Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Selflessly – Chapter 18
The four finally arrived at the duelling arena. They made the decision to split up and look for anything that could hint at a camera, microphone, or anything. Emiko walked out onto the balcony and sighed, "Guys, there's nothing up here." Tristan was searching what had been Seto's side of the field. He looked up and said, "There's gotta be a hidden camera or something here. Keep searching, guys." Téa walked onto the balcony, too, and suggested, "Maybe he isn't really a cheater. He could be really good at guessing cards, like a psychic or something." Bakura searched Pegasus' side of the field, kneeling down to look below the board. Tristan said, "I once spoke to a psychic, Téa. The lady said I'll have a nice girlfriend within six months. It's been a year and I haven't had a single date. I don't believe in psychic powers." The girls sighed and kept searching. Emiko was about to give up when she looked down at Tristan and saw something odd.
"Tristan!"
Téa looked down and gasped. Bakura asked, "What's wrong, girls?" Téa pointed down at Tristan, who had stood up to make sure everything was alright. She said, "There was a beam of light on Tristan's back!" Emiko pointed up towards the intricately-designed wall, seeing a small hole in the center of a floral embellishment, and said, "Look up there." Bakura and the girls ran down and around to rejoin Tristan on Kaiba's side of the arena. They all stared up at the small hole in the wall and Bakura said, "That's quite odd, isn't it?" Téa had an idea and said, "Wait. Tristan, go stand on the platform and pretend to hold a card up just like you're duelling." He nodded and walked over to the platform. As he held up his imaginary hand of cards, the beam of light was placed near-perfectly where his cards would be positioned naturally. Tristan turned around and said, "I'll go check it out. You all wait here." He ran out of the room, up to the balcony, and climbed up onto the elaborately carved wall, managing to reach the small hole, no bigger than a golfball. He looked through the hole and saw a tall tower.
"Tristan," Bakura called, "What do you see?" Tristan said, "There's a tower right across the courtyard. Isn't it convenient that the window happens to face in this exact direction?" Emiko sighed, a relieved smile forming on her face. Tristan theorized, climbing down back onto the balcony, "It'd be a piece of cake for one of Pegasus' cronies to hide in the tower with a telescope and spy on Kaiba's hand. Then the goon relays Kaiba's cards." Tristan ran back downstairs to the duelling platform and Téa said, "Pegasus could be hiding a receiver under his hair." Tristan said, "Good thinking, Sherlock. There's bound to be tons of proof hidden in that tower." Bakura asked, "You can't be thinking about going out there!" Tristan said, "That's exactly what I'm thinking." Bakura gasped and said worriedly, "Wh-what about the guards?" Tristan placed a hand on the white-haired boy's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. You'll be safe with me."
After at least an hour of walking through the castle's hallways and outside into the maze-like courtyard, the four made their way up onto the rooftops using a grappling hook Tristan picked up along the way. They shimmied slowly and silently along the narrow ledge, trying to lean on the sharply slanted rooftop. Emiko felt herself trembling and her heart pounding in her chest, her nerves starting to get the better of her. Téa let out a sudden gasp. She had slipped and she would have fallen off the ledge if the boys hadn't grabbed her quickly, pulling her up and covering her mouth, listening for any noise from the guards down below. The echo of Téa's voice faded, but the guards didn't seem to notice.
"Thank goodness," Emiko thought. Téa shoved Bakura's and Tristan's hands away and whisper-yelled, "Ugh! Tristan, I can't believe your plan is to enter the tower from the outside!" Tristan nodded and said quietly, "Yep. You wanted to avoid the guards. I don't see goons up here." Bakura, Téa, and Emiko sighed as Tristan moved ahead on his own, not waiting for them to follow. They somewhat reluctantly shuffled along, catching up to Tristan, who had stopped just beneath the balcony where the window was. He swung the grappling hook up, making sure it was firmly attached to the stone balcony before addressing the others.
"Alright," he said in a hushed voice, "Téa and Emiko, you girls should take the lead and we'll follow. That way, if either of you lose your grip and fall off, one of us can catch you." Emiko nodded, but Téa protested, "No way! Absolutely not!" Tristan and Bakura simultaneously asked, "Why not?" Téa snapped, holding the hem of her short skirt, "Seriously? Don't you guys get it?" Bakura said softly, "Ah, I see." Tristan asked, "What are you talking about, Téa?" Emiko sighed and muttered to Tristan, "She doesn't want you or Bakura looking up her skirt." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Téa said, "Look, I'll just follow you guys." Tristan shook his head and said, "Not a chance. If you fell, we wouldn't be able to help you at all." Téa asked, "So what are we going to do?" Emiko suggested, "Why don't I go directly behind you? Then you don't have to worry about them seeing." Téa groaned nervously. Emiko sighed. Tristan said, "Fine, I have another idea." He pulled out a white cloth and tore it in two.
"We can wear these."
Téa nodded and said, "That's fine by me." Emiko saw the danger in this idea and spoke up. She said, "What!? Wait a second, Tristan, are you completely insane?!" Tristan reached up, tying the blindfold around his eyes and ignoring Emiko's protests. She said, "You two could fall off and you wouldn't be able to find anything to grab onto!" Bakura sighed, "Well, we aren't getting anywhere with Téa being so stubborn, now, are we? It's looking like we don't have much of a choice." He proceeded to put on his own blindfold and the girls started the climb up, followed by Bakura, then Tristan. As they climbed, Bakura grunted and said, "Tristan, that's not the rope. That's my leg." Tristan said, "Well, climb faster, then. I can't exactly see what I'm grabbing." Bakura snapped, "But I can't see where Emiko is! I don't want to hinder her, either-" Emiko shushed them and said, "Hey, quiet down, you two. We're almost to the top."
Téa crawled over the balcony ledge and started fiddling with the door's handle. She thought, frowning, "Locked. Maybe I can pick it. I've got to have a stray hairpin or two in my pockets." Emiko climbed over the ledge and reached down to help Bakura. She pulled his wrist, helping to pull him up and over. He sat on the ledge and took off his blindfold as Emiko pulled Tristan up, too. Téa poked and prodded around the inside of the lock with her hairpin until she heard a click.
"We're in," she said, opening the window and looking inside. Emiko let out a heavy sigh and followed Téa inside. Bakura said, "Ugh. Your plans are horrible." Tristan said, "Hey, I got you up here safe and sound, didn't I?" Bakura stood up and said, climbing inside, "Let's just get on with this."
Inside, they looked through the entire room, searching under furniture and behind every curtain, even exploring every crevice, searching for even one clue that Pegasus was indeed cheating to win his duels. After several, long, fruitless, anxiety-ridden minutes, Téa said softly, "There's nothing up here. I haven't even seen a telescope or set of binoculars." Tristan let out a long exhale and Emiko said, "Maybe...maybe Yugi's right. Maybe it is his Millennium-"
"Now, who do you suppose this is?"
Bakura was standing at the other end of the room, staring at a large painting, trying to make it out in the shadows. Tristan and the others joined him. Emiko said, "I don't know. I can't see in this darkness." Téa asked, "Can we find a lightswitch?" Just as Téa finished her sentence, the lights flicked on, causing them to all jump and look around nervously. Téa whispered, "Did any of you turn the lights on?" Bakura said, "No." Emiko bit her lip, turning back to look at the painting. Téa asked, "Then, who did?" Emiko said, "Wait, wasn't this portait somewhere else in the castle?" Téa said, "You're right. It's in the dining hall, I think." Bakura said, "She must be very important to Pegasus." Téa wondered aloud, "But I haven't seen her at all since we've been in the castle." Emiko asked, "Do you think maybe she's Pegasus' wife-"
"Isn't it past your bedtimes?"
The group spun around. Pegasus walked slowly up the nearby staircase, still dressed in his red suit. Emiko jumped behind Bakura reflexively. Tristan asked, "How'd you find us?" Pegasus smirked and said, "Oh, a little birdie told me. It saw the four of you climbing up the walls." Tristan said, "Yeah, well, we're onto you, Pegasus!" Emiko felt herself growing nervous and she grabbed the wrist of Bakura's sweater. She thought, starting to panic, "This is not good. This is not good. What are we going to do?" Tristan said, "You were spying on Kaiba's cards from up here. The jig is up! Why don't you just admit it!" Pegasus clicked his tongue and said, "You kids break into my private sanctuary through the window and accuse me of wrongdoing? Absolutely no one is allowed in this room and I'm afraid you four have seen too much." Emiko asked cautiously, "What are you talking about?" Pegasus said, "You should have stayed in your rooms. Instead, you will now be disciplined." He pulled his long, silver hair to the side, revealing his golden Millennium Eye. Emiko gasped, but before anyone could say anything, the floor seemed to disappear below them, sending them plummetting down into the darkness.
