Rose D.: Well, hello everyone! I know it's been OVER A YEAR since I've updated anything on my account (and BOY has FanFiction changed since I've last been here!).
I have a really good reason for being away so long though! I DO, I promise! It's simply: Last year, I spent over 9 months finishing both 11th and 12th Grade, and graduating from a High School that required me to do 2 Research Papers! 0.0 And then right after that I got all these commissions from people who wanted me to draw for them. -sighs- So, it has taken me THIS LONG to get back into writing and find my niche again. .
But, I DO want to THANK all the faithful readers who have waited SO LONG to find out what happens in this: Dark Crisis - Undead in Throe. Special thanks for such goes to Shining Charizard, Cute Yami, and JennyNGO, who made a special effort to cheer me on when I was feeling exceptionally inadequate at writing. Thank you for your support guys! .
The story picks up right where I left, so you won't miss a thing! I do, however, recommend -for a more even flow- that you go back and reread (some, if not all) the previous Chapters, as I have also updated them with new info and cleared up some possible misunderstandings.
Thanks!
So now, I am MOST PROUD to announce the much anticipated (I can say that right?) continuance of Undead in Throe! -steps aside bowing with open hand as the giant red curtain beings to part-
RoseD.: HERE WE GO!
+Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh+
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D. Crisis Chapter 11
Dark is the Night, Blood in the Fight
Through the rain, Eru the Key Mage huffed and puffed—and tittered wildly in an attempt to get Seto Kaiba to "wait up." But the effort was useless, for the C.E.O. was paying little or no attention at all to the tiny Monster.
He was far too busy glaring forward, racing over the tops of the buildings that were still standing, and leaping with great strides over the distances between them. Intermittently he would halt to sniff the air for Yami's scent, but as of yet, there wasn't a whiff to be found; and Kaiba glowered.
'Maybe I should be trying to find V. Lord instead.' he thought, 'But would that help me get to Yami faster? Dredge it! I wish I knew whether V. Lord had 'im or not!' He started forward again.
"I hate that Duel Monster!" Kaiba growled, his anger becoming a fierce rage, 'And because I hate him, I have to save that lame excuse for a Pharaoh no matter what it costs! V. Lord isn't going to have his way—not this time!'
At once Seto Kaiba changed direction and darted down into the darkened streets, his mind racing like the heart in his chest. He knew Vampire Lord was capable of anything, and that included turning the Pharaoh into a Vampyr by means most unnatural.
Now, Kaiba pondered over why he cared about what happened to his former rival, and found – he didn't know. After all, even if Vampire Lord were successful in Tainting Yami, Kaiba doubted the Pharaoh would be any more powerful than himself.
Seto shrugged and solaced his wondering mind by telling himself simply: He couldn't let Yami become a Vampyr because, if he did, Yami and Vampire Lord would eventually find a way to kill him and everyone in the town. And –just for the record– he didn't want that to happen.
Yet, as Seto Kaiba was ending the debate in his mind, he was suddenly aware of a strange sensation rising within him. 'Huh?' Out of the blue, an image flashed in Kaiba's mind: an image of the Pharaoh!
'What?' Seto's eyes widened as, before his mind's eye, he beheld Yami — writhing in pain, mouth open in a soundless scream. The C.E.O. gasped at the clarity of the image, and stumbled in his stride, for then the vision opened wide before him.
Kaiba skidded to a halt. 'What is this!' His eyes filled with consternation and he stared, the vision presenting Yami bound upon a cold gray surface amidst the throes of great agony.
'Why am I seeing this?' Seto grunted sharply as a wave of pain suddenly struck up through his arm, and down into his chest. He recoiled, clutching at his heart; and it was with some horror that he realized he was being given a taste of his former rival's pain — but it was just a taste.
Seto looked at Yami's agonized face. 'This pain isn't even half of what he's feeling!' He groaned, hugging his middle; and a very rational thought entered his head. 'I've seen enough! I don't have to take this anymore–!'
Through the pang, Kaiba let loose a savage roar, and threw his arms outward, banishing the vision into the nothing from which it had come.
For a moment he stood stunned, with eyes wide, before realizing he was still in the middle of the street. At once he looked about, expecting an unseen attack of some kind to come barreling his direction; but there was no one there. Seto stood alone, silent, and the rain came over him.
The leader of the human Vampyrs cast his eyes downward for a moment, rain dripping from the tip of his nose. "I get the picture," he breathed.
A nerve in his hand started twinging, and Kaiba had to jerk out his wrist to force it to stop. "I've no idea why I just saw that," he muttered, balling his hand into a fist, "But I do know I have to save Yami . . . before it's too late.'
The President of Kaiba Corp. spun 'round, leaping up against the rain-slicked side of the old Domino Library, and alighted on the domed roof.
'Vampire Lord,' Kaiba thought, 'I'm the only one you told all your plans to — I was a real captive audience staked to that wall. Heh, how you love to brag. I know you told me everything because you knew I'd try to stop you, and you were right!' Seto chuckled in his throat, 'The only thing you won't be expecting, is for me to actually DO it. Freak.'
It was at this moment that little Eru flew up next to Vampyr Kaiba, and more than happily plopped down on the dome beside him. The tiny Mage was seconds from hyperventilating, for fighting the weight of the rain had been more than a task for its small wings.
Kaiba glanced down. "Oh, you're still here?"
The Key Mage nodded. Kaiba rolled his eyes.
"You know, there're a million other things you could be doing besides tagging along with me!" he barked. Eru stared for a moment, and then squeaked in a questioning tone.
"Hey! Kaiba!" came a shout.
Seto spun to face the voice, and saw one from his own band of human Tainted, hovering over the building across the way. As the Vampyr leapt toward him, Kaiba recognized the kid as the same troublemaker he'd faced down back at Kaiba Tower.
"Thade!" Seto said, as the kid landed in front of him.
"Hi!" Thade smiled, "I came to find you. What'cha doin'?"
Kaiba eyed the newcomer with sharp impatience. "What do you think!" he snapped, "I'm trying to find V. Lord. Duh!"
