Some reviewers are pretty thoughtful. I didn't think anyone read the author notes anymore. On a side note, sorry the story's a bit slow. And… lacking in domestic scenes. I love having my characters be happy, but it's also fun to make them suffer. So. Stress relief, I guess.


"Hey… Yami?"

Yami groaned as he stretched. "Hm? What?"

"Why are you in a camo jacket?"

"...Because it's cold?"

"But it's the desert! There's no plants!"

Ryou pulled Yugi on the side, and they watched Yami and Bakura go at it. "How long do you think they can do this?" Ryou asked conspiratorially, to which Yugi had to stifle a giggle. Ryou grinned down at the child, then jumped. For a moment, he'd thought that there was a shadow - but it was just dark inside the tomb.

Man, he was getting jumpy.

"Get yourselves together, we are leaving the tomb tonight," Seto called out, clapping his hands. "I want to camp at the oasis tonight, so hurry up."

"Don't tell me to hurry up," Bakura tossed out casually, cuffing Yami over the head. Yami retaliated by kicking Bakura's knee.

Ryou sighed. "Guys…" He ducked the goblet thrown his way and continued, "We've all got our cards, our crossbows… Let's go, right?"

"Eh? Hey guys, come look at this!" Yugi called from outside of the tomb.

The five of them gathered outside to see the night sky. Or rather, the lack of it. Despite there being no clouds, the sky was a dome of pure black. "...Hey, isn't that unusual?" Yami commented. Seto merely sighed and told them, "It is the Shadow Lands, what did you expect?"

"Something normal. Clearly we were wrong," Bakura replied.

Ryou pointed into the distance. "Um, speaking of normal… that's not."

They looked to see a shambling figure approaching, clearly as large if not larger than the tomb they'd just left. The silhouette loomed on the horizon, vaguely resembling an elephant, or possibly a small mountain.

"Oh. That's just the Mammoth Graveyard," Seto said in a manner that was not at all reassuring. He clearly didn't mean to be reassuring either, as he was too focused on studying the - for lack of a better word - monster heading their way. "Looks in perfect condition… well, as perfect as a decomposing corpse can be… this might be a good opportunity."

"Decomposing corpse?" Ryou echoed.

"Opportunity?" Bakura repeated, perking up.

Yami just looked at them.

"Oh. Practice," Yugi said thoughtfully, then grinned. "Spellcasters first!"

Seto nodded. "We should get a move on, but we may as well see how good you guys are first." He stepped to the side and gestured at Ryou and Bakura. "Use those spells. We practiced long enough. I am sure you are not completely useless by now." He ignored the brothers' complaints and pointed at the monster. "Hurry up."

"Um…." Ryou pulled out a tablet and gripped it tightly. "Would it reach from this far away?"

Seto, who was from ancient Egypt, rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"You heard the man! Hurry it up!" Bakura said, shoving Ryou playfully. Ryou yelped, losing his grip on the tablet. Though he managed to catch it before it hit the ground, a bright light flashed from it that blinded all of them. Even Seto growled and closed his eyes hard.

When it faded, they all looked to see that the shambling corpse - which was much closer by now - was unchanged.

Ryou sighed and this time aimed the spell correctly. An angel who was half in shadow and half in light appeared and shot a beam of light at the Mammoth Graveyard. Yugi watched as the Change of Heart spell caused the Mammoth Graveyard to hesitate and stop in its tracks.

"Congratulations. You can control it for a limited time," Seto said in a deadpan. "Commander? Care to try to attack it?"

"Oh yeah," Yami mumbled, pulling out a tablet. "Ah… Celtic Warrior!" he called out, holding the tablet away. A light shined from the tablet, and the elfin swordsman appeared. "A-Attack the Mammoth Graveyard!" Yami commanded, turning red as he said it.

Bakura snickered as the Celtic Warrior charged at the monster. "Man, you sound like a high schooler affected by chuunibyou," he chuckled.

"Shut up," Yami retorted.

Ryou grinned. "Sounds a lot like you in high school," he observed, ignoring the glare Bakura shot his way.

Yugi watched as the Mammoth Graveyard was cut into pieces. In the midst of flesh and bones falling to the ground, he saw something glint inside the carcass. He ran over and stuck his arm in the pile of decomposing flesh to grab it.

"Yugi! What're you doing?" Yami asked, more than a little grossed out.

Seto came over and helped Yugi clear off the gunk. "Sharp eyes," he commented, yanking a bone away. "The tablet belongs to your group, since you were the ones who defeated it. Although you took an inordinate amount of time to do so. But you pass, I suppose."

"What do you mean, the tablet belongs to us?" Bakura asked, joining them. Ryou came over as well, just in time to see the two pull free a small, stone tablet that resembled the ones they held.

Seto just looked at them.

"Magic's captured in the tablets," Yugi answered instead. "So are… monsters. When they die, they become bound." He glanced up at Seto. "Right?"

"Correct."

Yami took the proffered tablet and lifted it, staring curiously at the engraving on the stone. "So that means I can summon this too, now. Weird."

"Well… we wasted quite a bit of time on that." Seto pointed in the direction of some sand dunes. "See those? There are often lizards beneath places with shelter. There are some stones there. Let us find some food. We still have a long night ahead of us."

"According to you, it's always night," Ryou said.

Seto walked forward without answering. After a beat, the group followed, sticking close to the man's back despite there being no obvious silhouettes lurking on the horizon.

When they'd discovered and shot several lizards, the number of lizards actually shot being far less than the number they'd seen, they skinned and gutted the bodies before roasting them on a spit. Even Seto had seasoned them with salt, pepper, and other seasonings it was still pretty bland.

The four were just glad they tasted like meat.

Yami had tried to convince Yugi to not help with the skinning and gutting part, but the child had joined in with gusto. "I want to help!" he'd protested, and Yami had eventually caved.

When they were done eating, Seto warned them to not let down their guard before they set out once more.