Author's Note: Welcome once again. I decided not to wait for reviews, because there's no way I'm going to get them with the sheer volume of people who have posted after me.
Besides, even if I have only one fan, I hate to disappoint. And mediaminer sucks! It eats the formatting on the poems no matter what I do! It makes me so MAD!
TAFKAE: I know that one pill wouldn't turn Bakura into a woman. That's why I didn't feel so bad about writing that in. But a dose of estrogen would make him feel a bit funny, don't ya think? And Malik, Isis, and Shadi are characters in the manga and anime who have other Millenium Items. They're a little bit disturbed.
Of course, I have to say thanks for being so supportive of this story. This chapter has been a killer to write, but the support has definitely helped me through the rough times.
So everyone, enjoy a little tone change as the latest adventure takes off: expect drama, angst (!) and violence, and some unusual situations!
/blah blah/ Yugi talking to Yami
//blah blah// Yami talking to Yugi, but you should know that by now because
that's the method practically everyone else uses.
NOW ENTERING ADVENTURE THREE - Of Time and Memory
Chapter Ten - Pitch
The soft red glow of sunset
lit up the fading trees --
Their leaves rustling
in the mountain breeze --
The warmth of twilight
bowed out for night's chill --
And under the light of the first stars
we ascended the hill --
No other cars
in this picturesque scene --
Like something from a movie
or a dream --
I wish Jounouchi would shut up. Tell him to cut it out, Yugi!
Yugi turned deep red. So Anzu had known he was reading over her shoulder
while she wrote in her journal! The four remaining friends had been accosted at the
baggage claim by a driver, apparently one sent by the tournament's organizers. Now they
were in a limousine, en route to their lodgings. Their every move was so neatly laid out
for them--how very reminiscent of Pegasus--
"Keep it down, Jou," he said in a tone that wasn't all that persuasive.
"'Ey, Honda's just as loud!" Jou protested.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Could you just stop it for once?" Anzu snapped. "I was trying to write a poem."
"And failing miserably," said Jou with a laugh, flopping back in his bucket seat.
"Right, Yug'?"
"Well, I thought it was good," said Yugi, blushing. Really, he wasn't sure what he
thought of it at all. It suited the situation, he supposed. How like Yami he was acting--he must be tired. He wondered if his mysterious other personality ever had any kind of
emotional responses to anything.
"Then read it to us, Anzu," Honda commanded, sticking out his chin imperiously.
"You want to hear it?" she asked in surprise.
"No, I just feel carsick, but not enough to hurl. Thought it would help."
"Bah," said Jou. "Maybe it is good, if Yugi likes it. Read us a poem, Anzu."
"Well...okay! I have a better one in my bag here somewhere--" she fished around
in her backpack for a minute, loose papers and other flotsam falling out of the
overstuffed sides. A newspaper from Domino City caught everyone's attention.
"Da headlines," Jou exclaimed. "And lottery numbers!"
"You can't play the lottery..." Anzu mumbled.
Honda grabbed the paper and pretended to read.
"Extra, extra! Anzu smells!"
"I DO NOT!"
"Gimme that," said Jou, stealing the paper back and flicking on the overhead
light. "Whoa..." he exhaled, whistling. "No wonder dey canceled school for two weeks!"
"Huh?" Anzu and Honda said in unison.
Yugi looked over Anzu's shoulder at the photograph Jou was pointing to. An
SUV, completely totaled and wrapped around a broken tree, was displayed with the
caption "Principal of Domino High School dies after accident." The teen froze, his violet
eyes wide and unblinking.
/How could I..../
Principal K. of Domino City discovered unconscious in his sport utility vehicle,
believed to have been involved in a chase, crashed into a tree Wednesday evening.
Although physical injuries were restricted to a broken leg, Domino Hospital officials say
that the principal's mental state had been severely compromised. Drugs and alcohol were
not involved. According to doctors, K. became distraught at the sight of others, believing
them to be giants. He died of heart failure brought about by hallucinations of giant
needles.