Thade blinked, as did Eru. And that's when Kaiba jerked, nose twitching, and he turned, gaze darting back and forth through the rain.
"What is it?" asked Thade, starting to look around as well.
"Well aren't you dumber than a box of rocks!" Seto snarled, "Can't you smell that stench? It's Vampire Lord."
"Oh!" Thade exclaimed, and his expression hardened as he too caught the odor; his eyes narrowed.
An involuntary growl started deep in Kaiba's throat as he leered off into the darkness. 'V.Lord. . .'
Below, the little Key Mage stood and stretched out its wings; raising itself up in the air again, it came to a flutter just over Kaiba's shoulder. Thade cocked an eyebrow. "Friend of yours?"
Kaiba hissed. "Hey! Don't you go thinking this little Fairy-type belongs to me! I didn't want 'im to follow me around, but 'e is! So there! Nothing I've got time to do anything about!" Seto spun around, "Now shut up and let me concentrate!" And with hands poised upright before him, he snapped his eyes shut and took the breeze into his lungs to find exactly from which direction the smell had been dragged to him.
Thade stepped up next to Kaiba.
A moment of silence passed — Seto's eyes bolted wide. "Got it!" And he darted away, shooting over 30 feet to the building ahead. "Come on!" he yelled.
A sharpness came into Thade's eyes prior to him launching forward to catch up with his leader.
As for Eru, well, it lingered in the heavy rain for a moment, and puffed out a sigh. It then scrunched up its ity face in an angry glare and, holding fast to its key, started forward, determined to help defeat evil in any way it could.
oooooooooo
Lightning and thunder cracked the sky, seeming to herald the anger of Heaven at what was transpiring on the Earth below.
A gleam was in the wicked Vampire Lord's eyes as he looked down into the alley below him, where knelt Yugi Mutoh clinging to his brother as though his life depended on it.
But Yugi . . . his eyes were wide in horror, tears running from them in thin streams. "No," he uttered, staring at nothing and trembling from what he beheld in his mind's eye, "No!"
V. Lord grinned, chest puffing out proudly: for he had been able to cast a spell on Yugi; so subtly in fact, that the White Vampyr had been a second too late in realizing it and therefore unable to stop it. Now poor Yugi was locked helplessly within a vision of horror: he was witnessing the operation.
"Stop! No!" Yugi cried, "Please!" His voice betrayed the wild panic rising in his heart. He could not free himself of the grisly images, though he tried.And all he felt was pain, in his arms and face — but most definitely in his heart.
"You see it don't you?" quizzed V. Lord, "You see the blade, hmm?" The Monster spoke with slow deliberation, knowing that each time he did, Yugi Mutoh was being pinned farther within the confines of his Black Vision. "You feel the pain, that insane pain as it cuts into your face—"
Yugi cringed, heart pounding. The Vampire's voice was in his head now— he couldn't get it out!
V. Lord grinned. "And what of your brother?" said he, the ever-persistent brute, "You see him too right? Split open on the table."
An inarticulate gasp escaped Yugi's throat, and he let forth a scream of absolute horror, burying his face against Yami's chest as he lay limp in his arms. 'No—! Why is this happening!'
Though Yugi's eyes were squeezed shut, his mind's eye was wide open. And the gruesome images struck him over and over again, being so real and intense they might as well have been happening.
A strangled moan came from Yugi's throat, and in shear spite of the pain in his arms, he gripped Yami tighter. He was shaking, unable to move, and unable to even try; the tears ran freely down his face.
Vampire Lord tipped his head back and swallowed some rain; there was a malicious glint in his eyes and he smiled. 'I'll show you how to defeat a Legendary White Vampyr!'
Minutes passed, no one moved, the rain still fell, and Yugi's sobs could be heard issuing forth from the alley.
V. Lord sighed and at last, in his black heart, knew he had done enough. He snapped his wet fingers, and in the blink of an eye the spell was broken, and with it, the horrendous vision.
Yugi Mutoh jerked and saw reality again, but his gaze seemed hollow; his heart beat thick in his chest. Blinking took effort, and as Yugi started to look around, a dark alley suddenly came into focus around him. His brow creased in confusion, for the last thing he knew he'd been dying in the Nightmare Room. 'What is—this?'
Vampire Lord leapt off the building ledge and down into the alley beside the White Vampyr. Yugi's head jerked 'round at the sharp sound of clattering boots and he found a menacing figure looming over him.
Fear welled suddenly inside Yugi and he tried to stand, only to realize there was a body lying across his knees. Yugi's gaze followed up the body, and with some shock, found the face of Yami at the end!
'Yami!' At once, reality cracked within Yugi's mind, hitting him like a one-two punch and he flinched. 'None of that actually happened . . ! None of it was real!' He fell back, slumping against the wall.
V. Lord leaned down. "Finally realized it was all a nightmare?"
Yugi looked up, his face appearing haggard and drawn: the look of a true nightmare experienced. "H–how'd you do that?" he asked shakily, "Why did you do that?"
"It was Magic." the Vampire replied darkly, "And I did it because I needed to weaken you. You are one of the Legendary White Vampires that myth speaks of. And that means you hold great power! I couldn't let you unleash it all on me, now could I?"
'Great power?' Yugi stared, seemingly unable to comprehend the Vampire's words. He blinked with still more effort, and looked down on Yami again. 'He isn't hurt? No . . . he isn't hurt.'
Yugi told himself this, and yet still moved his hand up, running it down along his brother's chest, feeling for the wound he had seen dealt Yami in the vision. 'You're not hurt, and yet — and yet still I look for your wounds . . . Why?'
Yugi cringed as glimpses of V. Lord's vision sparked in his mind, and only then did he realize the Monster was speaking again.
"And anyway," snuffed V. Lord, "Who doesn't like sneak previews?" He closed his eyes momentarily as he brushed his wet hair out of his face.
Yugi clenched his teeth, and raised his narrowed eyes. He caught the Vampire's eye with his own and said: "You are a dastard V. Lord."
