Disclaimer:I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any material I may have stolen from LOTR. That is the property of JRR Tolkien! Azari is still on loan. Jeeze, she's EXPENSIVE!
Go read JRR's books!
BETRAYAL, OR IS IT?
They both looked at the bed. One of them walked over and put their hand on Lith's forehead. Lith opened her eyes and said, "Teyva! You're here!" She looked over at the other girl. "Azari! You came too! I'm so glad."
Everyone looked at Teyva and Azari. Teyva was nothing like what they had all been visualizing. She looked like a punk. Her body was leanly built and she was dressed in a black leather tank top and tight black leather bell bottoms. Around her neck was a spiked dog collar and on both of her wrists was a spiked bracelet. She wore black leather platform boots and her hair was an odd purple and she had even stranger eyes, one green, the other purple. She was also wearing black lipstick and eye shadow. She bowed to Ryou and said in an odd, rasping voice, "You must be Ryou. Lilith told us of your peculiar problem. We are here to offer help."
Azari nodded. Her amber eyes were all they could see from underneath her black cloak. She shed the cloak and they say her properly. She had rather messy shoulder-length blue hair and cat ears. Azari was built like Teyva. She wore a black tunic and black pants. Her feet were bare. Around her neck was a roughly hewn silver choker with a pitch black stone as the center piece. Is seemed to glow with black light. She smiled at Lilith and they observed how pointy her
teeth were.
The doorbell rang. Tea went to go get it again. This time she was followed back by a young man and woman. Teyva smiled at them. "Hey Fern! Jaron." Azari retreated into a dark corner behind Teyva.
Fern smiled. She was tall and thin, almost wraith-like. She had waist-length deep blue hair and dark blue eyes. Her long robe was dark blue and there was kelp stuck to her. She had the scent of the sea about her.
Jaron grinned at Teyva and Azari. He had short brown-green hair and dark green eyes. He was short and stocky, a sharp contrast to Fern. He was wearing a dark green tunic and trousers. He, like Azari, went bare-footed. "Hey Teyva! Heelo Lilith. Haven't seen you guys for a while." He looked down sadly at Maude. "Poor Maude. She may be a warrior, but she still
needs someone to watch her back for her."
"Really?" Maude said, eyes still closed. Everyone jumped, excepting Teyva.
Teyva laughed. "I wondered how long you were going to lay there. Heelo Maude. Nice to see you still all in one piece."
Maude chuckled and sat up. She looked oddly at Seto. "How long have you been there? Wait, don't answer that. Hello all." She smiled at Fern, Jaron, and Azari. Fern smiled back and Jaron blushed. Azari began grinning like the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. She did evil eye and finger movements. Maude cracked up laughing.
Again the doorbell rang again. Tea looked at Lilith. "If this is your other friends, is everyone here yet?"
Lilith grinned at her. "Yep. You'll be able to stand still for a few moments."
Tèa went to get the doorbell. Joey, Tristan, Mai, and Yugi had crunched themselves into one corner. Ryou was sitting on the bed with his knees against his chest. Seto was sitting on the bed too. Everyone else besides Maude and Lilith were standing in various spots in the thankfully large room.
Tèa came back leading two more people. The middle-aged woman stopped at the doorway. She caught sight of all the other Old Ones and let out a harsh laugh. "Hah. Happy little party, this." She brushed back her silver hair back from her thin face. She was very short and thin. Her silver robe clung to her like a second skin. Her silver eyes darted from face to face, finally resting on Maude, who had tears of mirth running down her face. "My my. Dying, are we?" She turned to Ryou. "Forgive me. My name is Halcyon. These hooligans are my old friends."
The bright red haired mage Fyari slipped in behind Halcyon. His watery blue eyes shifted from face to face. He smoothed down his blood red robes. He ran his fingers through his messy hair and it stuck up even more. He gave Teyva a sly smile and said innocently, "Hello Teyva. Still hoping someone will adopt you? You should polish your collar more often. It's getting a bit cloudy."
Teyva glared at him. Then burst out laughing. "Oh Fyari. You delight in teasing me, don't you?"
Fyari flashed her a comically solemn bow. Then both of them cracked up and had to sit down.
Lilith sighed. "You people. Now you have to be serious. Ok. We are looking for a dark skinned woman with black hair. Her face resembles that of a rat. Her name is Ratri. Very fitting name. If you find her, mind call everyone else. Understand? Let's get going then." Everyone filed out. Maude told Othai to stay in the house and he sulked off. They went
downstairs and out the front door. Ryou turned to shut the door when he caught sight of a note in the keyhole. He opened it. It read:
I HAVE YOUR UNCLE. DON'T
WORRY ABOUT YOUR AUNT.