Also, police are still searching for a man with spiky hair believed to have been a
passenger in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Another man found near the scene has
had charges against him related to the crash dropped...
"Oh my gosh! I didn't even see that! This is terrible!" Anzu gasped.
"Horrible," amended Honda.
"Kinda cool," said Jou. "In a morbid sort of way." The others shot him icy looks.
"Sickening," mumbled Yugi. This odd feeling of guilt--why did it seem like his
fault? He didn't recall doing this, though it was possible, and likely, that his other half
had been involved somehow. And though he could console himself normally by saying
that the dark Yugi wasn't him, he felt responsible.
"Eh, according to this article, it was the same day that we were off rescuing
Anzu," said Jou, furrowing his brow in an attempt at thought. "It was near the mansion,
too."
Yugi turned away from his friends, trying to hide the anxiety that was distorting
his face and making him shake.
"So, you think those goons did it?" asked Honda.
"Probably!" said Jou. "I wouldn't put it past Kimo and dat other slimeball. If
they'd try to kidnap ya, Bakura, and Anzu, I bet they wouldn't think twice about killing
someone who stood in their way."
"Yeah," said Anzu, looking at Yugi. She flicked off the overhead light and
returned the paper to her bag. "Let's rest now, we're almost to the Inn and this kind of
thing will give us nightmares!"
"Ha, right," said Honda. "I bet we'll get the best sleep of our lives tonight."
Yugi was staring off into space, out the window to the outside. Only shadows
and suggestions of trees could be seen in the otherwise pitch blackness. The darkness
was so complete it was almost tangible.
/Was it you?/ he thought to Yami.
//Three days passed and you hadn't asked. You must know the answer.//
/I don't remember.../
//Don't you?//
/They aren't supposed to die.../
Silence.
/Tell me the others didn't die!/
//No.//
/No, they didn't die, or no, you won't tell me?/
Silence.
/What happened? Tell me!/
The limousine pulled to a stop, much to everyone's surprise. They hadn't seen
any town, or even any building, and had no idea where they were. It was like being
blind, Anzu mused. The driver opened the door and bid them welcome to the Snowed
Inn.
"I don't see any snow," said Jou. Honda elbowed him.
"Come on, Yugi," said Anzu. "Let's go in."
Yugi looked over at his female friend, his train of thought broken. "All right," he
said, picking up his backpack.
The four stepped out of the limousine, looking around them. In the distance they
could see the faint glow of candles in the windows of what seemed to be an enormous
house. It was hard to tell just the size of it, but from the number of candles and their
placement Yugi guessed it to be about five stories tall. Their footsteps padded along the
slate walkway broken by weeds, joining the hum of crickets.
"Just follow the lights," urged the driver, hoisting their suitcases out of the trunk.
"I don't know about this place," Jou muttered under his breath.
"Yeah...it's creepin' me out, bad!" Honda agreed.
"Don't be babies," said Anzu. "Yugi's not scared, are you, Yugi?"
Yugi smiled and shook his head no, not that anyone could see him doing it.
Just then the front door swung open with a low moan, and the floorboards of the
porch creaked under the weight of a bent and shriveled old woman in a heavy shawl. She
held a candelabra in her left hand and gathered her shawl with her right.
"Yugi Mutou?" she rasped, her voice sounding like a broken accordion--no tone,
just a plaintive wheeze.
"Oh, man. Too freaky." Jou's voice shook.
"That's me," said Yugi, stepping forward.
//...//
The interruption of his other half gave him pause.
/I thought you weren't talking./
//Don't go any closer!//
/Don't be silly...it's just a harmless old lady./
"Is something wrong, Yugi?" Anzu asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"The poor boy is probably exhausted from his trip. Come in, children...have a
little tea, and see your rooms..."
"Probably witches' brew," Honda muttered. Jou snickered.
"Didn't I just tell you to stop being babies?" Anzu snapped. "I'm sorry...Mrs..."
"Sabins," said the old woman. "I've been the innkeeper here for fifty-three years."
"Wow," said Anzu, walking up onto the porch. "Come on, you three! Don't just
stand around!"
