Author's Note: O_O Oh boy….somebody screamed. What's gonna happen here? And what if Sarah can't keep balance? (You'll find out what the hell I'm talkin' about in this chapter.) Happy reading! ^^
REMINDERS: Just lettin' ya know that I'm not gonna be here from July 16 to August 24. I'm really sorry, but I miss my cousins. When I come back, I promise to write as much as I can. Thanks. :)
SUMMER'S HERE BABY! OH YEAH! lol. And I will hopefully be able to get a whole lot done. XD Thank you for everyone's support! ^^
Disclaimer of Yu-Gi-Oh!. Fan fiction, and I am getting NO money out of it either. Thanks. ^^
Legendary Heroes-A Virtual Gaming World Gone Bad Chapter 33
Yami punched the railing with his fist. The tears Yugi had from before began falling again, leaving streaks down his cheeks.
"No…" he whispered once again, looking down over the railing from where Sarah fell. He raised a hand to his face. "I almost had her!"
Joey walked up to his buddy in hopes of soothing him while Mai took over the wheel. His eyes were sullen and Mai didn't look too happy to be driving the ancient machine.
"Hey man," Joey whispered, putting his arm around his friend's shoulders. "There's probably a way to get her back, and we'll find it. Sarah's a strong girl, she wouldn't want us to start breaking down."
Yami wiped the tears off from his eyes with his gloved hands and nodded. "You're right." he sighed, helplessly, but he still didn't want her gone.
Yami knew he had a point. There wasn't anything they can do to bring her back right now, but he wished so badly she didn't have to fall. If only there was a way to know if she was still alright, maybe then he would live it down, somewhat.
Then something caught his eye. He turned around to find something shimmering on the wooden floor. Even under the dense clouds, it still glowed.
"Wait, what's this?" Yami asked as he bent down to pick up the object. As his fingers were just about to touch it, an image flashed through his eyes. He jumped back. One moment the image was there, the other it was gone. He didn't even remember it anymore.
Joey bent down next to try and pick it up, but he didn't jump when he touched it. As he was looking it over, his eyes started to widen in excitement.
"This is Sarah's Locket!" he cried happily. "It didn't digitize, maybe she's ok!"
Hope rose into the air once more and Yami felt his heart soar. He moved a bit closer to Joey's side to see it better. It was the first time he'd ever seen it up close, and the design on it seemed….so familiar.
Joey held out the Locket for him to take it. Yami hesitated before taking the chain between his fingers. Nothing flashed before his eyes. Joey gave Yami a pat on the shoulder before heading over to the front of the machine. Yami was left staring at the necklace in his hands.
The shape of the heart Locket was something he'd been able to see whenever Sarah wore it, but he always thought it was plain gold. That there was no design on it. But now, as he looked it over carefully, he saw the Eye of Ra in the centre of an outlined box. His eyes widened in shock.
"She's from Egypt too…" he realized. What if she held all his memories? All the memories he's lost? What if she's connected to his past?
"I wonder who she really is…." he turned the Locket over in his hands to see the back of it. Along the edges were words too small for him to decipher. They were running along the perimeter of it. There were so many questions suddenly haunting him, he didn't know whether to be glad that Sarah was connected to all of this or scared at the fact that the Locket might digitize any second. Yami gave it one final look before putting it into the pocket of his armour.
They were getting closer to the castle now. It sent waves of shivers down everyone's spines. Joey steered the machine in.
Suddenly there was a roar coming from the entrance to the castle. Joey steered the machine away just in time to miss a beam of flame from another monster in their way. This one was guarding the entrance.
"It's a Salamandra!" Mai cried. "How do we get rid of that? It's a magic made monster!" (Salamandra is actually a magic card. So the castle's guarded by a dragon made by the fire of Salamandra. XD)
The attack from the Salamandra didn't miss the flying machine entirely. It grazed one of its wings, setting the whole thing ablaze in a matter of seconds. Soon, the fire began making its way toward the group of three.
Yami thought quickly and summoned Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress and the three of them hopped onto its back and made it out of that fiery wooden mass. The flying machine was sent spiralling into the dark abyss below. Joey and Mai were very thankful for Yami's fast thinking.
