The Falsebound Kingdom: Hero's Crusade

by Shining Charizard

They thought it would just be a game... Now, trapped in the game simulator Kingdom, Yugi and his friends face the game of war. Based off the GameCube game. Rated for violence and language, though mostly violence. All major characters included eventually.

11. Crucial Battle

SC: THE CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED! If you've read chapter eleven before, the second half has now been added! Unfortunately, I had to delete the chapter and replace it in order to get an alert to go out. If you reviewed, thank you and sorry for having to delete it!

I also changed the footnote things. They annoyed me.

Be warned, as this is now a Death Chapter because it's the length of two! (Nearly forty pages!)

Crucial Battle

Yugi's daring plan turned the tide of the battle. They appeared from behind and sent the enemy running. Seeing the entire Imperial army in disarray, Yugi decides to surround the largest fortress in the Empire, Enno. With the capital of Sygh-Varths just beyond Enno, if Yugi takes the fortress he'll have the Empire by the jugular. With his entire Empire at stake, Emperor Haysheen himself leads an army to face Yugi and protect Enno Fortress. The fate of the Empire lies in the balance as their greatest battle yet is poised to start!

Sunset's orange, gold, and crimson light shared its hues with the leaves and their faces. The resistance moved in silence except for the noise of their monsters' motion and the susurrant branches above them. They, on their way to the lands surrounding Enno, were currently traveling through a forest path where the chances of running into the enemy were the slimmest. In an amorphous mass they traveled, and not in a line; no one was truly leading or following another. Thoughts of the upcoming battle filled their heads and kept conversation stifled, and Yugi was no exception to the rule as he lingered near the back of their caravan.

He was concentrating his attention on a mental argument that had been bubbling within him for awhile now. The events of the Beasty Badlands were still fresh in his mind (relatively speaking, as he couldn't actually recall them on his own and had to go by what the others had described to him). He gripped Mahado's gem in his left hand while the other held onto Seiyaryu's reins. Since his internal debate began he couldn't remember having ever put the jewel down for longer than a few minutes at a time. Mahado was powerful and his greatest ally, this Yugi easily recognized. The sorcerer would be an extremely valuable addition to the resistance's attack force. His only problem, now, was to decide which monster on his current team he wanted to replace. He felt a bit of resentment at having to do this, and each time he thought he had decided which monster to remove he remembered some spectacular feat it had achieved for him in battle, and had to reconsider. The ordeal was a bit stressful, making Yugi's head hurt.

/Something concerns you, Soulmaster?/

The voice pinged in Yugi's mind without warning. Reflexively, he gasped and drew his hand up to his ear. Shooting glances left and right, he noticed that Fizdis had turned around on Uraby's back and was looking at him worriedly. "Yugi, are you okay? You look like you just saw a – a something."

"I… I just…" He closed his eyes briefly before looking at her directly. "Did you hear anything just now?"

She shook her head slowly. "No, nothing." Yugi saw the flickering worry she tried to keep submerged in her chocolate eyes.

She probably thinks it's magic again. Since he didn't remember what had happened in the Beasty Badlands, he had to go by the rendition of it he had been told almost immediately afterward. Based on what they had told him, he knew he had been acting pretty crazily under the magic's influence. Not wanting to worry his friends anymore, especially Fizdis, he summoned a grin. "I guess it was just the wind. I'm fine," he added with a bit more force than he intended at her skeptical stare. "Really." After a moment Fizdis appeared to accept his excuse and turned back to face the road. Mentally, Yugi breathed a sigh of relief.

/Magic is a force that can be deadly. She is right to show concern for you./

Yugi nearly fell off Seiyaryu, though he managed to restrain the gasp this time. That voice… He focused his thoughts inwardly to his heart. /Hold on… Mahado? Is that you?/

Sonorous laughter resonated in his ears. /You catch on quickly, Soulmaster. It would take most a good while to figure out how to reply as well; all a measure of your ability./

Yugi waited for a moment after Mahado had finished speaking. He looked around at all of his fellow travelers. None of them seemed even aware of the conversation taking place behind them. /How is this possible, Mahado?/ he asked. /This speech between us that no one else hears…/

/As I have said, it is a measure of your ability and of our bond./ Yugi could almost see Mahado's eyes before him, twinkling with pride. /My thoughts reach you through our souls' connection. Your innate magical ability, then, allows you to see through the veils enshrouding my thoughts and comprehend them as spoken words./

It took a few moments for Yugi to work through what he had said. /…Okay, I think I get it./ He directed Seiyaryu to fly a few feet farther behind the group. Since he was paying attention to Mahado now instead of to the outside world, he didn't want the others witnessing any unconscious reactions to his current conversation. Once in place he asked of him/So, Mahado, why is it that you started to speak with me at all?/

/Soulmaster, I sensed concern and guilt in your heart. What plagues you?/

Yugi hesitated for a moment. He had not intended for Mahado to know of his inner debate, for he didn't want him to feel he was the cause of it all. /Mahado,/ he began with a bit of uncertainty/I understand that you and I fight best side by side. For that reason I wish to have you with me when I face the Empire. However, the rules of this realm dictate that a marshal can only carry with him three monsters to command, which means that in order to include you I must relinquish one of the monsters I already have. The choice between them is the source of the guilt you sensed: all three have exceptional loyalty and have fought bravely beside me in the past./

Mahado didn't answer immediately. /Have you no ideas, Soulmaster?/

/Well… I know I want to keep Seiyaryu,/ he replied, stroking his dragon's neck with divided attention.

/Wisely decided – this creature is one of great power, and in some respects commands more strength than even I./ Mahado's voice became more serious. /Your guilt comes from the tear between the other two, then?/

Yugi sighed. /Yes… Celtic Guardian has been with me for a long time, even before this realm, but Magician of Faith is… I don't know. "Different" from many other monsters I've seen,/ he said finally, at-a-loss as to anything else.

A swirled mass of incomprehensible thoughts came from Mahado. While these continued to jumble together a lone message floated above the others. /Do you seek my advice on the matter?/

/Anything you have to add can't hurt./

Mahado paused. Yugi could almost feel him fossicking through the tangled web of his thoughts in search of the perfect one to word his opinion. /While it is not my decision to make, my advice is such: keep the one of Faith, the magician. Though Celtic Guardian is a valuable ally, his ways are those of the warrior. You, Soulmaster, are one of great magical skill. Your strength lies not with the sword, but with the staff. For this reason, I believe, you sense a difference in Magician of Faith that is not present in other monsters. Her magic functions well with yours and is thus the better choice of ally./

Yugi pondered his reasoning. /You know, Mahado, you make a good argument/ he said with a grin as he mulled over the words. /… And, I believe you to be right./ He broke from the conversation temporarily and touched Celtic Guardian's lime green gem one last time. I'm sorry for this… Slowly he pulled the gem from around his neck and slid it into his pocket. Then he replaced it with Mahado's gem, which glittered brightly beside his own. As Yugi admired the effect he glanced at the collection of jewels as a whole: two purples, a pink, and magenta. They seemed to go together now, their colors complimenting each other and helping them to shine. Now that he noticed, he realized that the green gem he had just put away had clashed with those around it. It hadn't created the same kind of harmony that these four now made. Mahado's rationale proved to be truer than before, that Yugi's gem shone brighter when in tandem with those more similar to it. Yugi drew his attention back to the plane of his mind.

/Thank you for your help, Mahado./

/Of course, Soulmaster./

/Mahado…/ Yugi said suddenly, an idea leaping into his head. /I have something else to ask of you./ He touched a hand to the crimson orb around his neck, the flame inside still burning on its own. /Do you know what this is? What purpose it might serve?/

He felt a portion of Mahado's magic extend and wrap around the object of question. It checked over the smooth glass surface in rolling waves. When Mahado recalled it Yugi could sense that he was shaking his head. /I am sorry, Soulmaster, but I cannot discern the information you desire. I can tell that it is a magical item, but little else: its magic is ancient, cryptic in nature to begin with, and with the years of age it has become all but unreadable. As to its purpose, I can offer no insight on the matter./

A bit crestfallen at Mahado's answer, Yugi managed to hide it before replying. /That's all right. Thank you for trying, at least./ He couldn't suppress the feeling that the orb had a purpose it was made to uphold. He wanted desperately to know what it was, to know the answer to this mystery.

/I am only sorry I cannot be of further help to you. Soulmaster, I think it now best for me to break from our discussion, so as to allow you more time to think to yourself. Should you have need of me, you need only to call./ With that, Yugi felt Mahado slip out of his mind, taking his thoughts with him. His head now seemed eerily empty without them. As he rejoined his friends in travel once again the weighted silence only made him feel all the more alone.

---

When the forest path they followed widened and blended in with a grassy plain, the moon was beginning its ascent into the sky. Gentle but cold breezes swept over them. They needed cover for the night, so they took to following Shimon, as he claimed to know of a nearby castle. Undulating hills rose around them as they made their way through the gradual valleys in between. Indigo and silver mixed in the quiet air around them.

Too quiet, thought Yugi. Inside he was tense even though he couldn't explain why. They were out in the open, undefended but at night when no one else should have been around. The others seemed to be at peace, so why couldn't he get over this unsettling feeling?

"This is our most important battle yet, isn't it?" asked Tristan out of the blue, startling everyone.

Yugi turned narrowed violet eyes to him. "Yes. If we win here, and defeat the Emperor, total victory is given."

"But we must be careful," Shimon cut in. "He may be old, but Haysheen is still feared as a very powerful marshal. We should not be so foolish as to underestimate his abilities."

Tristan looked like his pride had taken a hit upside the face. "Not so tough that we can't take him if we work together!" he yelled back.

"Right," said Ryou. "We must win here so that we can finish this once and for all."

"Right!" Fizdis agreed.

Yugi couldn't help but grin at his comrades' renewed fighting spirit. He opened his mouth to add his own words to the conversation when the unsettling feeling returned to seize him by the wrist. He looked in the direction the feeling tugged, to the top of the nearest hill.

"Yugi?" asked Ryou. "What is it?"

With a frightening calmness in his voice, he answered, "We have company."

The others turned to the hilltop, and thought that Yugi could have worded his statement a little better. The resistance didn't just have company: they had a lot of company. All around them, commanding every hill, were monsters, warriors and fiends and beasts… They growled and snarled down at the stragglers caught in their trap. Dispersed among the monsters were Imperial soldiers, perhaps twenty of them, meaning that the monsters surrounding them numbered upwards of fifty. An army bore down upon them with the weight of the entire Empire itself.

Tristan swallowed audibly. "Holy–!"

