Author's Note: Ok, I FINALLY got the latest chapter up! Sorry for the long wait, but it's a long chapter. Also, I want to draw some more fan art for this story, but I am not sure what to draw. Would anyone care to give me any suggestions or ideas?
Note to Toa Nuva of Thunder: Don't worry, there will be a G/L scene, but it won't be happening for another few chapters.
Chapter 10
Why Pharaohs Shouldn't Drink!
Rays of early morning sunlight entered Yugi's window. The rays shone directly onto the boy's chubby face. In his bed, Yugi refused to open his eye lids and unconsciously turned over, away from the window. He was not ready to wake to the world just yet.
On the side-table, sat his puzzle. The object suddenly shimmered and Yami appeared into the bedroom. The pharaoh scanned about the area he and Yugi were occupying. Amelia had been able to arrange for each person of the group to have their own room for the night. In Yami's opinion, their rooms were much nicer than an average guestroom.
The floor was well carpeted and the area itself was big enough to hold a small party. There was also a huge closet, a small writing desk and a chair. They even had their own bathroom! "Even Kaiba would be impressed by this." the game king thought as he considered how hard Kaiba was to please.
Yami glanced back to the still sleeping Yugi. He grinned at him and gently nudged the boy's shoulder. Yugi stirred, but not enough and refused to wake.
"Go away and let me sleep." he mumbled.
Yami, being just as stubborn, continued to shake Yugi's shoulder. "Yugi, it's time to get up."
"Too early." the boy replied groggily. Yugi then pulled the covers over his head to hide from the world.
Yami chuckled. Yugi was so not a morning person. /Come on Aibou. We agreed last night that we should be on the road as soon as possible. That requires you waking up early./
Yugi sighed. /Alright.../ he answered reluctantly, as teens usually do when they are forced to get out of bed in the morning. The boy threw off the sheets and sat up in his borrowed pajamas yawning greatly. He then automatically sauntered his way to the closet to get his clothes he had hung in there the night before.
His hand reached in for his clothes, but they clutched nothing. Puzzled by this development, Yugi peered in. "Uh...Yami, I have a problem."
"What is it?"
"My clothes are gone."
"Huh?" The game king looked into the closet as Yugi previously had and found it empty.
"Are you sure you put them in here?"
"I am positive!" Yugi replied earnestly. "Where else could I've hung them?"
"In that case, perhaps..."
knock, knock.
The twin boys diverted their attention to the door. "Who could that be?" Yugi pondered aloud.
He walked to the door and turned the knob. The person who had knocked was a servant girl, carrying a small bundle of clothes which Yugi identified as his clothes, freshly cleaned and pressed.
"Mr. Yugi?" she said with a cherry smile.
"Er...yes?" the teen answered, not quite sure what to make of all of this.
"I am here to deliver your clothes. Ms. Amelia asked us to clean your clothes along with your friends clothes last night."
The servant promptly dropped his clothes into his slender arms. "Really? phew You have good timing. I was going to get dressed and I thought my outfit had vanished. Thank you very much."
The girl continued to smile as she bowed and went down the hall.
"Well, that was rather nice of Amelia." Yami stated. "We'll have to thank her later."
"Definitely." agreed Yugi, as he neatly laid his outfit on his bed. "And they did a great job too. Look! They even got that ink stain out on my shirt from three months ago!"
The ex-pharaoh smiled at his lighter-half as Yugi began the daily routine of removing his pajamas and slipping his clothes on. His shirt was just going over her head, when a thought struck him. "Yami, is this what it was like for you?"
Yami turned his head. "Pardon?"
"You know, when you were pharaoh, with a palace and servants."
"Oh. From what I can remember, a few things are different, but it is generally the same."
Yugi sat at the edge of the bed, pulling his legs through his pant holes. "Do you ever miss it Yami? Being pharaoh I mean."
A solemn face appeared on Yami for a moment, wondering how to answer the question. "Not really. I may miss a few things, but I prefer my life as it is now."
Yugi slipped on his jacket , but never shifting his gaze away from the game king. "How come?"
Yami smiled. "Because, I am much happier being with you. Also, in Ancient Egypt, I always wanted a 'little brother'."
A childish grin took form at Yugi's lips. "I guess we better head down."
Yami nodded. "Yes, especially if you want breakfast before Lina and Gourry eat it all."
Down the hall, Amelia strolled briskly to Zelgadis's room. She knocked and when the chimera replied with a 'come in' Amelia entered. She saw Zel sitting at a desk.
"I came to fetch you for breakfast Mr. Zelgadis."
Without turning an inch, Zel waved his hand. "I'll be there momentarily."
Amelia sighed. "You said that 10 minutes ago."
She walked across to the chimera and sat on the edge of the desk, not before pushing away various maps, scattered papers, an a ink bottle to find an uncluttered spot.
"What are you working on?"
Zel dipped his pen into the bottle of ink and continued to speedily make marks on the paper. "I am mapping out the route we're taking. I've been up nearly all night researching from that book we found."
He then snatched the already opened book and pointed at the map drawn on the pages. "We have a long trip ahead of us. It's going to take us quite a few days and that's if we don't get sidetracked, but with Lina coming..."
