"And I said 'That's not a pegasus – it's a donkey!'" Bakura and his audience laughed, some clutching their sides, others gasping for air. Serenity felt herself grinning until her cheeks hurt, reveling not only in the woodsman's joke, but also in the general joy that settled over the group. Even the solemn Sorcerers seemed at ease.
Serenity sighed with contentment and went back to the platter before her, effectively ignoring the rest of Bakura's jokes. (Meanwhile, Ryou seemed particularly enthralled by his tall tales.) She was in the middle of cutting her poultry (she still hadn't mastered the names of all the birds) when Joey plopped down beside her, setting his plate down unceremoniously.
"Hi, Joey," she said, then noticed his slight frown. "What's wrong?"
"Everyone I wanna talk to is busy with everyone else," he whined. "Bakura and Marik are with their Equivalents, and, sure, that makes sense. But Yugi is over there talking to Ishizu."
He nodded in the direction of the two Sorcerers who were talking softly in a corner of the table.
"Yami is debating the meaning of life with Odion."
Serenity saw the two men exchanging solemn words and occasionally nodding appreciatively at something the other said.
"Tristan is talking up one of the maids."
Serenity shook her head after watching Tristan waggle his eyebrows at his own words.
"And until five seconds ago, you and Mokuba were chatting away." He grumbled something under his breath and stuck a forkful of food in his mouth.
Serenity laughed gently. "Well, it's been a while since I've talked to someone closer to my age," she said, patting his arm consolingly. "You didn't mention everyone, though. What about the Drag–?"
"Don't even think about it," he said, pointing a finger at her. "I'd rather be fed to one of his dragons than talk to him."
"That can be arranged," the Sorcerer said from behind them. Serenity and Joey started and turned slowly to face him. "I had planned on giving you all a demonstration later anyway." He smirked and crossed his arms.
Joey waved a hand. "Oh, you know what I meant," he muttered. Then he quirked an eyebrow. "Haven't you challenged his Highness to a rematch yet?" His tone dripped with sarcasm.
Seto glanced toward Yugi, then scowled and walked in the opposite direction. Once he was out of earshot, Joey snickered.
"Feel better now?" Serenity asked, teasing.
"A little," and he started stuffing his face with gusto.
"You'll make yourself sick again," she said as he reached for one of his many sweet-salty rolls.
"You underestimate my pal here," he said gleefully, nodding down to his stomach.
He put the first roll to his lips and was about to take a bite when a loud crash sounded off in the distance. All the amicable chatter ceased. Before anyone could question its origin, they heard a crescendo of shouts and wails, followed by more crashes.
Seto stood up instantly, drawing the eyes of the other Sorcerers to him. Wordlessly, he stalked toward the hall's entrance, followed soon after by Mokuba. The remaining Sorcerers exchanged a glance with one another while Serenity and her companions waited for their advice. However, they never got the chance to give it.
"We have to follow them," Joey said, tossing his roll back onto his plate. He wiped his fingers clean as he rose to leave the table.
"Wait a moment, blondie," Bakura called after him.
"Yeah, Joey, hold on," said his King.
"What? Why?" he said, swiveling around to scan the table.
"We don't even know what's happening," Malik said gently, with Ryou and Yami nodding their agreement.
"All the more reason to go!" Joey threw up his hands. "Where do you suppose the Dragon Tamer has gone off to?" He didn't wait for an answer. He simply turned on his heel and continued out of the hall.
"We may not always get on, he and I," Marik said, "but the boy's got a point."
"Agreed," Bakura said.
"And he'll probably need our help," Yami added, setting down his utensils.
The companions looked over at Serenity, who nodded curtly. With this encouragement alone, the four stood and made their way to the entrance, too.
"Hang on!" Ryou called. "We're coming, too."
Bakura smirked. "No, Dearest, here you stay. The danger ahead is boundless and unknown."
Ryou narrowed his eyes. "And you think me incapable of defending myself." His Ring shone a little brighter, though Serenity wondered if she was just imagining it.
"That's exactly wh–" Bakura started, but Marik cut across him.
"What he means is, you're safer and more useful here." He looked into Malik's eyes briefly. "Besides, we just got the King back." He nodded to Yugi.
"Nonsense," Yugi said with a firm shake of the head. "I will not let you use my former illness as a crutch."
"But –"
"You all are risking your lives for your friend, correct?" Ishizu asked, and Serenity nodded. "Then why should we not do the same for ours?"
Serenity looked to each of her companions, who did the same. Neither could think of a protest.
"Then it's settled," Yugi said smugly.
So, the companions and the Sorcerers rushed out of the dining hall in hopes of catching up with Joey and the Dragon Tamer. (Tristan offered to stay behind to look after the Palace staff.) Serenity was grateful that Ryou's curiosity had gotten the better of him and Bakura both earlier as they led the group through the labyrinthine halls of the Palace. Serenity kept glancing behind her to make sure Yugi and Ishizu were still following; for some reason, she just couldn't imagine the two running full tilt toward danger (or at all, really).
The girl felt immensely guilty when Ishizu did collapse, seemingly tripping over nothing. The group skid to a halt and formed a half-circle around her as Malik bent down to help her up. She shivered and hugged herself as she stared wide-eyed at the ground.
