rest. But with this body, I don't have the opportunity to relieve Yugi".
"A stubborn host can be a pain, huh?" Vicky muttered.
Yami gave a nod without taking his eyes from the young man in question. Vicky, meanwhile, glanced over her shoulder, concern regarding an ambush in Yugi's exhausted state crept up her body - she had known Yugi years ago, well aware how weak his body was. He was the perfect target when he reached this stage of fatigue - one that embraced him much earlier than most. Walking blindly ahead, her brow furrowed, fearing that someone or something could dive out from the shadows and ambush them. Paranoia was already seeping in, defences would crack and fear would consume; something that each and every person fighting the darkness would have to be wary of. Vicky turned her eyes ahead again, despite to keep close to those in her company, not willing to lose Yugi and Yami. Her eyes shifted apprehensively between the two, certain that a rift was gradually tearing the two apart, Yugi's stubbornness was going to push him to his limits while Yami watched on without any exterior inclination to assist him before a time when his willpower would no longer be enough to push him forward. Her eyes fell to the ground, staring frustrated at the fissured ground, tracing the cracks along the road beneath.
Something as simple as cracks running along the road seized her focus as she strolled by Yami's side, keeping his feet in her field of view whilst advancing. Her mind rewound time, returning to years before, years when she and Yugi could play together. Even then, they would observe the cracks in pavements, making games out of the fractures in paths and roads. Simple days simple years ago, times when they weren't fighting for survival - for theirs or for the sake of an entire city, an entire world. She began to chew her lip, teeth scratching at the skin dry from lack of beverages over the time since leaving KaibaCorp's headquarters.
-
"Yugi" the young brunette girl sitting on a climbing frame uttered, swinging her legs beneath.
"Yeah?" seven year old Yugi Muto asked, gazing up at her from his place on the ground.
"What do you think you're going to do in ten years time?" Vicky inquired, smiling as she gazed at the sky over the trees at the opposite end of the lush green park.
"I don't know" Yugi sighed, crossing his arms behind his head, his eyes rising to the heavens over them. "Wouldn't I still be in school?"
"Yeah, but… outside that" Vicky giggled. "What would you be aiming for?"
"I suppose Grandpa would want me to prepare to take over the Game Shop" Yugi sighed. "I love games, but I'd want to travel. Domino City is a tiny part of Japan. And Japan is a tiny part of the world. I want to see more of it".
"Yeah, I know what you mean" Vicky spoke, her voice light with hope as a breeze began to blow against their tiny bodies, stroking their hair. "The world is such a large place; it'd be great to see all of what it has to offer. All the different cultures, all the different types of people. Everyone has their own world in this planet. This place that holds us all together, it'd be great to see as much of it as possible".
Yugi smiled, nodding his head. They shared the same view on their planet; they were young, but curious. The type that would ask themselves why the sky was blue, what the universe was expanding into, eager to understand everything around them, fascinated by the nature around them and the people that surrounded them.
"Hey" Yugi continued, allowing the corners of his mouth to descend into a neutral expression. "We'll travel together, won't we?"
"Of course" Vicky chuckled lightly, leaning forward to see the boy standing at the base of the frame. "Even if we get separated, well meet up again. I've heard my parents talking about how people don't always stay together physically. But even if one of us leaves Domino City, we'll come back".
"I don't think my Grandpa's going to leave. Not when my mum still lives with us, we've still got a business here" Yugi called, smiling up at her.
The girl nodded, glancing down at him again as a new topic seeped into her mind. "Hey, are you still working on that puzzle thing your Grandpa gave you?"
"That golden box?" Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"Yeah. My mum told me that you were drawing pieces when she was over one time recently" Vicky replied with a nod. "There're so many pieces. Even for you, it'll take a long time".
"Maybe, it's really hard so far" Yugi sighed. "Those pieces make it seem so daunting. They're so small and none ever seem to fit together".
"Don't worry, you'll get it done" Vicky chirped confidently. "Don't give up. Didn't your Grandpa say you get a wish if you complete it?"
"Yeah" Yugi laughed. "Maybe I'll wish that we can see the world together one day. All of it".