V. Lord paused for but a moment before leering with a pleasant smile and leaning down into Yugi's face. "Yes," he whispered, subtly taking in Yugi's scent, "Isn't it marvelous?"
Vampire Lord gave a funny little giggle before bouncing up and giving a loud clap of his hands; Yugi tensed. "Well now, the time has come my Legendary White Vampyr!" sang he, eyes shining with a vile delight, "For the only thing left to do is trap you."
Yugi looked back and forth quickly, seeing that he was surrounded by Vampire Lord andhis lackeys: Mazera DeVille, Pale Beast, The Earl of Demise and Newdoria, all having emerged from the darkness at either end of the alley.
"Of course, I've weakened you SO greatly with my Black Vision," flouted V. Lord, "I don't imagine it will be very difficult."
The White Vampyr lowered his eyes, and his arms came around the Pharaoh's body, as iron. "Then you imagine wrong." said he, leaning forward again, and coming to rest on the balls of his feet.
V. Lord cocked an eyebrow. "What's this then?" he asked quizzically, intrigued by Yugi's movements, "You're not seriously going to try and escape, are you?"
Yugi's lip curled; slowly he looked up through the tops of his eyes, rage swelling in his heart. "I think 'try' would be the wrong word, Vampire Lord."
And before the assembled Monsters even knew what had happened, Yugi leapt up and straight into V. Lord, propelling him with such force into the back-wall that bricks & mortar went flying in every direction.
Vampire Lord's lackeys jumped back in surprise, and Yugi, with his brother, bound away and straight up the opposing wall.
"NO!" rang V. Lord's enraged bellow as he yanked himself from the mess of bricks, "Not when I'm this close!" He growled and tore upward after the White Vampyr, "You're not getting away from me Yugi Mutoh!"
Yugi moved with leaps and bounds up the wall, and upon reaching the roof-edge, shifted Yami's weight into one arm and swung them both up and over. 'I have to get away!' he thought as his feet came down and he caught up the Pharaoh's legs again, and shot forward, 'Because as long as I'm alive there's not a chance on Earth I'm going to let that freak do that to us!'
Yugi was almost across the rooftop.
V. Lord's minions came onto the roof along side their Master. "Fan out!" he ordered them, eyes fixing on the White Vampyr's back, "We'll surround him and take them both!"
Yugi heard the vile Vampire barking orders behind him but, with the blood pounding in his head, what entered his ears sounded only to be a bunch of gibberish. Yugi hugged Yami's sopping form close and, with his foot coming against the building's ledge, vaulted high above Main Street to the building ahead.
Yet just as Yugi touched down and started forward, Newdoria & Pale Beast climbed into view, immediately advancing on the jagged-haired twins.
Yugi sprang back as they rushed upon him, their claws tearing through the air. He shielded Yami as he expertly dodged the first blow, and ducked neatly to avoid the second. Pale Beast & Newdoria struck over and over again, but none of their attacks met their target; they growled furiously.
Again, Yugi loosed one arm from holding Yami's weight. "It'll take more than the likes of you to take me down!" he shouted, bouncing up and driving his foot straight into the face of the charging Pale Beast who gave a shrill whin and instantly retreated. And as Newdoria came up from behind, Yugi spun, driving the back of his fist into its side-jaw, the bone shattering on impact. Newdoria yelped like a whipped dog, and fell away.
Yugi was somewhat surprised by his own actions. He hadn't any idea how he was able to hold onto Yami with one arm and so effectively fight off his attackers with the other; he could only assume that some instinct had risen within him, a fighting instinct, coming from both his Vampyr side — and his Human.
Yet as he gathered Yami up once again, sprinting toward the street before him, he suddenly gasped, crying out in sheer pain. For Vampire Lord had leapt up from behind, knife-like fingernails flashing in the darkness, and struck into Yugi's back with a slashing blow.
The young Mutoh almost collapsed fully, thin trails of blood plashing down onto the rooftop. In most cases, injuries to a Vampyr are nothing more than a moment's discomfort; but there was something different about Yugi, and he turned just as V. Lord was bearing down on him and Yami.
In an instant Yugi turned himself over, falling back with a cringe upon the roof, Yami across his chest. V. Lord didn't have time to shield his face as Yugi struck up with his foot, kicking out with such a vengeance that the Vampire was felled backward off the building.
This gave the White Vampyr enough time to get back on his feet, but just as he'd sighted the direction in which he wanted to dash, V. Lord came up again, almost impossibly, and swung his elbow straight into Yugi's face.
"GAHH!" The blow came so fast –with a slight tug against his hips– that it caused Yugi to twirl in place. He could only keep himself from falling by throwing his leg out against the roof, and he stumbled as he caught himself. 'I can't let him get in anymore sucker-punches!' Yugi told himself, as he raised his eyes.
There Vampire Lord stood, his lackeys at the ready, and in his upraised hand, he held Yugi's blue studded Dueling belt!
'What?' Yugi's mouth fell open, and his eyes jerked down to the sight of his beltless waist. 'When did he–!'
"I'm sorry," simpered V. Lord, "But it appears now you won't be able to use the power of your Magic & Traps against me and my fellows." he belted Yugi's Deck-holster around his own hips, tucking it right up against the red silken sash he had taken from Yami. He glared at Yugi. "You better hope your physical attributes make up for your lack of Cards."
Yugi swallowed and gritted his teeth.
"Now we attack!" roared V. Lord. And he and his lessers lunged ahead, the injured among them hungry for revenge.
"No!" Yugi called, and launched himself and Yami over the building's ledge. Gravity caught up the twins and pulled them swiftly downward.
"STOP!" V. Lord bellowed, arms outspread as they came to the edge, and his lackey's skidded to a halt. "I have a better idea!" announced their Master, in a rather peeved manner.
Vampire Lord hopped onto the slick, outermost bricks of the building with eyes fixed on his escapees; he flashed out his own damp DM card. "Activate Trap: Zero Gravity!"
The ground came up at Yugi, and he readied his feet to meet the pavement. But just as he would've touched down, the street below was all at once shot with virulent green energy.