"An ambush," Yugi said in the same ethereal calmness. Growls began spilling from Seiyaryu's beak, and he leaned forward to pat the side of its head. He turned to those around him, his eyes radiating neither valiant hope nor a bleak view towards the outcome, but a look of set stone. It was a look that said the only way out was to fight or go down fighting. "A moment ago, each of you showed your determination to fight. Let's put our words to action!" A fierce spark suddenly flashed in his eyes. Seiyaryu pivoted on its toes to face the myriad and loosed a reverberating roar. "Okay everyone, let's do this!" Yugi's voice pierced every one of their hearts.

The enemy monsters reacted to Seiyaryu's daring invitation. They thundered down from the hills, claws, teeth, and swords pointed to the center of their ring of death. Flashes of colored light, like flowers blooming in the open field, shone in the center as the resistance called their entire fighting force to the fore. A band of five rebels, with fifteen monsters, now faced a battle four times their size. "Those of you who can get airborne, get there now!" Yugi shouted. "Monsters included! Avoid what damage you can!" Ryou and Shimon rose into the night air beside him. Ryou's Bickuribox drifted upwards from the battlefield; though it couldn't truly fly, it could at least levitate enough to be out of range of most monsters' attacks. Mahado came to hover beside Yugi.

/Soulmaster, I have faith in you./

Yugi felt a wave of confidence touch his heart from Mahado. He flashed a grin to him. /And I in you. Now, let's show them the power of magic!/ Orally he called: "Black Magic!" Mahado's jade staff filled with purple energy. He twirled the staff though the air, though it never touched his hands during its flight. Suddenly he thrust up his palm, facing the nearest enemy, and a barrage of energy blasts shot forth. The hailstorm came upon the two nearest creatures, Silver Fang and Rogue Doll. Their forms became distorted by the heavy rain of magic that engulfed them in its veils. When the attack cleared, nothing remained but dancing sparks and blackened divots in the ground where they once stood.

Mahado's success inspired the remaining monsters standing beneath. Bursts of flame issued forth from the fire-breathers while other monsters charged headfirst into the enemy lines. Gazelle pounced upon the nearest foe, landing so the claws of both sets of feet drew blood; Beaver Warrior scampered through the ranks, scratching at the enemies' legs, hindering their movement so that other, stronger monsters could fare better against them. Those in the air fought their counterparts. There were only two monsters capable of true flight, a pair of Dragon Seekers, but there were more monsters that could float above the melee and use sniper attacks on their land-bound foes. Bursts of orange, red, and silver fire flared in the night sky as the resistance dragons flew in gyrating ellipses, striking their targets while avoiding the dive-bombs of the Dragon Seekers.

Tristan, atop Gazelle, watched as an Imperial marshal ordered an attack against Blackland Fire Dragon. A pack of three warriors surrounded the forest-scaled beast while relentlessly dodging his gusts of flame. Anger tightened Tristan's heart as he watched the Imperial marshal laugh smugly at the dragon's misfortune. He dug in his heels and Gazelle took off running. The Imperial marshal was still cackling, until a shadow befell him. He turned to see a great beast lunge.

"Never," Tristan said darkly, "do that again." Like lights at the end of a tunnel, extinguished when all hope is lost, Gazelle's glowing gold eyes darkened with the night. (1) Bloodstained claws shred reddened fabric to ribbons. As soon as the action occurred, the three monsters surrounding Blackland Fire Dragon froze in their darting movements, as though dazed. Bearing bloody lacerations on his chest and wings, Blackland Fire Dragon looked up from his pain to his three confused opponents. Fire and blood lashed rabidly from its mouth upon them. Flames, and Gazelle's aiding claws, devoured them.

"Hot Tunes!" Ryou cried hoarsely while gripping his dragon's head feathers with white knuckles. Parrot Dragon barrel-rolled and banked at the same time, angling herself for a nearby Castle of Dark Illusions. As she unleashed her attack and zoomed around for another go, Ryou's frantic eyes searched the battlefield. His Bickuribox looked worn, harrowed by the Dragon Seekers that were unable to catch the swift dragons. The others in the air with him appeared strained from battle but otherwise fine. He scrutinized then below, in the mesh of monsters, searching for the last of his own. Finally he spotted a pair of floppy ears amidst the chaos. Relieved that his last monster was doing okay in battle, he forced himself to look again upon the scene. Dark Rabbit was in the middle of the battlefield… picking flowers.

"You stupid!" he said exasperatedly. Dark Rabbit noticed him and waved a voluminous hand, his tongue glimmering along with his toothy grin.

Ansatsu, a ninja who carried a long dagger, and an Axe Raider had teamed up against a King Rex. Flashing steel slashed at the base of each of the creature's necks, causing it to howl with pain. Each warrior stood on opposite sides, so that if King Rex were to go after one, the other would attack from behind. The draconic monster could only stand in the middle and suffer the taste of their weapons. After surviving another round of their blades and the warriors had come to rest on opposite sides once more, King Rex swung one head to each of them. Jets of flame shot towards each monster with rage-enhanced speed. One jet hit its mark on Axe Raider, but Ansatsu was quick and leapt artfully out of the way. The fire continued on and struck the ground, igniting the grass. Soon orange flames grew to spread across the battlefield. Above the cacophony of war the roar of starving fire tainted the bloodstained sky.

A tearing screech rent the sky. One of the Dragon Seekers, finally bored with beating up on Ryou's Bickuribox, was charging at Yugi and Seiyaryu with hell-bent speed. Seiyaryu saw the oncoming attack and tucked in its wings so that it dropped harmlessly beneath. Once it had passed Yugi followed the fiend's trail with his eyes. He pulled Seiyaryu away from the battle they currently waged to chase after the monster and destroy it once and for all. Dragon Seeker made fierce swoops and rolls to shake off its pursuers. Seiyaryu followed with just as much speed but less agility, as having a passenger prevented it from making movements too harsh. "Shining Plasma!" Yugi declared. An orange-and-silver fireball shot from its beak, but Dragon Seeker dodged the attack. Several more shots proved just as ineffective. The fiend was too fast to be hit while it was airborne.

"We can't hit it!" Yugi hissed in desperation, his fists clenching around the leather strap of the reins. Seiyaryu's sapphire eyes sparked with intensity. It growled urgently at Yugi as though asking for another chance to attack their target. Yugi saw the fierceness in his dragon's eyes, and nodded. "Shining Plasma!" he called again. Another mass of flames bounded forth from Seiyaryu's beak, this time colored the purest of silver. Dragon Seeker screeched gloatingly and banked sharply to the left out of harm's way. Before another growl of frustration could rise in his throat again Yugi paused, his eyes on the fireball. Instead of continuing indefinitely in a straight line, its path bent, curving so that the flames could pursue its target. Dragon Seeker noticed this and tried to escape its onslaught, but whether he dove or rolled the fireball followed. As he watched the Dragon Seeker's frantic efforts to keep from getting hit Yugi felt his frustration replace itself with disbelief. "Homing fireballs!" Seiyaryu growled affirmatively.

They chased the Dragon Seeker through the sky, adding more fireballs to the number zooming relentlessly after it. Yugi saw Shimon and Ryou battling at a distance and hurled his voice to them with as much volume as he could: "Ryou! Shimon! Let me take care of the flying monsters! Help with the land battle!" They turned and saw the battle he was waging; the second Dragon Seeker that they had been dealing with dove through them with eager fury to join the aerial "parade." Ryou and Shimon looked at each other, then swooped closer to the ground and unleashed attacks on the Imperial forces.

Over his shoulder Yugi saw the second Dragon Seeker. If he could get behind it then Seiyaryu could attack with its fireballs, yet the fiend seemed aware of this and kept a good distance from the resistance pair. Yugi was trying to devise a way to lure it into his line of fire when suddenly he heard a sharp screech. Whipping his head back to the front he saw that the original Dragon Seeker had reversed its path and was now flying directly at him. The bony blade on its right arm whistled in the wind and led the string of silver lights behind it. Seiyaryu didn't have enough time to react to the sudden turn of events. Dragon Seeker plowed through. A sickening crack sounded as bone snapped under armored bone.

"KRAAAHL!" Seiyaryu's roar shook the air even above the clamor of battle rising from below. The dragon immediately tipped to the side without the support of its broken wing. Yugi felt gravity take hold of him and twist his stomach into a knot. Seiyaryu was falling; No, he realized as he slipped away from his dragon, he was! Cold wind grabbed him by his jacket with its biting nails and made to deliver him to the charcoal earth below. The stars, obscured by the hazy smoke that drifted across the sky, blurred with motion as he pitched backward toward the ground.

Aaaah! he screamed in his mind, unable to open his mouth, yet it was doubtful the cry would have been heard above the victorious snarl of the wind. Gravity closed an iron fist around his insides, sending blood pounding from his heart and squishing his brain in its clutches, when it all abruptly ceased. Yugi halted in his midair fall, the wind hissing as it was made to relinquish its prey. He felt a slight whump sensation, like he had landed on a giant pillow. All around him the warm feeling of feathers tickled his skin. He managed to calm his racing heart enough to see that he was still hanging in the sky, superimposed against the backdrop of stars. A thin emerald glow traced the edges of his frame as he turned to see Mahado with his staff aimed at him.

/Soulmaster!/ Mahado's voice sounded gratified and turned up at the edges with tension. Yugi was still a bit too shocked to answer. Hastily the magician came up beside him. /Soulmaster, are you all right?/ he asked again.

/Th-Thank you,/ Yugi said numbly. /You just saved my life…/

Without replying Mahado spun around. The Dragon Seeker that wasn't being chased by fireballs was diving towards them, arm-blades exposed maliciously. Mahado immediately thrust up his palm to Yugi. At once the warm feathers supporting him fluttered like mad and pulled him sharply backwards out of the monster's path. Yugi could see the leathery scowl on the fiend's face before it swooped past. It screeched and turned to rejoin the Seiyaryu hunt. The rose-colored dragon had used a Blue Medicine on its wing to repair the broken bone, but the effects had been limited. Even at a distance Yugi could see the gnarled knot where the two bones had been haphazardly re-fused. Seiyaryu's flight was wobbly and proved it a much easier target.

/Soulmaster…/ Mahado began again.

Yugi interrupted/Help Seiyaryu! It can't fend off an assault like this!/

Mahado's eyes showed coldness not unlike the darkened depths of space. /Soulmaster, I cannot use my magic attacks while I hold you here. Your dragon can no longer carry you in flight, and the ground is not safe for you either. Here is the only place you will not get hurt./

"I don't care if I get hurt!" Yugi hollered, aloud. "Seiyaryu needs help! It'll be destroyed if you don't stop those Dragon Seekers!"