//Don't trust her...//
Yugi harrumphed at his Yami and jumped up on the porch to spite him.
Shrugging their shoulders, Honda and Jou followed.
*
Special Operative McShane followed the limo from a distance--too much of a
distance; he was lost. Not that he'd ever admit it, of course. In the darkness any road
could well be the one he needed, and they were all the same to him. It had been hours
since they'd all arrived in Boston, hours of driving through this miserable (though
quaintly charming) region. He fished around in his pants pocket and found a caffeine
tablet--better get two. He popped both pills and kept bloodshot eyes on the road.
Then the headlights shone on something shiny--a parked vehicle. Now McShane,
being a first-class Special operative, was not about to stop and ask for directions, but he
did know that a car out this way was suspicious and prompted investigation. McShane
slowed the vehicle to a crawl and parked in the bushes, which, though he did not know it,
were mostly poison ivy. He fitted himself with nightvision goggles and adjusted his
earpiece, and stepped out of his car.
Something rustled to his left. Instinctively his hand went to his side, poised over
his stun gun. He approached with caution, trying for silence despite the twigs snapping
underfoot. Another rustle to his right--he whirled around, but saw nothing. He drew his
gun warily, his gut telling him that this was not just a squirrel or a deer. He walked
toward the other car, one step, two steps--three--he froze, but the footsteps didn't.
Whirling around, his face was met with a high-heeled boot. His gun flew from his hand.
McShane went down, bleeding from his mouth. He caught himself as he fell,
looking up through the blackness at his attacker.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Violette Des Fleurs Toshira laughed, madness catching in her
throat. "Special Ops sends only the most special for me."
"Des Fleurs!" McShane blurted, spitting out a molar and trying to climb to his
feet. "You're alive?!"
"I was about to say the same."
"You've gotten weaker since last time, Violette," McShane growled, swinging a
right hook for her head. She deflected it easily with an upper block, jabbing a low kick
into his shin with the same boot as before. The heel punctured the skin, and the man
howled in pain.
"Have I? That's news." She kicked out for a head strike, but the wounded
operative caught her leg and sent her spinning toward the ground.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it," McShane laughed. Through the goggles his
adversary was a green glow on the ground, struggling to get up in stillettos. He took
advantage of the moment to slap a healing patch on his leg and look around for his gun.
"You freak," she grumbled. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate you?"
He caught sight of his gun on the ground and dove for it, but Vio was faster, and
leapt onto his back, squeezing his neck with her thighs. He was knocked to the ground,
the gun out of reach.
"Now most men would kill to be in your position. But you, you're just going to
be killed."
"How...witty..." he choked, trying to roll her off.
"I ought to snap your neck right now," she snarled, scratching at his face with her
talon-like press-ons.
He bucked sharply, tossing her off him. Gasping for breath, he scrambled for the
gun, only to have her grab on to his arm like a leech. She was biting him.
"Eeeyaarrrghh!" he roared, rolling over and kicking at her much smaller form.
Two kicks to her abdomen and she let go, climbed to her feet, and punted the gun
into the bushes.
"Bitch," he grumbled, scrambling to stand. "Fight me like a man!"
"I beg your pardon?" she scoffed, facing him. Her hair made a green halo around
her body. A few strands adhered themselves to her face, and her mouth hung open
slightly as she breathed heavily, snorting softly with each exhale.
"Fight me. You know you've always wanted to. This can be the end, Violette."
She backstepped. McShane seemed stronger than last time--or maybe it was true,
she was weaker. If only the boss had let her have one of those charms--but no,
apparently they were all needed to start the tournament.
"This has to be a trick. You think I'd fall for such an old one?"
"You've fallen for some odd things," McShane quipped. "But then you kill them.
You make me sick, Des Fleurs."
"I doubt he's dead," Vio grumbled, circling him like a vulture. "I have bad luck."
"If I'd known that, I'd have brought you a rabbit's foot." He turned slowly,
keeping the front of his body toward her at all times. "But I'm serious. One last fight:
the loser at the winner's mercy."
