A.N. Hello! I just got back from vacation recently and the house is going through some organization, but here's the next chapter. Again, it's not as humor oriented as a lot of the others, but I hope you guys like it.
Disclaimer: HP and YGO still not mine.
:. . .: is Yugi, double is Yami
(. . .) is Ryou, double is Bakura
;. . .; is Malik, double is Ishtar
Anything with -. . .- around it is a broadcast to all six.
Chapter 26
"What?! Malik!" Ryou exclaimed in horror. "You can't be serious! Divination starts in a few minutes—and what is Shadi going to say?"
"Nothing if he doesn't know," the Egyptian said stubbornly. "And besides, I couldn't care less if I missed Divinations. The beetle probably won't even notice."
"Shouldn't you at least try sending an owl first?" Yugi asked. "After all, you don't actually know if there's anything wrong."
"I already did," Malik snapped, growing impatient. "And she didn't answer. That means there is something wrong."
-((Maybe she's mad at you,))- Bakura suggested, sounding distinctly bored. -((It wouldn't be the first time.))-
(Bakura!) Ryou hissed. (Can't you see he's worried? Don't be so insensitive!)
"I'm sure Isis is fine," he said hurriedly. He didn't like the shadows gathering on the Egyptian's brow.
-::Isis is a strong shadow mage in her own right,::- Yami added.
"I'm going," Malik snapped, ignoring them. "It's not as though walking the shadow realm takes all that much time for people like us who know the way."
Yugi sighed. He could tell Malik wasn't going to be changing his mind, but then again, if it had been his grandfather, he'd probably be the same. "All right, but you'd better hurry then, we'll cover for you. Just don't do anything rash."
"Rash? What are you talking about?"
-((He's being dense on purpose,))- Bakura proclaimed in a singsong voice.
-;;Hey, Tomb Robber,;;- Ishtar said in a somewhat subdued voice.
-((What?))-
-;;I wouldn't keep prodding him if I were you.;;-
Bakura fell silent. Ishtar didn't speak in such a serious voice very often.
"Be careful," Ryou sighed, looking resigned. "We most likely won't be able to find you if anything happens…"
Malik rolled his eyes. How many times would he have to say he would be fine before they would believe him? "It's not as though I'm going to war. I'm going home."
"You three!" Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the air like a knife as she rounded the corner. "You should be in class."
"Sorry professor," Yugi said quickly, bowing. "We lost track of the time."
With that the three hurried away from her, though they could feel her sharp gaze burning holes in their backs all the way down the corridor. Once they were out of sight, Malik turned into an empty classroom as the other two continued towards the north tower.
X
Harry looked up from his open Divinations textbook as Yugi and Ryou took seats at the table next to his and Ron's. They looked out of breath and Malik was missing. The previous day's conversation with Hermione flashed through his mind. "Where's Malik?"
"The bathroom. Something he ate at breakfast didn't agree with him," Ryou replied without thinking.
((Hey, you're actually getting batter at this.))
Ryou frowned. (What are you talking about?)
((I mean you actually delivered that one convincingly.))
Groaning inwardly, the pale haired boy pulled his own textbook out of his bag. "Do you think we're still on crystal gazing? There aren't any orbs out today…"
"Trelawney's been acting all weird today," Ron replied, shrugging. "Seems distracted. She even assigned us the same chapters to read as last time—not that I'm complaining mind you."
"I guess we'll read it too then." Yugi opened his own book. "What page is it on?"
x-X-x
To most people, distance was a matter of unchangeable fact. It was the way material and reality were measured because without the solidity of defined spaces the mind could easily be overwhelmed and lost to the eager grasp of chaos. Malik however knew that distance was, actually, only a relative thing, because a place or an object was only ever as far away or close as a person believed it to be. In the material world however that knowledge was all but useless because the human mind clung to solidities for stability. In the shadow realm on the other hand, where nothing was ever really certain and nothing warranted the label of 'solid' it was a different matter altogether. Here, in the shadows, existence was controlled by the mind and the strength of the soul and will behind it. It was with this knowledge that he focused his mind on the museum back in Egypt where Isis should have been and moved forward through the darkness of the shadow realm.