"Huh!" Yugi was startled at being suddenly motionless in mid air, his feet hovering just inches above the pavement; the weightlessness felt hollowing.
That's when the green light shot brighter, and stronger! Yugi cringed as the energy came up hard against his gut, and rocketed both he and Yami back upward. "Ahh!" 'What happened to gravity!'
At once Yugi tried to right himself, striking out with arm and legs in hopes he could regain his balance; but he was spinning, and the centrifugal force suddenly caused Yami's body to slip free of him.
Yugi's breath caught— and his hand shot out, just catching the wrist of his heart-brother. He held fast to the Pharaoh as they tumbled within the void. But when at last they came to a stop, the White Vampyr found the non-gravity seemed only to be affecting him; for even as he began clutching at his brother's body for a better hold, he realized the Pharaoh's dead weight wasn't floating at all.
'Why is it only Yami's body that's getting pulled down?' He wondered, awkwardly trying to gather up the Ancient King. Yugi managed to get an arm around Yami again, unaware that he had floated right up into eyeshot of his antagonists.
A growl of delight came from the Vampire's throat, Yugi hanging oh so vulnerably in the air before him. "HAA! Now you're mine!" he lauded, vaulting straight into the anti-gravity field.
Yugi's face jerked up, seeing only Vampire Lord's fist. The punch rammed into Yugi's face, sending the teen and his twin straight through the field of green light and out the other side!
With a cry Yugi crashed down against the cracked rooftop, Yami breaking from his grasp, his limp-rag body tumbling away.
"No—!" Yugi's eyes shot wide as he skidded to a stop. He scrambled up on his knees, but at once Vampire Lord was there, pointing and ordering his subordinates to: "Take them!"
V. Lord's ugly crew jumped forward to surround the Twins.
"NO!" Yugi screamed in desperation, lunging toward Yami. But even as his arms came around his unconscious soul-brother, the Twins were seized by clawed hands and raised off the ground. The Monsters immediately began yanking at them, clawing and pulling them this way and that, trying to wrest the unconscious Pharaoh from the grip of the White Vampyr.
"No!" Yugi called, "NO! I won't let go!"
The Monsters growled at this pronouncement of defiance, and began buffeting their captive, slapping him and punching him mercilessly. They yanked viscously at his arms, and upon Yami, being now bound and determined to separate the two.
Then out of the blue, a jagged set of teeth sank straight into Yugi's thigh. The White Vampyr sucked in his breath before giving forth a wild cry of pain, his body tensing, agonized tears coming to his eyes. Much to the Monsters' disbelief, the pain only caused him hold to Yami tighter.
"You won't take him!" he shrilled, "You won't!"
Yugi cringed—the massive bodies were pressing in, a jumble of wet, stinking Monsters who's stench was overwhelming his senses; Yugi felt like he was being buried alive! 'He's chewing on my leg!'
And here, through all the wretched clawing and tearing, Yugi began to cry. Not audibly, just tears . . . bitter tears, full of regret – and anger; they were feelings released from deep within a heart that was about to - rip - open.
Lightening struck overhead, lighting the whole of the awful scene; and still the abuse went on, the pain being dealt from all sides for what seemed like an eternity.
'Oh God!' the teen mewled in his mind. 'Am I really going to die?' Yugi thought this suddenly, and the graveness of it startled him; he hugged the Pharaoh. 'Yami . . !'
Yugi wanted to hope, and he wanted to pray; and with all the feeling he could gather in his battered heart, he cried aloud: "God! Help us, please!"
Mazera DeVille snarled at Yugi's mortal cry, and being utterly frustrated at not successfully breaking the boy, the Monster snapped out his massive hand, right passed Yami's head, and seized the teen's throat.
The White Vampyr gagged, choking. With hardly the ability to struggle left in him, Yugi Mutoh looked into Mazera's eyes — and saw only death reflected in them; the grip tightened. Lines came into Yugi's face as his suffering seemed to reach some kind of pinnacle.
'So,' came his dwindling thoughts, 'This is death— Hm, it doesn't feel at all like I expected it to.' It was then that all expression abandoned Yugi's face – his head dropped to the side. 'I'm sorry Yami . . .'
Thunder cracked in the cloud-mass above.
"Rrgh! That's enough!" V. Lord spat over the roar of the Heavens, and his lackeys paused in the bashing of their captives, "If he wants to hold his brother, let him do so! It'll be the last time he does anyway."
Mazera DeVille moved his eyes from his Master and leered at Yugi; he gave one final squeeze before taking his hand from around Yugi's neck. And with that, the Monsters pulled back from the would-be escapee; the jagged teeth slide from Yugi's flesh , and at last, the beating came to an end.
The Monsters backed away, well, all but two, who held the vanquished Yugi dangling between them — he was V. Lord's prisoner, at last.
Yugi's chest bulged as he tried to take air into his lungs, and yet somehow, despite having been beaten to exhaustion, he managed to still raise a 'thank you' to Heaven from his heart. He was very glad the Duel Monsters had ceased in trying to take Yami from him, for with his strained arms slack around the Pharaoh 's body, he feared if they tried again he would not be able to withstand the assault.
Vampire Lord stepped forward, toward to his captives. "That really wasn't a bad attempt at an escape," he said, giving a mock-clapping of his hands. "In fact I'm surprised you were able to move at all after the torment you suffered in my Black Vision. But, an attempt is all it was, and now you're in the same position you were before. So Now, I ask you: Are you ready to meet your Maker?"
Yugi didn't respond to V. Lord's taunt; he only grasped at Yami's drenched form and tipped his head backward toward the sight of Heaven. 'God please — give me the strength to fight them . . ! Please—! You can't let them cut us open! Please help us!'
The lightning flashed above, and Yugi watched it; yet his brow furrowed when he saw a great portion of the sky above them did not light up. And here, Yugi realized the rain had stopped coming down on them, and yet, he could still hear it.
V. Lord could see the question on his prisoner's face, and pulled his fangs up from his bottom lip. "Wondering what that patch of blackness is up there?" quizzed he, "Well, that's my floating fortress. And that's where you're going — to die."
