-1Thanks to my reviewers!
bakura240, ailisa d. frieson, kit, Boogermeister, tavi, FemmeNikita, Serzie, seto'swifey, Ying Jagansama, Adhiana
Chapter 12
"Elder Pegasus?"
The silver haired Elder was sitting peacefully in his room. A quill was in his hand, and a scroll set out in front of him, happily writing away at the simple task he had given himself. Hearing the nervous voice from the other side of the door, Pegasus paused, and looked up from the scroll. "Come in!" The Elder shouted enthusiastically, beaming a gleeful smile.
One had to keep up appearances after all…
A short man, with a mop of aqua green coloured hair, and large gold coloured glasses, stepped into the room. Pegasus's smile fell instantly, and was instead replaced by an annoyed scowl.
"Well?" The Elder asked impatiently.
The short angel's gaze met the floor after seeing the displeased look the Elder was giving him. He shifted from foot to foot, unsure if the news he was about to give was good or not. He really didn't want to get on Pegasus's bad side. The rest of the angels may not know what the silver haired angel was capable of, but he sure was, and hiding was never a good idea… "I-I couldn't find them Master P-"
Weevil fought for breath, after realising there was a hand tightly gripping his neck, and that he was no longer standing on solid ground. Pegasus had walked straight up to him, and put him in a dangerous choke hold. "You dare come back to me empty handed?! You snivelling little insect!"
"No… M-master l-l-listen!" Weevil wheezed out, his hands grabbing Pegasus's fingers, in an attempt to peel the Elder's hand from his skin. "T-they're….not o-on…E-Earth!"
The Elder's grip loosened, and Weevil dropped to the floor.
Pegasus raised a brow in interest, silently ordering Weevil to continue. Said angel was now rubbing his neck, and coughing harshly, but didn't feel like pushing his luck in asking for a few minutes to catch his breath once more. Instead, he forced his now croaky voice to carry on. "I searched the human world for the three angels you asked for, but I couldn't sense their aura's. They're not there any more." He answered from where he sat on the floor.
"So they are dead then." The elder concluded, his voice not showing an ounce of sympathy for his fellow angels supposed deaths. He actually sounded amused by it. "I suppose that just makes things easier for me." He mumbled to himself, now walking back to his desk. "With them dead, it means I don't need to worry about them coming back to Heaven before I get Katsuya out of here…" He then sat back down to his desk, seeming to ignore the angel still placed on the floor, as he went back to his writing.
Weevil clumsily got up from the floor, now finally able to get oxygen back into his lungs properly, but unsure of what to do next. "M-Master-"
"Are you still here?" Pegasus snapped, paying little attention as he continued his writing. "Leave." The Elder finished, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument.
And Weevil was definitely not going to argue. Turing to leave, the angel rushed to opened the door, hurrying to leave the room as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Weevil found that his quick escape effort, wasn't quite quick enough, as he still managed to catch the last minute order the Elder threw at him.
"And Bring that Katsuya boy to me before you run off again!"
Again, Weevil wasn't going to argue.
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Dragging his feet tiredly, Mokuba stretched his arms, and yawned as he made his way to the laboratory. He knew it was early in the morning, but he was so close to getting that headache potion done, that his excitement forced him to get an early start. Yugi's and Ryou's advice really did help. He needed to go thank them again later…
The young demon eagerly reached the lab, stopping only briefly to type in the code for the door. When the door did open though, he was a little surprised to see his brother holding a test tube, and sitting in the same position that Mokuba had left him in last night.
"Seto?"
"Hm?" Seto replied not really paying much attention to his younger sibling, as he concentrated on his work.
"…You haven't been up all night have you…?" Mokuba asked, his voice riddled with concern. This wouldn't be the first time he'd caught his brother in the lab all night. Every time Mokuba would confront his brother about it however, Seto would always brush the question away quickly, and then change the subject completely. It was always, '"No Mokuba… don't you have some work to be doing?"' or '"Don't be silly brother. You know I think the chef down in the kitchens started cooking breakfast. Why don't you run along and get something to eat?"' He was surprised his brother didn't collapse from exhaustion.
"Of course not Mokuba. Now why don't you go play-"
"Seto!" Mokuba yelled in frustration. "You're lying!"