Catching the chimera's meaning, the princess showed the same daunting expression. She could recall numerous times when Lina had discovered some information on a treasure or a bandit gang which resulted in getting the group sidetracked from their current quest.
"I can see why you need to work hard Mr. Zelgadis, but you should come downstairs and eat breakfast."
The chimera put down his pen and glanced up. "Amelia, I'll be fine. With my body the way it is, I don't require food as much. So, I'll just have a cup of coffee..."
"But you still need to have food in your stomach." Amelia protested, jumping off the desk. "You can't think on an empty stomach!"
"I believe it's you can't fight on an empty stomach."
"Oh...well it's the same principle. So come and eat!" The princess clasped Zel's arm and attempted to drag him out of his chair. She did not count on the shaman's stubbornness however, for Zelgadis firmly rooted himself in his chair, refusing to budge.
Amelia would not give up. She poured all of her strength into it. Zel would eat breakfast! In the end, Amelia prevailed. She managed to pull Zelgadis out of his seat. The drawback to her victory was the chimera lost control of his balance and fell on top of Amelia, forcing both of them to the floor.
Underneath Zelgadis's body, Amelia blushed. "I guess I don't know my own strength."
"Yeah..." Zel replied slowly, his face a crimson red. "Let's just be grateful no one has walked in on us or it would make this situation even more awkward."
Knock. Knock.
"Aw crap!" Much to the couple's fear, the door was flown wide open by Tea, Tristan and Joey.
"Hey guys what is taking you so..." Tristan discontinued his question as the trio got a good clear front view of Zelgadis and Amelia's eye-widening position.
"Uh...what are you doing?" inquired Tea.
"Er...well..."stuttered the princess.
"I know what they're doing!" Joey declared. A perverted grin was plastered on his face. "They were 'playing'!"
"Playing?" asked Tristan.
"You know the kind of game you play after you're married."
The castle walls were soon echoing as Zelgadis yelled at the top of his lungs. "JOEY!"
"Ha! Dibs on the pancakes Gourry!"
"Not if I get them first Lina!"
Yugi and Yami watched again in astonishment as Lina and Gourry ate their enormous meal.
/How can they eat like that every single day without making themselves sick/
/That is a mystery I don't think anyone can solve./
Yugi shrugged his shoulders, but turned as the others entered. Yugi took notice of the large bump Joey had on his head. Concern for his friend, Yugi asked "Joey what happened to you?"
The blonde shot a dark glare at the chimera who was pouring himself some fresh coffee.
"I was hit by a rock." The teen swiftly ducked as Zel threw a piece of toast at him.
"Keep that up Wheeler and Lina won't be the only one throwing fireballs at you!" Zel threatened.
Joey, not loving the thought of having burnt skin, pulled up a chair and sat at the table.
"So what's the plan on getting to the cave."
Lina glanced up. "Mmmhm..."
Zel sighed. "Lina, didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full?"
Lina rolled her eyes and swallowed. "I said the plan is simple. We'll get some supplies first, but then we can head there on foot..."
Tristan groaned. "You mean we're walking again?"
Lina gave him a blank look. "Uh...yeah?"
"Mr. Tristan, how else did you think we would get there?" asked Amelia.
"I don't know. A bus maybe."
From each of the slayers, Tristan received a puzzled look as they said in unison "What's a bus?"
After the group had finished their breakfast, they said their goodbyes to Phil, much to Joey's discomfort, who was in fear of hearing another 'Justice lecture'. But for once, lady luck was on the teen's side and they managed to leave without a lecture.
They were soon on the trail and began the long journey. The adventurers travelled hours on end. They passed the time by either talking or listening in on Lina and Yami as they argued over various things. But even this proved to be tiring.
Eventually, Tristan could not take the task of moving anymore. He sat on top of a large rock laying on the side of the road.
Joey tuned in to this action. "Come on Tristan! You're slowing us down."
"No way!" the brunette snapped back exhausted. "I am tired, worn out and my feet are killing me! I refuse to take another step!"
"But we can't stop here." said Gourry. 'We have to get to the next town before nightfall."
Tristan lifted his gaze to the entire group. "Oh and I suppose that none of you guys are exhausted either?"
A chorus of "Uh..." passed among them. None of them could deny their cramped legs or the soreness they felt in their feet.
Lina strolled over to Tristan and stared him straight in the eye. "Ok, you make a good point, but if we stop here we're going to have to camp outside. So which do you prefer: a bed of sheets or a bed of leaves?"
A heavy sigh escaped Tristan's lips. "How much farther till we get there?"
In response to the brunette's question, Zelgadis unfolded his map. "Not much actually. Once we reach the town, we can stop for the night."
"Are we staying at another inn?"
"Mr. Gourry, don't you remember?" questioned Amelia. "This is the town where Ms. Filia set up her shop."
"Oh." was all the swordsman could say.
"Does this mean we're going to spend the night with your friend Filia?" inquired Yugi.
"That's the plan." Lina confirmed.
"Oh and I am sure she'll be more than thrilled to she us at her door step." Zelgadis muttered sarcastically, folding his map.
"Er...is the Filia anything like Prince Phil?" asked Yami, carefully praying that was not the case. The game king wasn't sure if he could handle another shock to his system like the prince.