"Sister? What is it?" Malik asked softly. His face pinched (and a second later, Serenity saw Marik's face do the same) when she didn't immediately respond.
"It's...something terrible is coming this way," she finally said, her voice hoarse. "I haven't seen anything like it since..." And she looked up at first Yugi, then Ryou. They both stiffened at the memory of some long-past horror.
"Well?" Bakura asked. "What is it?"
Ryou placed a hand on his forearm. "Just be ready," he said gravely.
Malik helped Ishizu up, and the group continued through the Palace, albeit slower than before. Finally, they made it to an observatory (though Serenity did not know this was the room's name), with one wall made entirely of glass that gave them an excellent view of the south wall that the travelers had come through earlier. And of the behemoth currently trying to tear it down.
Serenity flinched backwards at the sight of the thing, and the others started when it pounded on the wall, producing the ground-shattering sound from earlier. "I guess Lady Ishizu was right," she breathed, unable to tear her gaze away from the monster.
"This wasn't what I saw in my vision," Ishizu said, causing the companions to gape at her. The Sorcerers, meanwhile, looked worried, and that frightened Serenity far more than the monster outside did.
"Look!" Malik said, pointing to a pair of flying creatures circling the monster. On cue, they each shot a bluish-white beam at it, causing the thing to flinch in pain.
"The Dragon Tamer and his Rider are stopping the beast!" Yugi said excitedly.
Serenity's arms prickled with goosebumps at the thought of the fabled creatures taking on that behemoth.
"All right, the Riders are doing their part," Bakura said, "now let's do ours."
They continued down a corridor and began descending the stairs. However, when they reached the first landing, a dark streak burst through the small window, quickly taking humanoid form as it righted itself. The group recoiled from the Shadow Ghoul, all except Ryou, who took a half step forward with raised hand.
"Cover your eyes," he said simply, and a dazzling, blinding white light radiated from his hand, filling the space. Serenity screwed her eyes shut and threw a hand over them for good measure. She heard a screech that was abruptly cut off. When she dared to open her eyes again, the light had faded, and the Ghoul was gone. The only evidence of its existence was a light stain on the wall by the window.
"We should be good now," Ryou said with a sigh.
"I wouldn't be too sure," Yami said slowly. He pointed to the destroyed window, through which Serenity and the others saw more shadows gliding across. "They're running up the walls. They'll cover the Palace in no time at this rate."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Malik said. "Let's keep going!"
"What's the plan, anyway?" Serenity asked as they continued down the stairs. "It seems like the Dragon Tamer has that beast outside under control." And she'd be lying if she said she was disappointed about not having to go out there herself.
"We need to find out where these Ghouls are coming from," Yugi said over his shoulder. "If we do that, we can destroy the source and vanquish them all at once."
The group finally reached the foyer just in time to see the mighty front doors burst open under the weight of the dozen or so Ghouls. They poured inside and quickly surrounded the group. Malik, Marik, Bakura, and Yami circled Serenity and the Sorcerers protectively while they waited for one to pounce.
"How many can you take?" Bakura asked his Equivalent softly.
"Not nearly enough," Ryou replied.
"Are you ready?" Malik asked the former Golem.
Marik nodded. "Whatever it takes."
Serenity admired her companions' courage and steeled herself for an inevitable strike. Nonetheless, she was caught unawares when the first Ghoul attacked, and everything that followed moved almost too fast for her to track. She was able to peek between her protectors once in a while to dodge attacks, but otherwise everything was a blur.
She practically yelped when the Black Magician King shouted "Behind you!" Serenity whipped around and saw the King grab Yami's arm and yank him down just as a Ghoul lunged at the ex-Sentry. A spark ignited at the point of contact, and dots of light fell from the ceiling. Serenity's eyes widened at the sight of yet a third Quickening (she thought these were supposed to be rare) while everyone but the newly deemed Equivalents was distracted. The Ghouls closest to them flinched back when one of the specks landed on them, like the light had burned them.
Yugi seemed to notice this, too, and he stood up to watch the phenomenon. As he moved, his Pendant glowed, and he raised his other hand experimentally. The Ghoul in front of him seized up and started to lose its form. After a few seconds, it melted into a puddle, then evaporated, leaving a slight stain on the ground. Serenity and the others were stunned.
The few remaining Ghouls hesitated, as though reappraising the situation. There were still too many for their fighters to take on fairly, so they tightened their ring and waited.
"Ryou, I have an idea," Yugi said, finally letting go of Yami's arm. "Use your light to create a barrier between us and them."
Ryou nodded and did just that. Marik, Bakura, and Malik stepped closer to them so they were in the ring, and they all watched Yugi raise both hands this time to repeat his earlier attack. This time, all the Ghouls froze and melted, letting out awful and pained screams as they faded out of existence.
When the last Ghoul was gone, Ryou let down the barrier and Yugi slumped his shoulders with a sigh. Yami rested a hand on the King's shoulder, and the two exchanged a smile.
"We are out of immediate danger," Ishizu said, "but we must continue toward our goal."
They all nodded resolutely, and Serenity steeled herself. "Let's go."