The blue eyed demon paused in his work, and let out a quiet sigh. Couldn't Mokuba understand how close he was to getting the potion finished? He didn't have much time left to complete it after all. He really needed someone to amuse Mokuba when he was busy. A slave maybe?… That or get Mokuba his own lab…
"Mokuba, I was only-"
"Don't try to deny it Seto!" Mokuba said firmly with a pout. "You're going to bed!"
"I've nearly finished. Just give me a little longer, and then I'll go to bed." Seto went back to his work, and tried to reason with his brother's stubborn attitude, but was failing miserably, as the young demon began pulling him from his seat. "Mokuba! Just-!" Lord Kaiba's eye's widened slightly, when realising the last herb he needed to complete the potion with, was missing, and he quickly snapped his head round to face the source of the annoying tugging on his clothes. "Mokuba, what happened to the Xleyez herb?"
Mokuba's tugging suddenly stopped, as his expression turned into shocked fear, as he stared at his brother's demanding face. He, Ryou, and Yugi, were using the Xleyez herbs yesterday… they must have used up the last one! "W-Well I…emm…" What was he going to do?! The laboratory wasn't really his, it was Seto's, and his brother only let him use the lab if he obeyed his rules. One of those rules being that he wasn't allowed to bring guests into the laboratory with him. Seto didn't want anyone touching anything, in case something got stolen, broken, or damaged.
Saying that he invited three humans that he only met yesterday into the laboratory, wouldn't be the smartest thing to do…
"I-I used the last Xleyez herb yesterday for a potion." Mokuba explained quickly. His older sibling's eyes narrowed suspiciously, so the smaller demon made sure to change the subject quickly, before Seto could investigate the matter further. "Now go to bed!"
He then began shoving Seto to the door, having finally managing to get him out of his seat.
Seto was just about to turn around, and put a stop to his brother's annoying antics, when an idea suddenly found it's way into his head. Arguing with Mokuba wouldn't work, and it would just waste time, he wouldn't be able to get any further with the potion anyway. But what if he were to lie to Mokuba, and simply agree to going to bed? That way he would be left alone to go get the herb…
"Fine Mokuba, you win, I'll go to bed." The blue eyed demon said cunningly, and began walking out of the room, not giving his brother a second glance. This was perfect. Why didn't he do this as soon as Mokuba stepped into the lab?….
…Why could he hear a second pair of footsteps beside him?…
When Seto actually did look beside him though, he was a more than confused to see Mokuba walking with him, at an even pace.
"Mokuba, what-?"
"You don't actually expect me to take you're word, do you brother? You're a work-a-holic Seto. If you say you're going to bed, then I need to make sure that that's what you're doing. Who knows what you could get up to instead. I might even need to put guards outside your bedroom door!" Mokuba laughed.
Seto's once confused look, turned into a blank and further puzzled one. Exactly who was the 'big brother' here?
Maybe he could just go bribe one or two of the guards to go get the herb for him instead…
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A groggy yawn absconded from the ruler's mouth, and he stretched out his limbs lazily. His eyes were still closed, and his mind was at the crossroad of staying in deep slumber, or starting to wake. A conflict on whether or not he was able to stir just yet.
Something was different about today, he could feel it, even in this hazy state. Where was the dread that would always crash down on top of him, at the beginning of every tiresome day? The reminder of stress, caused by his two annoying siblings, and the work needed to rule over Hell? Why didn't he care? What was so different about this day?
"Yugi…" Yami mumbled sleepily, stretching out a hand with the intention of grabbing said person, and pulling him closer to his body. Except, when he did reach out, the body that he expected to be lying next to him, wasn't there.
But something else was.
His fingertips landed on a soft, smooth like texture. It was long, and seemed to be light and… feathery? Yami's frowned in confusion, and slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to wake himself up. When he did look to his hand however, there was nothing there…
No, wait… glitter? Gold glitter… vaporising from his hand, and into the air?
The ruler sat up, and used his free hand to rub his eyes, getting rid of any lingering sleep. When he looked to his hand again though, it was empty.
…Maybe he should lay back down, and get a few more hours shut eye… Where did Yugi go anyway?
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"Stupid, pineapple-headed, demon, psycho." The tanned angel mumbled to himself with an annoyed grudge.
Malik was sitting on the floor. In front of him, was a large battle axe, roughly over a meter and a half in length, the handle thick, and the blade extremely wide and sharp. In his left hand was a bottle of polish, and in his right was a cloth, as he began to clean the weapon with more difficulty than expected.