He suddenly found himself an inch away from Mahado's face, his eyes chilling and without light. /Seiyaryu can recover if it is destroyed, but you cannot. I will not allow you to be injured./ Yugi actually recoiled from him, the sight of such irises driving icicles into his heart.

A distant, pained roar jarred him loose from his frozen stance. Yugi looked helplessly at Seiyaryu, and then back at Mahado. /…Is there nothing you can do?/

/There is only one./ Mahado surveyed him astringently. /There is a way that I can turn over the threads of the levitation spell to you, so that you are the one supporting the magic. However,/ he stressed when he saw Yugi's eyes light up/having a spell transferred to oneself is draining, and the levitation spell by itself is taxing enough in its own right. I fear the spell's weight may be too much for you, as you have never controlled a magic like this and your mental endurance has never been tried in this manner./

/I don't care,/ Yugi answered immediately. /Seiyaryu needs help. I can handle myself on my own./ The recalcitrant glimmer in his eyes prevented Mahado from uttering anymore words of persuasion. He raised his index and middle fingers, a light of deep indigo surrounding their tips. Wisps of enchanting words upon his lips, Mahado brought up his hand and pressed his lit fingertips against Yugi's forehead. Yugi took in a gasp of air, his eyes wide, as he literally felt silken threads of magic slither into his consciousness. Mahado removed his hand.

Suddenly Yugi felt incredibly heavy. All of the feathers that had once gently supported him now drove their quills deep into his flesh and turned to lead. The threads of magic were tied to what Mahado had called "the weight of the spell," yet Yugi had not known that he meant the term literally. Like a great leaden ball borne by a prisoner, the magic affixed itself to Yugi's mind with an iron chain. His head actually jerked backward with the weight as it pulled on the back of his brain. The emerald light around him sputtered violently and he dropped several feet in the air.

/Soulmaster!/ Mahado cried, yet before he could move to reclaim the spell Yugi stopped and the aura returned full strength. With great difficulty Yugi commanded the petrified feathers to carry him back to Mahado's side. Panting from the effort, he managed to muster a smirk.

/I – am fine,/ Yugi said between breaths. /Now go – help fight./ Mahado nodded and spun around, zooming off through the night. Yugi watched him go and advance upon one of the Dragon Seekers, yet did not see the splendid blast of magic that eliminated it. The levitation spell took too much of his concentration to hold in place for him to do anything but keep his eyes shut and his energy focused inward. He attended to each feather separately, assuring that it would continue to hold him up. Again he failed to see Mahado's victory, using a spell to freeze the fleeting Dragon Seeker in place and finally allow for the silver fireballs to hit their mark.

A Battle Ox bellowed and leapt up from the ground, raking its axe across Bickuribox.

"HYI!" Bickuribox laughed before it was destroyed and sent back to its gem.

"No!" Ryou huffed. He was starting to get worn out by his dragon's acrobatics. Currently she was corkscrewing endlessly, confusing the monsters below her so she could more easily strike their weak points. Both he and his dragon were defending Dark Rabbit, whom was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the field and fashioning a flower chain. After the battle Ryou planned to give the stupid monster a talking-to. Dark Rabbit held up his chain to admire it. He grinned naïvely, unaware that a hulking monster had appeared behind it.

Ryou paled. "Watch out!" Dark Rabbit turned to look into the contorted face of a Megazowler. It was bigger than Fizdis's, with a more ragged hide that donned it more resistance to the force of ramming its enemies. With a foolish laugh Dark Rabbit stood and draped the flower chain over Megazowler's horns. He topped his gift with a big lick upside the dinosaur's face. Ryou put a hand on his face, muttering, "He's done for…"

Megazowler snorted. It brushed its foot through the dirt threateningly. Dark Rabbit continued to skip about and giggle. He turned his back and Megazowler chose that moment to charge. Bleached horns backed by tons of muscle sent the much smaller monster flying. Ryou watched the Toon monster soar by, waving as he passed, before vanishing into its jewel.

"SQUAWK!" Ryou was suddenly jerked as Parrot Dragon took a hit to her leg and was knocked out of her most recent string of aerial maneuvers. She swung in a wide arc to steady herself, yet she had barely done so when another burst of light from below struck her. This time she spun out of the air, Ryou clinging to her feathers like a burr; she just barely managed to prevent herself from colliding with the ground. Now, though, she was flying low above the battlefield, and the Imperial monsters that saw her decided that she was a better choice to attack. As she flew they thrust up their weapons for her to fly into, or they leapt up and snapped their fangs at her tail. She squawked and Ryou, who was receiving some of the blows himself, screamed.

"Aaaah!"

Yugi's eyes flew open at the sound. While one part of his mind kept the spell in check the other focused his eyes on the scene below. When he found his friend and saw he and his dragon beset with the enemy, he felt his chest tighten. He kept watching when suddenly a samurai monster, Zanki, leapt upward just as they flew overhead. The point of his sword went cleanly through Parrot Dragon, rending her in half, while Ryou received a gash to his leg. In slow motion Parrot Dragon kept moving forward for a moment before green light bubbled up and swallowed her form. With nothing beneath him, Ryou dropped to the ground. Clouds of dust arose from the impact.

"Ugn!" Ryou grunted. He tasted the iron of blood in his mouth. His leg screamed at him, and when he looked and saw it bleeding profusely, his already pale face took on a greenish-blue tinge. Hot, stagnant breath blown in his face caused him to look up, into the snarling visage of a Battle Ox. It roared, sending phlegm flying from its mouth as its massive foot plowed into Ryou's stomach. The kick sent him back several feet, scraping along the ground with all the breath knocked out of him. He struggled to lift himself against the throbs of disagreement from his limbs. On hands and knees he coughed raggedly, and blood spilled forth. Shuddering from the pain, he did not see the great beast raise its axe above his head.

Yugi called to him, "Ryou!" yet it did nothing; like the whirling arm of a windmill Battle Ox brought down his axe. Even from where he floated in the sky Yugi could hear the crack, the resonating, sickening, ever-lingering sound of the flat of the axe against his skull.

"Ryou!" Yugi yelled. Crimson-tainted silver swayed like a wind-struck curtain as Ryou rolled forward to meet the ground. All motion left him after that. The Battle Ox huffed haughtily and stomped off to find another foe. Without hesitation Yugi poured all his energy into the invisible feathers encompassing him. The myriad of quills whirred with motion and sent him careening downward to the heaviest spot on the battlefield. He half-landed, half-skidded on his knees beside his friend. Once on the ground the emerald aura around him drifted away into nothing.

"Ryou!" Yugi tried again, his hand resting upon Ryou's shoulder. Ryou did not respond. Yugi turned him over onto his back, where the moonlight lit his pale face and revealed the nauseating purple-green shade seeping into his cheeks. The image was slightly distorted, and Yugi shook his head; the removal of the levitation spell's lead weight left his mind reeling and weary. Still, he ignored the feeling and leaned over Ryou's face. He was still breathing, but the intake of air was weak and becoming more so.

"Hold on – Ryou," he slurred through thick breaths. Yugi's lungs now snapped at him, demanding air, yet the more he gave them the dizzier he felt. It seemed the magic had drained him more than he had previously realized. One hand still on Ryou's shoulder, he steadied himself with the other as the world rocked beneath him. He closed his eyes with a groan and saw colors wink back at him. His heart was thumping in his chest with a great club.

Something tickled the hand against Ryou's shoulder. He cracked open one eye, paused as the world slowed in its spinning, then saw that Ryou had vanished, as though never there. The only remaining indication of his presence was the purple-gray gemstone lying in the dirt. Light glinted dully off its facets as Yugi moved to grab the stone. He gripped it weakly, his other hand clawing at the ground. "Ryou…" Gravity tugged on him in waves until he too fell to it. His breath came heavily and his eyes were all but closed.

Around him the resistance monsters were meeting the same fate. The sheer numbers of the Empire were now quelling their rebellious spirit, which had been the only thing keeping them standing for so long. The Ansatsu that had been pestering King Rex finally felled the great scaled beast. Blackland Fire Dragon collapsed, the weight of its wounds too great, while Megazowler fell to a side-blow by its Imperial counterpart. The resistance was losing, defeat closing its shaded fist around them.

Zanki saw Yugi lying barely conscious on the field. His armor clinked as he walked, his blade easing out of its sheath; slowly he approached his weakened human target. Moonlight set ablaze the polished edge of the blade as it came to rest against Yugi's throat. Even if he were aware of the sword's presence he could do nothing to escape its impending assault. The blade was raised, held like a banner of victory, then swung down in a speedless song of air.

It thunk-ed harmlessly against a barrier of ebony diamond.

"Sorry," a voice, brimming with biting valor, said. Its words gave light to the darkness enshrouding the battle. "Your fight is with me." The ebony barrier moved and returned to the great beast it was a part of. Cold rubies set into the sea of black diamond glittered with spite. With viciousness not unlike the darkness itself the creature tore into Zanki and destroyed it.

The protective hand of the shining voice embraced Yugi's shoulder. "Hey," it said, slipping through the clouded folds of his mind like the sleekest of needles. "Ya' look pretty beat – nearly dead! What took this much outta' you?"

Even in his exhaustion Yugi found he could not deny the voice an answer. "Magic," he said thickly, in a half-sigh, and immediately felt even dizzier afterward. The owner of the voice seemed to notice this and firmed its grip on his shoulder.

"I don't know much about magic," it admitted, "but I know you need to rest. Don't worry about the battle. I'll make sure nothing touches you."

Yugi's eyes flickered open despite their desperate wail for sleep. "But…" He turned his head slightly to try and see the voice's owner. "Who…?"

All he saw was brilliant gold, shining against the black sky and nearly blinding him. "Don't worry about anything," the voice insisted, its light as bright as that of the gold dominating Yugi's field of vision. "I'll be with you. Take it easy." The voice's soothing waves eased into his ears and Yugi allowed himself to slowly succumb to them. He turned back and let his eyes slide shut.

"Thank you," he whispered as sleep pressed a pillow over his consciousness, muffling the outside world. The hand on his shoulder was a warm blanket shielding him from the night, and he heard the remnants of a triumphant roar before he drifted off into tranquility.

---

Yugi opened his eyes, and saw Fizdis three inches from his face.

"Jesus!" he swore, jerking away from her. He sat up quickly and tried to calm his fleeting heart with quick gasps of air. Glancing at her he said, "Don't do that!" Fizdis nodded feebly.

