Joey sighed in frustration, hitting his head on one of the bars of his cage.
The trip had started out so well. He, Yugi, Yami, Solomon, Tea and Tristan were all taking a trip down to South America to visit the Rain Forest. Tea had won the trip through her school and so everything was set up for them. The flight went well, the food was great, and the people at the hotel were super nice.
Everything was awesome…until they entered the forest itself.
Joey remembered back when he imagined the Rain Forest to be full of foliage with toucans and orangutans up in the tree tops with fruit growing next to every leaf. However, when they arrived with the tour group, Joey remembered feeling creeped out. The branches were all growing inwards towards the path as if they wanted to attack anything walking through. Fog seeped in through the leaves and seemed to wrap itself around their ankles. Not to mention that as much as Joey had heard that the Rain Forest was teeming with wildlife, there wasn't a sound to be heard, except for the sounds of their own footsteps.
Then Joey just had to go off the main path by accident, and find a dimensional portal that sucks anything in within a five feet radius of it. He remembered falling through what felt like a whirlpool, and landing on the ground hard with his head spinning. Everyone else must have followed him in because they came tumbling in after him…which was something that he now felt guilty about.
Joey remembered that Yami had quickly pointed out that they were in a different dimension and they started to walk through the field that they landed in to find anyone else around who might be able to help them.
That's when the tornado hit.
It literally came out of nowhere. One minute the sky was sunny and blue without a single wind gust. Then the next minute, the twister came down next to them. Joey remembered closing his eyes and trying to stay on the ground. He grabbed the hand of the nearest person next to him and held on for dear life. Then, suddenly, it stopped. When he opened his eyes, the sky was clear again as it was before. He had Tea next to him (they quickly let go of each other's hands), but then realized that everyone else was gone. They had searched for the others for about an hour before someone came up to them and (as much as Joey could figure out) knocked them both out cold only to wake up in their current predicament.
Joey tried once more to get the bars on their cage to budge, but they were stuck in place. The cage was well built metal, and only went a few feet high which caused Joey's neck to get sore very quickly. He craned his neck to look outside it.
The cage they were trapped in was in a small cave. They were positioned in the far back, away from the sunlight that came in from the opening of the cave. Beyond the opening, Joey could see the clear blue sky and the sunlight hitting the rocks of the mountains around them. However, what was strange about the cave itself, was that the inside of where they were at was not lined with rocks like one would expect. Instead, it was lined with rows upon rows of what looked like pointed crystal. They seemed to be all partially cut to be given a sharp look, and they were smooth enough so that every time he looked at the wall, he could see his own face staring back at him, but a hundred times over. Sometimes out of the corner of his eye, Joey thought he could see the crystals glow slightly…sometimes red, other times soft blue…but dismissed it as a trick from the light coming in from outside. He sighed and then looked over to Tea who sat next to him.
She was curled up in the corner with her knees up to her chin, looking at the cave walls sadly. Joey couldn't blame her, she was scared, and so was he. They hadn't even seen the person responsible for putting them in here, so they had no idea what was going to happen to them. But she hadn't said much since they woke up in the cage. Joey was afraid she was just keeping her emotions bottled up inside to look strong but he knew that, that wasn't a great idea.
"Look Tea, don't worry." he said, his voice echoing slightly off the crystal walls. "We're gonna get out of here and get back home, alright?"
She sighed. "How can you be so sure?"
Joey balled his hand up into a fist. "'Cause I just know. We're gonna bust outta here. We've got people waiting for us back home so we have no choice, right? And it could be worse…we could be hanging over a cliff or something…"
"…You almost sound like Yugi…" she said smiling slightly. "Always trying to find a positive…"
Joey blinked. "I do?"
Tea chuckled slightly and sat up straighter looking to be in better spirits. "Fine, what's your plan on getting out of here then?"
"Uh, well…" Joey hesitated. He didn't actually have a plan at all. He mainly wanted to make Tea feel better and maybe they could think up a plan together. However, before Joey could think of what to say, a shadow fell over them, cutting their conversation short.
Joey turned around and in the entrance to the cave stood a tall person dressed in a full suit of armor. Judging by the person's figure, Joey figured it was a man, but it was like no man he had ever seen. The man in armor was about seven feet tall, and had a large chest to go along with his large arms and legs. The head almost looked too small but Joey couldn't be sure because he was wearing a helmet.
The man started to walk closer, and Joey started taking in the details of the shiny armor. It was completely black…scratch that, it was darker than black. The color on the man's armor was indeed so black, that Joey's eyes had trouble focusing on it. Instead, he focused on the edges of the armor, which seemed to be painted dark red. Joey tried to not imagine it as blood. To add to the effect, there was a strange symbol on the man's breast plate. It seemed just like a few grey squiggly lines to Joey, but they must have meant something important if they were put on his armor. The armor did not squeak or make noise as the man walked closer, and seemed to not really be made up of metal, but of something entirely different. It would shine one moment, then shimmer and waver the next.
The man stopped walking a few feet in front of their cage. Joey could hear Tea's frightened breathing right behind him but he kept his gaze focused on the man. This must be their kidnapper…
The man's breath was that of a rattle underneath the helmet as he surveyed the two of them in the cage. Joey wanted to tell him to say something but his breath caught in his throat. Something about this man terrified him, but he wasn't sure what.