"Don't waste it on something we've already promised to do" Vicky giggled. "I'm sure you'll find something to wish for by the time you finish it".
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Nothing, nothing" Vicky chortled nervously, waving away any mistrust Yugi detected in her words. "I know you'll do it. Even if it takes a long time. And I want to be there when you make that wish".
"Yeah. Thanks" Yugi breathed, smiling up at her.
Vicky reached out, opening her hand for him to take. Yugi gazed at the gesture for a moment before climbing towards her, stretching his arm to grasp her hand. They met, wrapping their fingers around the other's hand and pulled together, working against gravity until Yugi sat beside Vicky, both gazing at the blue sky. The peaceful shade that would consume the heavens for another short period before the sun's descent towards the horizon would colour them various shades.
"This time in ten years… this day… we'll still be together, won't we?" Yugi asked, turning to Vicky with a smile.
"Yeah. We'll swear on it" the girl answered with a nod and smile, reaching for him, her smallest finger extended. "We'll promise to meet here in ten years to this day".
"Yeah" Yugi called enthusiastically, wrapping his smallest finger around hers. "We'll meet here in ten years from today. I promise".
"Me too" Vicky giggled, shaking his hands through her finger wrapped around his. Sealing the promise, their vow to return. The sun shining brightly upon them as they wished for their reunion to transpire in a decade.
-
Vicky's eyes rose, meeting the sight of Yugi who had wandered ahead while her pace slowed to a snail's. Quickening her pace, she closed the gap between the shortest of the trio and herself, passing Yami who watched in the hope she could wake the stubborn boy.
"Yugi, wait up" she called.
She grasped Yugi's shoulder, forcing him to a halt, his eyes moving towards her face. His mouth opened slightly seeing her expression, one of fear for the future. The same expression she wore on the day her family moved from the city, the morning when the families met once more for their final day together.
"Don't push yourself. You're only going to make things worse" she pleaded. "If you continue like this, then you won't be of any use to anyone. You'll be too tired to fight. If you really want to atone for what's happened, because you feel you failed; then let us help. We're just as responsible as you; we let the city down too".
Yugi's head lowered, like the words had struck a chord in him, his eyes shadowed from view. Yami paused beside them, looking down at Yugi sternly, determined to remain a pillar of strength if Yugi continued to beat himself up over what had happened.
"Yugi, if anyone should be guilty over what's happened, it should be me" he stated. "Once you won in the Ceremonial Duel, I was sent to rest in the Afterlife - that was supposed to be the end of it. Once the Gods took pity on me, seeing how I missed life here and granted me a second chance to live again - a full life - evil was given an opportunity to rise again. I'm the one responsible, just as I've always been. Your lives were ordinary before I arrived, before you solved the Puzzle and released me to the world. I was a curse upon your existence, the shadow that lured threats to target you".
"No" Yugi hissed suddenly. "I was alone before you came into my life. You became my friend - a part of me - you gave me others that became my friends. You're not a curse; we were just missing half of ourselves. And we gained them".
"Then there was no reason for me to return" Yami sighed, his sharp eyes bearing the guilt swirling within his heart, fighting the urge to turn away in disgust of what he was convinced was the truth. "I just opened up the doors of chaos to rule your lives again. I brought you peace to an end".
"I'm sure it would have ended either way - I'm the Duel Monsters champion, even if there wasn't a threat involving the Millennium Items, someone would come after me for my title" Yugi protested. "Whether it be a lethal assault or not. Life for me was just never going to be simple; I've been fighting since I was young. Ever since I was alone. You gave me a reason to fight, and then the strength. I still hold that strength, but with you by mind side, I have a constant reminder of that. I remember that I have to fight and I have the memories of what gave me the strength. The times that I shared with my friends. I won't forget them just as you didn't forget what it was like to live. Even though you were left in darkness for thousands of years, you found light and you embraced it. Even when your time to pass on came - you didn't want to return because you feared or despised Death, but because you embraced life, the life you never had".
"Yugi" Yami whispered, astounded by his former partner's philosophy regarding the long deceased Pharaoh.