How could the ruler use this thing anyway? Malik couldn't even pick it up, let alone fight with it! Not to say that Marik was stronger than him… of course not! It's not like he couldn't lift it if he really tried. It was just that it was hard to clean!… yeah…
Malik's eye's darted around the room self consciously, then back down to the axe. Narrowing his eyes, Malik made his decision, and put down the polish and cloth. Moving onto his knees, he grabbed hold of the axe's handle with both hands, making sure to have a strong grip. Then, sucking in a determined breath, Malik began trying to pull the weapon up from the floor.
God it was heavy!
Slowly, the axe moved up from the floor, and Malik found himself moving onto his feet, to gain more friction. His arms quivered slightly, and his muscles were tense from the force of the struggling weight. But he wasn't about to give up!
The angel bit his lip, and then, with one mighty pull, and a jolt of power, the axe was up in the air. Malik smirked triumphantly.
The smirk quickly fell however, when he realised keeping the axe in the air was harder than he first though. Malik stumbled, eyes wide, as the axe's weight pulled him backwards. Until the inevitable happened, and Malik landed, rather ungracefully, on his back.
Ouch.
"Malik, what are you doing?"
The voice startled the tanned angel, and he quickly bolted up into a sitting position, having already let go of the battle axe. Overall, he was acting like he'd just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
The angel relaxed however, when he saw Yugi standing in the doorway, blinking at him curiously.
"Oh, I was just checking out Marik's weapon's… You know? See if I could try the whole 'murder the bastard while he sleeps' thing…" Malik replied casually, as he got up from the floor, and lifted himself on to the desk instead.
"You…You really don't like him… do you Malik?" Yugi asked, almost sadly, as he stepped into the room.
Malik frowned, and he looked at Yugi with confusion. "He's a demon Yugi… angels aren't meant to like demons." The violet eyed teen said simply. Of course there were many reasons why Malik didn't 'like' the ruler, but explaining that to Yugi would only upset him. His short friend had a kind soul, and a very sensitive one at that. Mentioning rape would devastate him. Something Malik was not willing to do.
"Oh…" Yugi said again, his voice full of disappointment, as he averted his eyes to the floor.
It hurt. It really did.
When Yugi woke up this morning, it was with a smile on his face. He felt uplifted, ecstatic… just completely elated. He didn't understand why he felt so happy… so blissfully content… until he opened his eyes, and realised Lord Yami was holding him. Was that wrong? Was what he felt for Yami wrong? In truth, he wasn't sure exactly what he felt for the ruler, only that when the ruby eyed demon was around, he felt happy. But last night… last night was probably a mistake. It shouldn't have happened. After all, Malik said that angels aren't suppose to like demons.
So why didn't he regret it?
He wanted some reassurance, which was why he didn't stay with Lord Yami, and wait for him to wake up. Yugi, instead, went out to seek one of his friends. He needed to know that he hadn't committed some kind of great sin.
"It's just…" Yugi tried again. "I think that Lord Marik is really fond of you." He carried on nervously. "S-So m-maybe… maybe demons can like angels?…"
"Marik does not like me Yugi." Malik replied back in a voice that Yugi had never heard from his friend before. So cold… so hard…
"But-"
"Listen to me!" Yugi's head snapped up immediately, his eyes wide in surprise at the sudden harsh words. "To him I'm just some… some pet!" Malik hissed angrily, fists clenched, and head bowed, his golden strands of hair shadowing his expression from Yugi's view. "God damn it Yugi…" The angel continued, voice quieter this time. "They don't even know we're angels. To them, we're just some humans they picked up from Earth, and you've seen what they do to human here…" He paused, and turned his head towards the window in the stone walled room. "They get dragged about by chains." He spat out in disgust.
An uneasy silence broke out. Malik fell into his own deep thoughts, and Yugi simply didn't know what to say, and he looked to the floor again. How was Yugi suppose to reply to that? Everything Malik said was the truth… but Yami didn't treat him like that… then again, that didn't mean he wouldn't eventually…
"…Sorry..." Yugi looked up again, at the sound of Malik's now soft voice. The tanned angel was now looking at him with a small sad smile, and apologetic eyes. "I didn't mean to sound so nasty. You didn't do anything, it's just that I can't stand this place."