"Wux geou clax ve," the man said. His voice was wheezy and almost high pitched. It almost sounded like someone who had a deep voice but then started to lose it from sickness. Joey stared at him with a raised eyebrow, not understanding what he just said.
"Wh-wha…?" he mumbled but then the man spoke up again.
"Wux geou clax ve…you will lead me…"
"Lead you where?" Tea said in a surprisingly demanding tone. Joey would have looked back at her in surprise if he didn't want to keep both eyes on this man…or whatever he was. At Tea's question, the man gave another rattling breath before speaking again.
"Ekess wer ir svaust meageic marfedelom," he said before switching back to English again. "To the one that commands death."
Joey's fear of the man started to disappear as anger seeped in. First this guy knocks them out and stuffs them in a cage, but then demands help from them? That was no way to get a favor from anyone.
"Look man, I don't know what you're talking about," Joey said pointing an accusing finger at the guy. "But there's no way we're helping you with anything, so why don't you just let us go, and we'll pretend none of this ever happened. Sound good?"
The man stood there for a few seconds without a word. Then, from behind the slit in the helmet where the eyes are supposed to look through, something started to glow red. It took a few seconds for Joey to realize that the red glow probably was coming from the guy's eyes.
"Thric selgtarn," he said. Joey could feel the darkness radiating from him like a burning fire. "You will lead me there regardless…for I am the Daron di Daari. Knight of Kings."
Then the man did something Joey wasn't expecting. He reached over to the cave wall and plucked one of the quartz crystals from it. The rock itself probably would have been very hard to take off, but the knight made it seem like it was nothing…like picking an apple from a tree.
The crystal in his hand then started to glow an eerie blue light that made his armor not seem as black. Without a word, the man pointed the crystal at the two of them.
"W-what is he doing?" Tea whispered to Joey.
"I dunno but I think we're gonna find out…!"
The light from the crystal grew and then shot right for them. Suddenly, Joey could feel a surge of energy that he had never felt before. He could feel it in his arms and legs, and throughout his entire body. It was like a fire was raging inside that he couldn't control. Though all that, he vaguely heard Tea give a muffled yell and figured she was experiencing the same thing. Then, as soon as it started, the feeling stopped and the blue light was extinguished.
Joey panted as he looked at Tea who was giving him a frightened look. When they looked at the black knight, he was staring at the crystal. If the man wasn't wearing a mask, Joey would have guessed that it would be that of confusion because his head was tilted slightly while looking at it.
"What the heck was that?!" Joey said, baffled. The man ignored him however and said nothing.
After a moment of silence, the crystal shattered in the knight's palm…or rather he crushed it with his own hand. The fragments fell to the ground ringing, the sound echoing on the cave's walls.
"Xuut," the man muttered as he started at the fallen shards. "Wrong one."
"What do you mean by that?" Joey said. "What are you doing?!"
Again, without saying anything to Joey, the knight grabbed another piece of crystal from the wall. This time, it glowed red instead of blue and Joey got an uneasy feeling looking at it. When the knight pointed the crystal at them, Joey had a sudden desire to get out of the cage as soon as possible. Whatever this man wanted to do to them wasn't good.
Without meaning to, Joey reached for that new energy that lay inside him, and in one swift, desperate punch, sent the locked door to the cage flying into the man, who dropped the crystal in surprise. Joey stared in amazement at the door that now lay on the ground for a few seconds, his fist still outstretched as if he had just punched it.
"J-joey, how did you do that?!" Tea squeaked. Before he could answer, the knight seemed to recover his bearings and started to walk over to them.
As quickly as he could, Joey grabbed Tea by the wrist and bolted from the cage.
"Joey!" Tea yelled.
"Run!"
Joey made for the exit of the cave but as they ran by the knight, he seemed to make a wild attempt to catch them. He missed but instead of grabbing them, he accidentally hit Joey which sent him flying across the cave.
Joey got up quickly but then groaned. The knight's armor hit him right in the shoulder, and he couldn't move it.
Tea ran up to him and helped him stand. "Joey! Are you alright?"
"Never mind that, run!"
So the two of them ran out of the cave, and was immediately met with trees. The cave they were in was at the base of a cliff on a mountain. Beyond that was a dense forest which seemed to go on for miles. Tea looked at him questioningly.
"Should we just go?"
Joey looked behind them to see the knight trying to run towards them. He wasn't fast because of all of his armor, but Joey didn't want to stick around to see what he might do to them if he caught them.
"Yeah, and fast." And they ran.
And ran…
Around and hour later, Joey found himself panting at the base of a tree with Tea beside him. They had been moving nonstop for that entire time and Joey wanted to massage that stitch in his side. The forest was massive and there was no sign in either direction that it was going to end any time soon.
"Well that was fun," Tea said sarcastically as they regained their breath. "So, what are we going to do? Just keep going until we find someone to ask directions?"
"It's about the only thing we can do…" Joey winced and a wave of pain came from his shoulder. Even though the knight just grazed him, he was sure that his shoulder was broken somehow. He couldn't move it and if he tried, the worst pain he felt in a long time would erupt from his shoulder. The pain didn't lessen since the man hit him either. If anything, it only got worse, as if running the entire time aggravated it. Tea saw his discomfort and came closer.
