SW: Phew, at least it's Spring Break. Now I can write without being interrupted by stupid things like school and homework.
Bakura: *scoff* Just give up. Your writing will never be as good as you want it to be.
SW: Your insults only motivate me further!
Bakura: …Damn it.
Thank you to yamikage (You'll see (; I can't give away too many spoilers), LetsFlyToHogwarts (Thank you! I don't plan on abandoning any of my stories, so don't worry!), Darkest Fire19 (Of course!), Tiryn (Oh boy…I'm so sorry. You'll find out in this chapter!), and AnimeHannah (Well aren't you just a fountain of ideas. I love it! Haha, some of that might happen, some of it might not, (; but I hope you like it either way! [And I do update every Sunday it's just a matter of when on Sunday]) for reviewing!
Hope you like!
((((((LINE))))))
Yugi felt a nervous drop of sweat on the back of his neck. If that was Dartz, then where was the rest of their group? Were they captured? Were they dead? Shaking that morbid thought from his head, Yugi left his spot behind Malik and made his way over to the side of the ship where the cannons were sitting, determined not to be completely useless.
He stared at the large metal weapon, then at the heavy cannonballs that were set next to it. Yugi nodded before reaching down to lift one up, grunting at the weight. He heard footsteps run over to him, and looked over to see Ryou struggling to push the cannon back so Yugi could load it.
Closing his eyes for a moment at the thought of the extra work he'd have had to do because he had forgotten to move the cannon, Yugi nodded to his twin before placing the cannonball at the entrance of the weapon and let the ammo roll down to the end.
"Wait…" Yugi paused and looked at Ryou, who seemed to be looking around for a match. "D-Don't we need gunpowder in the cannon first?"
Ryou paused in his search, back straightening before he smacked his forehead. "Yeah. Yeah, we do. Instead of going through the trouble of getting that cannonball out, why don't we just move to the next one and do it there?"
"We don't have time!" The two looked over to Malik, seeing him starting to cut the ropes that would allow Dartz to lift the lifeboat up out of the water. "Get a sword and help me get rid of this rope!"
They nodded and scrambled across the deck, each grabbing the first weapon they could; Ryou what looked to be a hunting knife and Yugi a small dagger. They quickly made their way over back to the side of the ship and started on the remaining ropes, since Malik had already cut two. There was a small thump, and they looked down to see the life boat had hit the side of the ship.
Dartz started to climb up the side of the ship by using two daggers to grip onto the wood, since the ropes had all fallen into the water already. "It's no use! You don't stand a chance against me!"
Malik heard his brothers scrambling back to the middle of the deck, but he scowled straight down at the mismatched eyes of Dartz. "Yeah, right." He held his sword out and let it fall, blade first, toward the captain to the ship. Scowling when Dartz moved out of the way so that it only grazed his cheek, Malik moved back. He grabbed another abandoned sword and held it in a ready stance, prepared to protect his older brothers.
There was a grunt as Dartz hauled himself over the edge of the ship, and then a scream of pain as a knife lodged itself in the man's hand. Malik looked back at a paler than normal Ryou, who still had his arm out from when he had thrown.
"Good one, Ryou! You're a natural!" The albino nodded stiffly, his pale skin suddenly taking on a greenish color, and Malik turned and moved to stand in front of his brother to allow him time to recover.
Dartz growled, grasping the knife's handle and yanking it from his hand, staring at the blood-covered blade as if surprised that someone had actually hit him. Without warning, he threw it back and Malik flinched, waiting for the hit that never came.
He heard a gasp and looked over to see Yugi leaning against the mast, holding the shoulder that had the knife embedded in it, the dagger that he had obviously been preparing to throw dropping from his hand. Malik paled as blood dripped onto the deck and Yugi whimpered.
"Yugi!" Ryou ran over to his twin, hands hovering over the wound as if trying to decide whether or not to touch it.
Malik turned back to Dartz as the man let out a cackle and he once again got into a defensive position, shuffling so that he blocked the man's view of his brothers. The tip of his sword trembled slightly, and he glared at it for a moment, trying not to think about what that could mean.
"Nervous, young boy? As you should be." Dartz drew his sword as he started to walk towards the small group of three. "After that little stunt, I don't plan on having any mercy."
"Bring it on, bastard!" He licked his lips, hoping for a moment that Marik, Seto, Yami, hell even Tea, would show up to give him a hand. There was no way he would be able to hold up against Dartz for long.
The man smirked, his gold and green eyes flashing. "As you wish."
Malik let out a burst of air as Dartz launched himself forward and brought his sword up just in time to block the attack that would've chopped him two. He widened his stance as Dartz continued to press his sword down, trying not to give any ground. This wasn't going to end well.
((((((LINE))))))
Bakura sprinted into the clearing that had once held the Treehouse, his ears ringing. The blast that he had heard had shaken the ground under his feet and he was sure had been loud enough to give him permanent ear damage. Yami and Joey were probably caught up in that blast. That's what those idiots get for rushing ahead and not waiting for any of them. He looked behind him as Marik and Seto entered the clearing, before taking in the scene in front of him.