"Not really." Lina answered. "But make sure you stay on her good side."
Yami, choosing to take her advice seriously, nodded. He turned, but barely had taken 5 steps forward when he suddenly paused.
His eyes narrowed and he scarcely flinched as the others collided into him from behind.
"Geez Yami! What's the hold up!" asked Gourry.
The former pharaoh turned his gaze on the group in a urgent manner. "Something's coming."
Yugi blinked at him baffled. "What is it?"
"I am not entirely sure, but I can sense something powerful heading in our direction and it feels dangerous."
The chimera, knowing the game king was not joking, whipped out his telescope and looked.
"What is it Zelgadis?" asked Tea.
Zel continued to adjust the eye glass. "There is something out there, but it's too far away to make out."
As the final words left his mouth, the wind greatly picked up speed. Capes and coats flapped in the breeze and each member kept trying to keep their hair out of their faces.
"Oh terrific! A storm!"
"It's not a storm Joey!" Yugi cried, so his voice could be heard over the wind.
"Then what's going on!"
"I think that has something to do with it!" Yugi pointed ahead. In the far distance, there was something or someone flying towards them.
"What is that?" asked Amelia.
"Whatever it is" Zelgadis said as he only managed to put away his telescope "It's coming at us at full speed!"
"Hit the dirt!" Lina shouted.
The group layed flat on their stomachs. They were forced to cover their faces to keep out the small pieces of flying debris that flew past them. Yami wrapped his arm around Yugi's waist to double check the boy was secure.
Then suddenly, they heard a large "Whoosh!" sound as the huge object flew right above them only just missing hitting their heads. Tristan peeked through his fingers and as he took in the large object his eyes bulged at the sight.
When the mysterious object finally passed, the gang forced themselves back on their wobbly legs. "What was that thing?" asked Gourry.
"I don't know." Zel replied. "Did anyone get a clear look at it?"
"I did." Tristan replied slowly. "It was a dragon."
Joey moaned. "Not another one!" Remembering his last experience with a dragon.
"This one was different! This is going to sound insane, but I swear it had a big pink bow on it's tail!"
Lina abruptly paused the dusting of her cape and swiftly changed her gaze on the brunette.
"A bow?" asked Joey. "Man, ya must have been hallucinating pal. Why would..."
"Are you 100 percent positive it was a pink bow!" interrupted Lina.
The blonde gaped at her, while he was quietly questioning her sanity.
Tristan grinned in happiness that at least someone was believing him.
"Definitely!"
The sorceress and the other slayers each sighed greatly like students did when they were told they had more homework than the teacher had originally planned.
"Come on." Lina grumbled, marching in the opposite direction from which the group had been travelling.
"Lina, you're going the wrong way." said Tea.
"No. The dragon went this way remember."
"What!" exclaimed Yami. "We're going to follow that thing! Dare I ask why?"
Lina remained quiet as she marched on with the group cautiously going after her.
They did not have to go back too far to find the dragon's trail. All they had to do was follow the sounds of crashes, trees falling and bushes being untimely ripped apart.
Yugi winced. "Are you sure we want to find this dragon? It sounds rather dangerous."
"Yes we're sure Mr. Yugi." Amelia confirmed. "For you see it's..."
"LOOK OUT!" Tea cried as a giant tree came cashing down upon them. They were able to jump away from it with just the skin of their teeth and avoided becoming flat as pancakes.
Tristan, furiously steamed, yanked the leaves and twigs out of his hair. "This dragon's a menace!"
"Only if she's in a really bad mood." Gourry replied.
"You talk as if this dragon is a person." said Yami.
"She is a person. She's our friend Filia." said Amelia.
"What!" exclaimed Tea, Yugi, Yami, Joey and Tristan together.
Lina shushed at them to be quiet and motioned everyone to the tree that had nearly squashed them. They raised their heads above the bushes.
It was the sight to beat all sights. Filia was in her full dragon form and was currently busy with the chore of tearing every single bush and tree in her path.
"Where are you Namagomi!" the dragon cried loud enough to cause an earthquake. "Oh! Just you wait till I get my claws into you!"
The group watched in awe and horror. They especially focused on Filia's tail that was swishing from side to side, keeping the beat to her rampage.
Lina sweat-dropped and said in an monotone voice "Yup. It's Filia."
Tea stared at the red haired sorceress, terrified. "And we're spending the night with her!"
"The night? I don't think we would survive an hour." Yami commented, dodging from a flying rock Filia had recently thrown.
"Well...actually she's a lot more calm and rational than this." Lina replied.
"Yeah. She really only gets in this state when Xellos is around." Gourry added.
Yugi glanced with a quizzed expression written on his face. "Who's he?"
"Never mind." Lina muttered. She was not in the mood to discuss the antics of the infamous purple haired fruitcake priest. It would take far too long and too much energy to tell.
She dug her way through the bushes and marched to the dragon. Filia still hadn't turned around and continued yelling her death threats.
"First I am going to rip your head off!"
"Filia..."
"Then next, your arms and legs!"
"Filia..."
"And then finally I am going to shove them up your stupid, smelly, big fat..."
"FILIA!"