"How bad is it?" she asked. Joey grimaced.
"Well, I won't be using it for a while that's for sure…"
They sat in silence for a minute before Joey realized that Tea was intently staring at his injured shoulder. She almost looked like she was daydreaming but her gaze was intense.
"Um…Tea?" Joey said. "Everything alright?"
Tea jumped at her name, and looked apologetic. "Oh sorry…it's just…"
"What's wrong?"
"…I don't know…I have this feeling that…" Tea sighed and rolled her eyes as if berating herself by what she was about to ask. She pointed at his shoulder. "Can I try something?"
Feeling more confused than ever, but also curious, Joey nodded. Tea gently put her hand on his shoulder. Within a couple of seconds, a blue light came from her body. It traveled from her and inched up Joey's shoulder. Joey had a slight desire to pull back, but then that stopped when he felt the pain lessen in his shoulder and a warmth come over his arm. By the time the light disappeared, almost all of the pain had disappeared. Tea gave a small squeak when she was done and looked shocked.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-I mean I didn't know that-"
"Tea, it's alright!" Joey said flexing his shoulder. He could move it again. "You healed me!"
Tea blinked. "I did?!"
"Yeah! How did you know you could do that?"
"I-I don't know…I just got a weird feeling and it just came out."
"Yeah, kinda like what happened to me and that cage door…"
Tea looked thoughtful for a second before looking at Joey wide eyed. "You don't think that the crystal…?"
"Probably, but how and why? Did that black armored goon mean to give us these powers or what?"
"I don't know but we should probably move…" Tea said with a little fear in her voice.
Joey looked at her then looked at where she was looking. In the distance through the trees from where they came from, he could see the knight briskly walking in their direction. Joey was glad he couldn't move fast.
"Yeah we should."
They traveled for the rest of the day and then into the night. When the full moon was high in the sky, they stopped to rest.
"Ugh, how long do these woods go?!" Joey said leaning up against a tree. Tea sat on the ground next to him looking tired.
"I hope there's people or something nearby. My feet are killing me…"
As she said that, Joey noticed something in the distance. The landscape all around them was still that of the forest, and yet fifty yards in front of them was complete darkness. Now it was dark, but what he was looking at was almost like the knight's armor. It seemed darker than what was natural. It was like that part of the forest rejected light in general. Was it like a dark part of the forest?
"Tea, what is that?"
She followed his gaze and gasped.
"I don't know but I don't wanna go near it…"
Joey nodded. "Yeah…we should walk around it."
After another ten minutes, they began walking again, avoiding the black part of the forest. During that time, the night sky started to get lighter and the sun started to come over the horizon. However, even the new day's sun could not penetrate the darkness of that dark forest. Joey could tell that in there, it continued on into the darkness but for some reason, seeing past it was impossible. It was almost like a black blanket covered it to keep them from seeing the unknown.
"I don't like that place…" Tea said. Despite being hit by the sun's warm rays, she shivered. Joey couldn't blame her. He could feel the negativity coming off of the place and he couldn't wait to put as many steps as he could between them and the dark area.
"Yeah, me neither- hey, look!"
Joey saw the trees open up ahead, which meant they were close to exiting the forest.
"Maybe we're close to a town or something."
"Oh good," Tea sighed. "Hopefully we can find everyone else cause this world is freaking me out."
"Not to mention, food!"
"Well, yeah. That too."
They exited the forest and found an open landscape. Thanks to the sunrise, the entire countryside was visible. Green hills rolled through the landscape, and in the distance, a whole other mountain range was visible with their shadows looming in the darkness. However, there was no visible town or any humans to be seen.
"Well, at least we can see everything."
"That might not be the best thing then…" Joey said. "Being out in the open like that could make it easier for that armored freak to catch us."
"Oh yeah…"
Joey looked over to the black part of the forest. Even though it seemed to have started back in the regular woods, the inky blackness stretched out even farther, reaching out into the distance. Tea saw him looking and walked towards it a few steps in awe.
"It's almost like the rest of the forest is poisoned. Weird, right?" she said.
Joey really didn't get a chance to answer because an armored hand came out of nowhere.
It didn't hurt as bad as when he got hit by the knight the first time, but it being hit and flown through the air and landing on the cold hard ground kind of hurt too.
"Joey!" Tea yelled from somewhere. Joey looked up and saw that the armored knight had hit him a good twenty feet away. He gingerly got up, and was glad to feel that this time, nothing was broken. Tea ran up to him as the knight started walking towards them again.
Joey got in front of Tea as the knight got close.
"Look, leave us alone!" he yelled. "We're not doing anything for you!"
"Wux geou clax ve," the knight muttered. "There is no choice."
Then, as the knight came close enough to grab them both, a noise emanated from their right, causing all three of them to look. A lone figure stumbled out from the inky darkness of a forest that Joey and Tea were trying to avoid before. At first, the figure took on the form of a shadow, and any features were hard to make out, even though they were only thirty feet away. Then, as if the sunlight melted it away, the shadows dissolved and who it was became definite.