"For old time's sake," Vio smirked, her fists up. "I accept."
*
The four sat in the sitting room, which was filled with hundreds of candles
dripping wax down the sides of bottles. Above them, an iron chandelier held ten more
candles that burned with a softer, blue glow.
"I apologize for the darkness," the old woman sighed, pouring each friend a
steaming cup of brown tea. "The electricity is fickle today."
Honda and Jou gave each other a look. Anzu sipped her tea with an "arigatou."
Yugi looked down into the swirling froth on the top of the tea. It seemed to make
a familar shape...
//Yugi, listen to me! Do not trust her!//
Yugi set the tea down on its saucer, seeing the fringe of the old woman's shawl
trail over his knees. A wave of apprehension passed over him.
/How can I trust YOU?/
"Sleepy, little one?"
He looked up slowly. The face of death looked down at him, and he saw a black
stone slip through the old woman's fingers. It was centered in a silver teardrop backing,
and set in it was a silver stylized eye--it flashed in front of him--
At that moment everything around him cracked into fragments, and his pupils
disappeared in his eyes. He fell forward to the floor.
"Yugi!" Anzu screamed.
"...Yug'?" said Jou, waving a hand in front of his friend's face. "What's happened
to him?!"
"Snap out of it, buddy!"
"...can't..." Yugi mumbled, his lips barely parting.
"He must be tired," said the old woman.
Anzu and Honda stared at her. Jou tried shaking Yugi out of it, but it was no use.
"What did you do to him?!" Anzu cried.
A tear escaped the ancient eye, followed by another, losing itself in the wrinkles.
"So like I was..." she sighed. "Won't you come to your rooms? The other guests are
sleeping..."
//A spell..//
Yugi looked in front of him. The sitting room had vanished; the candles had
changed to taillights. He stretched out his hand, but saw his aibou's instead.
"What did you do to him?!"
Yugi didn't recognize her voice. It had become the scream of Ushio the rule-enforcer. Then others appeared--opponents, antagonists all, punished by Yami. He felt
his body leave the ground, running in a sharp pattern around the legs of the antagonists.
Then there was fire. He saw the fortune teller from school, the bully from the upper class
who had destroyed their booth at the carnival.
"I remember..." he whispered.
"He looks so scared," Anzu said softly.
"He's all right. Lost in a memory..." the old woman began, clutching her pendant.
"I'll forgive you for accusing me. Won't you follow me to your rooms?"
A chill passed over the three friends, and they found themselves unable to protest any longer.
The punished faded one by one, the light Yugi's heart pained at the sight of them.
//They lived...//
/.../
But one was left.
The SUV tore across the road.
/I tried to stop you. I remember now./
The bikers raced alongside, through the woods. He saw the tree. He saw the
twisted wreckage.
He saw the man cheering for victory.
He saw the mindcrush.
Then of a sudden he was in the soul room. His friends saw the glowing of the
puzzle.
/Why do I punish?/
Silence.
/Why did we kill?/
/WHY?!/ Yugi roared, as around him the shadows of Yami's soul room swirled.
But there was still no answer, even after the hundredth plea. The walls with their
dimension-skewing rows of impossible staircases began to fade, and were replaced with
the walls of Yugi's own soul room. Ejected! Dejected, Yugi kicked at the toys that
littered his own room's floor, before coming to in someone's arms, back in the darkness
again.
*
Bakura awoke in a holding cell. None of his belongings were anywhere to be
seen.
"Cómo estás?" someone asked.
The white-haired boy looked around and saw a number of other men in the cell
with him. Just what he needed.
"I beg your pardon?"
The person looked at him in frustration.
"Cómo te llamas?"
"I'm sorry, I don't speak your language."
"Tienes tu pasaporte? Otras documentos?"
"Listen, I don't understand! I don't speak..whatever the hell that is."
"Necesitas pasaporte para viajar en los Estados Unidos. Hay que obtenerlo
ANTES de tu llegada!"
Bakura sighed.
"Pa...sa...por...te," the man said slowly, taking out his own passport.