But then the Salamandra prepared for another assault. It opened its mouth, ready for another attack when there was a cry from somewhere above.
This cry answered Mai's previous question. Deep within the clouds above came a large shadow and the creature it belonged to came next. Everyone looked up in utter shock as it dived right at the opposing monster that was ready to give one more attack.
I tried to reach the railing, just as I fell over it, but my fingers barely even touched Yami's when he tried reaching for me. I let out a final, terrified scream before plummeting down.
The machine began getting smaller and smaller and I was beginning to think that maybe this was the end of me in the game.
'No.' I said strongly into my mind. I pushed the opposing thought away and tried focusing on the fact that I was falling. Really fast. Into the middle of nowhere.
'I can't give up because of some stupid bird knocking me off the machine!' I yelled, despite the fact that I could think in this situation. My vision was spinning as I kept falling. I wish I could fly so I could stop my head from hurting…
Wait…that's it! I CAN fly! Without even wasting another second, maybe I would reach the end of the barrier soon, I pulled a card off from the top of my deck. The air around me threatened to rip the card out from my hands but I quickly said its name before I could lose my last chance.
"Phoenix!" I cried. "I summon you!"
A brilliant golden light emitted from within my card and it spread around me like flames. The light soon became solid and I felt soft, vibrant red feathers between my fingers. I opened my closed eyes to find the back of a familiar looking bird's neck.
"Hey there." I said softly. I was sitting on the back of a Phoenix. One of my strongest monsters. (If you can't see a phoenix of any kind in your mind, just imagine the picture of a phoenix from the 5th Harry Potter book by J. K. Rowling. XD) I stroked it's back in a welcoming gesture as it sent a cry into the sky. It wasn't a rough sound, it sounded like a mythical creature giving its final words. The melody was soft and pure, but not depressing.
It flew higher and higher into the sky, soon getting away from the danger of the magical barrier that I would've probably hit if I kept falling. Phoenix took me right up into the clouds, but I had to tell it to stop.
"My friends and I were going to the Castle of Dark Illusions." I started to explain. "Until I fell over. Can you please bring me back to them? That would mean a lot."
My friend nodded its head slightly before taking off into the direction of the ancient machine, but I saw it in flames, heading for the ground far below from where they were now. I wondered what happened, but the predicament of my friends caught my attention.
As we neared, I saw the distress my friends were in. It looked like a dragon that was attached to the castle's walls. Its scales were on fire and it used that same element to shoot at my friends. "They're trying to fight a Salamandra?" I asked incredulously. A magic card? Kaiba's such a sneak!
"Let's help 'em out." I said to Phoenix. He gave out a mighty caw and began diving into the dragon. Its nosedive was a special trick used in aerial attacks. It came In handy, especially when needed now.
It dived head on to the dragon. It was supposed to lure it into wasting its energy in an attack, and just as planned, it happened. Soon, Salamandra shot a bullet into the air. Phoenix swiftly dodged it by directing his dive to the right, just as the attack went by us. Then quickly dug into my leather pouch for a kunai and thrust it right through the dragon's neck. It let out a hiss of pain and vanished into thin air.
"Yeah!" I whooped, throwing my arms into the air as Phoenix did a loop around the area we defeated the Salamandra. Then I ruffled his feathers a bit and nuzzled my cheek into them. "Thank you." I whispered. A low rumble in response came from deep within his throat. I rustled my fingers through his feathers once more before he began descending toward the castle's entrance.
The ancient flying machine was long gone, but the Joey, Mai, and Yami were now on the castle grounds. There was a forest put in between the entrance and the doors to the castle rooms. When Phoenix flew me over to where my friends stood gaping at the sight of us, he touched down onto the grass a few feet beside them, flapping his wings to make soft impact. I skilfully slid down his back and landed right in front of the gang. I gave Phoenix one long look before giving him a slight nod. In a flash of light, he disappeared and his card came back onto my deck.
"Hey guys." I said, grinning like a fool. The three stood in utter shock and disbelief at the fact that I was standing right in front of them. Their mouths were slightly ajar and their eyes were widened to the brink of not being able to blink again.