SHE IS A VERY GOOD FRIEND
OF MINE. SEE YOU AROUND.
LOVE,
Ratri
Teyva turned around to see where Ryou was. She walked back to him and took the note out of his trembling fingers. It was shot out of her hand with a familiar looking black arrow. "DUCK!!" Teyva yelled just as a torrent of arrows came whistling past their heads. She grabbed Ryou's arm and dragged him to the ground with everyone else..
Lilith stood up suddenly. "GET BACK DOWN YOU MORON!!!!" Maude screamed at her. Lilith shook her head. She began a spell. Tendrils of green seeped from her finger tips and began to weave into a vail. She let the last of the green snap into place. She motioned for everyone to get up. They did so cautiously, then saw that the arrows bounced off the vail. They all began running in the opposite direction as the archers.
Then Azari, Teyva, Lilith and Fyari stopped dead. Everyone else stopped to and looked at them.
"We're surrounded," Teyva whispered. She glanced wildly at the trees, which had begun to hum. Then she snapped up straight, eyes wide and face pale. "Ratri. What is Ratri backwards?" She looked at the rest of the Old Ones, eyes full of terror.
Azari stared at her. Then she spoke in an odd hissing whisper. "Do you mean that we are being pursued by IRTAR?!? We might as well just sit down and wait for her to find us!"
Jaron's shoulders slumped. "Now we know where she went. I kind of wish we hadn't found out."
Halcyon nodded, then saw the incomprehension on the faces of the young ones. "Irtar, or, as you call her, Ratri, is like us. She is the oldest of us. She is a time mage. She always was fascinated with things of power. She left us to search the world for powerful things. She was always too easy to impose upon. I suppose someone has offered her a reward for the Millennium Ring and for it's bearer's death." She turned to Yugi. "It would be wise if you left us. We will not ask you to go alone. We will transport you somewhere safe. If there is one."
Yugi nodded, eyes wide. Then he grew several feet and, in a deeper voice, said, "No. I will not leave. When friends are in danger I do not run."
Halcyon stared open-mouthed at him. "What?" She looked at Ryou, who was staring at him too. Halcyon turned back to Yami-Yugi. "Don't you understand? Your being here with that dratted Millennium Puzzle is just making it easier for Irtar to track us! You're killing your friend, not helping him!"
Yami-Yugi frowned and thought a moment. Then he looked at Seto. Seto backed away, wide-eyed. Yami turned back to Halcyon. "You speak wisdom, little bird. But I believe I can do more good than harm. I am coming. Now, what is the plan?"
Maude stepped forwards and grabbed a handful of Yami's clothing. "Do you know how stupid I think you are?"
Yami stared coldly back at her. "I believe this is a good choice. Unhand me."
Maude just grabbed him with her other hand too. "I'm about to do a gate spell and I'm going to shove you through, whether you like it or not." She glared at him. "Do I need to do that?"
Yami brought up his fist and hit Maude squarely on the left cheek. She winced but didn't let go. Finally Yami said, "It won't work." He smirked at her and kicked her.
Maude stared at him with a deep burning hatred. "I hate stupid people. And you're at the top of my list at the moment. Another thing. Don't you realize that if you are wounded, your mortal might die? Have you considered that?"
For the first time Yami actually stopped and thought. Then he shook his head. "I believe I know best for-"
"YOU ARE GOING TO GET US ALL KILLED!!! WHAT PART OF 'DEAD' DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Maude shook him violently, then began her gateing spell.
Yami took a step back from her. "You wouldn't understand my motives. And I do understand the word 'dead'." He glanced at the nearly totally constructed gate. "And that won't work."
Teyva came up behind him. "Yes, it will." Teyva threw a ball of purple fire at him and caught the rebounding flame in a box. She locked it and held it in front of Yami's astonished face. "Yes, I have your soul. Now, I am about to throw this through Maude's gate. And you will follow it. Understood?"
Yami's face was death-white. "How could you?" he whispered.
"Like this." Teyva tossed the box through the gate and Yami dove after it. Maude closed the gate. Teyva smiled at Maude. "Nice gateing, sister."
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH YUGI?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Tea screamed at Maude and Teyva.
Teyva looked coldly at her. "He was a danger to us. We will get him back unharmed, never fear."
Lilith stood very still. "Now, if you are quite done stealing souls, Teyva, we should get out of here." She Changed and they began mounting.