Yugi nodded, gazing into the face of the man, his eyes possessing a flame that had long disappeared from his eyes. "After all… I've seen your body".
Yami's eyes widened slightly at the claim, he could recall no such time. He stood, waiting for Yugi to continue as he knew the boy would when the lack of recollection was clear in his face. His eyes.
"When I first met Shadi" the boy continued. "The Egyptian Exhibit was opening at the Museum and the curator wanted to put the Puzzle on display for the day. It was long before I realized you were living inside of me, so I had no idea I was passing you on as well. Shadi claimed that the mummy we saw had lost its name. Ever since I learned what you were fighting for in Battle City, I've been convinced that corpse was yours".
Yami made no response to the tale of the Egyptian spirit possessing two Items in the Museum where he had learned of his origins. Answers to questions that cropped up in Duellist Kingdom and many more joining those that remained unanswered. Yugi's brow furrowed at the lack of response from the former Pharaoh.
"I'm sorry".
--Joey / Tristan / Destiny--
Joey burst through the street's end, coming across a large open area. The City's centre. His hazel eyes darted across the area, finding no sign of Yugi, Yami or Vicky, nothing to indicate he had found the boy he feared for. Behind him, Tristan and Destiny emerged, both as anxious about the lack of companions. The silence came to an end when a stone bounced against the concrete from the far end, forcing the three to raise their defences.
Three shadows slipped into the centre first, ahead of their possessors. Joey's Duel Disk swung into its activation state as he braced himself for another battle - whether it be a single adversary or a trio to hold all three back. The first to emerge revealed their legs as they strode out of the shadows, a short crimson skirt hanging over the tops of the legs. Joey lowered his arms when he realized what had happened, hearing the voice he expected cross the area.
"Joey?"
"Tea, what are you doing here?"
Tea stood out of the shadows, staring dumbfounded at the three as Ryou and Kaiba emerged, proving there was no threat. The two groups approached the other, with the exception of Kaiba who remained composed, arms folded tightly over his chest. Destiny and Tea stood by each other, speaking of the fact they had joined and how something felt amiss.
"Joey, why are you here? This is the route we selected to travel to the rendezvous" Ryou affirmed.
"We ran into someone. A guy infected by those monsters" Joey spat, unable to utter the name that labelled the vile race. "The guy became possessed, we're certain by the leader, he threatened us with killing Yugi and then the guy died".
"'Died'?" Ryou gasped in horror. "And he wants to eliminate Yugi on top of everything else he's done?""I guess he sees Yugi as the biggest threat" Joey sighed. "We've just been trying to find him and warn him about what's happening".
From where he stood, Kaiba scoffed, rolling his sapphire eyes at the declaration that Yugi was the biggest threat to the enemy. Even though he had seen the boy's power, both from the sidelines and first-hand, he was still determined to prove that he could be the only suitable rival for the champion. The former champion would rise from the ashes and prove himself like the phoenix within him rose after their first duels. Clearly, the enemy hadn't appreciated that or acknowledged the efforts. He would prove himself in time.
"Well if they're after him, then we should regroup and defend him together" Tea interjected desperately. "If they try to wear him out by duelling until he becomes overwhelmed then we've got to hurry. Yami's the only other duellist with him and he could be targeted too".
"Tea's got a point" Destiny added, turning to Tristan and Joey.
"Do you guys have any idea where they could be by this point?" Tristan asked, eyes darting amongst those in his presence. "We could call him and tell him about what's happening".
"The signal from my phone is weak. They must have done something to interfere with the strength of the signal so we couldn't contact each other" Tea sighed.
"So we doomed ourselves as we stepped out of KaibaCorp, there was no way we could gather at a rendezvous" Ryou scowled. "They've lured us into a trap and into the open".
"And when Youhei was beaten, they knew we were out!" Joey gasped in horror. "We've got to find Yugi before they get to him".
Joey turned on his heels, leaping ahead of the others without any thought to wait. Well aware that the blonde wasn't going to wait, Destiny and Tristan hurried after him, provoking Tea and Ryou to follow suit. Tea glanced over her shoulder, seeing Kaiba strolling averse to following Joey of all people.