"Well, at least you're awake." Yugi turned and saw Tristan slouched in a chair that had been turned around backwards, with the back legs hovering just above the floor.

"Yes, I – wait, hold on," Yugi looked around and saw that they were in a stone chamber made up like a bedroom. "Where…? How… What happened to the battle?"

"Relax. That was all last night. After it ended we made it to the castle Shimon was leading us to in the first place."

"What happened?" Yugi demanded suddenly. His voice showed his keenness for learning the results of the battle.

Tristan held up his hands defensively. "Hey now! First, you gotta' tell us what happened to you!" He turned his head to the side, his chin angled up, and eyed him with a mock sense of threat. "When it was all over you were already out, and we didn't see any injuries on you that could have done anything."

Yugi's eyes narrowed, softening their glare. One hand lifted and rubbed impressions of circles into his temple. "It wasn't physical… it was a spell that weakened me."

"Magic again?" Tristan asked incredulously. "Man, you need to keep away from that stuff if you ask me."

"It wasn't like that!" he countered. "I was only maintaining a spell that another person cast."

"Let me guess: your Dark Magician?" Yugi nodded. "I think I saw some of that – I looked up and I saw you floating next to him, but there was this green light…"

"That was the levitation spell. I asked him to transfer it to me so he could help fight. He warned me that it would be draining, but I guess I was too stubborn to listen to him at the moment…" He closed his eyes. "I'm still a bit dizzy from it all. It all but killed me just to get to Ryou…" Suddenly his eyes flew open, the memory of Ryou's face flashing back to him in haunting snippets. "Ryou! I forgot all about him!" Yugi's eyes darted between Tristan and Fizdis. "What happened to him? Is he okay? Where is he?"

"Calm down, Yugi!" Fizdis urged with a weakness in her voice that revealed her weariness. "Ryou is fine. He's in another room right now."

"Are you sure he's all right? He was practically dead when I got to him, and, and–" Yugi looked to the ground as he floundered for something to say. Another memory from the fateful battle resurfaced in his mind. "I saw him disappear! He vanished! There was nothing left but his jewel!"

Tristan sighed heavily. "I guess I don't blame you for it, but calm down, man. Like we said, Ryou's fine. We got to you and found his jewel in your hand, and Shimon took it from there. While you're right when you say that he was almost dead when you found him – he was – he's all right now and is recovering."

Yugi stared at him. "But… If the jewel was all that was left, then how did you…?"

"Hey, Shimon did it, not me," he answered, holding up his hands again. "Ask him. Other than that, don't worry about it for now."

Don't worry. The words echoed in his head and Yugi was reminded of the shining voice that had guarded him. Even though he hadn't been conscious he somehow knew that its hand had never left his shoulder. Yugi blinked the afterglow of the gold from his eyes. He knew that voice, but didn't. He knew it didn't belong to Tristan, or Mahado, or anyone from the resistance, but he didn't know exactly who it did belong to.

"Tristan. You said that 'you' found me, yet you used the word 'we.' Who was it that was there with me that night?" He focused on Tristan with eyes that swirled with revelry at the mysterious presence. "I remember someone, a voice that wasn't yours or anyone else's…"

At this, Tristan gave him a lopsided smile, a grinning smirk, as though he expected the question. "So you were awake enough for that, even though you were practically asleep with your eyes open. He said that he'd talked to you, but that you were so weak in response that he wasn't sure you would remember it."

Yugi's brow furrowed. "'He' who?" Tristan was about to answer when the sound of voices talking in the hallway outside their room interrupted him. One of them was a great deal louder than the other one was.

"I would answer that," said Tristan, "but I think you're about to find out for yourself." Just as he finished the handle of the door clicked. The heavy door groaned as it opened, revealing Shimon and another, taller, leaner figure, hands stuffed in its pockets, beside him. Yugi's eyes widened as he stared; a moment passed between them when the figure saw him at met his gaze.

"Well," the figure said after a moment, and silence evaporated at his words, "I see you're finally awake, Crazy." Yugi found himself grinning, a laugh sounding in his throat, and suddenly they were both laughing uncontrollably.

"Why didn't I see this coming?" asked Yugi between laughs. He looked to his friend with happiness radiating on his face. "I'm glad you decided to track us down, Joey."

The blonde youth mirrored his expression. "Sorry I'm late!" He made a bow with a flourish of his arm. "Everything's going to be okay now that I'm here!" Joey looked up from his pose, a sneaky grin on his face. He crossed the room in a few swift strides and seized his friend in a one-armed hug around the neck. With the other hand he proceeded to tousle Yugi's hair. "So, what's the big idea of letting yourself get whipped so easily? That's not the Yug' I know! It takes at least three Kaibas to do that!"

"Joey! Hey!" Yugi struggled with only half the intent to get free from Joey's grasp. "What's with the grandstanding, Joey?" he countered. "You're late!" Joey released him and he pulled away, panting and running his hand through his hair to smooth the ruffled spikes.

Crossing his arms in a fake pout, Joey said, "Aw, shut up! I didn't exactly have an easy time getting here! Someone left without telling me where he was going–" he glared pointedly at Tristan, "– so I had no clue where to look for you guys. Luckily, you guys leave a trail like a six lane highway behind you: I heard the island had been taken from the Empire, and when I reached the strait Mako told me where you where headed." Yugi nodded and sighed.

"Well, I'm glad you got here when you did," he answered, his eyes darkening slightly and shying to the ground. "I don't think I would've made it past the night without you."

"None of us would've," Tristan cut in. "If Joey hadn't shown up as reinforcements, we would've lost. Some of his dumb luck rubbed off on us, I guess." Joey looked daggers at him.

"Watch it…"

"You watch it!"

"Fighting already?" asked Yugi innocently. Both boys looked at him with sheepish grins.

"Sorry…"

"Yugi," Joey began, "I have somethin' to tell ya'. Mai's headed this way, too. She should be here any time now."

"Mai?" Yugi repeated. He hadn't anticipated that she had been trapped in this world as well. "That's great! We've definitely got the upper hand now. Two extra marshals are a big help."

"Not quite," said Shimon. "Ryou is still recovering from his injuries, and will not be well enough to fight for a while."

"You're not much better, Yugi," Joey cut in. "The way you looked last night, there's no way you could be at one hundred percent already." He slapped Yugi on the shoulder. Yugi was about to contradict him when his eyesight suddenly blurred. His hand returned to his temple almost instantly. "See? You're still all dizzy."

"That's not fair," Yugi said with one eye closed. "I was fine until you hit me."

"Yeah? Well, fair or not, it proves my point. We need to hang around for Mai anyway, and we might as well do it here. So you and Ryou get better, and we wait for Mai."

Yugi didn't have any more say in the matter. He spent the next two hours cooped up in the same room, as both Joey and Fizdis refused to let him go anywhere or even leave the bed. He wasn't tired enough to go back to sleep, so instead he talked with Joey and swapped stories of their adventures in the virtual realm. Joey showed a great interest in Yugi's crusades around Vaxi Island, yet as he listened to Joey's tales he found that Joey had already experienced several times the adventure that he had.

"Kaiba and Malik? You fought them both?"

"Yep." Joey drew himself up proudly.

Tristan had been helping with the stories on both sides whenever he could. "Yeah, but you lost to Kaiba," he pointed out. Joey deflated and scowled at Tristan.

"You just wait," he said with a gleam in his eye. "If I ever run into that damn Kaiba again, Yug' and I will send him running the other way whimpering! Isn't that right, Yugi?"

"If you say so."

After a while Shimon reentered, saying he had been scouting around for news on the enemy's movement. He told them that Haysheen was gathering his forces for a head-on assault. "He'll be ready by tomorrow," Shimon told them. "Already it is approaching sundown."

"There's no way we could handle another battle like the last one so soon," Tristan said in frustration. "We might as well be his doormats." Everyone then looked to Yugi, hope in his or her eyes, expecting him to have an idea to counter the enemy's. Yugi had nothing. A bleak silence filled the room after that. It didn't break until Yugi stood up.

"I'm going up to the roof," he announced. "I need some fresh air to think." He paced out of the room before anyone could prevent him from doing so. Once on the roof he leaned against the low stone wall with a sigh. The sun was nearing the painted edge of the world. A light breeze fluttered through Yugi's sun-stained bangs. All was tranquil until the serenity was broken by the sound of footsteps clambering up the stone staircase. Yugi turned just as Joey and Tristan made it to the roof.

"Hey!" The pair approached him, huffing from the journey. "Ya' could've waited!" Joey sulked.

"I wasn't aware a parade was following me."

"Ha, ha. Listen, Yug'." The blonde surveyed him with a frown. "I know you're worked up over tomorrow, but Tristan and I agreed that we're not going to let you kill yourself over it or get yourself beat up trying to fight single-handedly. We're telling you that we're behind you the whole way. You're not fighting any harder than we are."

A faint smile crossed Yugi's lips. "It's nice to hear you say that. Something tells me I knew it all along, but I still appreciate it."

Tristan looked over the castle wall to the plains in the distance. His eyes widened. "Yugi… I think we have company."

"What?" Yugi spun around and practically threw himself onto the line of stone. He looked and saw a black shadow against the sunset. It appeared to be a monster, and was flying right towards them. "Is it the enemy sending its first assault?"

"Why would the enemy be coming from that direction?" Tristan's observation was true: the enemy forces lay to the east, while this unknown entity approached from the northwest. The shadow was coming closer, slowly exposing its shape. Joey stared critically at it for a moment before something in his expression clicked. His tense frame slouched back to normal as he breathed a sigh.

"No, guys… It's not the enemy. In fact, I'd call her our enemy's enemy."

Yugi turned to him quizzically. "Her? Joey, is that Mai?" Joey didn't answer and simply grinned.

The shadow was close enough that its rider was visible as an outline on its back. "Hey!" Yugi heard the voice and recognized it; it was indeed the voice of the spirited female duelist.

Joey stepped forward, his foot poised atop the stone wall, and cupped his hands around his mouth. "So, it took you that long to find us?" he hollered.

"Huh? Joey, is that you? You jerk! You could have at least told me where you were going before you told me to follow you!" she yelled back. At last she was close enough to be seen clearly. The monster she was perched atop turned out to be a Curse of Dragon. It flew towards them and with a few quick beats of its wings settled on the roof. Mai leapt off and strode over to them, her high-heels clicking against the stone. An angry glare shone in her eyes, yet when she saw that Tristan and Yugi were standing there her expression cooled down.