The dragon froze as her name finally reached her ears. She gulped and took her time turning around, afraid of what she would find. Filia gulped yet again and blushed, embarrassed as she saw Lina standing with her hands folded tightly on her hips, tapping her foot.
She also noticed Amelia, Zelgadis, Gourry and some new people she'd never seen before. It was a full minute before Filia could mouth her words. "...Ms. Lina what are you doing here?"
"Forget that! What's up with you going on an destroy and kill everything in sight rampage!"
The ashamed dragon grabbed onto the tip of her tail and toyed with it nervously with her fingers. "Uh...funny you should said that...It's...um..."
"Oh! Just transform into your human form and get down here!"
Filia cringed at the tone. She felt like a child being scolded by her mother. "You don't need to yell." she grumbled.
Filia shut her eyelids tight and her entire body was engulfed in a golden light. The group shielded their eyes, but Yugi succeed in seeing what was happening through his fingers.
The boy was almost mesmerized as he watched the dragon disappear with unblinking eyes. Slowly, but surely a human form took it's place. The light faded and standing in the exact same spot the dragon had been was a human girl. She was wearing white robes and a long pink skirt that touched the tip of the girl's feet. The girl also had the longest flowing blonde hair Yugi had ever seen.
Her eyes fluttered opened and she sheepishly waved. "Uh...hello Ms. Lina."
The sorceress glared back and stomped over to her. "Don't 'Hi' me! Now what is going on here!"
Yugi blinked perplexed. Filia? Wasn't she a dragon? He carefully sneaked up to the two girls. He took a glance at Filia. She looked as if she was about to burst, ready to scream till her voice was gone. And she did.
"Oh Ms. Lina! It's all Xellos's fault! He's been driving me insane for the last 3 months!"
Again, the mention of this Xellos person. Yugi took a step closer with his mind full of questions as to who this Xellos was. He looked to Filia and dared to ask. "Who's Xellos?"
Filia spun her head and locked her view onto the boy. Without hesitating, Filia informed him. "He's a despicable mazoku! He has no respect for other people's property. He's the most selfish, evil, vile..." Filia paused in her list as she realized she didn't know the boy at all.
"Um...excuse me little boy, but who are you?"
Yugi collapsed. "I'm not a little boy! I'm 15!" he declared.
"Oh really! My goodness you're short!"
Yugi crossed his arms over his chest and sulked. Yugi hardly ever pouted, but he was very conscience of his height. He hated it when people mistook him for a kid. It's not as if Yugi had asked to be born short!
Lina coughed to lessen the tension. "Um...Yugi this is Filia." She turned to the dragon girl. "Filia this is Yugi and over there are Tea, Yami, Joey and Tristan."
"Um...hi." Filia greeted with an awkward wave. "Wonderful! Not only did I make a fool of myself in front of Ms. Lina, I also did it in front of complete strangers!" she thought grimly.
"So Filia, what exactly did Xellos do to make you so mad?" questioned Gourry.
"Yeah! It must have been really bad to nearly have you run over us." remarked Joey.
Filia stared gaping. "That was you!" Filia blushed. "Sorry. I was rather too caught up in the moment to focus or notice anything else."
She took a deep breath to relax her nerves and in a tense, stressed tone, explained.
"Xellos broke my best vase!"
The group collapsed in a huge heap. "A vase!" hollered the game king. "You went into a seek and destroy rampage over a piece of pottery!"
"It wasn't JUST a piece of pottery!" Filia snapped, insulted. "That vase was over a thousand years old and it cost me a small fortune to obtain it! And Xellos dropped it carelessly like it was a kitchen plate! The worst part is, I know that namagomi only did it to annoy me!"
The dragon girl clutched her hands into tight fists. "He drives me out of my mind!"
"Still, don't you think you're over reacting a tiny bit." said Tea, choosing her words carefully to not make Filia more angry.
"I couldn't say any better myself miss." A new voice chimed in, accompanied by clapping.
The entire group whirled around. In the very top branches of a tree, that had miraculously been neglected by Filia during her rampage, sat a most peculiar man.
He had long purple hair that reached right above his shoulders and his eyes were closed tightly shut. Held in one of his arms was a staff with a big blood red stone. He almost appeared to be some sort of priest, except the aura about him was nothing you were supposed to sense coming from a priest.
His smile was the most unnatural part, for it was the smile of a crafty fox, not a respected priest.
Lina let out low moans. "Great, now Xellos is here too."
Yugi turned to the chimera, hoping for an explanation. "A friend of yours?"
"More like an acquaintance...An annoying acquaintance." Zel replied darkly.
Xellos placed his hand over his heart like it had a dagger plunged throw it. "Really Zelgadis that hurt. sniff And here I thought we were friends."
"Knock off the act Xellos. I'm not in the mood."
The priest quirked a mocking eyebrow and suddenly vanished from the tree branches.
Joey jumped back surprised. "Hey! Where did he go!" Just as the blonde finished his question, Xellos instantly reappeared beside Joey, causing the blonde to shriek in fright and nearly leap into Tristan's arms.
The others were also disturbed by the sudden action. Joey stared back at the priest.
"But...he was there...now he's here...How'd he do that?"
Xellos grinned. "That...is a secret."
Tea blinked confused. "What kind of answer is that?"