"Kaiba, aren't you coming? Even for you, it's dangerous to be alone" she called over her shoulder.
"I won't follow a dog like the rest of you" Kaiba snorted. "Are you a load of lost puppies if you follow him? I won't join your litter".
Tea scowled, shrugging his comments off and turning her head to focus ahead. If wanted to make snide comments and stroll at a leisurely pace, then he was looking out for himself - she could only get the impression that he was forcing them to choose between himself and Yugi, something they wouldn't be willing to do; something they could make their minds up quickly on. Yugi was their friend, Kaiba was a rival bound to them by fate. He didn't care for them and they couldn't care for him in the same way they cared for Yugi. The manner they treasured Yugi - Duel Monsters champion or not. Their friendship was something much stronger than the outcome of a card game tournament or how sharp his skills were; fickle individuals had no right to call their companions their friends.
If Kaiba wished to remain alone, then she held no responsibility over what would happen to him, she knew where her loyalties lied and she would stand by them just as her friends.
--Yugi / Yami / Vicky--
Yugi sighed at his defeat, clinging onto Vicky's back as she transported him just as Destiny had during their rush towards KaibaCorp on the day that the city fell; their personal apocalypse. His body had failed him again and left another carrying his weight - no matter how little of it there was.
"Don't beat yourself up" Vicky scowled without looking over her shoulder at him, moving at a much quicker rate now that Yugi had conceded defeat and accepted help. "I know you, Yugi, you're not weak. You're just tired. These last two weeks have been tough on us all, just like it's been tough on every survivor hiding under the whole roofs of this city".
"They won't have to hide once we uncover what's happened and put a stop to it" Yami growled, indirectly cursing the alien force that had invaded the world of light and darkness in balance, tipping the scales that poured shadows over the city.
Vicky nodded in response to the claim, just as the others, she felt strongly about defending the city where she was born and grew for the first years of her life. Even if she lacked experience in combating evil and darkness, there were still things in the world that she had yet to experience, to see. The vow she kept with Yugi to travel pushed her on; they would liberate the light of the chaos and set about seeing the rest of the planet they stood upon before their lives ran out.
A shriek overhead sent a chill running down Yugi's spine, glancing up at the sky where winged creatures hovered at a distance, slowly approaching one another above their present location.
"I don't like the looks of that" he mumbled anxiously. "Yami, I think those might be more up there".
At the risk of disrupting his speedy run, Yami glared upwards at the sky, observing the creatures that drifted through the air ominously, like vultures circling over dying prey, ready to strike. The analogy unnerved him, were they replicating that scenario - whether the three be their target or some other poor soul?
"They won't come after us. They're flying too slowly, focusing on somewhere else" he commented, eyes descending to Yugi.
"I hope so" Yugi mumbled, tightening his hands over Vicky's shoulders. "We need to meet with the others and soon. We haven't seen a decent place to rendezvous, but perhaps one of them has".
"If we can't find anywhere capable of housing us all while we plan a counterattack, then the worst-case scenarios would be return to KaibaCorp or hide in several places. If one group is found, the others wouldn't be" Yami pondered aloud.
"I don't want to abandon my friends like that" Yugi sighed. "We split up when this all began and we lost Duke because of it. We almost lost Joey".
"We'll get Duke and everyone else back" Yami insisted.
Yugi nodded, a disheartened aura in his downcast eyes confirmed Yami's suspicions that Yugi bore guilt far greater than the others - because he was the one targeted more frequently, he was blaming himself when he had no proof that he was a sole target, they could have invaded for the opportunity of taking the world; a goal that Yugi alone couldn't resist. He was forgetting that he wasn't alone - his friends were capable of fighting and not just other individuals in need of divine protection.
Silence followed for the oath to regain what they had lost, Yugi's protests that he was strong enough to walk again dying down into nothing, absence from the scuffing of shoe soles against the ruptured street and the flicking of stones that had been catapulted ahead. With each interminable moment that passed, the discomfort of the reticence grew, none of the three able to think how to bring the silence to an end and speak, even with their position seemingly distant from the threat. Yugi lifted his head and glanced down at the girl whose back he rode on.