Not only was the Treehouse now composed of only rubble, but there was a large crater about twenty feet from it, right where the tree line started. There was nothing left behind where the crater was and Bakura narrowed his eyes at it, already getting a bad feeling.
"Hello, Bakura-boy!" The man growled and turned around to look up at Pegasus, who was positioned in a tree about thirty feet away from him, in the opposite direction of the crater. "How about we play a game, hm?"
"Bakura! Marik!" The two looked over to where the crater was, watching as Joey limped around the edge of the forest, carefully making his way over to them without setting foot into the clearing and carrying an unconscious Yami on his back. "Be careful! They've littered the ground with land mines!"
"Oh, Joey-boy, why must you ruin the surprise?" Pegasus let out a small chuckle and wagged his finger at the blonde. "I might have to consider that cheating. And we don't want that, now do we?"
"Fuck off!"
The man ignored the blonde, instead turning to the angry, uninjured group that had just appeared. Well, that uninjured part would soon have to change. "So, what do you say, Bakura-boy? Do you agree to play the game?"
"Why the hell would I play a stupid game when I can just kill you flat out?" Bakura let two daggers slid from his sleeves into his hands.
Pegasus 'tsk'ed and wagged his finger again. "Now, now, Bakura. That isn't very sportsmanship-like." He hummed, moving his finger to tap his chin, the necklace around his neck flashing. "You know that I'm able to communicate with Captain Dartz through the Orichalcos, correct? Well, he has just informed me that our ship has been recaptured."
Marik growled and stepped in front of Bakura to glare at the sliver-haired man. "What have you done to Malik-pretty?"
"Yeah, 'nd what about Yug' and Ryou?" Joey joined the group, setting Yami against a tree and staying near the back with Seto, trying to not bring attention to himself but unable to stop from asking about his friends.
"Oh, don't worry. Captain Dartz has assured me that they are alive, but he says that he is unsure of how long he can contain himself. 'They all have such pretty screams,' he says." Pegasus smirked as everyone that was conscious tensed. "So what do you say now, Bakura-boy? I'm sure that by playing my game I'll be more than happy to convince Captain Dartz from killing the three a little longer." He looked over the rest of the group, watching as Joey practically lifted his injured foot from the ground to keep from putting pressure on it. "Of course, the rest of your…friends are more than welcome to play as well."
Bakura clenched his fists, glaring at Pegasus before nodding his head. "What game is it?"
"It's really quite simple. You see that pile of rubble over there?" Pegasus motioned to what was once the Treehouse. "Well, it seems that I lost something very important to me in there and I need you to get it. Think you can do that for me, Bakura-boy?"
"Fine." Bakura turned to look over his shoulder. "Just Marik's coming with me."
Joey shrugged, apparently unfazed by the decision and moved back to where Yami was before letting himself drop. "I could use a rest."
"Just in case I forgot to mention," the group looked up towards Pegasus was chuckling once again, "for every hour you spend in there looking, one of the boys gets a new tattoo."
"Does Marik get a description of the item?" Even if Marik hadn't been talking through gritted teeth, it was obvious that he was struggling not to snap, his entire body practically shaking.
There was a small hum as if Pegasus was considering the question before he giggled. "No, I believe I've told you enough." The man bowed as much as could from his position in the tree. "I bid you, adieu." Before any of them could protest, the man had disappeared into the foliage.
Joey sighed and rolled his pant leg up, grimacing at the sight of blood. He looked up Bakura and Marik for a moment before glancing at the field that he knew now was littered with dangerous explosives. That thought brought him to Yami, whose shallow breathing was one step away from sending Joey into a panic attack.
It had been complete luck that Joey had been able to fly fast enough to get Yami away from most of the explosion and, as it was, neither of them had gotten off completely scot-free. With Joey it was with his leg, but with Yami… He looked his friend over, trying to find the source of the blood that covered almost every part of Yami's body but a flash of pain distracted him.
Swearing under his breath, Joey turned to Seto, who had ripped off the sleeve of his shirt and was trying his best to clean Joey's wound without any water. "What're ya doin' that for?"
Seto scoffed and looked over his shoulder, drawing Joey's attention to where Bakura and Marik were practically sprinting across the field. "I have to do something or I'm going to go mad. My brothers are alone with a lunatic and their safety is riding on two other lunatics being able to find something belonging to yet another lunatic. Trust me, this was the better option."
Joey blinked, then nodded his head before letting it rest on the tree trunk, trying to hid a wince every time Seto got a little too close to his wound. This was going to be a long wait.
((((((LINE))))))
SW: At least this update is of normal length…Oh, yeah, sorry 'bout skipping the fight scene between Dartz and the hikaris…I'm really bad at fight scenes and you wouldn't have wanted to read my attempt.
Ryou: I'm sure they don't mind. What they probably do mind though is the time of your update. It's half an hour 'til midnight!
SW: Psh, so? I got it up, didn't I?…I'm sorry!
Will you review even though I suck at updating at a reasonable time?
