Chapter 36

'Ven solues sai santero kama,' Adam glanced towards them as he walked, 'mai maz cen sar sai.'

'What did he say?' Mokuba hissed at Mai.

'Something to do with lost souls I think.' She replied.

'What do you mean think?'

'Well I know kama means souls, but the rest of it...' she pulled a face, 'he speaks a little fast for me.'

'Tarno yia ritika pifta,' Adam shook his head, 'ven karto zema sai om sai karto zema se. Fath yie ien ka zes se ven arlato elle stas yie tono ka zes se.'

'Yie tono?' Mai frowned, not totally sure she knew what he's said.

'Sai moonoh solues ven arla ver noh koh?'

'What's he saying?' Mokuba frowned.

'I'm not completely sure, but I think he said something about it not being his choice to be here.' Mai shrugged.

'So you mean someone sent him to us?'

'Hang on I'll ask,' she turned back to Adam. 'Sai onso zes se?'

Adam rolled his eyes, shook his head and shot a look halfway between amusement and disgust in her direction.

'Sai cen Etean juchk tik,' he sighed, 'stas aye, von onso zes se. Sai yeug zes lattay arc ete.'

'What he say?' Mokuba stared at her.

'From what I could understand, he says that he was sent to us,' she pulled a face. 'Although I think he's getting annoyed with my basic and very bad use of Etean.'

'Well at least you understand some of it.'

'I don't think that makes it any easier for him.'

'Ki mus ke mortray,' Adam gave an impatient sigh, 'ki alma kay.'

SK might not have required the intake of air, but that didn't stop him from letting out what felt like the deepest breath of his existence. For a long time he wasn't totally sure how he felt about seeing Tristan standing above his own empty body like that, but he did know how he felt about the throwaway look Tristan gave the sight of Yugi mourning over him. It made him angry, really angry; although he couldn't be sure if it was the idea Tristan could be so callous about Yugi's grief or his own death which made SK's blood boil so much.

'SK,' Tristan focused his attention on him, 'hige maro ven heiess?'

'I...' SK shook his head, 'I don't speak etean, Tristan.'

'What did you say?' Yugi's head shot up as though it were being pulled by invisible strings.

'I was talking to Tristan.' SK swallowed hard.

'You... you mean he's back... already?' A strange smile twigged at the corner of Yugi's lips. 'Where?'

'There,' SK frowned as he pointed to the spot practically on top of where Yugi was kneeling.

'I...' Yugi shook his head as he stared at the spot SK was pointing in, 'I don't see anything.'

'Chit,' Tristan placed a hand to his forehead, 'yie mus ver beto ven ostrue tita dayna.' He sighed and turned his attention towards the battle field. 'Lu mitte tant ven heiess?'

'I told you Tristan,' SK pulled a face, 'I don't speak Etean. Not really. Not enough to have any idea what you're saying right now.'

'Sai moonoh asta cino.' Tristan folded his arms.

'SK, are you sure you can see Tristan?' Yugi stared at him.

'He's there Yugi; I don't know why you can't see him, but he's definitely there.'

'Yie beto von ostrue tita dayna,' Tristan shrugged. 'Eezeidoh.'

SK stared hopelessly at him for a few long moments, then sighed.

'What... what's Tristan saying?' Yugi wiped his eyes and pulled himself to his feet.

'I don't know. He's speaking Etean and I really don't understand Etean.'

'But you said it was Tristan who told you to fetch the Face of Friendship earlier,' Yugi frowned. 'Tristan has been speaking Etean since he went off with the First, how were you able to understand him if you don't speak Etean?'

'I... I don't know,' SK frowned, 'he didn't sound like he was speaking Etean earlier.'

'Kuh beto ven auh ci dros Pure's mar,' Tristan glanced towards him. 'Ven arla tant vitmei Daiosen juchk sai caro viigar kuh ayta.'

'Err...' SK gawked at him, 'I... I think I might have understood a little of that. Did you... are you saying you used the Pure's power to communicate with me before?'

'Aye,' he nodded.

'But how...?'

'Ayealor,' he rolled his eyes, 'mitte...'

Before he could get any further with what he was saying Mai, Mokuba and the strange brown tunic wearing boy from before made their way out onto the Huntay. SK's jaw nearly hit the ground when he saw them; he almost couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

'What the hell...?'