"Y-Yugi?!" Joey said incredulously. Yugi had just stumbled out from the darkness which was the first thing to confuse Joey. After a few seconds, something else confused him. Yugi wasn't acting right, that much he could tell right away. He wouldn't walk in a straight line, and he almost seemed dizzy to the point of falling over. Yugi had one hand on his head as if trying to avoid a large headache and when he lifted his head and looked at them, Joey could see how vacant they looked…as if he wasn't totally all there.
Yugi collapsed down to one knee as if to regain his bearings, then after a few seconds, slowly stood up and stared at them, without any emotion. Tea gasped.
"What's wrong with him?" she said fearfully. Joey could tell immediately what she meant. When Yugi looked at them, Joey could clearly see that his eyes were bright green.
"I don't-" Joey started to say but cut himself off. The knight turned to look at Yugi and it startled Joey mostly because, for a second, he forgot that the big guy was there. However, it didn't seem like the knight's interest was in Joey and Tea anymore. Now the Knight had set his sights on Yugi.
"Ekess wer ir svaust meageic marfedelom…" he said louder than Joey had ever heard him. "I have found you."
The knight started to walk towards Yugi, then stopped as if hesitating. Yugi did nothing but stare at the knight and Joey couldn't help wonder what was going on in his friend's head. If it were him, he'd be freaked out but Yugi was just standing there without a care in the world… and Joey had to wonder if he really had heard the knight at all.
"Drot," the knight said. "Your time is now. You must die."
Without waiting for an answer, the knight charged towards Yugi.
"Yugi, run!" Tea yelled, mostly because Yugi did nothing but stand there.
Then suddenly, the ground shimmered and a green skeleton popped out from the ground in between Yugi and the knight. Joey and Tea gasped at the sight. The skeleton was bare except for the helmet that adorned its skull, and a sword that it held in its right hand. Every part of it was transparent, like a ghost, yet it was green in color. Joey didn't expect it to be very solid but it must have been because it stopped the knight in his tracks. They both collided and the skeleton pushed the knight back. The knight stumbled and stared at the skeleton for a few seconds.
"Algbo authot," he said doing that switching back and forth to English and some weird language thing that Joey hated so much. "However, your power is not enough to pierce my armor."
The knight made to walk forward, but then Yugi did something unexpected. He raised his arm and pointed to the knight. Then out of thin air came into being about fifty glowing orbs. However, on closer inspection Joey realized that they weren't orbs, but floating green skulls. He and Tea backed away, not fully realizing what was going on. Where did these things come from? Did Yugi summon them?
Before Joey could think too much more on it, all of the skulls started flying around towards the knight. From the sounds of it, all of the skulls were hitting the knight as much as they could. It almost sounded like popcorn popping in a microwave, and the thought almost made Joey hungry.
However, the skulls and the full skeleton pounding on the armor seemed to have no effect on the knight, and he continued to advance towards Yugi.
"Yugi look out!" Joey screamed, but it was too late. The knight, being unaffected by all the ghosts trying to attack him, got over to Yugi and wrapped his one hand around his neck. The knight lifted him up and slammed him up against the nearest tree. Immediately, all of the glowing skulls broke away from the knight in unison, as if pushed away by an invisible force. They continued to swarm around like a bunch of angry hornets however none of them touched the knight. Yugi squirmed and tried to free himself, but the knight's grip was strong and Joey could tell that Yugi was already losing air.
"Joey, do something!" Tea looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Can you hit him?"
Joey looked at the knight determination filling him. He nodded and without a word, ran over to the knight. He reached for the strength inside of him and brought it out full force. With all the power he could muster, he punched the knight right in his side. The knight stumbled, but did not fall over. Joey was shocked to see that he didn't even make a dent in the armor. What was this stuff made of?!
The knight turned his head and glared at him, as if Joey interrupted an important conversation.
"Jaseve," he said. "I have no more use of your services."
He made to swat Joey away again but being hit the same way two times in one day made Joey wise to his attack. He ducked and backed up to avoid being hit again.
"Let him go!" Joey yelled. He started to get a little panicky because he could tell that Yugi wasn't going to hold on for too much longer. His struggling was already starting to slow down.
The skulls suddenly started moving in a different pattern. Yugi grunted and they all flew down towards the knight in one large, powerful swarm. The force of it should have killed the knight, and Joey knew because he could feel their power from where he was. The ground seemed to shake and the air quivered. However, the knight's armor proved as resilient as ever and all they managed to do was push him around a little. But the specters were resilient, and kept going anyway.
Joey wanted to go in for a second attack and maybe find a weak spot, but there were too many skulls and he was afraid if he went in there, he would get torn to shreds. However, the ghostly onslaught didn't last for too much longer. They all started to fade away one by one. Within another few seconds, they had all disappeared, leaving the sight of the knight with his hand still around Yugi's neck.
Joey started to panic. Yugi was starting to look like he was close to passing out. The glow in his eyes that was prominent before had faded away, leaving his completion looking almost lifeless. Without thinking, Joey ran up once more to try to get the knight to drop Yugi but the knight seemed to be ready. Instead of trying to hit Joey with his arm or hand, the knight kicked, and Joey barely made it out of the way in time. The kick soared over his head as he ducked and once Joey knew what almost happened, he backed away once more.
"Do you wish for death drof?"
Joey growled. "Ya know, it would be a lot easier to understand you if you just stuck with one language. Seriously!"