"Sarah! You're alive!" Joey was the first to recover. The blond rushed toward me and swept me into a hug. I was almost lifted off the ground.
"Of-course-I-am!" I managed to choke under his grip. He quickly let go, thinking I would suffocate. I bent over, trying to catch the sudden breath I lost.
"S-sorry." he said sheepishly. Mai pushed past him and gave me a one armed hug.
"Man, you really appeared out of nowhere, Sarah." she said. I laughed, rubbing my neck in embarrassment.
"Uh yeah." I said, looking over the group. "I didn't want to go down that easily. Plus I wanna see what this world has next!" I punched an arm into the air for enthusiasm.
"Wow…you really are strong." Joey chuckled. Then he pointed a thumb toward Yami. "I mean, we all knew you were capable of taking care of yourself."
I could tell Joey wanted me to go talk to him. Why didn't he come out and say it? Why be so secretive about it? I didn't understand but I nodded, nonetheless.
"Thanks, guys." I smiled. "For the Faith."
Joey patted my shoulder and shrugged. "Nah….we just wanted you back." I squinted my eyes at him for a moment before smiling widely.
"You missed me, Joey?" I asked, grinning foolishly again. The blond merely blinked before blushing idiotically.
"No, no!" He protested, waving his hands in front of him. "It wasn't me!"
I quirked an eyebrow and then slowly looked over his side to see Yami finally joining the group after my arrival. My shoulders jumped a bit in surprise. Did Yami miss me? Why? …Had he figured out who I was?
"D-did you miss me? Yugi?" I asked, eyes wide and blinking. Joey pointed to Mai and then off to the right. She complied and quietly stalked off, the both of them giving us room.
Yami didn't show his real emotions. He kept his usual composure. But I could read his eyes. I don't know if anyone had ever noticed or not, but whenever Yami changed positions with Yugi, his eyes would change too. So whenever it was Yugi, they'd be amethyst while whenever it was Yami, they'd be a crimson colour. A beautiful….crimson…
Holy shit Sarah, get a hold of yourself.
And right now, I managed to see those eyes showing sorrow. But….I couldn't really understand why.
"I was scared…when you fell over." he said, finally, his eyes shining with sadness, which I could see clearly now. "I thought we'd lost you."
I gave him a small smile. "I know even if I didn't come back, that you guys would beat the game." I said. "I wouldn't have been lost forever."
Yami's eyes now changed to confusion. "How do you know?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I had Faith." I said. Deep down, I always have Faith for you, Yami. You just don't really know right now. "I knew that even if I…..digitized, that you, Joey, Mai, Mokuba and Kaiba would have been able to win the game and restore me and Iru." I shook my head mentally. I'm nothing to you though….why would you miss me?
Yami's eyes softened. "So you really trust us?" he asked.
I nodded. "Without a doubt."
"And I trust you." he said, and his eyes changed emotion again, just like pages in a book. "Do you mind if you answer a question of mine?"
I blinked curiously. "Go on." I said.
Yami dug into his pockets and pulled out a golden chain. Much like my own Locket. But….wait….when he pulled out the whole thing and held it out for me to see, I saw the familiar Eye of Ra staring right at me.
My stomach dropped about 20 stories below the surface I was standing on.
I nearly lost it? My Millennium Locket was almost gone! How the hell was I so clumsy!
"I found this on the floor of the machine." he explained. I turned my wide eyes to give him a long, thoughtful look. "When it didn't materialize, we knew you were still alive."
My hands flew up to my neck. That was no lie. It was my Locket. I would never live this down. If I had lost it, I don't know what I would've done. I'd be in a coma from shock.
"Th-thank you." I said, without thinking of anything else to say, that's all I could say. "Oh my god. Thank you so much Yugi."
I felt so god damn stupid, staring at the object in Yami's hand, that I barely felt him take my own hand and place the Locket into it. "But Sarah." he said. "My question, can you answer it?"
My breath hitched. I had a horrible gut feeling that he was going to ask something about my Locket. I gave him a nod, ready for impact.
Then he held my shoulder and bent down closer to my ear. My breath caught in my throat again as he whispered those dreaded words:
"Why does your Locket have the same symbol as my Millennium Puzzle?"
Author's Note: