Disclaimer: After a few years of YuGiOh drought and two weeks trying to get back into the dueling game i realized something about myself, I am NOT a dueler, at least, not with the new cards released , Tuners, Token cards, messed up strategies that have you summon sacrifice and re-summon monsters during the first move! _ Almoat NO normal monsters . I miss the classics!

If I owned Yu*Gi*Oh it would me more like the classic version.

Oh well, at least i can still write my stories MY way.

QUEST FOR THE
FORBIDDEN ONE

By,

Jgal

CHAPTER FIFTY

ALL ABOARD!

DARK MAGICIAN

Their return to the Spell Palace proved a little less eventful then the first time, which was perfectly suitable for them. Nothing that could have happened would have been able to draw his mind away from what happened with Astro, his daughter; the soul survivor of his family. He wondered silently is his brother bought the 'illusion' of her unwillingness to help and spared her life, or poisoned her mind with more lies.

When they arrived many of the students greeted them excitedly with question about Castle of Curses. The Lady of Faith quickly shooed them away so that the healers could attend to their injuries. The two men remained silent to the questions, the healers, and each other.

The warming aura of the healers' energies failed to draw his attention away from what had happened after they escaped. Although it was her power that activated it, it was HIS weapon that struck his child... the same one that slew their family a century before, that he prayed would never happen again. He felt tired, confused, and empty inside.

Once they had recovered they left the Palace, so not to lure the army's wrath to its hallowed halls and into the vast desert hills of the dark empty lands. When they reached a suitable rest stop Dark Magician starred deeply at the card which he had taken from Astro while Celtic examined the other three pieces in their possession. With only one card remaining they had to be ever more vigilant to get the last piece and avoid any more pieces falling into the wrong hands, again. With a map of all the realms spread out on the grown the elf focused his heirloom to find the location of the final piece.

The mage glanced at the elf momentarily while he worked. It was hard to believe how long it has been since they first left for this mission. How much they had argued and hated each other for endless months. In that time they had grown to trust one another. He never knew how much he would rely on the elf, or the lengths he went for a friend. To even risk his life; and the mission, by entering the Castle of Curses to rescue him. At the beginning he thought that the elf would only hold him back. Now it seemed that they never would have gotten this far without each other. "Is this what it's like … to have a friend?"

The guiding beams from Celtic's forbidden piece fell upon several points on the map. "There are too many energy signatures to get a decent signal."

Dark Magician turned his attention completely to the map, "We need to focus the beams into a single point." He gazed over the map and the leg pieces in the elf's hand. "If one piece can be distracted by false sources perhaps we can focus the beam with more…"

Celtic grinned to the mage. "Then let's not waste time and use all four."

The two Duel Monsters each took a hold of the pieces they each had claimed and held them together. With their channeled energies the four cards glowed in golden light.

"Cards of the Forbidden One

Show us now where the fifth has gone!"

All four pieces unleashed a blinding bright golden beam. The four beams interwove together into a braided chain. In the map the smaller, weaker beams faded away, leaving the single unified guide to shine straight to the center of the meadow realm.

"So, the final piece is back in Sogen…" Dark observed, "Where our journey began…"

"Not just Sogen…" Celtic Guardian stated, pointing to the location on the map "But Sogen Castle…"

The mage glanced to him, "You know that place?"

The elf nodded, "It is a holy place that houses the tombs of the greatest Warriors since the beginning of time. It is also built as an impenetrable fortress where the lord of the realm uses to train tribe leaders and defense forces. I myself spent a few years there before I officially took over my village."

"Sounds much like the Palace of Spells in Yami." Dark said looking back to the map, "So we will have to find a way to get inside and find the final piece." He said, but saw the elf shake his head.

"We might have a problem. With the Black Rage running about many villages will go to the castle for shelter.."

"And the problem?"

"The guards there will no doubt inspect everyone in search for spies. We will have to convince them somehow that we can be trusted…"

CELTIC GUARDIAN

The beams faded and returned to their respected cards.