Bakura took it.
"Arigatou," he said.
"No! Necesitas el TUYO! Ese es el mio!"
"Ese...?"
"Cállate, pinche cabrón!" The man slugged Bakura in the arm, taking his
passport back.
'I may be here a while,' Bakura sighed to himself, moving as far away from the
other man as possible.
*
Anzu sat there for a few minutes in the dark, not knowing what to say or do, in
the clammy haze of semiconsciousness that left her so uncomfortable. She'd changed
into her pajamas and now she sat at the end of Yugi's bed--the two had to share a room;
she was his guest after all. In a way she was almost glad that Yugi was in this condition
because it meant that Jou and Honda skipped teasing them. But in a more accurate way,
she was torn up with conflicting emotion--worry for Yugi, anger, fear, and mistrust. He
was hiding something; and that was what made him this way.
She shook in the darkness: couldn't see a thing, having been unable to light a
candle for fear of working a lighter. Ever since that day when Yugi--well, Yami Yugi--had rescued her from the escaped convict at Burger World by setting him on fire, she
refused to go near it.
And it was strange, she thought, that for some reason it all came back to her so
clearly, in every frightening detail. As she'd been walking upstairs to the room, forcing
herself to trust the old woman, she'd caught a glimpse of some sort of necklace. The
second she saw it, the face of that criminal had entered her mind, and Jou almost had to
carry her up the stairs, too. The face kept laughing--it wouldn't stop. The laughter rang
in her ears, and she curled up in a little ball on the bed, trying to shut it out.
"Make it go away...make it stop, please..." she whimpered.
And then she heard the voice--"game of darkness," it said. The dark Yugi, her
rescuer! Still whimpering she crawled toward Yugi, huddling next to him.
Something about this place wasn't right. It almost seemed haunted. And the old
woman--there was something eerie about her.
But Anzu knew there was no such thing as haunting, or witches, or ghosts. The
only real magic was in Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. She put her hand on it, hoping it
would help her.
"I remember..."
"Yugi..." she whispered. "What do you remember?"
"I remember..."
Anzu bit her lip.
"I remember being rescued," she told the face in her mind. She could see the
man's tattoos, his pores. And she remembered that he'd blindfolded her--it was dark, like
this, like the room. And cold. "I remember being rescued!"
"I remember..."
Anzu fought back the face, only to have another appear in its place. Her history
teacher.
"I remember..."
"And you saved me then, too," she breathed. "I won't be scared."
"Why...?"
She couldn't see him at all, but she wished she could.
"Only a friend is worth that..."
"Wake up," she said, sitting up on the bed. "Come on!"
"Why..."
She leaned over him, squinting her eyes. "Yugi, wake up."
"Why...."
"Yugi..."
Anzu lifted him up into her arms.
"Come on, wake up. I'm scared."
"Why..."
She squeezed him tightly. "Wake up."
"WHY?!" he nearly screamed, thrashing violently. She held on, and he stirred.
"Where am I?" he asked hoarsely.
"With me."
"Oh," he said, and fell asleep.
*
Midnight.
An ancient finger turned the page of a weathered old journal.
"When I was younger," the innkeeper rasped, "I used to be such a dreamer..."
The grandfather clock in the sitting room began to chime.
"My head was always in the clouds."
The clock struck two. Three. She held on to the charm she'd been given. It felt
so cold in her hand.
"Like you, I thought I'd live forever...but I know I can't. I had so much ahead of
me, and now it is all memory..."
Four, five, six. She walked into the hallway, silently as a ghost.
"Grandmother, read to me..."
Seven, eight. Shaking hands held up the book.
"I wrote this, you know..."
"I know, Grandmother."
She walked out to the garden.
Nine, ten.
"My brother said it would be good to write..for when I had children, I could tell
them such stories..."
"Read to me, Grandmother."
Eleven.
"Read to me!"
The old woman broke, her voice cracking on each word. The charm in her hands
burned suddenly hot, and she released it.
"At first you run, and then you find
The past returns in fire's glory
To haunt the shadows of your mind...