Yugi's eyelids were flung back. 'His fortress! No—!' "NO!" he cried, the feeling of warmth having left his body. He began struggling in the Monsters' clutches, to little or no effect. 'Yami—wake up!'
Vampire Lord chuckled, fishing in his pocket for another DM card; his fingers came against a Magic card. "Ah, here we go!" He pulled it out, and cooed, "Ahh, Nightmare Steel Cage . . . a nice prelude to the Nightmare Room, wouldn't you say?"
Terror struck down through Yugi's heart, cold sweat sliding down his face. He couldn't let that vision come true! He couldn't! For to see Yami as he had been in that vision, would kill his soul.
'We can't die like that, God! We can't!'
"Drop them." directed Vampire Lord. The two brutes holding the twins between them, suddenly threw the pair forward onto the roof. Yugi's hands jerked up, cupping under Yami's head as the Pharaoh's body hit the cement. Yugi came down almost on top of Yami, and he groaned from the pain of his injuries. 'Urrgh-! They're taking their sweet time in healing.' he thought irately, and flinched.
Vampire Lord came walking around Yugi and Yami, and the White Vampyr shifted, pushing himself up on his hands and knees; weakened though he was, he still posed protectively over his soul-brother's body.
V. Lord smiled, and turned with a flourish to face the twins. He was ever so pleased with the sight of Yugi's white clothes soaked through with intermittent patches of red, his skin covered with gashes and bruises; Yugi looked terrible.
"Oh how I love the sight of my opposition on their knees." The evil leader said in the most sincerest tone; he held out the Magic card. Yugi felt his muscles tighten, and his heart beat faster.
Then, out of the rain came the glitter of Fairy dust. Everyone stared a moment at the shimmering gold sparks, before looking around in confusion. Eru the Key Mage suddenly dropped down in front of Yugi.
"E-Eru!" Yugi spluttered in surprise. The tiny Duel Monster gripped its key like a stave and faced Vampire Lord.
V. Lord blinked a moment, and lowered the card. "What's this?" he jeered, looking at the Key Mage.
Eru squeaked angrily and twirled its key expertly in the air over its head. You could almost hear it say: Hy-yah!
"What?" sounded V. Lord, "You're here to protect Yugi Mutoh?"
Eru gave a curt little nod of its head. There was a brief moment of silence, before all the wicked Monsters broke out in raucous, grating laughter.
A somewhat helpless expression crossed Yugi's face. 'Oh dear.' he thought, and stole a quick glance down at Yami, whose state of being was no different than when Yugi had found him back in the alley; well, except perhaps for a few new cuts.
The laughter of V. Lord and his lackeys finally died down. "Ooh!" said the wicked leader, wiping away his hysterical tears, "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!" There came a finger tapping on the back of V. Lord's shoulder; Vampire Lord stopped.
"Oh?" said a voice, "You don't think he might have the power to back up his statement?"
V. Lord sweat-dropped, and spun. "Kaiba!" And before he had time to even lay eyes on the C.E.O., Kaiba drove his fist clean into the Vampire's face.
Yugi and Eru ducked as V. Lord went careering over their heads. 'Crimny!' thought Yugi, 'Kaiba's sure stickin' his neck out—! No pun intended. Where's he been all this time?'
Dumbly the lackeys turned to attack Kaiba, but the C.E.O. wasn't about to give them an inch; he whistled sharply and Thade sprang from nowhere along with five other Vampyrs. In a trice they latched onto the backs of V. Lord's lackeys, and the Monsters roared as the Human Tainted began tearing at their flesh. The combatants sprawled on the cement raging like mad things.
And here were Yugi, Yami & Eru, smack in the middle.
Seto dashed forward. "Yugi!" he barked, "Take the Pharaoh and get out of here!" He threw his hand out to the side, indicating he didn't care which direction Yugi fled just so long as he did.
All Yugi could do to respond was nod, being a little overtaken by all that was happening. But just as he stood, taking Yami up once again, the wrathful V. Lord came up behind Kaiba.
Yugi gasped, but his subsequent warning came too late. Vampire Lord caught Seto Kaiba under the arms, and sank his teeth straight into the C.E.O.' s neck!
"Aaagh!" Kaiba screamed, which was a surprising thing to hear.
Yugi was aghast, for never had he seen a Vampyr bite another in such a way. "Kaiba!" he cried.
Kaiba clenched V. Lord's dripping hair between his fingers, and yanked back viciously on the Monster's head, trying to wrench the fangs from his neck. "GO!" Kaiba croaked to Yugi, who was staring.
Yugi frowned worriedly, as did Eru; they wanted to help him.
"Just go!" Kaiba commanded, disguising the pleading tone in his voice. The C.E.O. was pulling V. Lord down as he himself sank to his knees. Yugi turned, darting away.
"I'm going to KILL you Kaiba!" snarled V. Lord, biting harder into Seto, "That way you'll never interfere with my endeavors again!"
Seto's mouth began to open, for the pain was intense; his natural reaction was to want to cry out, but his pride would not let him, not again. He clenched his fang-ed teeth and, now being on his knees, grabbed hold of the fabric of Vampire Lord's jacket and yanked him forward, bringing the Monster's head crashing against the cement.
As for Yugi, he and Eru leapt through the fray with relative ease, and it was only then that Yugi realized his strength was returning. 'That's strange,' he thought, leaping over the street and finding his wounded thigh in the perfect state to do so. 'My wounds are all healing up now. But why weren't they before?' he touched down, 'When Joey got hurt, his injuries healed almost immediately.' Yugi ran, jumping across the span of another street, only this time he came down onto a shorter building.
'Does my slow healing time have something to do with me being a White Vampyr?' He wondered this, racing across the rooftop; and glanced back. 'I hope Kaiba'll be okay.'
All at once, something slammed into Yugi's shins, causing him to pitch forward so sharply that he crashed down on his back at the building-ledge; he repressed his cry. He held the Pharaoh protectively, somehow managing to keep him from any further injury.