Ryou stopped. If he kept on running away, he would never get his Millennium Ring back. He had to go face Ratri. No, Irtar. This was confusing. He looked up and saw Maude looking at him with an understanding look on her face. She slid off Lilith's back and walked over. "You aren't going alone, youngster. Old Maude's a coming."
Fern, Fyari, Jaron, Teyva, and Azari all slid off Lilith's back too. They walked over to stand with Ryou and Maude. Lilith glanced at them, and nodded. She took flight before any of Ryou's friends could get off.
"Hey, I'm coming too." Seto stood there. He hadn't been on Lilith yet.
Maude groaned and covered her face. "Seto, Seto, Seto. You pain me."
Fern glared at him. "Why didn't you get on Lilith?!? You'll just get in the way!"
Maude wove the answer. They shoved Seto through the door and Maude closed it. She sighed. "Ok. We should go find Irtar."
Azari wove a shadow spell around them so that they would look like ordinary night shadows. They took to the fringe of the trees, silently stalking towards the archers. Lilith's barrier had faded without her there to maintain it. The archers had figured out that they weren't there anymore. Ryou was acutely aware of how loud his breathing was.
After ten minutes of running from tree to tree, Teyva finally found something. She waved frantically for them. They all came over. Teyva pointed to the clearing in front of their bush and stand of trees. Ratri stood there with Ryou's aunt by her side. His uncle was bound and gagged with four guards around him. Ryou began shivering uncontrollably. It was 'them'. His
shivering became more and more violent until he was sure the bush was quivering.
Then, to his horror, Teyva stepped out of the bush and walked to Ratri/Irtar. "Hey Irtar! How are you?"
Irtar swung around, then saw who it was and relaxed. "Oh, heelo Teyva. You startled me! Did you bring them?"
Ryou heard this and stared unbelieving at Teyva's back. She had betrayed them. Everyone else was also staring at her with astonishment quickly turning to hatred.
Teyva moved closer to Ryou's uncle and Irtar. "Yep. They're coming. Could I see the ring?"
Irtar, trusting as a small child, handed her the Ring. Teyva took it and began examining it. She kept inching slowly closer to Uncle Gregory.
Ryou and all the rest decided what to do at the same time. They jumped out of the bushes and attacked Irtar and Teyva. Or, at least, tried. Irtar sent up a lightning quick shield around Uncle Gregory, Teyva, herself, and Aunt Agatha.
Teyva looked at them. She saw the hatred in their eyes and flinched, as if hurt by it. She walked towards them, holding Ryou's Millennium Ring. "Don't hate me," she said pleadingly. "I had no choice."
But, it seemed to Ryou, that she was talking slightly over her shoulder. Irtar didn't seem to agree with him, though. She walked up behind Teyva, smirking. She waved sarcastically at all of them. "Heelo Fern! Maude, Jaron, Fyari, Halcyon, Azari. What a merry company. And what's this? Ryou Bakura? It must be a second christmas!"
Maude gave her a withering look. She caught Teyva's eyes and held them, managing to show Teyva the depths of her feelings. Teyva winced and looked pleadingly at them, willing them to understand.
Teyva stared at all of them. Oh if only she had thought to tell them she had spent the last hundred years getting Irtar to trust her! She had been spying on Irtar for them for years, pretending to be her ally. She had fed Irtar a bunch of fake information. If only she had thought to tell them!
Then Teyva imperceptibly tripped a spell she had set earlier. It drew all but a tiny bit of strength out of Irtar. Irtar screamed and the barrier broke. Fern, Fyari, Jaron, Halcyon, Maude, Azari, and Ryou all charged. Ryou went straight for his aunt. She screamed and tried to run. She tripped and fell, sprawling on the ground. Ryou grabbed her hands and feet, while
with his toes drawing the spell that would paralyze her. He finished it and his aunt stopped moving.
The rest of them had gone for Irtar, Teyva, and Uncle Gregory's guards. Fern, Jaron, Fyari, and Halcyon all took on their own guard. Azari went for Teyva and Maude charged Irtar. Ryou jumped up and ran over to Maude to help her.
Teyva and Azari looked at each other. Teyva still held the Millennium Ring in her hand. Azari stared at her, her gaze half sorrow, half hatred. "Why? Why, you little bitch?!" Azari tackled Teyva and bit her. Teyva cried out and Azari managed to get her collar and both of her bracelets off her. Teyva slashed at Azari and caught her across the forehead above her eyes.
Blood trickled into Azari's eyes as she took a long knife out of her sleeve. Before Teyva could kick her away, she struck. Teyva let out an agonized groan and looked up at Azari, her eyes full of more than physical pain.