"Tristan, good to see you again…" she said nonchalantly, "… and Yugi! My, my, the famous resistance leader himself!" Her voice was almost inhumanly bright.

Yugi blinked, his cheeks tinted red. "Hello, Mai…"

Mai flicked her hair over her shoulder. "You won't believe some of the things I've heard about you here. From the sound of things you've been pretty busy since you got here. But everyone can relax now; I have arrived!"

"You're late," said Joey. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, be quiet!" She rounded on him, and shrilled, "Didn't your mother ever tell you never to rush a lady?"

Joey recoiled from her. "Geez…" Mai hmph-ed and turned towards the staircase, clicking out of sight.

Once she was out of earshot Tristan said to Joey with a sly grin, "You and Mai made similar entrances."

"So what?" Joey's face was suddenly filled with red. Tristan snickered, causing Joey's blush to brighten even more. "What's that smirk supposed to mean, Tristan?" At this Tristan burst out laughing. Joey growled irritably and stomped off, muttering things like "Stupid Tristan" and "Don't know what he's talkin' about."

Yugi laughed at his friends' antics. Now we're really ready for anything!

---

Here is where the original chapter ended! From here on everything is new!

---

Eventually everyone made it back into the room where Shimon and Fizdis still were. Joey took the liberty of introducing Mai to them. Yugi glanced warily at them as they chatted. Without any of them noticing, he crept out of the room. He walked a few paces, keeping his footfalls as quiet as possible, until he stopped in front of a dark wooden door. Something about this door's grayed, diminished presence and the way it almost wasn't noticeable along the wall assured him that this was the room he was searching for: Ryou's. With one hand holding the door steady to muffle the creak he slipped inside. It was dimly lit, but the dull silver sheen of Ryou's hair made him more easily visible as he lay in his bed. Yugi stepped gingerly through the gloom to his friend's bedside.

Ryou appeared to be resting peacefully, despite the numerous wounds he had received. A blanket covered him from the chest down, yet Yugi could see the edges of the layers of bandage that wound tightly around his midsection. His right arm was done up in the same way. Then Yugi's eyes came to rest on the muddy red stains marring Ryou's weightless hair. Though the sound of the hideous crack was still fresh in his mind, he hoped that nothing truly serious had arisen from it.

Out of all the resistance, Ryou deserved these injuries the least, Yugi concluded. That should be him lying there bearing those wounds, blood in his hair, not Ryou. Mahado had refused to let Yugi get hurt, and saved him from the fight on the ground with his levitation spell. Why, though? Why was he so much more important than Ryou? Had Mahado guarded Ryou and not Yugi, then it would have been Yugi on the receiving end of the Battle Ox or some other monster's attacks. Fate in its incomprehensive reasoning had decided that Yugi was more important, and so Dame Fortune looked upon him more favorably. (1) It wasn't fair, life never was; Yugi closed his eyes and growled with frustration at everything running through his head.

"I knew you'd be in here eventually." The words were like a tiny bell's chime in the crisp air. Yugi opened his eyes in surprise and found that Ryou was looking at him. Except for the highlight his deep eyes blended in with the dull atmosphere around them. Yugi did not respond, so Ryou continued: "Everyone was in here earlier just as I was waking up, except for you. They said you were unconscious in another room."

"I was," Yugi answered. He held his voice smooth like marble and low-pitched, so as not to overshadow Ryou's frail voice. "I wasn't hurt, though."

Ryou's laugh was weary yet didn't lack the relief behind it. "I see."

"I'm sorry all this happened," Yugi blurted suddenly. "I was there, I saw it all… I… I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything."

"I see. Berating yourself, are you?" Yugi looked at him with surprise. "Don't. I don't blame you. No one could be blamed for any of this but Fate. Not even the monster that did it to me – he was only acting on the orders of battle."

Yugi was silent. After a moment he asked in his still-smoothed voice, "Does it hurt badly?"

Ryou shook his head, and Yugi wished that he wouldn't with the blow to the skull he had taken. "Not terribly. Did Shimon explain it to you?"

"No. I've heard barely three sentences out of him since we got here."

"It's a feature of this realm." Ryou sat up with a slight eagerness in his glimmering eyes. "I'm not quite sure why it happens this way, but just let me say what he told me: here, people get hurt all the time with the relative state of things around the Empire. Marshals do most of the fighting, and so are the most often hurt. If the injuries get bad enough, he said, then the marshal's soul gem takes steps to protect the owner. It draws the owner into itself to keep him or her safe from further damage."

"Wow," commented Yugi. "I saw that, or at least, saw you there and then not there. Yet I have a question: if you were pulled into your soul gem, how did they get you out?"

"The effect wears off after a few hours," he explained. "Then the marshal is returned to the outside world after the danger has hopefully passed. All Shimon and the others had to do was wait. Also," Ryou added with a spark of joy in his eyes, "I think once one has been pulled into their soul gem they heal faster. I felt awful at first, but I feel all right now and it hasn't been that long since I got hurt in the first place. Shimon and Fizdis act like this is commonplace to them. Tristan and Joey were surprised, as was I when I heard. Although, in a game world I guess anything can happen." He gave a slight chuckle.

"The game…" Again Yugi had forgotten that everything in this world was originally designed as a game. He mused over Ryou's words with his gaming instincts humming underneath. "This place was created as a game for people in the real world to play… If someone got badly hurt while playing, the company could get in trouble for any repercussions on the person in the real world. They needed a way to prevent the players from getting seriously injured." He finished, and Ryou eyed him with a sudden awareness.

"That makes sense. But Yugi…" Silver hair fell into his eyes as he gazed down at the blanket half-covering him. "What happens if… someone dies…?"

The room filled with winter's chill.

---

Yugi stayed with Ryou for a short while longer before the silver-haired youth shooed him off, saying that the others had probably noticed his disappearance by now. Reluctantly Yugi left his friend and made his way back up the hallway. As he slipped back into the room where the others were, he caught the chocolate eyes of Fizdis, which flickered with apprehensive relief at his entry. Yugi flashed a quick smile to her before settling his back to the wall in order to align with the conversation. Tristan and Shimon seemed to be arguing back and forth over tactics for facing Haysheen's looming attack while Mai threw in crude ideas whenever allowed. Joey kept nodding or shaking his head, blonde locks dancing with the motion. Except for Fizdis they all seemed too involved to notice that he had left and returned.

"What do you think, Yugi?" Joey asked him suddenly, snapping him from his observational state.

"Uh… I wasn't listening, truthfully."

"Ya' didn't have to be. What do you think we should do about this creep?" He motioned to the bed, where Yugi saw that a parchment had been laid. Taking a step forward he saw scratchy drawings of two castles and the details of the land in between. One of the castles was labeled HAYSHEEN in what resembled Joey's handwriting and a stick figure wearing a crown and blowing a raspberry had been drawn beneath it. Between the comical representation of the Emperor and the resistance was a river nearly perpendicular to the route Haysheen and his army would be taking the next day. An arch on the river told of a bridge. Eyes wielding an eagle's talons swept back and forth along the map while swirling on the winds of thought.

"Mai," his voice sounded suddenly, and she visibly flinched at the unexpected yet familiar steel in his words. "If you had to gauge your monsters' firepower, what would you mark it at?"

Wide-eyed, she stammered, "T-Two dragons' worth, plus my Harpie Lady."

"And you, Joey?"

"I have two warrior monsters and Red-Eyes."

Yugi hummed a reply and kept his eyes on the map. The anticipating stares of his fellow resistance members bore into his back. "Shimon," he asked out of nowhere again, "I have spoken with Ryou and he appears to be getting better. How long would you say until he recovers?"

"At least two days to be fully healed, maybe more, but he should be well enough to move around in one and could potentially fight should he need to."

"What's the status of our monsters after yesterday?"

"We gave all that needed it a Blue Medicine," Shimon told him. "Those that were defeated have been revived and treated as well."

"Good." /And you, Mahado?/ Yugi sent the thought to his ally's gem.

/I am fine, Soulmaster. I assisted in the recovery of your other monsters as well. Magician of Faith was destroyed but she is doing well; I used some of my magic to correct your dragon's wing so the Blue Medicine would heal it better./

/Thank you, Mahado./

"Yug', if you don't mind me asking, what's with all these questions?" inquired Joey.

Yugi considered him for a moment, then revealed his canines in a smirk.

"I think I have an idea…

---

Ryou was reclining against his pillow when Yugi returned. "Back already?" Yugi gave a curt nod, crossing the room with faint tapping from his boots. Ryou sat up when he saw the embers present in his gaze. They only smoldered for now, but he knew they would ignite with full force come the time of battle. Yugi's eyes focused on him. They caught the room's light in such a way that they almost looked reflective, like the eyes of a tiger.

"Ryou. I'm not sure if Shimon told you, but Haysheen is sending his army to fight us not long from now."

"He told me," Ryou said quietly.

"I'm here to tell you of what lays ahead. I've come up with a plan that should counter the Emperor's tactics. In order for it to work we have to make as much distance as we can before their attack, which means leaving tonight. You are going to stay here."

"But Yugi! That's not right!" he cried. "I can fight too; I'm well enough now!"

"That's not the point. Shimon is going to stay here with you. Come dawn you both need to be ready to fight. The two of you have the task of keeping the enemy busy while we carry out our part of the plan. We'll send reinforcements back, should we be able to spare them."

Ryou sat in silence after that, dazed by Yugi's words. After several moments his deep eyes aligned with Yugi's. "What are you going to do?"

"Hopefully stop Haysheen before the attack can be made, but there are so many uncertainties in this plan that one never knows. That's why you two need to be ready." With that he turned and strode out of the room, the tail of his jacket waving like a hero's cape, and he left Ryou to fall back onto his bed.

---

Yugi descended through the castle until he reached the outside. The others accompanying him were waiting with their mounts already summoned and set to go. A flash of pink called Seiyaryu to the fore and Yugi started to attach the reins.

"A little pink dragon?" asked Mai incredulously when she laid eyes upon it. "It hardly suits you, Yugi."

He ignored her for a moment while he clambered onto Seiyaryu's back. "It may be small and it may be pink," he said airily, "but it's strong and it suits me better than you might believe." Seiyaryu purred at Yugi's words, earning an affectionate pat to the neck. Just then the wind picked up and tugged at them, and at Yugi's signal they took off into the night.

Seiyaryu led the way through the air. Behind it Red-Eyes and Curse of Dragon flew, their great wings creating whooshes of air each time they flapped them. Gazelle and Uraby brought up the rear on the ground. It was cloudy with little light to guide them, save that of the glass sphere alive with flame around Yugi's neck. Its crimson light cast eerie shadows upon his face and peaked hair. To Joey, who was behind him, the light barely extended past the boundaries of his frame and blurred his edges until he looked like nothing more than a lone spirit fleeting in the night.