Around him the mists eddied and pulsed, curling around him then swirling away as though drawn by an invisible wind. One step became three, then ten, then twenty as he drew the museum closer to him in his mind, imagining its stone floors and clear, glass displays. Soon the ground beneath his feet began to take on the hard, cool aura of stone and the odorless air filled with the smell of ancient things and cool, museum corridors.
Blinking to adjust his eyes, he tucked the Millennium Rod back into his pocket and checked to make sure that the hall he had landed in was empty. Satisfied, he walked quickly along the hall, eyes darting from side to side for any signs of his sister. According to his watch the museum should have opened about two hours ago and Isis could be anywhere.
His footsteps echoed back to him as he passed from hall to hall, and with every step his frown grew deeper. Finally he stopped in a room containing a massive, stone sculpture of Osiris and panels upon panels of hieroglyphs. It too was deserted.
"Either business has gotten a lot worse since I left or something's gone wrong," he said to no one in particular.
;;I vote the latter.;;
;Me too.;
The sudden, distant sound of footsteps made him tense. Turning around quickly, he wrapped his fingers tightly around the Millennium Rod in his pocket, and stared hard at the archway leading back into the hall.
"Show yourself," he commanded.
There was the sound of someone inhaling in surprise then a familiar face appeared in the arch.
"Master Malik, you're back!"
Malik let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and released the Rod. He nodded a greeting as his eyes flicked to the space behind the newcomer, but there was still no sign of Isis. "Rishid. Where's Isis? And why is there no one here?"
"You don't know? Since you were back I thought—" Cutting himself off, the tall, Egyptian man shook his head, his expression growing grimmer by the second. "The museum has been temporarily closed. Miss Isis is in the hospital."
Malik stared at him. He wasn't entirely shocked—he had been expecting something…even if he hadn't known exactly what—but that uneasy feeling in his chest was growing rather than subsiding.
"What happened?"
"I—I don't know," Rishid replied, guilt weighing his eyes to the floor. "I came in early this morning to help open the exhibits and I found her unconscious near the doors that lead down to the tablets. I couldn't wake her, so I called the hospital."
Lips pressed tightly together, Malik closed his eyes, already reaching out for the dark power of the shadow realm. "The local hospital?"
"Yes."
"Which room?"
"112."
"Good. Scour the museum, see if you can find anything."
Command given, he pulled the shadows back around himself and focused his mind on the hospital.
x-X-x
"Would you like to try a simple reading?" Ryou asked, shuffling his tarot deck with quick, practiced hands.
Yugi looked up from his textbook. "Sure. I haven't finished reading about these spreads though."
Ryou smiled. "That's okay. Let's just draw cards. We can see if they have anything to say about the recent…problems. Here, concentrate on the issue and draw three cards."
He held out the deck and Yuji frowned slightly. What is happening in the shadow realm to cause the disturbances? He thought, repeating the question over and over in his mind. Then he reached out and took the top three cards off of the deck, handing them back to Ryou without looking.
The white haired boy accepted the cards and held them up—and froze. Seeing the shocked expression on his face, Yugi leaned forward.
"What is it? Are they that bad?"
Ryou was silent for a long moment before he looked over into his friend's curious, concerned face. "No…" he said slowly, "not…exactly. It's just…"
Shaking his head, he simply held the cards out to Yugi.
All three of them were blank. Completely, and utterly, blank.
x-X-x
The hospital room, as most hospital rooms tended to be, was very white and very clean, filled with the sharp aroma of disinfectants. Standing next to the white bed and looking down at his sister's unconscious face, surrounded by white sheets and white pillows, Malik felt as though he had stepped into some surreal world. There had been a time, he mused, when he had thought it was all over. The business with the Items and the shadow realm was part of their lives, but it was a past part, something they could look back on and laugh at because now they had their whole lives ahead of them as the tangled webs of time and fate had been smoothed and fastened into clean, straight lines.