"Then let me speak to you slowly in a way that you can understand," the knight said with contempt in his voice. "If you do not leave now, you will die a slower death than you can possibly imagine. Then once you have died, your afterlife will be an even greater torment. Your soul will be torn to shreds and then reborn only to be destroyed again for all eternity. Try and stop me and there will be no future except that of absolute agony."
Joey blinked. "Jeez, I get it…b-but I don't have a choice. Let him go!"
Yugi was now limp completely and Joey knew he didn't have much time left to save him. He was about to run in and do whatever it took to make the knight loosen his grip on him, when a noise from inside the darkness of the forest behind the knight distracted him. It was the sound of clopping hooves, and within a few seconds, became apparent as to why. A horse pulling a carriage came bolting out from the darkness. Shadow cloaked it like a blanket but when they hit the sun's rays it all melted off.
The horse stopped the carriage not too far from he and Tea were standing, and Joey saw an old woman holding the reins, her eyes blinking as they adjusted to the light. He was about to yell at her to get away from here, when someone familiar came out from the carriage onto the ground.
"Yami?!"
Tea gasped when he said that, and Yami looked at them surprised.
"Joey! Tea!"
Joey decided not to waste time on formalities. They were all in danger now.
"Dude! This guy, he-"
"Got it." Yami said looking determined. The air shimmered around his right hand and a yellow sword appeared there. Joey blinked not sure how he managed it, but thought it could be from the Millennium Puzzle.
Without warning, Yami charged the knight with his new sword.
"Yami, wait!" Joey tried to warn him but Yami didn't listen. He charged the knight and slashed at his armor. The sword harmlessly bounced off leaving a shower of sparks in its wake. "Yami, this guy's armor is too strong!"
Before Yami could answer, the knight made to swipe at Yami much like he did to Joey earlier. Quickly, Yami's sword transformed into a shield and when it made contact with the knight's hand, it seemed to shatter and disappear into thin air. The blow sent Yami flying backwards, but he quickly got up looking surprised.
"Yami!" the old woman driving the carriage said. "This is a Knight of the King! Your magic isn't going to do any good against him!"
Yami looked back at her in surprise. "Then what do we do?"
"Leave it to me," she said standing. She held out her palm and a bright white light started to illuminate from it. Eventually, Joey had to shield his eyes because it got so bright. "When you have a shot, take it!"
Suddenly, a screech permeated the air. Joey cracked open an eye to look and through the blinding light, he saw the Knight stumbling around. Apparently, he didn't like the light but Joey wasn't sure if it hurt him or if he couldn't stand the brightness coming from it. Either way, it wasn't good for the knight, and he even managed to drop Yugi. He crumpled to the ground and didn't move.
"Now try attacking him again!" the old woman yelled, the light in her palm as bright as ever. "Try looking for a weak spot!"
"Got it," Yami said. His eyes finally getting adjusted to the light, Joey saw Yami make another sword. "Joey, go get Yugi! I'll take care of this guy."
Joey hesitated. He knew Yami could probably hold his own with the knight, but if he couldn't get through the armor, then what? Joey had a desire to help him, but then saw Yugi lying motionless on the ground. He needed his help too.
"Okay," Joey said. He turned to Tea and motioned for her to follow. "Come on."
They ran to Yugi while Yami was getting his first attack in. Out of the corner of his eye, Joey saw Yami hit the knight's armor and it had the same effect as before. The knight would try to wildly hit Yami but the light kept him from doing much other than stumbling around and swiping at the air blindly.
Joey ran up to Yugi and first he checked to see if he was breathing. He wasn't. Joey turned to Tea.
"Hurry, can you heal him?"
"Yeah, good idea…"
She quickly kneeled down and went to work. Her light blue energy traveled from her to Yugi. While she worked, Joey observed Yugi. He wasn't moving, and his neck was almost at an odd angle, like the knight held on a little too hard. Joey checked for a pulse, but didn't find one.
Right as he realized this, Tea stopped doing what she was doing and looked fearfully at Joey.
"J-joey I don't know what's wrong…I can't do it."
"What do you mean?" Joey said fear clawing at his heart. It couldn't be…
"When I healed you, I felt life in you…and it…it's hard to explain but it helped me heal your wound. Yugi doesn't have that spark…"
Joey looked at her, not daring to believe what she was saying. Yet he somehow knew that Yugi was dead, not just by what Tea told him, but by what he felt as well. However, he still didn't want to believe it.
"No…no no…we need to do something…we…"
Behind him, the sounds of Yami hitting the knight's armor seemed feeble now. It all sounded dull as he soaked in the information. Tea was still looking at him with fear and disbelief in her eyes.
"Joey, I don't…know what to do…maybe we can find a doctor or something…right? Right?"
Joey didn't have the heart to break it to her. She seemed to be clinging on to a false hope that Yugi might still be alive and he didn't want to be the one to tell her. There was no denying it however. Looking down at Yugi, Joey could see that it was obvious now. Even though it had only been a short time since he died, his skin was pale and almost grey. His half-lidded eyes were lifeless and stared out into nothing.
Suddenly, Yugi's body started to give off a green aura. Joey and Tea gasped as it appeared and started to get brighter. Then, it shot outwards and Yugi gave a sudden gasp for air. Color came back into his face and his eyes opened wide.