"Has there been anything from the others?" he inquired.
Vicky pulled her arm from her back, relying on the other and Yugi's grip on her collar to hold him up. She pulled out the phone that she had purchased a year before, glaring at the display agitatedly as she searched for any sign from the others. There was nothing.
She glanced back at Yugi whose brow had furrowed in the frantic desire for any confirmation that his friends were still fighting.
"I haven't heard anything" she mumbled. "But I don't think we have a very strong signal here"."What? We should head back then" Yugi cried.
"That could be too dangerous" Yami intervened. "Joey, Tristan and Kaiba are more than capable of protecting the others, if we head back, we might be walking into a trap. We should continue on and see if any signal improves along the way".
Vicky responded with a nod before turning her eyes to the boy clutching her shoulders. "He's got a point Yugi. I know you don't want to go off like on that day when this began because of what happened to Duke… but if they knew, they'd want us to do this, I'm sure".
Yugi's eyes fell to the ground, giving a discreet nod.
-
Since the brief discussion over their move, it felt like hours had passed before Yami slowed to a halt, provoking the girl behind to do the same. Yugi gazed around, curious as to why his former Other Half had halted. Finding nothing around them but the same ruins that spread across the city, he gazed at the taller double curiously.
"What's happening? Why are we stopping here?" he asked.
Yami raised a hand to command a silence, the movement unnerving the boy whose head sank lower to Vicky's shoulder, the expression on her face matched his. Yami turned to them, glaring with the focus of his suspicions behind them. Vicky stepped out of the way while he approached, activating the Duel Disk on his arm in the place of a weapon. Vicky watched over his shoulder anxiously, his eyes evaded their worried faces.
"I may have to charge them, if I do, I want you two to focus on running" he commanded in a low tone.
"But-"
"Don't argue with me" he snapped, glaring at the pair in the corner of his view. "It's best that if someone goes down it's one and not all three of us".
Vicky stepped back, her throat tightening at the possibility of losing an ally. Yugi shook his head, stretching his neck when the detachment from the real world he had lived through seventeen years of had taken its toll.
"No, I won't leave you. You never left me or the others" he protested.
"Yugi, I'm telling you, you've got to focus on yourself for now and the others when you can be sure they're even alive" Yami growled. "At the moment, it's every man for himself and we can't afford to forget that".
Yugi's brow creased further, tightening his arms around the girl's collar. Yami turned back to the alleyway that had been forged by the fallen debris of business towers, the path they had used to get to their current position. A shadow slid amongst the fragmented surfaces of the concrete slabs scattered about.
"Show yourself" Yami barked
There was no response other than the gradual slithering of the approaching figure. Yami tucked his chin behind his Duel Disk before leaping forward, charging vehemently to the opening. Yugi and Vicky both cringed at the swelling tension, terrified in the case that the once-deceased Pharaoh would be charging straight into danger. As he reached the mouth of the alleyway, Yami slowed and lowered his Duel Disk, startling both Yugi and Vicky who remained in the same place they had waited when they came to a halt, ignoring any advice Yami had made to run in the case of trouble.
Their eyes widened when they observed Yami turning his back on the shadow, smirking moderately before the identities of the followers were unveiled to them. Joey was first to appear, grinning at the pair, the others followed swiftly.
"Everyone's here" Yugi called, climbing down from Vicky's back. "What happened? I thought we were going to meet up somewhere secret".
"Yugi" Joey exclaimed, rushing forward. Once he was upon Yugi, his trainers scrapped the ground as his arms stretched, the palms of his hands slamming down against the shorter companion's shoulders. "We were worried about you".
"Huh? You mean because of what happened at the school before?" Yugi inquired, raising a perplexed eyebrow. "You guys knew that when we left KaibaCorp".
"But we didn't know the full extent of their focus on you" Joey argued, gripping Yugi's shoulders tighter.
Behind him; Yami, Tea, Destiny, Tristan and Ryou approached silently, permitting Joey to speak the full explanation. He had been the one to hear the dying words Youhei had been used to pass on. The two opposite them watched in silent inquisitiveness.