'What?' Yugi blinked up at him. 'What's going on now?'

'I...' SK shook his head and continued to stare at Mai and Mokuba.

'SK?' Yugi followed his gaze. 'I don't get it, why are you staring at Adam like that?'

'Don't...? Don't you see them?' SK felt a strange kind of realisation pull through his stomach.

'See who?'

'SK fito tiise tah,' Tristan shot him a warning look as Adam, Mai and Mokuba made their way towards them.

'Tristan I'm so sorry,' Mai flicked her gaze between the body on the ground and Tristan's spirit, 'what happened?'

'Ven daya, mitte fio yie eey juchk?'

'Ostrue tita cohnant, juchk tarhr dros,' Adam flashed him a weak smile.

'Eezeidoh,' Tristan rolled his eyes.

'Sai baias zes ver dayna?'

Tristan shrugged and turned away from Adam.

'I'm not sure I like the parts of that I understood,' Mai pulled a face.

'You actually understood some of it?' SK licked his lips.

'Joey's been teaching me basic Etean, but all I've really been doing with it today is winding up our friend Adam here,' she gave a nervous laugh. 'From what I could gather they were talking about death or dying, at least I think daya and dayna have something to do with death. Most of the rest of it went over my head a little. Although...' she frowned, 'I don't know, there was something about what they were saying which felt... like death was only temporary.'

'Temporary?' SK licked his lips again. 'How can death be temporary?'

'Beto arn mero kar daya sa Kama Traydon,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'eezeidoh.'

Behind her she could sense her sisters being flung backwards for what felt like the hundredth time. She could sense their pain and frustration at the situation they were in. She could sense their anger and their determination too. It was the only thing keeping her shield active. Gan's reverse empathic technique was getting to be too much for her now. It was taking everything she had in her just to hold on and stop herself from giving into fear.

Some unknown instinct pulled through her body and her eyes glanced round to where Tristan's body was lying. She almost laughed to see them there. Four spirits all glowing with so much energy it was almost unreal. An overwhelming feeling of happiness and joy filled her as something deep inside of her knew exactly what it was she was staring at. The joy strengthened the shield in front of her and gave her a renewed sense of determination.

'You can't hold out forever you know,' Gan voice drew her attention back towards her attacker, 'we both know you neither have the will nor the strength, so why keep fighting me oh Passive One?'

'Just because I am faith, doesn't mean I don't have it,' their eyes locked, 'and right now I'm putting my faith in him.'

Adam still wasn't sure whether or not he liked Tristan all that much. The guy was a little bit on the cold and moody side for his likings and anybody who was disappointed at the temporary nature of their own death clearly had something wrong with them. Still, he was the only one in the little huddle they were in who could currently understand him, so, like it or not, Adam was pretty stuck.

'They don't know they're dead yet, do they?' Tristan flicked his gaze towards Adam.

'I'm not sure?' Adam shook his head. 'I can't understand a word they're saying, but I don't think they do somehow. They don't act like people who've just walked away from their own drowned bodies, plus...' he felt a little uncomfortable, 'their taste in clothing is a little strange.'

'I don't think either of them know that,' Tristan sighed, 'and for the record the strange garments they're currently wearing are known as underwear. Normally we would put other garments on top of them.'

'Ah, so that's what those things at the side of the lake were then,' Adam felt a strange sense of relief. 'I did think it was a little odd.'

'Adam you do understand we can't let them know they're dead, right? Not if we can possibly help it.'

'Because death changes people,' Adam studied them for a moment. 'My master was a Vii Sen; he understood death better than I could ever hope to and the one thing he always used to tell me was that death changes people.'

'It's not death as much as the realisation that you're dead,' Tristan massaged his temples for a moment. 'I'm starting to understand what that means now, but I'm still not sure if it's a good thing or not.'

For a few moments there was silence, then Adam forced himself to focus his gaze on Tristan. He didn't know why but he was filled with this sudden compulsion to tell Tristan what he knew; what the Spirit of the lake had told him.

'Tristan...'

'They're pieces of the puzzle,' Tristan cut him off. 'I'd already figured out three of the parts, but I guess Mokuba was the his they were referring to before. We're all part of the puzzle, now we just have to work out how we fit together.'

'How...?'

'Spirits like to talk Adam,' Tristan smirked, 'you more than anyone should understand that by now.'