They live to tell the fated story..."
Twelve.
"So...cold...."
"I know, Grandmother."
Slowly, the shadows crept from around the ancient lady's fallen body up into the
house, diffusing into the blackness, through the walls, and into each room of the old
Snowed Inn.
"So...cold," mumbled Anzu in her sleep.
"Cold," mumbled Yugi.
And then the shadows diffused into them.
It was open again. Their bodies were frozen in time, ashen, and still...until even
they vanished into the pitch.
*
"No weapons."
"No weapons."
"No tricks."
"No tricks."
Each term Vio gave, McShane echoed. Finally the sultry brunette stopped
circling her prey.
The air hung still and clammy. Leaves fell.
"Then come get me," she said.
With a thundering spirit cry, the operative lunged at the sexpot. He grabbed a
handful of her shirt, readying for ippon. But she went to dead weight, and wrapped her
legs around his waist as he lifted her. He wound up with a torn piece of fabric.
"Prick. That tank cost $450."
She dropped to the ground and did a backward handspring.
"Sprightly for a woman in her forties," McShane taunted, faking a left side kick
and springing in with a right hook kick.
Vio sidestepped easily with a snarl. She dove forward with the grace of one
doing tai chi, slicing knife-hand strikes at his neck, vertical backfists to his chin.
He bobbed like a charmed snake, sharply blocking each attack. His left knee up,
he went for a defensive front kick, snapping her chin backward.
She held her hand over her mouth.
"My toof! You broke my toof!"
This didn't stop McShane, who swung up his foot for another vicious blow. Vio
ducked, a spark of malice flashing in her eye. She dove underneath his attack and
delivered a sharp kick to the small of his back. He staggered forward, trying to turn
around as she followed up with a downward kick to his calf. Her front tooth had been
halved, and she held the piece in her hand. The jagged remainder had cut her lip, and the
blood that was starting to crust in the corner of her mouth was the same color as her
lipstick.
"I'll kill you!" she screamed as he shook, trying to breathe.
"Do you have to keep going for my leg?" McShane whined, limping backwards.
Then he noticed the woman reach for her belt. Something in his mind screamed
"danger!" and he backpedaled up a slope, right into the side of Vio's parked car.
She sprang at him, a flash of metal in her right hand. Instinctively he grabbed her
wrist, letting his cheek take only a scratch. Bulldozing her away from the car, he
executed a devastating sweep with kimura, first shoving her downwards, incapacitating
her arm. Then he rolled onto his back, throwing her over his head with the aid of a foot
to the groin. Her arm twisted sickeningly as she flipped, her boots smashing the car
window. He rolled onto her chest, pinning her downwards, trying to wrench the spike
from her hand. Vio thrashed and bit, scratching with three nails and trying to put the
tooth piece in her pocket.
"Does it hurt?" he teased, finally loosing the spike. "Cheater."
She snorted, abandoning her weapon and rolling sharply out of his grip. While
Vio wasn't experienced in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, McShane wasn't exactly a master. He took
two kicks to the stomach and one to the groin before tumbling out of the way.
"Gyaaah!" she screamed, jumping onto his back. Her heels dug into his sides, and
he bucked her off as easily as before. Then he rushed her with a fierce headbutt,
knocking her back. She smacked into a tree, and ducked as he swung a punch to her
head. His fist smacked the trunk, and he drew back, his knuckles engrained with bark
bits.
"Look everyone," she chuckled. "It's the master of 'shounen-ai'kido!" She drew
up into a cat-stance, daring him to try another move. Her right arm hung limply at her
side.
"If you're calling me gay, you should know that I have a wife and daughter,"
McShane said, looking down his nose. He took a back stance, breaking off a tree limb to
use as a bow staff. Twirling it like a baton, he held it menacingly before him.
"If I didn't hate him so much, I'd almost say he looks really hot right now," Vio
mumbled to herself.
McShane swung the makeshift staff around, then jabbed it forward at the woman's
solar plexis. He stopped within microns of her flesh, and as she inhaled, it touched her.