"A typical Xellos one." Amelia replied. "And he uses it a lot. And I mean A LOT!"
The priest continued his foxy grin. It was then something shiny caught his eye and Xellos noticed the golden pyramid hanging around Yugi's neck.
Intrigued, the priest leaned in uncomfortably close to the boy's face. Xellos could sense that the boy was feeling nervous. Still smiling, Xellos said in a pleasant voice. "And who do we have here?"
"Er...Yugi." The boy managed to say. Yami, watching this, wrapped a protective arm around Yugi's shoulders.
"And I am Yami." he said strongly. He gave Xellos a dark menacing glare saying "Mess with me and die." It was a glare the game king had been perfecting for the last millennia It was a glare Yami had reserved for Yami Bakura, bullies and for anyone else threatening his aibou.
He was very restrained in using this glare, but there was something about Xellos he didn't like, never mind the fact they had not even spoken to each other. Never the less, Yami sensed something unhuman coming from the priest and he didn't like it one bit! For it could only mean trouble.
Xellos arched a curious eyebrow in response, showing no signs of being insulted.
"My. My. Aren't we being protective..."
"Xellos!" Filia screeched. The dragon girl stomped her way to the mazoku, a vein throbbing in her forehead. Xellos looked back with a cheeky grin.
"Ah Filia! Still upset I see."
"Upset! You broke my best vase and you think I'm only upset!" Flames began to encircle the dragon. The others sweat-dropped and for safety reasons each took a step away.
"Really Filia, there is no need to cause such a fuss." Xellos replied, with his hands behind his head, but still not feeling intimated. "I already told you it was an accident."
"Accident my ass! You and Val were playing soccer with it! How could you not know it would break!"
"sigh Filia there's no need to nit pick." An evil glint shone off Xello's eyes. "Of course, that is so much like you golden dragons to become attached to material possessions. Pathetic really."
That was it! Filia cut all the strings holding her anger back. In less than 5 seconds, Filia lifted up her skirt, clutched her mace strapped to her leg and with all of her power cried. "DIE NAMAGOMI!" as she tackled Xellos.
However, as soon as Filia was upon the priest, Xellos briskly vanished and much to the dragon's remorse, she only ended up hitting the ground where Xellos had once been standing.
Filia stood there panting as the dust cleared away. Joey, Tristan, Yugi, Tea, and Yami were staring at Filia completely speechless. "Um...did she just lift her skirt and bring out a giant mace?" stammered Tea, sweat-dropping.
"Don't worry." replied Gourry. "She does that all the time."
"That's not really comforting." Yugi remarked.
As Filia finished panting, she swung her mace upon her shoulder and spun around to the others. "So, why are you guys here?"
"It's a long story Filia." Zel answered. "Which we can explain on the way to your shop."
Filia nodded and led the way. Yugi leaned into Lina and whispered "Are we going to lie to Filia like we did with Phil.."
Lina shook her head. "Nah. No need. Filia can handle this."
"Ms. Lina, I can't believe you were that irresponsible!" Filia yelled as the group moved along the street to her shop.
"That's what I keep telling her." Yami gladly added.
"Give me a break!" Lina protested. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry!"
Tea shook her head. Those three had been like this since Zelgadis informed Filia of the recent events. "Better try and change the subject." she thought. "So Filia, what sort of shop do you own?"
The dragon girl turned with a prideful smile. "Well, I'm glad somebody had the courtesy to ask. I own a pottery and mace shop."
"A pottery and...mace?"
"Yes, although for some strange reason people do not purchase my maces as much as they buy my pottery."
"Er...it's a mystery."
Filia nodded in agreement as they reached her shop's front door. Filia turned the knob and the others entered. The dragon girl shut the door and layed her beloved mace against the wall. "I badly need a cup of tea." she muttered.
The others were presently exploring the small store. Joey was going to pick up a clay pot he saw, but them remembering Filia's reaction when Xellos broke one, decided it was best not to risk it. "Hey Filia, I don't suppose ya sell any duel monster cards here?"
Filia gave the boy a blank look. "Uh...no, but I do have some greeting cards."
Joey sweat-dropped. "Forget I asked."
"Ms. Filia where are Mr. Grabos and Mr. Jiras?" I thought they were working for you?" asked Amelia.
"Well, Grabos is on vacation visiting a friend and Jiras is..."
"Hey Boss! Is that you!" shouted a voice coming from the back room
"Yes Jiras and we have Ms. Lina and some guests. Could you please bring some tea to the main room?"
"Sure thing Boss! Coming right up!"
"Thank you." Filia let out an exhausted sigh. She showed the way to the main room that was located at the far back of the store. The group entered to find themselves in a fairly large room. There were a number of chairs and two couches that surrounded a small coffee table.
A worn out Filia sat herself in the nearest chair. It had been a long day. She was in bad need of a cup of tea to calm her nerves.
The others copied Filia's action. Joey, Yugi and Yami sat on the couch at the other end of the room. Tea, Tristan and Gourry sat themselves on the other couch. The rest of the group each chose to sit in a chair.
Yugi gazed about the interior of the place. "You have a nice shop here Filia. It kind of reminds me of my Grandpa's store back home."
"Thank you. I take a lot of pride in my shop. Now if only that stupid namagomi would stop popping out of the blue whenever I turn, my life would be perfect."
Joey's face faulted. He whispered to Amelia. "What is the deal with Filia and Xellos? They're worst then Lina and Yami and that's hard to do."
Amelia frowned. "It's a long story. To put it simply, it's the result of a very large grudge between the dragon race and the mazoku that has been going on for the last thousand years."
Joey sweat-dropped again. "That's the simple reason?"
"Hey! Can somebody get the door!" Jiras rang from the kitchen. "My hands are full and I can't reach the door knob!"
"Hold on." Tristan replied. "I'll get it for you." The brunette stood up from the seat and wandered to the door.
"Thanks mate."he heard Jiras say.
"Tristan turned the knob. "No problem..." The teen lost all thought of what he was going to say as he saw Jiras before him. Tristan, like his friends, had presumed that Jiras was a human. So as Tristan was very much caught off guard when he saw that Jiras was in fact a fox man with an eyepatch.
Jiras didn't seem to notice this. "Sorry, there are no cookies." Then the fox scrambled in and swiftly placed the tray with tea on the coffee table. He brushed his hands and paused as he took heed of the odd looks he was receiving form Yugi, Tea, Yami and Joey.
"What's wrong? You kids look as if you haven't seen a beast man before."
"...We haven't." Tea slowly explained.
Jiras stroked his chin. "Really?" At that moment, he sniffed and smelled a strange scent coming off of Yami. Jiras stepped closer and with great energy sniffed the game king all over without considering what the twitching eye Yami was giving off could possibly mean.
"Dare I ask what you're doing?" Yami questioned, attempting, with immense strength, to remain cool in the situation.
"Ya got a strange scent to ya mate." Jiras replied. "Ya smell a lot older then ya look. Also..."
"Jiras! What have I told you about smelling our guests!" Filia cried.
"Sorry Boss!" the fox man said, saluting and then returning to the front of the shop.
"Er...sorry about that." Filia said, facing Yami as she began to pour the tea. "But Jiras is getting much better then he used to be about that."
The game king scowled unhappily at being sniffed, causing Yugi to giggle. Yugi then bent to take his tea cup. He heard a small bounce coming from behind him. The boy glimpsed over his shoulder and saw a blue ball roll into the hall. It was escorted by a small boy, appearing no older than five. The child reached for his toy, but froze as he caught Yugi staring at him.
Yugi showed the boy a cheerful smile so not to scare him. "Hi. I'm Yugi, what's your name?"
"Uh..." was all the child could say, before Filia interrupted.
"Val why don't you come here and say hello?"
"Yes Mom." the child scurried, ball in hand and stopped at the end of the couch Yugi was sitting in.
"So who's this little guy?" Joey asked.
"This is Val, my adopted son." Filia replied.
"...Hello..." Val said shyly. The boy looked again at Yugi direction. His little eyes locked onto the teen's wild hair. Fascinated, Val asked "How did you get your hair like that?"
Yugi grinned. "I didn't do anything. I was born with it."
"Really?" Val averted his gaze onto his mother. "Mom, can I have my hair like that?"
Filia groaned. She had been hoping she and Val wouldn't be arguing over hairstyles till as least his teen years. "No Val, you may not."
"But Mom!" Val replied in a tone of voice all kids use when they want something extremely badly. "It's really cool!"
"I said no! Your hair is fine the way it is." Filia said in her "I mean business" tone.
Val's upper lip went into a pout. It lasted barely more than second as he pulled his baby fat body across the edge of the couch and sat in between Joey and Yugi.
The blonde looked at the child with a question popping into his mind. "Filia, is Val here a golden dragon too?"
"Oh no he's not. He's a..."
"I am an ancient dragon." Val declared, miffed. Why do adults ask his mom questions, when he can clearly answer them himself!
"He's also the last of the ancient dragons." Amelia replied.
"Oh..." Yugi replied in a low voice. A nagging feeling told him that there was more to Val's story then the others were letting on.
"So Mom, did you get Uncle Xellos?" Val asked, innocently.
The dragon girl sighed with great stress. "Val honey, how many times do I have to tell you not to call the namagomi 'Uncle Xellos'?"
"But he told me I could..."
"I for one don't care."
"I may be new to all of this." interrupted Tristan. "But I'm guessing that a lot of accidents happen in this house when Xellos is around."
"Very observant Mr. Tristan." Xellos said, suddenly popping into the room from directly behind him, nearly giving everybody a heart attack.
"Haven' t you ever considered warning people before doing that!" Yami snapped.
"What would be the point of doing that?" the priest asked curiously.
"Less heart attacks for one thing!" Joey added.
For once in his life, Xellos had a serious look on his face and stared at the blonde with his hands gripping his staff tightly. "Mr. Joey, where would the fun be if I actually WARNED people before I entered?"
Tea blinked, amazed and then grasped her head like she was having a migraine. "Dear God! It finally happened."
Yugi turned to her. "What did?"
"We've meet someone whose more of a nutcase than Pegasus."
Joey sweat-dropped. "That's scary." The boy reached for his tea cup, gazed at the orange liquid and then put it back. "Do you have anything else to drink besides tea Filia?"