"Yug'?" His words stretched across the empty night air until they were thin and frail. "What's with that light? What is it?"

The only answer he got carried an ethereal echo: "Something special."

They had traveled for little over an hour, a third of the distance, when they came upon the river. Water rushed along in its bed a few hairs short of being rapids. It was too fast to be safely crossed. The resistance made a detour to the north where the bridge lay waiting. Gazelle crossed but Uraby remained rooted to the other side. "All right, Fizdis," said Yugi. "You know what to do." She nodded without a word. The others turned and continued toward their destination while Fizdis found a spot along the riverbank to hide.

After two more hours they came upon a hill that was almost a small mountain. They landed on it and decided to use it as shelter until dawn, for just on the other side the giant fortress of Enno was waiting.

---

Even before the sun had fully risen soldiers were amassed around the front gates of the fortress with their monsters. Perhaps thirty men were present, talking with each other or trying to get some rest before they set out. An hour after dawn the castle gates opened. A dozen more soldiers filed out first, and then he stepped into the new sunlight. His robes were purple-gray, almost the color of his face, with a black cloak fastened at his shoulders. Here and there flashes of the gold adornments he wore stood out. Their glimmer did not suit his dark appearance. Indeed, he looked so worn and gray that one could almost believe he hadn't been exposed to sunlight in a number of years. Still, one thing he did not look was weak. He clenched his scepter in one hand while shrewd eyes scrutinized the forces before him. He wet his lips, and all the chatter among the men halted as he spoke.

"The rebels have gone too far," Haysheen called, his voice like the throaty bellow of an alligator. "They have killed too many. Peace in our Empire has been destroyed at their hand. Here and now we must be the return stroke of their deeds: for all the chaos they have caused, we must wreak it back upon them. For all they have captured, we must reclaim. And for all they have killed–" Haysheen thrust the hand holding the scepter up into the sky, "–they must die!" Roars of agreement came from the crwth, monsters and soldiers alike.

The sound of a multi-voiced roar awakened the resistance members on the hill. Startled, they looked below to see what the ruckus was about. "Damn," said Joey as he rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes. "That's quite a war party."

"Quite," agreed Yugi.

Haysheen raised his hand so that he may once again address his troops. "Men, look to your higher officers to lead you to the rebels' stronghold. From there, I myself shall be on the front lines!" Again the soldiers cheered. They gathered their monsters back into their gems. The officers Haysheen spoke of marched back and forth among the plethora of men and barked commands. Soon all of the soldiers had been arranged into neat rows on the road.

"Forward!" commanded the Emperor, and at once the army took off marching like a many-legged animal. Haysheen said something to a few of the extra soldiers that stayed with him with a wave of his hand. They dashed off, and a few minutes later produced a wagon-like carriage. One of the soldiers summoned a Dragon Seeker and began working to attach a harness to it. Haysheen climbed aboard the carriage with ease. The marching formation of soldiers was already out of sight. Yugi could only smirk.

"Of course, the all-powerful Emperor gets a free ride at the back," he said with obvious disgust in his voice. "Perfect." Yugi motioned for the others to mount their monsters. Lithely he slipped onto Seiyaryu's back.

Once the Dragon Seeker was hooked up the spare soldiers clambered onto the front of the carriage. One of them grabbed the reigns and snapped them, "Ha!" yet just before the Dragon Seeker could take off the driver was thrown from his place by a pink blur. A dusky brown one seized the second passenger and a huge black one came down upon the Dragon Seeker. It screeched as pitch-dark flames engulfed it. Haysheen heard the noise and immediately made to get out of the carriage. "What is the meaning of this?" he huffed angrily.

He suddenly was face to face with the resistance leader.

"Haysheen," canines leered at him, "I believe you and I have business together."

---

Once it was light enough Fizdis poked her head up from behind a rock on the riverbank. She clambered up onto dry land, making sure that no one, particularly the enemy, was nearby. When she deemed it clear she summoned her dinosaurs. "Okay," she said to them. "You know what to do."

King Rex released a breath of fire upon the bridge's supporting posts. Yugi had specifically told them not to burn the entire bridge otherwise the Imperial army might see the smoke. For his plan to work, he said, the Empire needed to think that they still held all the cards. King Rex's flame merely blackened the wood and made it more fragile. Once finished he stepped aside and allowed Uraby and Megazowler to take over. Uraby lashed at the posts with his tail and splintered them. Without the supports the bridge was wobbly, easily toppled by a strong force such as Megazowler's ramming attack. With a great crunch the wood shattered under the dinosaur's strong hide. Broken planks scattered into the rushing river below.

Fizdis patted Megazowler's head. "Good job. Now all we have to do is wait for the others to get here."

"You mean us?" Fizdis turned and saw Ryou and Shimon approaching from the west. Their dragons landed and Shimon helped Ryou ease off of his mount. "We left just a while a go," Ryou explained. "We figured the Imperial army would be on the move at sunrise. Have you seen them?"

Fizdis shook her head. "No, not yet. You're right though: they'll probably be here soon."

"Then it's a good thing we arrived." Shimon looked precariously to where the bridge had once stood. "It wouldn't be good if they had gotten here first and discovered you to be the bridge's destroyer." Fizdis laughed weakly. Ryou and Shimon called their monsters back to their gems and took cover beside her on the riverbank.

Meanwhile, the soldiers continued their march toward the rebels' current base. As they marched one lowly man at the front peeked over his shoulder. "S-Sir," he spoke to the officer in front of him, "where is the Emperor? Should he not be behind us?"

"He is behind us!" the officer snapped.

"Then why can't he be seen?" (2)

"Fool! There is distance between us, enough so that he cannot be seen from here."

Now quivering a bit at the officer's harshness, the soldier then asked, "Shouldn't we wait for him, then?"

"No, our orders are to keep going toward the rebels. Now fall back into rank and stay quiet!" With a gulp the soldier did as he was told.

They came upon the river. The sound it made rushing through its course was loud compared even to the din of the soldiers' footfalls. Though the force of its current was powerful, the army moved forward undaunted, until they saw that their means of passage was no longer there. "What is the meaning of this?" demanded the highest officer at the front of the group. "There was a bridge here! I'm sure of it!"

"Sir, look!" One of the men pointed to the riverbank. "There are broken planks, sir! Someone must have smashed the bridge!"

"The rebels!" screeched several men at once, and before any of them could act, Fizdis, Ryou, and Shimon leapt out of hiding.

"How thoughtful of you to notice!" said Ryou as Parrot Dragon released a gust of flame.

---

Joey and Tristan seized Haysheen roughly by the arms. Though he was slightly taller than both of them were he hadn't the strength to break from their grasp. He struggled weakly with a look of rage on his face. "Rebel dogs!" he snarled. "You dare show your hides to me!"

"I'm enchanted to finally meet you face to face as well, Your Majesty," replied Yugi, unaffected.

Haysheen did not take kindly to this, and growled fiercely. "Blasphemers! How dare you defy me!"

"So, now you're tired of being just the plain old Emperor? You have to call yourself God too?"

"I am closer to God than you'll ever be!" he snapped, spit flying from his mouth like a cornered beast.

"We'll see." Yugi's eyes narrowed, and the bloodied hue arose within them. "We're willing to let you live without too much injury if you do two favors for us: call off your army's attack, and then surrender." Haysheen laughed haughtily.

"Fools! You pack of hounds could never make me – ahck!" Joey had suddenly twisted on Haysheen's arm and pulled it in such a way that put it into a bind. "My arm–!"

Yugi crossed his arms with a smirk. "Ah, yes, I forgot to mention that we don't appreciate being insulted when we have the upper hand." Haysheen made a feeble sound. If Joey moved his arm another inch it looked as though it would come right out of its socket. "Easy, Joey. We need him in one piece." Joey grumbled and returned the limb to its normal position. Haysheen huffed to replace his breath. He seemed older now than he had previously.

"Now let's try this again." Haysheen flashed his eyes upward to the demon's gaze Yugi gave him. "Surrender to us or you'll face pain much worse than that." Shooting helpless glances left and right that only helped to solidify the hopelessness of his situation, Haysheen ceased in his struggles. He glared spitefully at Yugi… and then bowed his head in submission. Yugi's smirk broadened. "Good, good." He stepped behind Haysheen and plucked the scepter he still clutched from his thin gray hand.

"Mai," Yugi held the object out to her, "go on your dragon and catch up to the army. They won't have made it farther than the river. Go and show them this, and they should surrender without too much resistance." She nodded. Taking the scepter in hand she climbed onto Curse of Dragon's back and took off. Once she was gone Yugi moved to the pile of ropes that had previously been a harness. He picked up a handful of rope and tossed the end of it to Tristan whom started tying Haysheen up. Joey let go once a few loops had been wound around their captive.

"Think Mai will make it in time?" Joey stepped up beside Yugi.

"Probably. She's fast, so she should get there before things get too serious," Yugi answered. Tristan had almost finished with Haysheen. He was just about ready to tie the knots when without warning Haysheen lashed out with his foot. The kick landed solidly on Tristan's leg and knocked him back. Yugi and Joey spun around to see the Emperor making a mad dash for the castle, the ropes slipping away from him as he ran.

"Haysheen's getting away! Don't let him escape!" Joey pulled Tristan back to his feet. The three of them chased after their prisoner, only to have the thick oaken doors of the castle slammed shut in their face. Joey didn't hesitate to call upon his monster.

"Flame Swordsman!" In a burst of red light the warrior appeared. Flames sizzled with visible heat waves around the edge of his sword. Flame Swordsman charged forward; the sword sliced through the door and left a charcoal-ringed hole. Joey recalled his monster and the three of them clambered through. Once inside they found a myriad of passageways taunting them with their shadowy depths.

"Split up!" Yugi cried. "Haysheen's in here somewhere; we need to find him!" Each of them tore down a different pathway in search of the Emperor.

---

Wheezing for breath after having run for so long, Haysheen finally found the chamber he was looking for and slipped inside. On the other side of the door was a staircase leading to the circular floor. Tables and desks were piled up with clutter: old books, bottles, boxes of trinkets… All of it a clever disguise. Anyone who came into this room would believe it to be reminiscent of a closet or basement that no one had entered for years. They would not suspect that there was a hidden room attached to this one.