"There's nothing I won't do to see you fall, Des Fleurs," he snarled. She put her
hands on the staff and pushed it to the side, only be lifted from the ground and tossed,
then beaten across the back with the heavy limb. He stabbed it into her kidneys, then her
ribs, making a sickening crack. He continued to beat on her, not giving a damn that she
was down, only wanting to see her dead. Her eyes began to cross--then she saw it on the
ground.
A tear-shaped pendant lay under her nose. Dull and ugly, it hardly sparkled, and
she never would have found it unless--
'You knew, boss,' she laughed to herself. Picking it up--it was heavy, like lead--she turned to face her adversary as he brought down another crushing blow.
His eyes widened in horror as she simply pushed the stick aside like a feather.
Something was wrong; she shouldn't even be breathing. But she was, a labored, rattling
exhale with jaw quivering. Her eyes seemed to be giving off light. He could see nothing
through his goggles, and he pushed them up off his face. Taking another step back, he
watched in horror as she snapped her bones back into place, fastening a necklace around
her neck. Her form distorted, the edges becoming wavy. And her face--she suddenly
looked just like--
"Oh, god..." he mouthed.
She stepped again into cat-stance. Fighting the urge to run, knowing he couldn't
escape, he weakly threw a punch. Her arm flew up and caught it. With a scream, she
twisted it around as she brought up her left leg, knee first, then extension. His chin
cupped in the high heel, she swiveled her hips and brought him down, pulling sharply on
the arm. It broke with a crunch. His head hit a rock, and he was out.
*
//The Shadow Realm.//
Yami Yugi stood up, looking around him. The last thing he remembered, he'd
been fighting with his aibou. Now the smaller Yugi was nowhere to be seen. He called
for him, but got no answer: so this was how the silent treatment felt.
Strange--he shouldn't be here. He saw no one else, no challenger; it was
impossible to imprison him in the Shadow Realm because of his puzzle. Yami
remembered a strange spell, and candles.
"The old woman."
Impossible as it sounded, she must have been the one to do it. To open the
shadow realm, and isolate him from the others. The dark Yugi brooded for a moment. If
he could feel cold he would have shivered: the bed, the only piece of the room that hadn't
faded away, was frosted over. There was a layer of ice on the ground, and the only light
came from the puzzle. He closed his eyes, calling again for his other half. And this time,
there was sound. Strange music drifted across the barren dimension, a strange song on a
strange instrument. Yami stepped off the bed, walking toward the music.
Each step brought the world more into focus. The shadows began to take shape,
forming a door, the seam of which allowed in a crack of yellow light. Yami reached for
the knob, turning it slowly. As it opened he saw he was in the Inn, in the hallway outside
the bedroom. Soft sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating the yellow
striped wallpaper, and the music grew louder. He walked down the hallway towards it,
hardly noticing the blurred edges of walls and portraits.
He came to a room--another door, with light behind it. It was here that the music
was loudest. Without hesitation he opened the door and found a little girl with chin-length brown hair playing the piano. She was humming along with her playing, her tiny
left hand struggling to make the octave jumps. Her little saddle-shoed foot barely
reached the sostenuto pedal, and as a result the song had an eerie, light quality. The
bright sun through the lace curtains left fade-lines on the velvet chairs, and backlit the
girl's hair.
So little, but still, so familiar. Yami couldn't quite place her, and she went on
playing as if no one had entered the room.
He took a step toward her, leaving no imprint in the oriental rug.
"Little girl?" he said, slowly.
She kept playing, her blue eyes cloudy with tears.
"By the gods..." Yami whispered. "Anzu?"
*
END! Are you ready for Chapter 11?! Relive the horrors of the
past with me! As requested, a bit more definite Anzu/Yugi and Mai/Jou. KISS ALERT.
~_^ And in addition to that, I'm not going to slack off on the violence/action. Stay tuned
for a preview while I work on the remainder of this third adventure--feel free to submit
input, which I will more than likely use! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far!!
And to the people who e-mailed! You guys are GREAT!