Welcome back! Thanks to quarantine and social distancing, I have managed to force my way through the end of this chapter. It's a bit shorter than the past few, and I'm sorry for that, but my creativity is running low.
Please enjoy!
The Shadows hissed in protest as the man proudly swung the fake Puzzle around.
"I will send your soul to eternal darkness!"
"Shall we show the fool the very darkness he pretends to wield?" Bakura asked maliciously.
Yami nodded, hard lines set in his face, hidden by the mask he wore. Malik and Ishizu had brought it back from his 'tomb'. This mask would have served as his Death Mask if he had actually died.
It had been a while since he let his vindictive side out and the Shadows were begging to run free here. Well who was he to deny the Shadows something like this? As soon as Yami stopped holding them back, they flew around the room, startling the occupants.
"More tricks?" Jaden demanded.
"Umm...yes! Now watch as my power consumes you and everyone in here!"
The Eye of Horus lit up beneath the dueling field and the field was slowly consumed by the Shadows.
"Jaden!" his friends cried, but it was too late. A person without a Millennium Item held no hope of entering or exiting the Shadows at will.
Inside the Shadows, both Jaden and the Undertaker were having different experiences. Jaden, still convinced that this was nothing but illusions, was fascinated by the solid Winged Kuriboh that was cooing anxiously by his shoulder. The Undertaker, however, was preoccupied by the fact that he knew he didn't cause this and what on earth was going on?!
Two figures stepped out of the Shadows. Real Millennium Items swinging from their necks, including the real Millennium Puzzle. They shone so much more brightly than the fake the Undertaker was waving around that they couldn't be anything but real. Both wore masks, but it was obvious who was the leader: the one wearing the Death Mask and wielding the Millennium Puzzle. The other one hovered nearby, a strange pendant gleaming dangerously.
"Who are they?" Jaden wondered aloud.
Winged Kuriboh fly over to them, crooning the whole way. For the first time, Jaden didn't truly understand what Winged Kuriboh was trying to say, but the men did. The one in the Death Mask held out his hand, inviting the small monster towards him. Well, if Winged Kuriboh trusted these people, then they couldn't be all bad.
"Who are you?" the Undertaker demanded, "I didn't summon you!"
"Didn't you?" the one in the Death Mask asked, voice echoing ominously, "You boasted about summoning the Shadows. About making monsters real. They're upset, you know. They don't like false prophets."
"They?" the Undertaker asked haughtily. Jaden decided he definitely didn't like where this was going.
"The Shadows, fool," the other one spoke harshly. "Did you think there would be no consequences for your actions?"
Winged Kurioh hurried back over to Jaden. This time, the message it was chirping was crystal clear: escape. Jaden looked to where Winged Kuriboh flew and noticed a crack where light was trying to pour in before it got consumed by the darkness.
"You keep wanting to play "Shadow Games"," one of the men said, "We shall reward you with a Yami no Game."
Jaden felt a hard nudge from Winged Kuriboh, clearly the little monster wanted him out of here now. He leapt for the crack, but not before he noticed a herd of slime creatures making their way towards his opponent.
"Jaden!" Cyrus cried as he fell onto the floor.
"Are you alright?" Chumley asked, helping him up.
"Yeah," Jaden brushed himself off, watching as the dark bubble that had taken up most of the room slowly disappeared. "You'll never believe what happened, but for now, we should get Alexis out of here."
"That was very interesting…" Yami muttered as he and Bakura watched the Shadows feed on the blasphemer. It was relatively easy for the Mages to summon monsters within the Shadow Realm by now, but Yami had chosen to summon something different.
He brought forward the partial souls of those damned by the Shadows. It was certainly more terrifying than a monster to a Duelist and incredibly satisfying to the Shadows.
"What was?"
"Did you notice how the child reacted to Winged Kuriboh? He wasn't shocked or surprised at its presence and followed its urging without hesitation."
"If he's as used to the presence of monsters as we suspect, then that shouldn't be surprising," Bakura commented.
"True. How deep does his relationship with monsters go? How did he gain this ability?"
"Would be really helpful if we had the Key right about now," Bakura grouched.
"We'd need Shadi to use it."
"Ra only knows where he is. Seriously, he should have to suffer with us if he's the Key Bearer. Some of us haven't even met this man."
"Gee, if only one of us could find him."
Yami ignored the dagger that was suddenly pointed at his throat. Really he would probably be more unnerved if it wasn't there after openly goading Bakura.
Seconds ticked by and the screams of the Undertaker slowly faded away. Finally Bakura withdrew the dagger, and took off his mask to reveal his scowling face..
"I know it is no fault of your own," Yami continued once the blade was completely away, taking off his own mask. It was heavy, hot, and the only reason he wore it was because his face was still too recognizable. "Shadi seems to come and go as he pleases and he has not been seen since the Battle City tournament."
"He was at the tournament?!"
"He appeared in our room and spouted off cryptic warnings about Malik's dark half and the god cards. He also apparently saved Tristen and Duke when they fell over the side of the blimp."
"Tell me what you know about him," Bakura requested, "If I know more about what I'm trying to find, I should have better luck finding it."
"There's not too much to tell other than what I just told you," Yami obliged, "Yugi might know a little more. He ran into him at Duelist Kingdom. Shadi invaded our mind and the traps within the Puzzle would have killed him if not for Yugi rescuing him. Malik and Ishizu might be able to share something as well."
"Does this man just follow you around like a harbinger of doom?"
"That would imply he warned us about danger before we were in the middle of it," Yami scoffed. "Let's head back and you can interrogate the others about Shadi."