The dragon girl tapped her slender finger on her chin. "If you don't want tea, there should be come berry juice in one of my kitchen cupboards."
"I can go for that." the blonde replied, as he went forward to the kitchen.
"I'll come as well." said Yami as he pushed away his cup. He had never been much of a tea person anyway.
"Wait for me guys!" Yugi cried as he made it past the door as it swung shut.
Joey searched the cupboards, opening several doors while doing so.
"Joey, it might be a good idea if I asked Filia which cupboard the juice is in." Yugi replied.
"Relax Yug'. I can handle this."
"Isn't that what you also said when you tried to help Yugi program the DVD player Grandpa bought?" Yami inquired with a doubtful expression framing his face.
"I got it to work." Joey argued.
"Minus the small detail of no sound coming from the movies we'd watch. I am still not sure how we fixed that."
Joey didn't react to the game king's comment. He reached for the cupboard that was under the sink. Victory! He found a large bottle with a cork lid filled to the brim with a red liquid.
Joey grabbed the bottle and spun around to show off. "See! Told ya I'd find it!"
Yugi eyed the bottle questionably and suspected it was not what they had been looking for. "Joey...maybe we should double check with Filia?"
"Why?" Joey inquired as he removed the cork from the top. "No point in bothering her if we found it right?"
"I guess...but that doesn't look like juice to me."
"Yug' in case you haven't noticed, a lot of things are different then what we're used to in our world."
"He does prove a strong point Yugi." Yami admitted. "Still perhaps we should ask."
A trouble making grin was soon plastered on Joey's face. "Aw! Yami, don't tell me the game king is scared?"
Yami raised an eyebrow and smiled evilly. "Is that a challenge I hear?"
Joey grinned and took two tea cups that have been left on the counter. "I dare you to drink one full cup of this stuff with me!"
"I accept!"
Yugi groaned as he watched Joey pour the drinks pondering if he was the only sane person in the trio. He should have tried to talk Yami out of the dare, but he knew wild horses couldn't drag Yami away from a challenge. "You guys do what you want," he declared going for the door. "I'm going back to the room with the SANE PEOPLE!"
Yugi shut the door behind him as the two boys gave each other cheers. Yugi stared into the main room and sweat-dropped. Filia had gotten her mace again and was chasing Xellos around the room like a merry-go-round with the others in their seats watching this.
Yugi locked his eyes with the chimera. Zel sighed and as if reading the teen's mind said "Don't ask."
Filia finally came to a halt to catch her much needed breath of air. "Mr. Yugi...huff...did you...huff find the juice?"
"Uh..." the boy replied, amazed Filia had even noticed he had returned. "We found it under the sink."
"Sink?" Filia muttered as she layed her mace against the wall. It couldn't be under the sink. The only thing I store there is..." A cold sudden dread then fell upon her and she became as still as a statue.
"What's wrong Filia?" asked Lina.
Instantly, the dragon girl grabbed Yugi by his shoulders and stared directly into his face, while trying to remain calm. "Mr. Yugi PLEASE tell me you didn't drink from that bottle you found!" she screamed in a shaky voice that came out as a command rather than a question.
"Er...I didn't..."
Filia began to breath easy again as her nerves returned back to normal. "Thank goodness."
"Gees Filia! What was that all about! For a second there I thought you were having a heart attack." said Lina.
Filia turned. "I was worried that they drank some of my stashed dragon wine."
"Dragon wine?" Yugi replied as he started to imitate the same nerve racking state Filia was in.
"Dragon wine, as I recall, is a very strong form of wine which is made and drunk by dragons." Xellos explained, sitting in an Indian style on Filia's china cupboard. "It is a bit too strong for humans to handle however, but I'm astounded to learn that Filia drinks it. I never would have imagined that an ex-priestess of the Fire Dragon King would resort to alcohol."
Filia fumed at the cheeky priest. "I ONLY drink it once in a while to calm myself down because of having to see a certain annoying pest that refuses to leave!" she snapped, as she glared at Xellos for the last part of her statement.
Yugi, however, wanted to quickly return to the subject. "Xellos, when you say that dragon wine is too strong for humans, how much too strong is it?"
Xellos leaned on his staff as he thought. "I would estimate that for a human,d drinking one cup of dragon wine would be equal to drinking 20 full bottles of ale."
The boy gulped very loudly and became greatly pale as he caught the last part of the priest's statement.
"Yugi what's wrong?" asked Tea worried. "You didn't drink any..."
"No...but Joey and Yami were each having a cup full as I left the kitchen."
An uneasy silence settled, on the group. This only lasted for 2 seconds, however, as each person scrambled to the kitchen, swinging the door so hard it nearly broke from it's hinges. Everybody sweat-dropped and gaped as they took in the image that was set before them, except for Xellos who was having the time of his life and laughing.
Joey and Yami sat at the table completely drunk, rosy cheeks and all. The tea cups were empty with just a few red drops left, proof that they had drunken the wine. Joey hic-upped and snickered, his breath reeking of alcohol.
"Hey...guys!" The blonde greeted, wobbling in his seat. "Great...uh...day isn't it?"
The princess moaned. "They are SO GONE!" she declared.
Yugi bolted to his darker half's side. "Yami, are you ok! Speak to me!"