"Y-yugi?!" Joey said helping him sit up. Yugi coughed several times, before looking up at him. He looked worn out but very much alive.
"H-hey guys…" he said in a whisper. His voice sounded like he had been yelling for three days straight.
"Yugi…you're…." Tea's eyes started to tear up as she struggled to find words. "I thought…I thought…but you're alive!"
Joey stared at his best friend in disbelief. He was positive a moment ago that he was dead, and yet here he was completely alive. He wasn't a doctor in any stretch of the imagination but he was sure of what he saw…and that what had just happened…shouldn't be normal in any dimension. Joey was just hoping that Yugi wasn't going to start acting like a zombie or anything, because that would definitely give him nightmares if nothing else.
"Are you alright man?" he asked as Yugi sat up straight on his own. "What happened?"
"I…I'm not sure…" Yugi said putting a hand on his head and squeezed his eyes shut as if warding off a headache. Something still seemed to be bothering him.
Joey looked behind him as he could hear Yami struggling with the knight. The knight was starting to overcome the light a little and retaliate from Yami's attacks. The ex-pharaoh was trying to hold his own but not being able to get through that armor was a real problem. Joey looked at Tea.
"Watch him for me. I gotta help Yami."
"Okay," she said wiping the tears from her eyes.
Joey got up and gathering the new energy that he had, he balled up his fists. He waited for an opening of when the knight was distracted, then ran in to the fray. He punched the knight in the side hoping to deter him from swinging his arms around. The knight then looked at him in annoyance, but that gave Yami the chance that he needed. His sword transformed into a scythe, and he swung it low sweeping it underneath the knight's feet. The knight crashed to the ground and the ground shook.
"Move, move!" the old lady said coming in closer. Joey jumped, forgetting that she was there, but then mentally slapping himself. Who else was holding the light?
The light in her hand grew bigger and she thrust it into the knight's helmet. A horrifying screech pierced the air and the Knight's frame trembled. The three of them backed away as the knight started to flail with the light that entered his body. Then without warning, the knight got up, and ran into the dark forest from where Yami and the others came from. Silence followed as they listened to the Knight's fading footsteps.
"What did you do to him?" Joey asked. The old lady sighed looking tired.
"I was hoping to destroy him. It would have worked if he had not fled into the Dark Woods."
"So, he'll survive?"
"Probably."
Yami looked at Joey in curiosity. "Nice punch Joey."
"Uh, thanks…" Joey said, wondering how to explain that, but was saved from having to doing so by Tea, motioning for them to come over.
They did so, and Yami quickly kneeled by Yugi.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Yugi slowly nodded.
"Yeah, I think so…" His voice still sounded harsh, and Yami looked troubled by it. He looked at the old lady.
"Hamah, could you…?"
"Yes…" the old lady who's name Joey now knew to be Hamah had said. Joey noticed that she and Yami already seemed to know each other pretty well, even though it only had been a couple of days. Joey briefly wondered about that, but then ignored it and watched what Hamah was doing. She kneeled next to Yugi and put her hand on his throat. A golden aura radiated from her to Yugi much like what Tea did to him. She held that for a few minutes. When she was done and the light faded, she looked troubled. However, Yugi blinked feeling his neck.
"Wow, thanks Hamah…" he said his voice sounding normal. Yami sighed in relief but Joey and Tea looked at each other uneasily. Joey shook his head at her, motioning for them to not speak of it now. The fact that Yugi had died and somehow came back to life would have to wait to be explained until they were all settled in someplace. Besides, Joey needed time to fully grasp the situation himself.
Hamah stood. "We need to leave here now. That Knight may not come back for a while but we need to get Yugi away from this place." She then looked at Joey and Tea. "It may be a little crowded in the back of the carriage, but hopefully we won't have to travel very far. Is that alright with you two?"
"Sure."
The back of the carriage was exactly as Joey had imagined: small and uncomfortable. However, it beat having to walk or run everywhere. Joey rested his tired feet greatfully and he knew Tea was relived as he was. They were running all night…
Once Hamah had told the horse to go with that weird language, the wooden carriage had started creaking and swaying with every bump in the ground. There wasn't much space with everyone crowded in the back either. Joey looked around at them all.
Hamah was manning the reigns up in the front. Behind her was Tea, still looking shaken up from what happened earlier. She would look back and forth from him to Yugi, then looked worriedly at Yami and then back to Joey. Her staring started to make him nervous so Joey tried to focus on other things.
Yami was sitting next to Yugi on Tea's right. Joey would often see Yami look nervously at Yugi as if afraid of something but Yugi wasn't paying him any mind. He seemed to be in a slight daze, as if he was zoned out. Everyone was quiet, but Joey knew that like him, they all had questions that may not be answerable at the time.
For instance, who was that knight and why did he capture them to find Yugi? How did he know that they could find him? Not to mention, why did the knight want Yugi dead anyway? How and why did he and Tea get these powers? While these questions floated around in Joey's head, more popped up. What happened in the two days they were all separated? Who was Hamah and how does she know Yami? Where are Tristan and Solomon?
Through the cracks in the wood and all of the openings of the carriage, the sunlight could be seen spreading out through the land. Morning was just as beautiful here as it was back home, and the thought made Joey a little homesick. This was the last time they took a vacation together, Joey thought to himself.