Against one wall hung a tattered and faded tapestry. Its burgundy and olive edges were fringed with patterns left by hungry moths. Smirking, Haysheen approached the cloth. It was nearly twice his height, covering the entire wall. He raised his arm and pushed the fabric aside to reveal a small rectangular cut in the wall. Haysheen entered and let the tapestry fall back to cover the entrance. There was a door with a lock that he bolted, just in case.

Haysheen then retreated to the only chair in the small room. Mentally he laughed at the rebels now combing the castle for him. A moment later the voice in his head forced him to reconsider: as he looked around the hideaway he had confined himself to Haysheen realized that even if the rebels didn't find him, they had already won. They had succeeded in getting the better of him, and Haysheen knew that would not bode well for his own future. Word would get out that he had been their prisoner. Already, the girl was on her way to declare it to the army. His subordinates would come to distrust his strength, even more so if they heard he had concealed himself instead of fighting! The rebels had taken the only thing that mattered to him, his status, away, even if they did not yet realize it.

"Curse you…" he muttered to himself at the mental image of the rebels' sickeningly confident leader. "I'll rip you apart for what you have done to me… My army… My empire…!"

The room was thrown into a wash of light. Phosphorescent green filled every inch of the tiny hideaway. Haysheen gave a startled cry as neon blue and blinding white joined the fray, twisting and writhing in one spot before him like snakes that snapped at each other's tails. They hissed with clashing light and heat, until each one bit down on another to form a loop wide enough for a man to enter, should he dare. Haysheen saw that where the loop started the blaze of green ceased to be a stifling blanket, and inside the color bent backwards into an endless tunnel. He could see nothing within it until something buzzed into view.

It was the outline of a person! Haysheen's mouth fell ajar at this discovery. Inherently, though, he knew something was off about this person. Every few seconds, as the image neared, it would buzz and sputter, blinking rapidly in and out of view before stabilizing itself again. The Emperor had no idea what to make of the thing coming towards him through the tunnel forged of light. It drew near, stopping just inside the wreath of white and neon blue, and spoke to him with blackened words.

"You needn't worry about that, your Majesty."

---

Ryou, Fizdis, and Shimon harrowed the Imperial army. They obliterated nearly a third of the men with fire and fangs before any monsters could even be summoned. Then, once the Imperial soldiers finally overcame their shock to counterattack, a battle arose much like the one the previous day. Flames and roars crowded the air beside the thundering river as monsters attacked one another.

"Yes!" cried Fizdis as she watched King Rex destroy one of the Imperial monsters. For being so vastly outnumbered, the resistance was actually faring well. Fizdis turned and spied one of the Imperial soldiers standing a distance in front of her. "Go, Uraby!" she called. Uraby hissed and took off running on bandy legs. Jaws brandishing rows of dagger-teeth aimed for the soldier. Fizdis closed her eyes in preparation for the impact, yet as she waited there came none. Uraby skidded to a halt and sent up clouds of dust. She opened her eyes, and looking around saw that their target had vanished. "Was it an illusion?" she wondered aloud.

It was not. All around the battlefield, the Imperial men and monsters were disappearing in bursts of phosphorescent green light. Soon they had all gone, leaving only the resistance members on the riverbank. They stood or hung in the air in a dazed silence. After a few moments Parrot Dragon settled on the ground next to Uraby. "What just happened?" asked Ryou. Fizdis could only shake her head slowly.

"Cavalry's here!" a voice suddenly yelled. They turned to see Mai fast approaching atop Curse of Dragon. "Stop the fight, we've got the… Emperor…" she trailed off when she saw the three of them and their monsters standing idly in the field. "Hey, where's the army?" Curse of Dragon landed and she jumped off. "Aren't you guys supposed to be fighting them?"

"We were…" Fizdis trailed off.

"Where'd they go?"

Shimon shook his head. "They simply disappeared."

Before Mai could ask any more questions a huge explosion sounded from across the river. They whirled around; the sky was black with smoke and flecked with embers. A huge mass of shadows was sweeping across the land, and was headed right for them! Every few moments there was an explosion followed by a great cloud of earth thrust into the air. Whatever the shadows were, they had firepower.

"Oh no! We're being attacked from behind by an unknown enemy!" Fizdis cried.

"What?" the others said at once.

"How is that possible?" Shimon said incredulously. "Our intelligence didn't report any forces behind us!"

"Could it be the Imperial forces?" asked Mai.

"No…" Ryou said, his voice grave. "Those aren't just any soldiers… they're demons." The four of them stared at the nearing shadows. Now that they looked, they realized that the collective mass of darkness was made of smaller shapes, each one's form distorted by the shimmering layers of shadow that veiled them like heat waves. However, even though they could not be clearly seen, it could still be discerned that these things were not human. They were pitch-black, stormy gray, and purple; their eyes shone with evil rays; and behind some of them, great triangular wings or the twisting shapes of tails could be made out through the distortion. All of them marched forward with a steady pace, neither too fast nor slow. They didn't need to charge on the resistance. They knew that once they got close enough, anything in their way would be destroyed.

"Lord Yugi is not here to give the order, but we still must retreat for now! We'll be massacred if we stay here!" Shimon called back his monsters and Kaiser Dragon took off quickly.

"Fizdis, hon', come with me," Mai said. "You'll be safer from those things in the air." Fizdis nodded weakly. Mai scooted forward on Curse of Dragon's back to make room. Once she was on he took off with a screech.

"Th-Thank you, Mai," Fizdis mumbled against her back. Mai urged Curse of Dragon to fly faster. As fast as they could they zoomed towards Enno castle.

---

Yugi, Joey, and Tristan ran through the castle searching for the Emperor, yet they found no trace of him. The three met back up in the entryway, all of them out of breath.

"You don't think he got out of the castle somehow, do ya'?" asked Joey between pants.

Tristan shook his head. "How could he? He'd have to have gotten around us to do that."

"There must be something we missed," Yugi said. "We have to keep looking." The others murmured their agreement. He was about to suggest a different pattern of search when acid poured over him. An electrifying pain came out of thin air to seize his heart in its grasp; it truly was like acid, for even though it targeted his heart it ate through his entire body and made even his skin burn. His yell was equally surprised, equally pained. Like one suffering from cold he gripped his elbows so tightly his fingernails threatened to pierce his jacket. The stone wall behind him supported his form as he fell back against it.

"YUGI!" both Joey and Tristan hollered at the same time.

"Yug', what's wrong?" asked Joey frantically.

Yugi couldn't answer him immediately, for he feared that if he opened his mouth he would cry out again. He shuddered through a particularly fierce throb before throwing out quickly, "I don't know! This – ahgh! – this came out of nowhere!"

As Yugi continued to shoulder this unknown force Tristan had a revelation. "Yugi, what if this is magic again?"

Joey looked at him quizzically though with fear for his friend still plainly on his face. "Huh? Why would something like that be hurting Yugi and not us?"

"Apparently Yugi's incredibly sensitive to magic. The last time we came across some, his reaction was pretty violent, but not enough to actually hurt him."

"Wow." The blonde eyed Yugi's shudders thoughtfully. "You make it sound like he's allergic to it. If that's the case, then I guess I'm glad I can't feel any of it."

"You have no idea," Yugi said darkly. He had one eye open and both boys standing with him saw it misted with green.

"Um, Yug'… did you know that your eyes are glowing?"

"Quite frankly, no. I'm too busy standing here, feeling like I'm on fire." He winced as another throb overtook him. "But I think it's starting to subside now. It's not as bad anymore."

Tristan looked around the expanse of the hallway they stood in. "What caused it, I wonder? There isn't anyone here." At his words, Yugi's eyes widened suddenly.

"Haysheen. He's the only other person in the castle. The magic has to be coming from wherever he is!" The acid had now faded enough so that he no longer required the wall for support.

"Well, that's great – but we still don't know where he is," Joey replied.

Yugi shook his head. "Yes, we do." Before the others could say anything more he took off running for the nearest corridor.

"Yug'! What're you doing?" hollered Joey, chasing after him.

"I can sense the location of the magic!" he called over his shoulder. "It has to be where Haysheen is!" Yugi suddenly made a sharp turn to the right, and Joey and Tristan nearly blew by it. They skidded to a halt at the intersection before bolting after him.

"This place is a maze," huffed Tristan to Joey. "I guess if Yugi knows where he's going, we'd better follow him, or else we'll get lost." Louder he said, "Lead the way, Yugi! We're right behind you!" Yugi flashed a grin over his shoulder at them, took a path on the left, and kept moving closer to the source of the acid magic.

He stopped in front of a door after a few minutes. Once Joey and Tristan had caught up with him they entered the room. It was filled with dusty piles of books and other clutter. Tristan looked around the room, frowning. "But I already looked in here," he said. "Yugi, are you sure it's coming from this room?"

"There's not even anybody here," Joey pointed out.

Yugi paced over to the tapestry against the wall. He smirked, and without turning around he said to them, "That's where you'd be wrong." He pushed aside the covering of fabric to reveal the door beneath. Green light was shining from the gap under it. "The source of the magic is on the other side of this door."

Both boys' jaws dropped open. "Whoa… You're good, Yugi," said Joey. He walked up and pushed against the door. "It's locked!"

"Wait, do you hear voices?" asked Tristan. They listened and indeed heard the muffled sounds of people talking. Unanimously they fell silent in order to hear the conversation beyond the planks against their ears.

---

Haysheen looked at the flickering being with incredulity and fear in every line of his thin gray face. What he had identified as a person had slick hair colored of earth that fell heavily to his shoulders. He had a beard the same color, with perfectly straight bristles so micromanaged that not one of them stood longer than the other. His skin was tanned, not darkly so, and not by means of the sun. It looked to be a combination of natural skin tone and oil. The whites of the being's eyes stood out against this darkened visage; his irises were very small, black in essence, making the white even more haunting. Haysheen wished this person would blink, or squint a little, or even look away – or else stop staring at him with those eyes.

"To not say anything to a guest is rude, even for the Emperor," the being insisted. "Dante himself considered treachery to guests a sin worth an eternity at the bottom of the pit of Hell." (1)

Those eyes snapped with the ferocity of something beyond human, and so Haysheen forced out an inquiry. "Who… What are you?"

"It doesn't matter, your Majesty." The being took a step so that he was partially outside of the twisting green tunnel. Something in the back of Haysheen's mind whimpered at the tone of amusement in his voice. "The important thing," he continued, raising a finger to weave an almost-curl into his hair, "is that I am the one who will deliver you from your enemies." Haysheen quivered at the undulating words and saw the being's eyes flicker; he was enjoying the reaction he had on the Emperor. Not wanting to play into the being's hand, Haysheen drew himself up intending to put a dent in his smugness with a bit of his own temper.