Eru squeaked worriedly. Yugi slowly opened his eyes, and began to release his tight clutch. 'What was that? ' he wondered, and tried to sit up.Of a sudden, Eru gave a high trill, catching Yugi's attention, and squeaked to him that it had seen something in the air behind them, but that it didn't know what it was—the thing had disappeared.
"In the air?" Yugi asked, sitting himself up, Yami's limp body leaning against his torso. "You mean in the air above?" This he tried to clarify, the pang fading.
Eru shook its little head fiercely and jabbed its ity finger at the air immediately behind them. A sort of anxiety came into Yugi and his eyes began to dart back and forth over the patch of air before of him; so too did Eru, their nervous eyes watching anxiously.
'Something's here–!' this conclusion came easily to Yugi, 'But I can't smell anything! I don't understand. Usually I can smell danger in—'
Out of the blue, a black round-edged diamond shape appeared from the very air itself, and — a hand reached out from it!
"What in the—!" Yugi called. The black shaped opened up wide and a figure in a large cloak suddenly appeared before him. Yugi's eyebrows raised as he scented the pheromones of a female, who then threw back her large red hood single-handed and looked on Yugi with cold eyes.
Yugi was in shock. "T'ea!" he cried. He had not seen her since learning she had become a Tainted one.
The Vampyress stepped forward threateningly. "Give him to me."
Yugi jumped slightly at these words. "What?"
"I said, give him to me!" she threw back the edges of her cloak so that her arms could move freely; there was a long metal pipe in her hand. Eru screaked for her not to interfere, but she took little notice.
Yugi frowned, and got to his feet, holding Yami upright; he could sense T'ea's intent. "Don't be stupid T'ea! I'm not going to give him to you." Yugi's voice was surprisingly stern.
The two Vampyrs stood in a face-off, taking in the each other's pheromonal scents and so determining just how serious the other was.
"I want him," T'ea said, staring hard with half-lidded eyes, and she scraped the metal of her pipe against the rooftop, "I want him, and I'm not going to leave here without him."
Yugi slide his feet into a wider stance. "T'ea," he spoke slowly, "Yami is hurt, the last thing he needs to be involved in right now is another fight!"
"There won't have to be another fight, if you just hand him over." T'ea raised the pipe and rested it on her shoulder. 'Quickly, you must do this quickly!' she told herself.
Yugi's glare was almost dangerous. "The more time I waste standing here talking to you, the less time we have to escape!" the pitch of Yugi's voice was rising, "I need to get Yami to a place of safety before Vampire Lord catches up with us, OK?"
T'ea cocked an eyebrow, seeming moderately disinterested; though secretly she was very agitated. "Vampire Lord? Puh, you act like he's something special."
The look of confusion crept in along Yugi's brow.
"I mean, come on!" snapped T'ea, "With all the power you have, I'm surprised you're afraid of him. You could easily kill Vampire Lord, Yugi. Why don't you?"
Yugi's eyes narrowed; he didn't respond to T'ea, simply because the notion of killing Vampire Lord hadn't crossed his mind. With Yugi's congenital belief that everyone and everything is good until proven otherwise, came the inability to think of killing, let alone on a whim with no rational forethought. Yugi studied T'ea eyes, and a question rose in his mind.
T'ea however, was watching the face of the unconscious Pharaoh when Yugi shifted and asked: "What power?" He had a serious mind to know what T'ea meant by what she'd spoken.
The Vampyress' brow creased; she was starting to thump the pipe against the cement. "What do you mean 'what power'?"
"You're the second person to say something about me having 'great power'. I want to know what you mean."
"Don't you know?" barked T'ea, incredulously.
"Apparently not."
T'ea leered, clenching her fangs. "Well in case you hadn't noticed, you're not exactly a normal Vampire! Something freak happened when you were changing from a Human, 'cause your aura as a Vampire is unlike all the others—male and female alike."
Yugi's frown softened at the edges, and he then remembered that he had indeed made a formal statement to Joey about being unlike any other Vampyr. Of course, it seemed to Yugi that he'd known a lot more about what this meant right then than he did right now.
"You're an unknown, different," T'ea went on, her hostility abated for the moment, "You're an outsider who can't be counted among us because you hold something unlike inside you. I don't know what it is exactly," T'ea was rushing her words suddenly, "But, it scares me somehow because I fear what it entails. I–I mean, I can't even smell any bloodlust in you! That is NOT a normal Vampire!"
Yugi tensed at the thought of drinking blood. 'She's right.' he thought, feeling the queasiness stirring deep down inside himself, 'I'm not like them.'
T'ea averted her gaze abruptly, and took a stumbling step backward. "And your power—" her words were mingled with a moan, "Ever since I left the sanctuary of this cloak, your aura has been rolling over me in waves so that I feel like I'm drowning . . . I've been trying to ignore it, Dracula knows I've been trying. But—"
Yugi's face creased with the look of helplessness, for T'ea was sinking to her knees. "I don't know what you mean! I can't feel myself doing anything!" He shook his head. "Look, this side of the Earth has already turned far enough for the sun to reach it and soon it'll be dawn. So my concern for Yami right now is in making sure he lives to see it. "
T'ea didn't respond, her head was bowed. Yet she raised her gaze slightly, and turned it so to look out through the rain at the horizon. "The sun's coming up?" her voice was faint, "How can you tell–? there are so many clouds . . ."
Yugi looked at the distant lightning. "I can feel its rays warming the atmosphere already. It's coming."
T'ea gazed up with a sort of dazzle in her eyes, whispering: "You are magic, Yugi." And gave a secret smile, for Yugi's power was no longer overwhelming her. 'I'm getting used to it.' thought she, proud of her ability to adapt, 'It's effecting me less and less, and when it no longer holds any sway over me—' She looked on Yugi with a somewhat nasty smile, which faded suddenly as Yugi picked the Pharaoh up in his arms again. She tensed. 'No! I'm not ready!'
Yugi looked down at her. "I hope someday that we can be friends again." he said, with the most sincerity T'ea had heard from anyone since the whole crisis began.
Yugi made to dash away, but T'ea lunged forward suddenly catching hold of his leg; Yugi's eyes widened.