They must have ridden in the carriage in complete silence for about twenty minutes before Joey had to break it.
"So, what happened to you guys?" he said looking at Yami. "It's been a few days since we've been separated…"
Yami seemed to avoid his gaze while speaking instead to look at Hamah who was still silently driving up front.
"We wandered into town and met Hamah. She wanted us to get used to this dimension so she took us to her cottage to train, which was in the middle of the Dark Woods."
"Is that what that dark place is called?" Tea asked looking at him wide eyed. "I didn't even wanna walk near it. You guys were inside it!? What was it like?"
"…Dark." he said. Joey rolled his eyes. Obviously.
Hamah's voice came up from the front, loud and clear over the sounds of the clopping hooves and creaking wood of the carriage.
"The Dark Woods is a vile place where creatures are spawned from the force of darkness. True evil lurks in those woods and you were right to stay away." she said giving a sideways nod to Tea. "If someone who is susceptible to it stays near the place too long, then that person can become overtaken by its cold embrace…as Yugi found out earlier."
Joey looked at his friend. "Is that what happened?"
Yugi shook his head slightly, still looking in a daze. "I don't really remember…"
Hamah spoke up again. "It happens more than you think. That Knight of the King that you all met, was once a normal person like you or me. He was someone who was also similarly affected by the darkness. Then he was probably forced into the Dark Woods for an extended amount of time and end up coming out like that."
"That's horrible…" Tea said. Yami looked at her and then Joey.
"What were you two doing since we were separated?"
Tea told him about the crystal cave and being captured by the Knight. When she mentioned how they retained powers from the crystals, Hamah turned around to look at them in her seat, the reigns still tight in her hands.
"You said this cave was made of crystals?" she asked. Tea nodded. "That sounds like a cave that's on the side of Mount Gemma. Not all of the caves were discovered yet, but it is said that the mountain holds a strange power."
"It sure does," Joey said. "I got really strong and Tea can heal."
"Really…." Hamah said with a smirk. She turned around and muttered to the horse, who started to trot faster. Joey didn't know why she responded like that, but it sounded ominous.
"Hamah, where are we going anyway?" Yami asked voicing Joey's thoughts.
"Someplace safe and secluded." she said without turning around this time. "If the King is looking for any of you, then going to town isn't the best option. That Knight will be back and when he does, he will be harder to defeat than last time."
"So, we need to train?"
"Badly."
Silence reigned for about ten minutes all while the sounds of the morning drifted by. Joey got annoyed by it so he started talking.
"So," he said looking at Yami. "You didn't go into detail of what happened to you guys. How did you make that glowy scythe thing?"
"It's a power that Hamah gave me," he said. He then explained about his new ability, and when he was finished, he and Tea were wide eyed.
"That sounds like that would come in handy." Tea said. "But where did those skeleton things come from? Did you make those too?"
At that Yami seemed to get nervous and glanced slightly at Yugi who looked up at Tea and Joey nervously.
"That…was from me." he said. He almost looked apologetic and wouldn't look at anyone in the eye for more than a second. "The dead tend to…follow me."
Just then, the road they were traveling on became rough and bumpy. Everyone jumped in their spots as they rode over a large rock.
"Going off the path everyone," Hamah yelled from the front. The sun seemed to get darker and Joey looked outside in the back to see why.
They had traveled deep into a forest. It wasn't like the one near Gemma Mountain or like the Dark Woods. This forest was rich with trees and wildlife. Birds fluttered off from the canopy and the new morning sun crept through the leaves. It kind of reminded Joey of the rainforest that they tried to explore before ending up here. After about an hour of this, Hamah slowed the horse down to a trot. The sound of the fast current could be heard in the distance as they slowed to a stop. The air felt slightly cooler here and felt nothing like the oppressive air of the Dark Woods. They all exited the carriage and saw that Hamah stopped in a small clearing. All around them was thick foliage and it was hard to see past all of it.
"We're staying here?" Tea asked looking at Hamah as she got off her driver's seat.
"Yes. Just long enough to get all of you under control."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Joey asked. Hamah leaned up against a tree in a huff.
"It means that you all are unpredictable and are unable to control your powers." she said. "If you don't get them under control soon, it will mean the end for all of you."
She paused as if to let the information sink in, then continued.
"This place is far away from the main road and nowhere near any towns or villages. Not to mention, we're not close to the Dark Woods at all, so the Knight will have a hard time finding you all in here."
"Wait a minute," Joey said worriedly. "What about food and stuff? Won't we have to go out to town and get things like that?"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of that." she said. "What the four of you need to worry about is controlling your powers and staying hidden from the King. Now we're going to have to continuously change locations since using energy will attract unwanted attention, but I think we will have everyone up to par in a couple of weeks."
"A couple of weeks?!" Tea said exasperatedly. "And then what?"
"Then maybe you'll have a chance at getting back home. That is what you want, right?"
"Yeah, but-"
"And you will do anything necessary to ensure that you all make it there alive, correct?" Hamah said, cutting her off. Tea looked annoyed but didn't say anything. Hamah took it as a yes. "Good. The four of you stay here and rest. I'm going to go out and get us food and we'll start training after we eat."
Hamah then turned around and spoke loudly to the horse. "Confn, vihaga!"