"Another insolent… Ah, never mind," Haysheen snapped. "So, you say you can save my Empire, do you?"

The Emperor's tactic of intimidation only seemed to fuel the magnetic white in the being's eyes. "Yes, I can." His voice slid out as an almost demented hiss of anticipation. "I will defeat the resistance army that is chasing you."

The being's tone of voice should have utterly frightened him, yet Haysheen couldn't help but feel relief at his words. "Good!" He threw up his arms and let himself fall back into the chair he had been sitting in. "Now I can rest knowing that I'll be safe!"

"Hmmm… I wouldn't be too sure of that." The being stepped clear of the crackling wreath, now fully within the room. His height was just that of the Emperor's, although it wasn't noticeable to Haysheen at the moment as his eyes were now locked on the being's. The white was now less white, and more an empty void with black hovering just above an eternal abyss.

He pressed himself against the back of the chair. "What?" Haysheen spluttered. The gray of his face was as white as the being's eyes had been.

"The Empire and the army no longer belong to you, your Majesty." Again the voice was playful over the dark obsession, reveling in the Emperor's fear.

Haysheen tried as best he could to muster another attempt at intimidation. "Just what does that mean? Explain yourse…GUAARGH!" His words were cut off, thrown into a piercing cry, as the being's eyes of emptiness lit with a light as bright as that of the wreath surrounding him. An invisible force had seized Haysheen's body, wracking it with pain, and at the same time the Emperor could not move. "GYAAAAAH! My body! My body!" he screamed, yet remained motionless in his chair.

"You are nothing more than my programmed puppet. You've served me well." The being paced forward with a predator's stalk. Towering above Haysheen, his face angled downward so that no light hit it from the wash of green. The only things visible were those inhuman, glowing, soul-piercing eyes. "But you've outlived your usefulness," the being said. His words drew all heat from Haysheen's paralyzed frame. "Good work, your Majesty."

The being snapped. Haysheen was cast into a swarm of electricity: ebony, blue, and venomous purple serpents. As a pack of hounds tears at a carcass, so did they bite and rip pieces of his flesh. His scream froze in his petrified throat, eyes tilting back into his head. The swarm of ravenous serpents smothered the ever-diminishing Emperor, until nothing at all was visible beneath their varicolored coils. They ate through his form down to the chair. Then, hissing from their bloodstained mouths, they slithered back into the tunnel behind the being.

"I always erase my unwanted programs so that they don't come back and cause trouble later," he mused to himself as he watched them go. To both his serpents and the departed Emperor he said, "Bye-bye now."

In lieu of the Emperor's silent death, another voice screamed with agony.

When the light shining under the door changed from green to shadow hues a tidal wave of magical energy exploded from the room. The force of it was so strong that it physically slammed into Yugi and sent him careening to the floor. To Joey and Tristan it looked as though he had been jerked back by something, but before they could even begin to wonder what had caused it his howl of pain collided with their ears. This was a pain that dwarfed the acid magic from before. Hundreds, maybe thousands of fangs pierced his flesh, tearing at every inch of his body. Both the agony and the crushing waves of magic paralyzed him where he lay. He wished death upon himself a thousand times over; the fangs tore endlessly yet never once took from his body. He felt the pain of being devoured without actually being so. Joey and Tristan whirled around to find Yugi shuddering uncontrollably, his face livid. Then they saw his eyes, thrown open wide with the pain. The magic had wiped his irises completely blank. They were a solid, empty, blinded white. Whether Yugi could see either of them or not he screamed with the fangs that ravaged him.

Both Tristan and Joey swore at once. "Damn it! It's that damn magic again!" Tristan said frantically.

"We've got to make it stop!" Joey cried. "This'll kill him if we don't!" He spun around to face the door guarding the hidden room. "On three! One… two… now!" With Tristan by his side he charged at the door full force. Their shoulders made contact and the door creaked dangerously. They backed away to charge again. "Now!" The door cracked along the hinges. "Now!" With a final crunch the wooden barrier fell. They were blinded by the wash of green and shadowy light that spilled from the opening, yet they could still see the outline of someone standing in the room…

The being turned, saw Joey and Tristan standing frozen in the doorway and Yugi lying just beyond, and laughed. "Hah ha ha ha ha ha ha! Sorry to surprise you all!" He looked obsessively with piercing eyes at Yugi's convoluted form. "My, my, it looks as though your friend caught the after-waves of my deletion spell. He suffers with the same pain as my victim did." He laughed again as Yugi let loose another agonized cry.

"Whatever the hell you're doing to Yugi, stop now!" Tristan declared threateningly.

"Don't get worked up. The effects will fade eventually, though probably not soon enough for him: I only just finished erasing my victim."

"You killed someone? You murderer!" hollered Joey. "Just who the hell did you think deserved it?"

The being smirked at Joey's attempt to scorn him. "Why, the Emperor, of course," he hissed, eyes wide and glaring. Joey paled at the inhuman sound of his words. The being went on, waving his hand casually through the air, "Admittedly it was a horrible way to go… eaten alive, unable to move or speak at all…" He clicked his tongue. "So dreadful."

The blonde swallowed, and his voice was barely above a breath: "And Yug's feeling it all…" A great gale of flame roared in his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

"Not that it matters much to you, but my name is Scott Irvine," the being said airily. "All you need to know is that I'm the one holding your life in my hands. You see, I'm the one that created this world. How's that working out for you, by the way?" Scott's voice took on an almost conversational tone that failed to hide the maliciousness in his eyes. "Anyone want to give me feedback on the Kingdom?"

Tristan took a half-step forward. "So you're the one who trapped us all in here!"

A smirk that mirrored the overwhelming white of Scott's eyes crossed his lips. "That's right. But I don't expect a feeble-minded bunch like you to understand my grand plan."

"Feeble-minded!" Joey growled. Scott simply tipped his head back and laughed.

"Yes, but I think that's enough with the talking. Shouldn't you be getting ready to run away?" He ran a finger through his slick beard. "While you stand here asking dim-witted questions, your only escape route is being cut off. My army is already destroying what's left of your forces."

Joey's eyes widened. "Mai… The others!"

"Not only that, but I think the longer your friend stays here the closer his simulation of death will come to a reality."

Joey looked helplessly between Yugi's shudders and Scott. Defeated, he turned to Tristan. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

Scott watched them scoop up the paralyzed Yugi with laughter ringing in his throat. "That's right, run away. It will make the hunt so much more fun."

Once Yugi was on his back, Joey turned over his shoulder and said darkly, "This ain't over yet." Then he and Tristan ran from the room.

---

They made it outside and Joey immediately summoned his Red-Eyes. He pulled Yugi on along with himself. Getting away from Scott and the point of the magic's origin had not helped Yugi's condition. His tremors had not lessened in the slightest, though he had at least reined in his voice, and his eyes were still utterly blank. He still seemed not to be able to see Joey or Tristan nor hear them when they called his name. Joey pulled him on in front and held him steady with one arm while the other clung to black scales. Tristan summoned Gazelle and they were about to take off when they heard voices hollering.

"Joey! Tristan!" Shimon cried. "We must make haste; we are being followed by darkness itself!" Though they had made a little headway, smoke and fire were still visible like the foul trail of death in the sky behind them.

"Scott's forces," Joey and Tristan said simultaneously to each other.

"Where is Lord Yugi?"

He didn't need to answer, as everyone now noticed him in front of Joey, still shuddering. Ryou took one look and suddenly his breathing became forced. He swayed a bit, gripping Parrot Dragon's feathers, shivers beginning to rise in his arms. White-hot pinpricks like needles entering his skin swept over his frame. "Oh…" Tristan turned at the sound and saw Ryou's eyes fading away to blend in with his pale skin and hair.

"Crap! I forgot that Ryou can feel magic too!" Ryou's eyes turned completely white. He slid forward as the needles thickened and punctured deeper; they struck his nerves to create spasmodic motions akin to Yugi's. Parrot Dragon squawked frantically and dipped forward so her rider would not fall.

"Aw, don't tell me – Tristan, why didn't you tell me Ryou was affected by this stuff!" demanded Joey. "I would've kept Yug' away from him if I knew!"

"What's wrong with them?" asked Mai just before an explosion sounded from the approaching army in the west.

"There's no time to explain!" Joey surveyed the situation. "Okay everyone, time for a game of musical monsters." Since he couldn't hold on by himself, Ryou was moved to Curse of Dragon with Mai. Tristan took his place on Parrot Dragon, as she was faster than Gazelle, and from Yugi's jewel Joey summoned Seiyaryu for Fizdis.

Fizdis's eyes were fixed on the blackened horizon. "Where can we run to escape them?"

"Uruvie Canyon," Joey answered. "I've been there before. We might be able to lose them in the mountains. Now come on!" Red-Eyes roared and took to the skies on great ebony wings. So, the resistance's first encounter with the man responsible for their entrapment ended on the fleeting song of retreat.

---

Notes:

(One) – Somebody's been reading Dante's Inferno.

(Two) - Must... resist... Monty Python reference...

SC: It's done! Whoo!

I believe y'all, the wonderful Readers, deserve an explanation as to why I caused so much trouble by adding this to an existing chapter instead of making it a separate one like I did the others. In truth, it's a really selfish reason. You see, after this chapter, the next levels in the game are "Refugees," "Break Free," and then "Counterattack." I have plot ideas for all three, but the one for "Break Free" won't work unless it comes after my version of "Counterattack." If I do it before, the great plot I have won't work. So, that means there are only two chapters until the one I've been ranting about for years and years arrives. That also means that when it does arrive it will be chapter thirteen. Thirteen is my favorite number in the world, ever. Once I realized this, I absolutely had to make "Counterattack" be chapter thirteen, since it (is/will be) my favorite chapter ever. So that's why I had to make this one huge Chapter of Death, so that "Counterattack" could be thirteen.

What a dumb reason. I guess I'm entitled to it, though.

Happy oh-six, everybody. Help start the New Year off with a hefty round of reviews. My story stats say that I have over five hundred hits to this story. So how come I have so few reviews? I'm not complaining; I appreciate all the reviews I get. It's just nice to know that people are reading it AND enjoying it. And reviews don't have to be of the "Wow this is great" type. Actually, I'd really appreciate some critique on this every so often. It would help me make it better for you guys, so the effort you put into reviews goes right back to you. Also, if you review, I can thank you for reading the story by name instead of with this incoming generic statement: thanks so much for reading the story!

I think I'll shut up now.