The game king raised his head to the boy, blinking, unsure if Yugi was really there or not. He placed his hands on the young teen's shoulders to be absolutely certain Yugi was a solid object and not an illusion made up by his blurry vision. A drunk grin formed at his lips as he verified it was his aibou.
"Yugi..." he said in a slur. "I've been thinking...hic...we need a new look...hic we should...hic ...dye our hair purple...hic"
Yugi gaped at him with his mouth wide opened. "Purple!"
"It's official." Lina cried. "Yami is drunk!"
"I for one think purple would be a very fashionable colour."
"Xellos! This is no time for your jokes!" Filia snapped harshly.
Val tugged at her skirt. "Mom, what's Mr. Joey doing?"
The blonde had snatched his cup and was inspecting the object quite thoroughly.
"Look at this cup!...hic...Isn't it a pretty cup!"
Filia glanced back to her son. "He's...helping me examine the tea cups for cracks."
"Well as amusing as this all is, I must be on my way." said Xellos. "If I don't leave now, I'll be late having tea with my mistress." With a nod, the priest vanished.
"I didn't know Mazoku had tea time." Gourry mused.
"Forget that!" Tristan growled. "What are we suppose to do about them!" The brunette gestured to the pair of drunk teens.
"Isn't there some sort of cure or remedy for this?" Tea questioned.
"No." Filia answered mournfully. "And using magic to cure people who have drunken dragon wine can make it worse. The effects will eventually wear off however."
"How soon?" inquired Amelia.
"I would say by morning in, this case."
"So we're stuck with them like this for the entire night!" replied Zelgaids, fearing the answer he knew he was going to receive.
"Well..."
"Why not have them sleep it off?" Gourry simply asked. "My aunt used to put a sleeping spell on my uncle whenever he came home drunk."
"That's not a bad idea. Why didn't I think of that?" Lina replied.
"Fine then." Zelgadis said marching to Yami. "Yugi and I will take care of Yami and Amelia and Gourry can handle Joey."
"And let's do this before Joey starts a chorus of an Irish drinking song." said Tristan.
"Does Joey know any?" asked Tea.
"I don't want to risk it."
Gourry nodded in agreement and following the chimera's orders, the swordsman threw Joey's arms around his shoulders, as Zel did the exact same thing with Yami.
Joey gazed up to Gourry. "Did anyone ever tell ya that you're really, really, really tall!"
"Gee thanks...I think."
Next morning, the gang were sitting at the kitchen table. They heard a loud thump and glanced to Yami and Joey as the pair were gradually walking down the stairs, groaning and clutching their heads.
"Morning!" Val greeted warmly.
The pair cringed in pain. "Val please don't yell." Joey asked. "I got a major headache."
" I didn't yell that loud..." Val pouted.
"Don't feel bad Val." Tea told the child. "They're just suffering from severe hangovers."
"What's that?"
"Something you will not experience till you're thirty." replied Filia.
Gourry watched Joey and Yami seat themselves at the table, still grasping their heads.
"That bad huh?"
The pair nodded in response. The swordsman left the table and headed out of the room.
"I know just the thing you guys need." he said, shutting the door.
Lina was grinning like a crazed manic. "So it hurts really bad huh?"
Again the boys nodded. "THEN I GUESS IT WOULD HURT IF I TALKED LIKE THIS, HUH GUYS!"
The boys slammed both of their heads on the table whining in pain.
"Not. Funny. Lina." Yami snarled bitterly.
/It's not Lina's fault you don't have enough self control to resist a challenge./ Yugi teased.
/Aibou, please don't you start./
"Oh..." Joey moaned. "This is the worst hangover ever created."
"How could you tell?" asked Tristan. "You've never had one before."
"Trust me on this Tristan. This hangover beats all existing hangovers!"
It was at that exact moment, Gourry returned holding a huge brown mug in his hand. The mug contained a thick green slime that was making small bubbles on the top. Gourry placed the mug on the table making a noisy thump, causing Yami and Joey to cringe again.
"Sorry." mouthed Gourry.
"What is that stuff?" asked Zelgadis, slightly disgusted by the slime.
"It's an old family recipe for hangovers."
The girls sniffed the mug and immediately drew back plugging their noses.
"What's in there!" Lina asked.
"It's smells horrible!" Amelia added.
"You don't want to know." Gourry replied.
"I don't care what it is!" Joey remarked, pouring himself a glass of the oozing green slime.
"I'll drink anything if it can rid me of this killer hangover!" The daring blonde threw his head back, quickly gulping the slime. He felt he was going to vomit as the slime oozed down his throat. Joey's tongue stuck out, grossed out at what he had swallowed.
"Gourry, how can your family drink this stuff!"
"We don't."
"Huh?"
"You're not suppose to drink it. You're suppose to rub a blob on your forehead."
"Now ya tell me!"
Yugi: Hi! Usually ES does the little author's note here, but she was exhausted after she finished typing this chapter and is now sleeping on the keyboard. So I'm doing it for her.
Again, sorry for the long wait, but ES has been busy and this was a very LONG chapter to write. It's about 28 pages!
She hopes all you Xellos fans are happy that he has made an appearance, but don't get too excited because he and Filia will only be in this chapter and the beginning of the next one.
See you all later1