"We found someone that was infected by those bastards" the blonde proceeded. "He must have been taken over by the leader when I beat him and he was talking about killing you. He doesn't just want you; he wants you dead, Yugi. That must have been why he showed up at the school on that first day - to get you out of the way immediately".
"So this is truly all my fault" Yugi sighed, dragging his eyes to the ground.
"No. This is that lunatic's fault" Joey barked. "This is neither yours nor Yami's fault. You two need to stop blaming yourselves for the mad ideas that some people get".
Yugi gazed up at Joey through the blonde strands of the bangs that fell over his eyes in his head's withdrawn angle, the blonde's hazel eyes flared dangerously. Behind him, Yami regarded the barren scene behind the group; something was off about the reunion.
"Joey" he mumbled, drawing the eyes of the others to witness his redirected attention. "Did Kaiba come with you?"
"Well he should have. Maybe he got that fancy coat of his dirty" Joey scoffed, folding his arms over his chest in frustration.
"He hasn't shown up yet, how can we be sure that nothing's happened to him?" Yugi asked anxiously.
"He said he didn't care" Tea mumbled. Several pairs of eyes fell upon her, witnessing the shadow that had fallen over the upper half of her face. "I shouldn't have left him, but he really didn't care. Why should we stick our necks out for someone like him?"
"Tea…" Yugi exhaled.
"He's a decent ally" Ryou intervened. "As much as it irritates some of us, we need him. He could be someone that has the resources to overthrow the enemy".
"We have to find him; the higher our numbers remain, the better our chances of surviving this" Yami muttered.
Tea turned to him, her brow furrowed in concern of her mistake and the odds of losing a beneficial association. She watched as the taller of the doppelgangers retraced his steps into the makeshift alleyway.
-
Tea's eyes darted frantically about the scene once she stood on the soil that had been the last place she had seen Kaiba. There was no sign of him. The anxious brunette began to chew her bottom lip when dread overcame her; had she damned the company CEO to the reluctant recruitment of the opposite team in the battle yet to truly begin? Beside her, Joey growled, sticking the tip of his smallest finger into his ear, twisting it irately.
"That bastard. He's gone and wandered off thinking he can take on whatever comes his way" he moaned. "If anything happens to him, I'm not going to sympathise with the guy".
"But Joey, he holds the technology to locate Duel Disks, he may use it against us" Yugi commented, gazing apprehensively up at his blonde companion.
Joey sounded his surprise at forgetting the matter, casting his hazel eyes to his anxious friend, feeling his concerns for the man who frequently declared himself the only suitable challenge to regain the title of King of Games. Though rivals, they weren't eager to turn their backs on the other when helping them beckoned them to stand side-by-side.
"Please Joey, we have to find him" the shortest member pleaded.
The blonde moaned, removing his finger from his ear and gazing around. Tristan raised his hand against his brow, gazing in the direction that the floating fortress seemed to be heading. A few of the soaring creatures had descended, one rising with a distant shriek following the sudden rise. He pointed in the direction of the chaos.
"Guys, something's happening over there" he commented, drawing eyes to the same sight.
"It looks like Kaiba's fighting back" Ryou estimated.
"Then we should help him. Even if it's Kaiba, he can't hold them off alone for too long" Yami commanded, stepping ahead of Ryou and Tea.
The brunette slightly behind gave a nod and was the first to follow as the group resumed their fierce advance. Across the barren streets, the undersized army charged with no consideration of their surroundings, focused merely on their distant comrade. Yugi's amethyst eyes narrowed as the flames of hope for Kaiba's sake flared stronger than before, the world around the immediate path lying ahead of him fading into blackness. Nothing mattered more than protecting his friends.
The path opened up to a large court, revealing Kaiba standing alone against descending creatures, able to knock them back with his Vorse Raider. Yugi's brows rose at the scene played before him.
"Kaiba's using his Vorse Raider to repel those things?" he called. "How can a Duel Monster hologram fight against real monsters?"
"That's it, they must be Duel Monsters" Yami inhaled.
"They can't be. They were clearly able to attack people and transform them into monsters" Ryou protested in bewilderment.