Each of the men slipped two cards in their pockets and set off to the east, toward Sogen. They would have to find another form of transportation if they are to cross Yami and they had lost their Newatori birds a great while ago, at some unknown part of the desert. For now they had to rely on their feet alone to carry them. They encountered many vicious Fiends and demons along the way. Mostly smaller class apparitions defending their nests or simply feral in nature. One of these smaller demons; a young Feral Imp, quickly grew an attachment to the two travelers and followed closely behind them.

The elf kept glancing over his shoulder to find the imp still following them, "Should we be concerned about that Fiend?"

The wizard shifted his eyes to the imp, "It's a baby. It will soon loose interest and leave."

Celtic looked back to the imp trailing them, "We could only – OUCH!" he exclaimed as his foot struck against something hard and metallic under the dark sands. Hopping slightly he carefully shifted the sands away to uncover a long metal beam that continued on in sands, "What in Ra's name is this?"

Dark Magician glanced at the partially uncovered beam, "I don't know… It doesn't look like anything I've seen before in Yami. It looks like some sort of… foundation for a metallic structure, like the one we saw in Wasteland."

"Or a trail…" Celtic said, "Maybe if we follow it, it will lead us to a town."

"Or to a Black Rage base…" Dark warned.

At that moment a low rumbling sound vibrated through the beam with an endless rhythm growing stronger and louder by the second. Celtic and Dark slowly backed away from the tracks. A Steamroid sped down the tracks at an alarming rate, tossing up a mountain of sand off from the tracks.

The mage and swordsman had to dig their way out from the mountain of sand that was flung on top of them. When Celtic lifted his head up from his mound only to come face-to-face with the tagalong curious creature licked at the elf's face playfully.

They followed the tracks for hours until they came across a small station where a passenger train ,another Steamroid, or the same one, was boarding for Wasteland. A group of people were waiting anxiously to board the train.

"Villagers?" the elf wondered.

"Refuges." The mage elaborated, "People displaced by war or natural disasters. With the Black Rage still active in this region the former is more likely." He sighed heavily.

The Feral Imp pup sprinted off to the crowds to a cluster of other imps like it.

"I would see how far this train will go, and if we can gain passage." Dark said while he inspected the layout of the station.

"Are you sure?" Celtic asked with uncertainty, "You're not exactly Mr. Popularity around here…"

"I'll be fine." Dark replied and went ahead to the information desk.

DARK MAGICIAN

"What do you mean there's no more room?!" exclaimed a Hysteric Angel to a Magical Ghost who was behind the ticked counter. "Surely there is at least ONE seat on this Ra forsaken train?!"

The Zombie woman shook her green head, "With all the refugees taking up most of the cars and the Aristocrats taking up First class I'm afraid the only possible space left is in the cargo car. Though I highly don't recommend it. Unless you like Scapegoats of couse."

The Fairy huffed and crossed her arms, "This is truly outrageous! If I wasn't a lawyer I'd be demanding one for myself."

The wizard watched from a safe distance as the argument played out. After the Hysteric Angel stormed away he checked to see how far the train was headed. He soon returned to the elf Warrior who was watching the refugees, "How do you feel about Scapegoats?"

The endless chorus of a thousand sheep baaed in rhythm of rumbling train car as it sped down the tracks. The two adventurers grunted in discomfort as they were cramped in a corner between two large stalls. They grunted as the car bounced roughly.

"When you said a few Scapegoats I though you meant ten or twenty." The elf grumbled as a round pink goat hopped out from stall and into his lap.

"I thought you like Scapegoats." Dark said shoving two more that hopped out onto his armor.

"I do, especially with mint jelly." Celtic stated, and another hopped onto his head.

Dark leaned back against the wall with a heavy sigh. An orange fuzzy goat clung onto the curve of his helmet.