Yugi gave his own sorry smile. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry, you're only saying the truth… Guess I've been ignoring the facts a little bit…" Yugi rambled on about his own thoughts, without even realising it. "I'm being selfish…caught up with my own feelings, and thinking that something could change just for me…"
Malik smile broadened a little, and he shook his head, thinking of his friend's words to be nothing more than silly, gibberish guilt, that Yugi shouldn't have to worry about. Just as Malik was about to correct his friend for speaking such nonsense, Yugi mumbled something quieter than a whisper, and sounding so heartbreakingly sad, that Malik almost missed what he said.
Almost.
"Life doesn't work like that… so why would the afterlife be any different…"
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"Shouldn't we have waited for Otogi?"
"No, Ma-…Elder Pegasus said it was urgent."
Jounochi frowned. Right now he was being lead back to the enormous white building he hated. Flying in front of him was a strange looking short man, with green hair. His name was Ceevil…no…well something like that anyway, but he didn't really care about that right now. What he did care about, was the apparently 'urgent' news the Elder had, concerning his friends.
The short green haired man, refused to give any details on the matter however, and it was beginning to get on Jou's nerves. Were his friends hurt? Did the Elder not find them? He was worried, and simply saying that the discussion was 'urgent', was making the whole thing worse!
The urge to beat a straight answer out of this guy, was getting hard to resist.
"Can't ya just tell me what's goin' on?!"
"NO!- I mean…" Weevil voice started rude and snappy, but then he stopped himself mid-sentence, his voice quickly turning more rational and calm, as though he just caught himself making an obvious mistake. "…Elder Pegasus did not inform me on what the discussion was about. Only that it concerned your three friends. I'm sorry that I can't be of more help."
Jou raised a brow in suspicion. Now why didn't he believe that? Thankfully it didn't look like Jounochi had to wait much longer in getting a straight answer, as he noticed the Elders building quickly coming into view.
Soon Jou found himself standing outside Pegasus's door, Weevil by his side, as he anxiously awaited permission to step inside. Though the temptation to just barge into the Elder's room was getting pretty hard to ignore, and his right hand twitched, eager to grab the door knob.
Weevil took a deep breath, his hand slowly reached the wooden surface of the door, where he placed a feeble knock. "Eld- HEY WAIT!"
But it was too late. Jou had pushed past Weevil, and barged through the door. Weevil was just taking too long, damn it! If this thing was so urgent, then he shouldn't take whole hour to open one simple door! He needed to know if his friends were ok, and he needed to know now! Besides, why did he need permission to step into a room? Manners never were quiet his thing anyway. This Pegasus guy better tel-
"Ah, Jounochi my boy. Just the person I wanted to see."
Jou thoughts were interrupted at the sound of that all too familiar voice. His hot-headed attitude destroyed, and replaced by a shiver. There was just something about the Elder's voice that Jou found…creepy…
"Yes." The blonde angel said quickly, watching Pegasus from where he sat behind his desk. "You wanted to talk about my friends? Have you found them?" Jou asked hopefully.
There was a pause of uncomfortable silence, where Pegasus only stared at Jou with dull, unemotional, eyes. The stare brought back the unbearable fear of his friends safety, at an explosive force. The blonde angel wanted to look away, fearing the truth that the owner of those eyes may bring, but found himself unable to.
It didn't feel as though he could take the suspense much longer. It was like someone had grabbed hold of his heart, and was squeezing it slowly, gradually adding pressure, until it hit an intolerable amount. Only when Pegasus's gaze shifted onto something behind him, did the grip loosen.
"You may go now Weevil." Weevil, who was standing at the door, nodded and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
But then those eyes were on him again. The grip returned.
"You may want to sit down." The Elder said gently.
"I'll stand." The guard said sternly. The Elder only nodded solemnly.
"Jou…" The guard inwardly cringed at the name. Only his friends called him that, but the way it rolled off the Elder's tongue, just made it sound so wrong. "I sent angels out to look for your friends, but when they got to Earth, they found it unusually difficult to pick up their auras-"
"A-Are t-they" The guard couldn't take it, he needed to ask. "Are they….dead?"
"No." That one word made Jou want to collapse onto the floor with relief. Thank God they were alive! He didn't know what he would have done if the silver haired man had said yes, and was more grateful beyond belief, that he wouldn't find out.
However, the relief was short lived.
"But I'm afraid they are seriously ill."