"Ryou has a point; it's not possible for Duel Monsters to come to life and attack the world like that Doma incident" Destiny injected. "There hasn't been any disruption between the two plains".
"Something's not right though" Yami murmured, narrowing his eyes in Kaiba's direction.
Ahead them Kaiba paid no attention of the reinforcements that had appeared on the battlefield. Yami stormed ahead, activating his Duel Disk and drawing the top card, slapping it against the central monster zone atop the device. By his side, a magnetic creature compiled of spherical compartments bonded together. The creature launched itself through the air, slamming its magnet hands against one of the creatures diving at Kaiba from behind. The beast screeched and retreated to the air.
"Beta the Magnet Warrior?" Kaiba called.
"Kaiba!" Yami bellowed.
"What are you doing here?" the brunette male grunted, shifting his eyes to the delayed advancing group.
"We may be on uneasy ally terms, but we're allies nonetheless" Yugi replied in a raised tone for his message to reach Kaiba.
Yami placed himself close to Kaiba's back, glaring at the increasing swarm of monsters gathering above the heads of the assembly. He turned to the others that had rushed to assist the pair who commonly clashed for the right to maintain the prestigious title of Duel Monsters Champion.
"You guys find somewhere to hide. I'm not going to let Kaiba head off on his own again, but we can't fight back with everyone here" he commanded. "There's too much danger in everyone being here".
A screech overhead drew the eyes of the cluster, witnessing a beast diving at them fiercely, crimson eyes flaring sinisterly. Tea released a shriek of terror, for Joey to snatch her wrist and drag her from the cluster. The others followed suit unanimously, dissolving the frail assembly into diving prey. Yami seized Yugi's wrist and dragged him from the path of the creature, dashing in the opposite direction of Kaiba who raced ahead. The once-Pharaoh glared over his shoulder at the creature that diverted its path to evade crashing against the concrete.
"Beta, destroy whatever that thing is" he bellowed.
The yellow creature recognised its holder's command, turning to the beast hastily approaching the pair, having selected its target. It dove in the way of the beast, only for its presence to be ignored and the creature dive through it. Similarly to any destruction during a duel, its form shattered into golden pixels. The expiration of the warrior pounded into Yami's ears, sending a chill running down his spine when he realised that though summoning their creatures was effective in the battle, they had a limited effect on the enemy. He eyes leapt to Yugi who lagged slightly behind him.
He forced his arm forward, launching the shorter boy ahead with all the might he could gather in the limb within seconds. Yugi glanced over his shoulder as Yami's hand released his wrist; his heavy pants prevented him from desperately asking what it was that Yami intended to do. Yami glared at the beast pursuing them, drawing another card from his deck. The card fell upon the upper layer, unleashing the purple clad mage that had been Yugi's favourite creature since his first days of Duel Monsters. The creature slashed at the hunter with its emerald green sceptre.
The beast howled and retreated to the air. Yami smirked at the result; their creatures were ineffective when they were targeted with no means of fighting back before their time on the battlefield came to an end. He turned his head forward where another being dove inches above the ground; Yugi gave a cry of horror.
Recognising his friend's dread, he pushed his legs to the limit, knocking Yugi out of the creature's path. The undersized student's body hit the ground harshly, the adrenaline and horror that rushed through his body and threw his heart from its determined place forced his head to rise a second before the creature collided with Yami. A sickening thud filled Yugi's ears before the sight passed by like nothing happened; Yami didn't pass the being. His eyes widened in trepidation as he regarded the scene of the creature dragging his closest companion from the ground, whose face was temporarily screwed in discomfort from the sudden collision and alteration in course. The others around realised the desperate revelation, Yugi paid no attention to anything as he wearily rose to his feet, keeping his eyes on the beast and his friend. The Dark Magician that had appeared from Yami's deck had vanished, its card fallen by the soles of Yugi's shoes. His heart leapt out of his chest and crashed against the ground, left to beat its final times as he felt everything lose meaning.
"YAMI!"
Next time
A new plan of assault begins while hope fades. Yugi struggles to come to terms with the recent events of the war while Destiny uses the discovery to her advantage. Chapter Eleven - "Through the Void".