As Emiko's eyes fluttered open and she slowly came to, she heard a mysterious and ominous chant echoing repeatedly through the dark passageway.
"Realm of Shadows, in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power."
She sat up, looking around. There were lit torches systematically placed, spaced out just enough to keep the pathway lit. Statues and pillars were carved into the stone walls. They gave off an almost Egyptian vibe and Emiko shuddered. She crawled over and shook Tristan's shoulder. She whispered, "Guys, wake up. Guys!" Tristan opened his eyes, sat up, and groaned, rubbing his forehead, "Where the heck are we?" Emiko said, "I'm not sure, but I don't like it at all."
"Realm of Shadows, in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power."
Téa asked, getting to her feet and helping Bakura up, "Do you hear chanting?" Tristan said, getting up and heading towards the voices, "Let's go check it out." Bakura asked, "Why should we-" Tristan cut him off, "Must you always criticize my plans?" Bakura sighed and, reluctantly, followed the group as they ran off to investigate.
"Realm of Shadows, in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power."
The four peered around a corner into a large, open room, where several robed men were reciting the ominous chant.
"Realm of Shadows, in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power."
In the center of the room stood two men, dressed in the same brown robes as the others. They stood facing one another. Tristan muttered, "Who are these clowns? What do you think they're up to?" Bakura said, "I don't know, but they're creeping me out." The chanting came to a sudden, jarring halt and the men said in perfect unison, "Begin." One of the men held up his hands and a large, stone tablet begain to slowly rise from the floor. Carved into the stone in great detail was a very familiar monster. Emiko gasped, "Hey, hold on. There's a Blue-Eyes on that tablet." Bakura said, starting to back away, "I don't like this. Let's get out of here." Téa said, pointing to the end of the room, "Look there. It's hat painting again. Who can she be?" As the second man summoned a second stone tablet, Emiko said in a hushed voice, "Hey, those two look like they're duelling." The tablets flipped to face their opponents and the first man said in a calm drawl, "You lose." The loser's tablet crumblled into a pile of rubble and a huge pyre of blue flames engulfed his body, leaving nothing in its wake. The group collectively gasped, alerting the men to their presence.
"Where did that robed guy go," Tristan asked, stepping forward, realizing that there is no avoiding them. The victor of the mask removed his hood and mask. His long, silver hair fell forward over his face and shoulders and he said, "The Shadow Realm." Téa said fearfully, "The Shadow Realm? Not again." Bakura's eyes narrowed. Pegasus explained, "This is how the Shadow Games were played thousands of years ago. These duel rituals release the magic of the Shadow Realm and every soul I trap there increases the power of my Millennium Eye. You can't imagine the strength of my magic, but one power still eludes me: the ability to control life over death!" He smirked and said, "For that magic, I must capture more souls, like yours!" Tristan reeled.
"Woah," he exclaimed, "He's gonna send us all to the Shadow Realm!" Pegasus shrugged and said, "It's not my fault. I can't simply allow you to escape after you've snooped around my castle and learned my secrets." He said, turning to Emiko, "I do hope the accomodations in the Shadow Realm are to your liking." She backed up. He said, chuckling, "Not only will I also capture your soul, Kaiba-girl, but I'll finally get to add you to my lovely card collection...and my dear Bakura, your capture will do much more than strengthen my shadow powers, for I shall also gain control of your Millenniem Ring." He laughed, but stopped and gasped. His eye widened and he said, "What's this?!" Bakura, his voice now hoarse and menacing, said, "Change of plans, Pegasus." He stepped in front of Emiko, holding his arm out in front of her, and said, "You may sense me now, Pegasus, but you won't remember any of this later." His Ring emitted a blinding light and Emiko shot up in her bed with a gasp.
"Wait," she thought, looking around, "I'm in Bakura's room. Was all of that a dream?" She sighed, running her hands through her hair with a sigh. A bead of sweat fell from her forehead. Bakura grumbled, his words jumbled together slightly, "What is it? What's the matter?" She looked up and said, "N-nightmare. That's all." She pulled her knees to her chest and said, "Although, it feels like I've forgotten something important." She sighed, rubbing her eyes, "Nevermind. I'm sorry, Bakura. I didn't mean to wake you." He smiled softly and said, laying back down. She laid back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling, still a bit unnerved by the dream. It felt so real, but it was only in her head. She thought back to the campsite.
"It's just like before," she thought, "It's probably just my nerves." She closed her eyes and sighed.