"You can't take him!" T'ea called, "Drat it!" And hissing, she knew she'd have to make due with the strength she had. Yugi tried to shake her off, and Eru even tried to help him by whacking T'ea on the head with its little key. But, for the moment, the Vampyress was too determined; and, slapping Eru aside, she climbed up Yugi's body in a sudden frenzy.
Yugi gasped in veritable shock, and T'ea leapt up, throwing all her weight down on him and slamming him back against the rooftop. Yugi cried out, knowing that if he didn't hold tight to Yami, T'ea would take him for sure. For her eyes were wild and she drove her arms down in between Yami & Yugi, encompassed the Pharaoh's chest and held to him as though her life depended on it.
"You're a ripe cretin T'ea!" Yugi barked as she leaned over him. And before she could get a better stance to pull, Yugi spun onto his side with such force that T'ea was brought down with a slap beside him; T'ea cringed.
"And you're a wretch Yugi!" she spat, "You're a wretch and I hate you!"
The pair were locked, hopelessly, growling and struggling against each other, pulling and kicking like mad cats that had caught the edge of a blanket. It was a good thing Pharaoh Yami wasn't aware of anything that was going on, because it isn't very pleasant being the object of possession in a tug-o-war.
'I won't let him go!' thought T'ea dogmatically; and although she knew the same thought was in Yugi's mind, she knew little that he was the only one with the power to make the statement true. How strange it was, Yugi thought, that he'd been in this exact same position only a little while ago. He sighed within.
'She will not take him from me. No one will.'
And with rolling in violent jerks back and forth across the cement roof, it was small wonder it took so long for the combatants to realize the surface beneath them had begun to crack. The building jerked suddenly, causing a great shifting crack to appear and run down along the center of the rooftop like an unzipping zipper. The building was splitting in two!
T'ea and Yugi gasped as the roof began to disintegrate beneath them, but neither of them moved, for to do so would mean letting go of Yami. They glared fiercely into each other's eyes. "Something's coming." Yugi spoke through his teeth. T'ea could sense it was true.
A hideous grated roar suddenly filled the wet air.
The gray bricks fell away with a crash — the Vampyress leapt free, up into the sky.
'I knew you didn't love him . . .'
A glow passed over what remained of the roof. The building crumbled then, as a megalith-sized Hitotsu-me Giant exploded from within the structure, giving forth a cry that chilled the bone.
T'ea's eyes widened as she hovered above the beast. 'Where did he come from?' This she wondered as the Giant started flailing its massive arms. It cried forth again, twisting and turning in an attempt to free the lower half of its body from the high-stacked debris.
"Stop it!" T'ea commanded, angrily facing the Giant, "You're destroying everything!"
Hitotsu-me paused only a moment before roaring, desperate to escape, and kicked its leg out from the debris, sending several chunks of wall through the air. The Vampyress skillfully dodged these, but not the tremendous blow from the Monster's blind backslap as it swung it arms out into the air. T'ea screamed, and was thrown to the earth below.
But Yugi Mutoh, he rose up, with his brother in his arms, surrounded by a white ethereal glow that seemed to afford him invincibility; he didn't fear the Hitotsu-Me, he didn't have to. Yugi glanced down; he had watched T'ea crash down against the pile of bricks and beams, and was aware that she hadn't moved; he tensed. 'T'ea—'
The Monster shrilled, regaining the White Vampyr's attention. And for the first time, Yugi noticed the stark staring fear in its eye; the beast began to thrash about more violently than before –– and was suddenly jerked down hard.
Yugi looked on in utter bewilderment; something was dragging the Hitotsu-me Giant down into the ground! The Monster wailed horribly as it was yanked further into the earth and it began frantically clawing at anything it could reach.
With debris tumbling down in every direction, it wasn't long before T'ea's body was covered over; for a moment, Yugi's eye was riveted to the spot he'd last seen her.
The Monster jerked its head from side to side, giving forth a screaming roar as it was sucked slowly downward, all its efforts to escape totally useless.
'What's pulling it!' Yugi thought frantically, 'What could be so powerful and horrible that it makes this Giant rail in fear?'
The Hitotsu-me Giant was dragged out of sight, and the rubble fell down covering it over. All sounds seemed to die away, until Yugi was aware only of his own breathing. His heart was pounding, and he stared, not knowing if anything else would happen, or not. But nothing moved, only the rain.
Yugi looked down at the rubble heap, the thought of T'ea suddenly swelling in his brain. 'I have to go down there and make sure she's all right.' thought he, 'Whatever it was that took the Giant might return. I have to get her out!'
Quickly Yugi looked around, making sure there was no one watching, no one who could assail him with a sneak attack. So then he descended to the edge of the heaped debris, eyes fixed on the spot where he knew T'ea to be. So suddenly consumed by the thought of her lying battered beneath the bricks was he, that he laid Yami down on the ground without thinking, and raced up the uneven, detritus strewn pile. He came to a high spot where he then knelt and started digging.
It was hard at first, as if what remained of the building was being held together by some invisible force that wouldn't allow Yugi to pull anything away.
'Oh drat it!' The White Vampyr slung his arm back, and rammed his fist forward full force, breaking brick and beam all together. This broke whatever hold there had been, and Yugi dove in with all the gusto of a dog digging up its favorite bone.
At first, Yugi didn't notice it —just as he hadn't noticed V. Lord's spell descending on him— but, all of his mind, all of his drive, was suddenly and inexplicably focused on T'ea. He couldn't return his attention to Yami, though he tried, and resolved simply to be quick about the whole matter.
He continued to dig, deep down into the bricks; soon he came upon a patch of skin. Yugi's eyes widened, and he began swiping bricks aside with both hands in the motion of a deranged golfer. At last, T'ea's body was exposed. Her flesh was pale, in the fashion of all Undead creatures; bruised and unmoving, she lay. Yugi was still as he looked upon her, and leaned closer.
"T'ea?"At first, she didn't seem to move, that is, until her eyes snapped open and her hand suddenly shot out, catching Yugi 'round the throat. Yugi jerked back in surprise and that pulled T'ea up into a sitting position; she looked on Yugi with lioness eyes.