The horse tossed its head as she un attached it to the carriage, and swung herself upon its back. In a minute, she was off riding in the woods leaving the four teens alone and unsure of what to do next. Joey looked at Yami quizzically.
"So…who is she exactly?" he asked. Yami sighed.
"A healer we met in town. She saved our lives a few times…"
"She's just bossy…" Tea put in. Joey looked at her and was surprised by the fact that she seemed annoyed.
"She might be but believe me, you don't want to go up against her in a fight." Yami said. Joey wondered if he was speaking from experience but thought it best not to ask. "She's a good ally."
Joey looked over at Yugi who was leaning up against the carriage with an expression on his face that suggested that he wasn't paying much attention to what they were talking about at all. Joey couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head and wondered what he meant when he said that the dead tend to follow him. Was that what all those skull things were? He wanted to ask but Yami speaking distracted him from saying anything about it. Almost.
"So, I suppose we should rest here like she asked," said Yami. He leaned up against the tree looking worn out. Tea nodded and sat on the ground.
"Nothing else better to do."
Joey thought now was the best time to ask. He walked over to Yugi and joined him on leaning against the carriage. "So Yugi…what did you mean by what you said earlier about the dead?"
Yugi looked as though he wished that Joey forgot about it, but spoke reluctantly.
"Oh…well…I can summon the spirits of the dead. They do anything I ask…"
"Wait, really?" Tea said looking surprised. "Is that what all those skull things were back there? I didn't think that dead people came back as skulls…"
Yugi sighed. "That's just how they appear. I think once I've worked with them more, they will start having full forms."
"That's neat." Tea said, her voice sounding forcibly light. "How do you know that they'll do that? Did they start changing already?"
Joey could see Yugi's confusion before he spoke, although the confusion seemed more aimed at himself than anyone else.
"I just…know. She said it would happen eventually."
"…Who did?" Joey asked. Yugi wasn't making much sense.
Yugi shook his head. "N-nothing. I don't know..."
"…O-okay…"
Joey couldn't take it anymore. Yugi was acting weird still and he was afraid that he would be changed for good from what happened earlier. He had to say something to Yami but he wanted to be discreet about it while in front of Yugi. So, he stood up and pointed in the woods.
"I'm gonna go find the nearest body of water. Yami…why don't you come"
Yami looked at him with a raised eyebrow until he caught on to the look Joey was giving him. He stood up.
"Good idea. You two wait here, we'll be back soon."
With a meaningful look at Tea, he and Yami started walking through the woods, making sure to remember where they were. Once they were walking for about ten minutes, Yami spoke up.
"So, what's on your mind Joey?"
Joey stopped walking and looked at Yami, unsure on how to explain it at first.
"It's…. Yugi. Something isn't right…"
Yami nodded as if he knew a head of time as to what Joey wanted to talk about.
"If it's about whatever he did back there…the Dark Woods was controlling him-"
"That's not what I meant. I mean it is a little…but it's more than that."
Yami looked a little more confused, and a little nervous too. "Is it about his power?"
"I don't know…"
Yami waited for him to continue, and Joey sighed.
"Back when you were fighting that Knight…Tea tried to heal Yugi before Hamah did…she said she couldn't because…. well…because he wasn't alive. The Knight had killed him before you showed up…"
Yami looked at him, shocked and confused but Joey continued.
"Then this…green light came and…. then he was alive again. It kinda freaked me and Tea out 'cause…he was dead, Yami. I know he was…the Knight choked the life outta him and now he's alive and he's acting funny…I'm kind of freaking out here…"
Yami looked at the ground in wonder and shock. He didn't say anything for a full minute and Joey wondered what he was thinking. Yami didn't react as badly as Joey would have thought he was going to, but his reaction still puzzled the blonde. It was almost as if…
"This happened before…" Yami said quietly.
"It…did? What do you mean?"
"I mean that Yugi died before, not too long after we were all separated. He was killed and…I…watched it all happen. Then he came back to life with these powers…"
Joey thought about it not sure what to say. Did this mean that Yugi couldn't die or was it something else? Having the power to control the dead wasn't something that wasn't natural in any dimension and Joey was…putting it lightly, a little concerned.
"How did that happen then? Who did it?!" Joey asked but Yami shook his head as if warding off an unpleasant memory…which Joey thought, it probably was.
"I…don't really want to talk about it…"
Joey looked at him carefully. Whatever happened was probably traumatic for the Pharaoh, and understood if he didn't want to relive it. Nobody would probably want to.
"Alright…but you know we're all ready to listen when you're ready to talk about it…"
Yami just nodded while looking at the ground. There was silence for a few seconds before the Pharaoh spoke up.
"I know he may be acting a little out of character at the moment, but I think we should try acting as if nothing is out of place. The more we talk about it, the more likely he may react negatively."
"…So…we shouldn't ask him about it? You know…about not dying?"
"No…." Yami said looking thoughtful. "At least not yet. He will probably want some time to think…and I don't want to put that question on him yet. Besides, he knows he died once and we haven't spoken of it much since…"
Joey sighed. "If you say so…but if he continues to act like a zombie, I'm gonna have to ask him."
Yami raised an eyebrow. "He hasn't been acting like a zombie. Besides, they aren't real."
"Hey they could exist in this dimension," Joey said as they started to walk again. "You never know."