But the shadows can never rest. Things are always changing, most of all in the dark where they can't be seen. We can't ever get off our toes.
;;Well, wouldn't life be boring if you could? I mean, what's living without a little spice! A little danger!;;
Malik sighed, but he couldn't help the small grin that tugged at his lips regardless. ;That's true. But still…I feel like we keep dragging her into this.;
;;At least she's breathing,;; Ishtar said optimistically. ;;We'll sort this out and she'll be just fine and ready to start yelling our ears off about being more careful again by next Monday.;;
Malik snorted. ;Might take longer than that. But we'll solve it all right.; His fists clenched reflexively. ;Whoever's behind all this is going to be sorry they caused us so much trouble.;
;;That's right!;; Ishtar cackled gleefully. ;;We'll send them all to the shadow realm! Where's the Necklace by the way?;;
Malik started abruptly, his eyes widening. The Millennium Necklace was gone. He hadn't noticed before because seeing Isis unconscious in a hospital bed was already so out of place that that other minute yet all important detail and escaped him.
;It—someone must have taken it! But how—;
;;Left,;; Ishtar said suddenly, voice unusually sharp. ;;Did you see that?;;
Lavender eyes narrowed and Malik turned slowly to face the door. He had seen it all right. A thin wisp of shadowy mist—a tendril from the shadow realm.
Pulling the Rod out of its hiding place, he ran out into the hall, his mind reaching out for any other traces of the realm's distinct energy. As he ran the traces grew stronger. They were all radiating outward—ripples from a focal point.
It's like the energy released by a summons, he thought distractedly. Dodging around a startled nurse pushing a cart laden with covered trays that were probably breakfasts, he turned a sharp corner into a more dimly lit hall and was blasted with a gust of cold air.
Lowering the arm he had raised on impulse, he saw a few flakes of white go drifting by his face. He stared.
Is that—
A low rumble shook the hallway floor and he tore his eyes away from what could only be snow to fix them on the hulking, humanoid thing that was standing just a little farther down the hall. It was covered in blue and white armor and something about it was distinctly familiar. Around it huge blocks of ice stood amidst a rapidly thickening carpet of white, and Malik noted with a start that there were horrified faces inside the ice.
;;Stop gaping at the frozen people! It's coming our way!;;
"Right."
Sticking the Rod back in his pocket, he yanked out his deck.
"Mobius, Mobius…"
;;Level six. Attack 2400.;;
"Defense 1000. Effect—"
;;When it's tribute summoned. Doesn't matter here—;;
A vicious gust of icy wind tore through the hall and Malik cursed as his cards went flying out of his rapidly numbing fingers. The cold was cutting right through his school robes and he was starting to regret not listening to Yugi and Ryou's suggestions of wearing warmer clothes.
Instead he turned to face the approaching Frost Monarch and raised both his hands, palms outward, mind focused on the Rod at his side and the power within it. There was a brilliant flash of gold and the monster let out a disgruntled roar as it ran into an invisible barrier.
The Egyptian grinned. "Heh, you're gonna have to hit harder than that to get me."
Bellowing furiously, the monster reared back and threw itself forward with astonishing speed, striking the barrier with every ounce of its twenty four hundred attack points.
Caught off guard, Malik took an involuntary step back and the barrier shattered.
TBC
A.N. I don't know anything about hospitals in Egypt, so just bear with me. Okay, I'll try to get the next part up sooner as soon as the furniture stops moving. Thanks for reading. Comments, suggestions, etc, always welcome.
Oh, one more thing. I'm reloading some of the previous chapters so that the formats will fit better, though I'll do them bit by bit from the back, so just give me a heads up if you see anything go wrong--like disappearing speech, etc. I would really appreciate it.