"I..spent.....the......last......hundred years.....getting....... her..... to....... trust...... me...... so.....we...could..............use.......it against her. I'm........ sorry.. I..... never..told you," she managed to gasp. Then her heart pumped the last of the blood out of her system.
Azari stared at her in horror. "TEYVA!" She grabbed Teyva's shoulders and shook her gently. "Teyva! Oh, Teyva! Why didn't you tell me?!? Teyva!"
Teyva's head lolled on her shoulder as Azari pulled her into a sitting position. "Oh, Teyva! You stupid bitch! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!?"
When Teyva didn't respond, Azari realized she would never answer. She sank to the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest and cried. Cried for poor, stupid Teyva. Cried for herself and all the rest, who's thoughts about Teyva had been hateful ones and how greatly they had deceived themselves. Cried for the gift that Teyva had taken out of the world with
her. There were no more spirit mages. Teyva was the last one.
Maude and Ryou's battle with Irtar was not going very well. Irtar had put up a shield. They had put one up around her's. The shields made it so any spell they threw at her just soaked into the shield. Soon Fern, Fyari, and Jaron joined them. Halcyon was still grappling with her guard. Fyari had cut Uncle Gregory free. Uncle Gregory sat there rubbing his wrists
and watching the battles taking place.
Irtar saw Azari kill Teyva. "TEYVA!!!" she shrieked. She then realized that the Millennium Ring was still in Teyva's lifeless hands. And it then dawned on her what had just happened. She stared at Teyva, someone she had always thought of as a friend. Betraying her. But now she was dead. Dead.
With all of the mage's combined effort, they shot a bolt of multicolored light through both of the shields and hit Irtar. She screamed once, then was following Teyva down the walk to Death's house.
Fern lowered her hands and everyone else followed suit. She turned to see Halcyon laying on the ground next to her dead guard. Halcyon groaned and sat up, holding a large gash down her side.
Then Ryou caught sight of Azari sitting next to Teyva's corpse, crying. He walked over to Azari. "Why do you cry? She betrayed us."
Azari looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. "You don't understand," she croaked. "She told, me, as she was dying, what was really going on." She took the Millennium Ring from Teyva's stiff fingers and handed it to Ryou. "She was a spy for us. She gained Irtar's trust and used it against her. She was the reason the barrier around Irtar failed. And she's the
last of the spirit mages. And I killed her. I killed the best friend and partner I've ever had. I killed the last one with a link to the spirit world. I have murdered more that you will ever know." She turned from him, stood up, and walked away into the forest.
Ryou watched her go, then looked down at his Millennium Ring. Was this worth a life? No. It wasn't. It was only worth it's weight in sawdust, not blood. He looked down at Teyva, at the knife handle sticking out of her chest. Her face, twisted with pain. He bent down and picked up her collar and bracelets. He turned them over in his hands. He walked over to the
others, holding them.
They all looked at him, holding Teyva's jewelry. "She didn't betray us," he said quietly. "She was a spy for us. She gained Irtar's trust." He held up his Millennium Ring. "She was the one who took down Irtar's barriers. She was the one who held the Ring out of Irtar's reach. She betrayed Irtar, not us." He looked down at the Ring. "This is not worth flesh and blood. It is not worth a life, a soul, a spirit. And one who was the last of her kind."
Fyari stood up slowly and took the collar and bracelets from Ryou's hands. He ran his fingers over them, tears forming in his pale eyes. "Oh little puppy. How I wish you had told your master where you ran and with whom." One of his tears fell onto one of the spikes and slid down it, leaving a shiny track.
Everyone but Fyari and Ryou stared at the collar and bracelets in disbelief. Finally Halcyon struggled to her feet. "Where is Azari? I fear she will hurt herself in her grief over Teyva." She began loping the way Ryou pointed.
They all followed, Maude and Ryou helping Uncle Gregory. Fern did a gate spell and sent Ryou's aunt back to her house to be dealt with later. They followed the path that Azari, in her sorrow, had clearly left.
Once they found her, she was sitting cross legged on a stone by a stream, her back turned to them. Halcyon stumbled forward and touched Azari's shoulder. "Azari, you didn't know. There was no way you could have known." She shook Azari gently.
Azari fell backwards and slipped off the rock. Jaron gasped. With her other knife, Azari had slit her wrists. Ryou, though repulsed, moved forward. On closer inspection, he saw that she had cut words into herself. Blood oozed from the words: I am sorry Teyva I failed you.