Unfortunately, Yugi, Malik, and Ishizu couldn't give Bakura much more information to go on. Malik and Ishizu shared how Shadi had appeared at the beginning of their problems with Malik's evil side with cryptic warnings about using the Millennium Items and the Pharaoh, inarguably launching Malik's crusade against Yami.
"He's nothing but bad news!" Malik declared vehemently, "He shows up, causes trouble, and disappears the moment your back is turned."
"I have to agree. We're lucky he hasn't shown up yet. If he does show up, we can expect things to go pear-shaped rather quickly," Ishizu backed up her brother.
With the limited information he could get, Bakura started the near impossible task of trying to track down a man even more elusive than himself.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming," Joey addressed the field of reporters in front of him, "The announcement I have for you today was not an easy one to make and I expect you will have a plethora of questions once I make it. I will keep my speech short and I ask that you hold your questions until I have finished."
If there was one thing to be said, it was that Joey's vocabulary had vastly improved over the past ten years. It helped that Mai had proofread his announcement speech the night before.
The reporters were hanging on every word, not a difficult feat when it came to the King of Games. Joey took a deep breath and dropped the bomb shell, "I have decided to retire from professional dueling."
Gasps rippled through the crowd and cameras began clicking. Joey had to admit, it sounded weird even to him, and he had practiced this last night! The word 'retire' coming out of the mouth of a 27-year-old wasn't something you heard everyday.
"This decision did not come easily as there are very few things in life that I love more than dueling, however, I find myself wanting more time to focus on my wife and my job here at Kaiba Corp. I don't plan on giving up dueling entirely, and it will be a few years yet before my retirement takes place.
"As for who will be replacing me, Duel Academy is turning out better and better students every year. Mokuba Kaiba and I will be on our way to Duel Academy immediately following this press conference to announce that I am looking for a successor.
"Of course," Joey let out a chuckle, "If someone manages to beat me in a duel before I officially retire, then all bets are off. Just because I plan on retiring though, does not mean that I'll be any easier to beat.
"I'll take your questions at this time."
Hands went up all over the room, all trying to be seen first. Joey pointed to a journalist sitting near the front to start off.
"Mr. Wheeler, you have been at the top of Duel Monster for the past ten years, are you growing bored with the game? Or are you perhaps finding it hard to keep up with the changes taking place within the game?"
"Neither," Joey said firmly, "I could never get bored of Duel Monsters and every duelist I faced defending my title has pushed me to my limits. As for keeping up with the changes to Duel Monsters, I find the new challenges exciting."
"Mr. Wheeler," another journalist started, "Ten years ago when you accepted the King of Games title, you said you were waiting for Yugi Muto to return and claim it back from you himself. What changed?"
"I got older, I got married, my friends got married, I took on more responsibilities with Kaiba Corp, ten years have passed...take your pick," Joey listed off, "I have responsibilities as a husband, the King of Games, and also as a member of Kaiba Corp. Don't misunderstand me, I'm still waiting for Yugi to return, however unlikely it is at this moment, but I also have to face reality. I have a lot of responsibility on my plate and I need to lighten the burren. I have no intention of leaving Duel Monsters permanently, but my days standing in the spotlight are coming to a close."
"Reports came out earlier today from the police department that they are giving up the search for Yugi Muto and believe that he is…" the reporter trailed off.
"Dead?" Joey supplied. Considering he didn't share the same belief, it was a little easier for him to say.
The report nodded gratefully and continued, "Did this announcement have anything to do with your statements here today?"
Joey shook his head. "I got that call this morning, before it was made public. My decision to retire from professional dueling was first considered months ago. That the decision from the police department and my announcement to retire happened on the same day is just a weird twist of fate."
"What about your wife? Will she continue in the professional circuits, and if she will, does it not make most sense for her to inherit the coveted title?"
Joey looked behind him at Mai who took her cue and joined her husband at the podium. Camera shudders started going off again, as they always did anytime the couple appeared together like this.
"For the past ten years, my husband and I have stood at the top of the dueling world," Mai started, ignoring Joey's arm snake around her waist, "We have had incredible opportunities presented to us during that time that we would have never had the opportunity to do otherwise. As you know, I have been playing the game even longer than Joey here, and he and I have had some long conversations about the subject. We feel as though it's time to start turning over the reins to the younger generation and let them explore and expand the game that brought us together. As Joey said, it will be a few years before that turn-over is complete."
"So you have a time-line then?"
"My retirement will officially take place in about three years," Joey answered, keeping Mai next to him, "There will be a lot of variables during that time, but only my defeat will change the timeline."
"Will you retire earlier if you are defeated?"
"Yes, without a title to defend or a successor to find, there really won't be much of a reason to stay in the professional circuits."
The questions continued for another half hour before Mokuba, who had been standing quietly in the background along with Tristen's security detail, called an end to the press conference.
Once they were out of sight of reporters and cameras, Joey let out a relieved sigh. The press conference had gone far better than he expected, especially with the police report that came out this morning. Mai gave him a warm smile and a quick peck on the lips knowing just how anxious he had been.
"Couldn't have gone better, Hun."
"Thanks," Joey smiled at her before turning to Mokuba, "I'm taking the rest of the day off. I - we - need to go figure out what exactly to do about the 'Yugi announcement' from this morning."
Mokuba was more than understanding. He had gotten a similar call about Seto, but he was more ready to accept the police statement and come to terms with the outcome than Joey was. There was a lot of planning he would have to do.
"You do that today, I won't be in tomorrow."
Joey turned, still arm in arm with Mai, and gave a non committal wave over his shoulder. It was time to go be morose at home.
So we've reached the 10-year milestone. Unless I can think of any other main events that will happen over the next few decades, I think we might make a huge leap forward on the timeline.
Stay safe y'all! We'll get through this!
Please review :)