In little to no time at all, the two men were buried in the warm balls of fur, and in the icy cold car of the fast moving train they couldn't complain, as the animals soft wool kept them warm. The mage even considered taking a nap in the furry mess. Their journey back would be long and the most dangerous duel of their lives would be waiting for them. His eyes were half closed when a strong hand jerked his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see the elf, "What's wrong?"

"Shh!"

CELTIC GUARDIAN

The elf Warrior ducked himself and Dark under the cover of living wool balls when he heard the voices of several people entering the car. His long ears perked at the sounds, though his instincts were telling him that it wasn't the conductor…

"I trust that the cargo is secure?" said one of the monsters as they entered the car.

"Yes milady. None of the customs agents at the previous stop have detected what 'goods' we're carrying. Just one more left before our final destination."

Celtic shifted a side of fleece to see a swordsman with long purple hair, wearing a red uniform with copper armor and a patch over his right eye. Around his waist were two sheathed katanas. This stranger was talking with a Vampire Lady. He carefully slipped an ear through the wall of wool to listen in more clearly.

The undead vixen grinned, exposing her fangs to the clustering flock of Scapegoats that backed away from them. "Who would have though such pathetic, unless creatures will be the key to our successful enterprise? Once this shipment reached our client we will not only be rich, but secure."

The armed muscular Warrior grinned, "How shall we, heh hem, retrieve our merchandise?"

The vampires grinned and turned to leave the car, "You can do that your own way."

The swordsman grinned to the flocks and held his swords eagerly.

The colorful flocks trembled in fear at the sight.

Celtic and Dark forced themselves to remain still under the frightened lands.

The Warrior merely laughed before leaving the car himself.

Both the elf and wizard poked their heads out from the puffy pile. "Did you hear all that?" he asked his friend.

The wizard nodded, "Apparently this train is transporting more then just refuges. Whatever they're smuggling they're hiding it inside these scapegoats. But what?"

"We should find it before all these lambs are senselessly slaughtered." Celtic Guardian stated as he stroked a pink goat to calm it.

"First we have to find out WHAT is being smuggled in these animals."

Celtic decided to examine the lamb in his arms, "You thin you can tell us girl?"

The little sheep bleated anxiously in reply.

He ran his hand over the soft wool

A smirk soon came across Dark Magician's face as an idea came to his mind, "Do you remember that elf medicine you gave me when I had the Crush virus?"

The elf nodded slightly, "I made a small batch before we left the Spell Palace. Why do you ask?"

"Considering how noxious that stuff is it should make the lambs 'release' their cargo."

The swordsman agreed, "It's worth a try." He searched his travel pack for a bottle of the medicine. He spooned out a small finger-full of the vile smelling paste and used his free arm to secure the pink lamb against himself. Carefully he swabbed the inside of the Scapegoats mouth with his gunked finger, "Easy girl.."

The little goat wriggled against the elf's strong arms as the rancid taste of the medicine reached its mouth. At once the little Beast expelled the remedy, along with a hard rounded mass that it carried in its stomach.

Celtic calmed the goat before letting it go back to the massive flock, "That's a good girl." He then turned his attention to what the Ewe left behind.

Under a thin layer of clear bile was a small copper colored, circular capsule the size of a man's thumb. All around the sides were intricate carvings of a Dragon's face and scales. "What in the world is this?" Celtic asked as he fished the item out.

The Spellcaster took the item to examine it. At once his eyes widened, "A Dragon Capture Jar?"

His ears perked, "The jars rumored to capture Dragons? I thought they didn't exist."

"They don't. At least they shouldn't. A ban was placed on these things centuries ago because the Dragons were being used as slaves. The entire race almost went extinct." Dark inspected the capsule more closely, "By the looks of this thing there's already a Dragon trapped inside."

Celtic Guardian and Dark Magician both starred out to the overwhelming flock of rainbow colored sheep that filled the cargo car; each one carrying an illegal item, holding a dangerous creature of the skies.


What a tangle web we weave 0_0 how will they escape without unleashing a Dragonic blitzkrieg? Read and Review to find out.