"You didn't forget that we were having an argument, did you?" asked she, and shifted, "Did you think it was your own will that drove you to uncover me?" she shook her head, "Sweet as you are Yugi, I know the Pharaoh means more to you still. You would have left me to take him to safety."
Yugi's expression hardened. "You're wrong you know." he told her.
T'ea shrugged off his statement. "I'm just lucky you don't know how to use all your powers, otherwise you wouldn't be susceptible to Cerebellar Suggestion."
Yugi's heart sunk slightly in his chest as she said this. 'That's right, I don't know how to protect my mind.' He thought of how well V. Lord had tortured his imagination, adding to this, how well T'ea had driven him to dig for her – not that he wouldn't have anyway. 'No,' thought he, 'Not yet I don't.'
The look of disdain came onto Yugi Mutoh's face as he closed his eyes, and he abruptly jerked his hand up, striking the back of T'ea's elbow. She gave a slight cry as she jerked her arm back, and cradled it protectively. The White Vampyr frowned at her a moment, before rising to his feet.
"The Giant was pulled beneath the ground by something." spoke Yugi, curtly, "I don't know what it was, so, I'd move if I were you."
T'ea's eyes narrowed on him. Yugi turned to walk back down to Yami, and to his ears came the sound of an amused chuckle. His alert eyes jerked down toward a white-haired, brown-eyed figure standing by Pharaoh Yami's body.
Yugi blinked and cocked his head. "Ryou?"
T'ea hissed, and stood quickly. "That's not Ryou! That's that stinkin' Tomb Robber!"
Bakura didn't look up at T'ea and Yugi. He only peered down at Yami with a ghostly shadow over his eyes – and a dark smile on his lips. He then knelt on one knee beside the Ancient King and reached, taking the underside of Yami's chin in his hand, and turned the Pharaoh's face so he could view it better. "Well," he said, "Isn't this a pretty sight?"
Yugi's expression swept from shear surprise, to pure ire. "Bakura!" he barked, brow furrowed.
The Tomb Robber scanned down the Pharaoh's bedraggled form, and a strange light came into his eyes. He reached out and took hold of the Pharaoh's wrists.
"Don't touch him!" Yugi and T'ea shouted, rushing down the debris pile; but the Tomb Robber didn't seem to notice them. It was almost like, they weren't there . . .
Bakura brought Yami's arms up, and crossed them upon his breast; he held them there a moment, squeezing Pharaoh's wrists, and his face became a pinched little ball of vile glee. "Yes." he whispered, "In the manner befitting a dying King . . ."
Bakura seemed to shiver as he lowered himself, and leaned in to sniff the Pharaoh's neck. He studied Yami's near- lifeless countenance with eyes like a wicked cat. He took a breath: "Shall I drain you of what little life remains in you?"
Still the Tomb Robber held the Pharaoh's wrists together. And shivered yet again as he drew in even more of the chill rising from Yami's heart. "Death becomes you Pharaoh . . ." And Bakura screamed, for Yugi lunged at him out of the blue with more viciousness than anyone knew him capable of.
In a matter of milliseconds the White Vampyr delivered a hard knee thrust to Bakura's stomach, a sharp-handed slash toward his chest, and finally, a cracking right-hook to his jaw.
The Tomb Robber went at a flying skid across the paved street, until his back came up against the afar brick wall, his head colliding with the old mortar. The ensuant moment beheld Bakura sitting rather stunned with round, surprised eyes.
"I won't let you kill him!" Yugi thundered, throwing forth his rage so that the Tomb Robber flinched in reaction. Yugi was standing only about two yards from T'ea, and she was kneeling beside Yami looking worriedly about for any signs that Bakura might've harmed him.
Bakura scuttled up to his feet, spluttering: "Where the deuce did you come from!" His eyes were still wide, and he toddled forward again.
Yugi's brow furrowed with confusion. "We've always been here!" he shouted, "What are you? Deaf and stupid!"
Bakura glowered, curling his lip slightly. "You cheeky little—"
"I don't know what you were playing in that sick little head of yours!" T'ea snapped, "But if you've harmed even one hair on his head—! I'm gonna make you regret it! Permanently."
Yugi glanced back at her.
Bakura gave a gibing grunt and planted a very amused look on his face. "I wasn't playing anything in my head. Well, at least not anything I haven't played before. No, what I was doing was letting the essence of his death seep into me." the Tomb Robber lowered his eyelids in consideration, absently biting the tip of his finger, "Of course I didn't expect it to feel quite like that . . ."
Yugi was stone stiff. "Death? What do you mean!"
Bakura paused as he looked on Yugi, finger still between his teeth. He suddenly let loose a high annoying laugh that seemed to crack the air around him. "You idiot!" he jeered, "And you call yourself his Twin? Haven't you noticed—?" And dramatically, the Tomb Robber lowered his voice to an almost inaudible level, "He's dying."
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RoseD.: I know! I know! I'm sorry I ended it so soon! Something just told me to end it there! But I promise, the 12th and Final chapter is coming real soon!
Britannica: -looks at everyone- She's usually able to keep her promises. -gestures to Rose Duelist- Hey! -turns- What if you can't wrap it all up in Chapter 12 like you've been planning?
RoseD.: -gives a secretive smile- Then I'll just "end" it in lucky Chapter 13. -chuckles knowingly- You remember don't you? What's going to happen after we come to the "end" of this story?
Britannica: Ooh! Right! Hey listen every one! There's going to be—!
RoseD.: -claps hand over Britannica's mouth- Don't tell them! -smiles- Not yet . . .
Thank you again Shining Charizard! Your e-mail was really bolstering to my efforts to complete this story. Thanks CuteYami! For making an effort to leave such an encouraging note.
All of you! Thanks for coming back, even after a whole year!
Hey Metalsilverarmor23! Don't worry, I never break a promise on purpose! I promised you were going to be in this story, and it WILL NOT end without you in it! XD Yeah! Keep a look out!
Much gratitude to all the readers. See you guys soon!