What? No! There must be some mistake! "W-What do you mean seriously ill?" Jou asked in stupefied shock.
"When my angels reached Earth, it took them hours to locate them. The illness had took a toll on their bodies, and made their aura's grow weak. When they were finally found, it was miles away from the portal, and they were on the verge of…. death."
The blonde guard looked lost. His face was drained of any colour, except for a sickly pale white. He didn't understand what the Elder was talking about. Only day's ago Malik, Ryou, and Yugi were fine. How could they fall ill so quickly? He didn't believe it. It was a lie it had to be! The Elder was wrong, this was all just some misunderstanding. He couldn't believe it!
He wouldn't believe it!!
"There must be some mistake. I don't understand, how can they be ill?"
"To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure… I can only guess that they picked up some sort of disease while on Earth… I have to apologise-"
"What do ya mean apologise??… What do ya have to apologise for?" Jou interrupted, confused and worried.
"Jounochi…I… I'm afraid there's no easy way in telling you this… so I'll give it to you straight."
Another pause.
"Their immune system can't fight it, and the cure is impossible to make…They're dying Jou… I'm sorry."
It took few seconds for the information to actually sink in, but when it did, it was like everything suddenly came crashing down on him at once. They couldn't do anything…? Sorry? That's it, sorry? That's all he had to say?! Ryou, Yugi, and Malik were dying, and all this prick could say was 'sorry'?!
That was it. Jou lost it.
Forgetting all respect an angel should give to an Elder, the guard furiously stomped up to Pegasus's desk, the ink and paper shaking, as he slammed his fists onto the oak surface. "Where are they?! I need to see them!" He shouted angrily.
"I understand that you're upset, but you need to calm down." Pegasus tried to reason. "I can't take you to them. They're in quarantine, we don't know if the illness is contagious, and we can't risk anyone else getting infected."
"Then that's it? I just stay away and wait for them to die?!" The blonde lugged forward, and grabbed the Elder by the collar of his shirt, pulling him forward roughly. Pegasus's eyes widened, clearly not expecting such a violent reaction. "There must be something we can do! Tell me!!"
"I-I'm sorry but there isn't! Like I said, the only thing that might work is impossible to make!" A surprised Pegasus tried to explain.
"Why?!" Jou demanded.
Pegasus looked away from the teen's angry face, and lowered his gaze to the floor. "The ingredient needed, is impossible to get. It's a rare black herb that doesn't even grow in Heaven."
"Where is it?!" The blonde demanded again.
On the inside, the Elder was smirking wickedly. This was just far too easy… "It's on the south side of Hell, where the temperatures are cooler, but no angel is willing to go to the demon world, and nor will I, or any other Elder, allow an angel to do so. It's too dangerous."
Jou pushed the Elder back into his hair, turned round, and made his way over to the door, a determined expression on his face.
"Katsuya, wait! Where are you going?!" As though he really needed to ask? Pegasus found it hilarious. Such a fool the guard was…
"Whether ya allow me to or not, doesn't matter. I'm goin' to go and find that herb with, or without ya permission." And with that said, Jou stormed out of the room. Leaving a smirking Pegasus behind him.
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Looks like Jou's going to be getting into trouble… Anyway, wow… been a while huh? School sucks. I've been crammed full of essays and course work, then after the Christmas holidays I have my GCSE Business studies exam, and my work experience week… so yeah, I've been busy. Sorry about the long wait. Hopefully this chapter wasn't a disappointment!
bakura240: Glad you liked the lemon! Sorry about your science moduals though. How did your mock exams go? I did ok on mine, could have been worse at least. I'll see what I can do for more Bakura and Ryou. Sorry for the long wait! Hope you liked the chapter!
ailisa d. frieson: Glad you liked it!
kit: Sorry about the long wait. Glad you liked the chapter.
Boogermeister: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter just as much!
tavi: Thanks. Yup, I continued.
FemmeNikita: Glad you liked it! Sorry I took so long to update!
Serzie: Ah, don't blame him too much… at least he didn't jump Yugi the first nigh, like Marik and Bakura did to their angels -anime sweat drop-. Hope you liked the chapter!
seto'swifey: Jou is going to be meeting Seto VERY soon. Hope you liked the chapter!
Ying JagansamaThank you! Sorry about the long wait.
Adhiana: Thanks! And yeah, I feel sorry for Jou to… Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.