Ryou drew back. He dropped the Millennium Ring on the ground, backing away from it. It had two people's blood on it. Teyva and Azari's. Halcyon jumped backwards from Azari, horror plainly written on her face. Fern walked over to Ryou. Maude just stood there, her eyes filling up with tears. Jaron walked over and picked up Azari. He started back to where Fyari
stood over Teyva's body.
Fern stopped in front of Ryou, picked up the Ring, and shoved it in his chest. "We sacrificed all for you. Don't you dare throw that on the ground!" She looked up at him, her thin face frighteningly passionate. "Teyva sacrificed her own life to get that back for you. True, it was partly to save the world from Irtar. But mostly it was to get it back for you. And you throw it on the ground." Fern glared at him. "Oh, great show of gratitude." She turned away from from him and followed the rest back to where Teyva lay.
Ryou thought for a moment. Fern was right. Teyva had done a lot for him. And now she was dead. And in exchange for her life he had cast away the thing she had died to save. He was ashamed. He put the ring around his neck, then followed them. When he got back to the clearing, Lilith was there with Joey, Tèa, Mai, and Tristan.
"Ryou?" Tea said cautiously, taking a step towards him. "Are you all right?"
Joey followed her. "You don't look so great."
"In fact, you look kinda bad," Tristan said, concerned.
Mai just looked around at all of the blood and death spread around her. Then she caught sight of Teyva. She stared at her, openmouthed.
Ryou fended off his friends. "I'm fine. Please, just let me sort things out." He sat down on the ground and put his head between his knees. The scent of blood was beginning to make him a bit queasy.
Maude opened a gate and Seto stepped out and threw his arms around her neck. "You're not dead!"
Maude dropped her head tiredly on his shoulder. "No, I'm not. But others are." She gently shook Seto off and made another gate. Yami-Yugi stepped out and grabbed a fistful of her gray cloak.
"Idiot," he hissed. "I knew she wasn't a traitor! You were the ones who got her killed
when I could have saved her! Idiot. Do you know how stupid I think YOU are?"
Maude stared at him. "How could we have known you knew?!? You never said anything!" She pulled her cloak out of his grasp and turned away.
Seto put his arms around her shoulders and glared at Yami-Yugi. "Stop it. She's been through a lot." He led Maude away.
Yami-Yugi snorted. Then he shrank back to his normal size. "AHHHHHHH! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!?!"
Everyone turned to stared at him. He blushed and went over to his other friends.
Lilith went over to Fyari, who was sitting next to Teyva, staring blankly at her body. She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." That was all she could say before she sat down next to him and began crying also.
Halcyon stood off to one side, watching all of her friends, the Old Ones, cry their heads off. Everyone died. True, Teyva and Azari's deaths pulled at her heart. But they had done what they must. Well, Azari may not have, but Teyva did. Teyva had understood the consequences and taken the risk of death. But now there were no more spirit mages. Halcyon shook her head and turned away. Sorrow wasn't constructive. There were other problems, back where she should be. She had to go. She walked off into the forest without as much as glancing over her shoulder once.
Jaron looked up in time to see her wandering off into the forest. He put Azari on the ground. Gathering the earth forces to him, he displaced six feet of earth right next to her. He gently put her down and laid a leaf on her chest. The glowing of her stone had dimmed, then gone out. He let the earth settle back into place, then went searching for a rock. He came back with a relatively flat stone and began carving words onto it. When it was done, it read:
AZARI, SHADOW TALKER
THE SHADOWS SHALL MISS HER.
MAY SHE WALK THROUGH
DEATH'S HOUSE WITH NO FEAR.
He sat back and shoved it into the soft earth where she lay. He walked over to Teyva. Before he could start, Fyari held up his hand to stop him. He stood and gathered fire wood. Once he was done, he lay it in a spirit star and put Teyva in the middle, her collar and bracelets on her chest. Then he began speaking.
"May her spirit join those of the
ones who came before her with her
gift. 'When the black breath blows
and Death's shadow grows and all
lights pass, Life to the dying in the
spirit's hand lying.'"
He focused and the star went up in flames. Teyva didn't burn, she faded. She faded into a silver/purple mist which flowed over them all and seemed to whisper, "Farewell, young ones."
Fyari wiped his streaming eyes and he too walked away into the forest, after Halcyon. Fern let the fire burn low, then she put it out with a spout of seawater. Fern turned to Maude, Lilith, and Ryou and bowed. "Farewell. I must get back to my territory. I am glad that I was of assistance." She walked off into the forest in a different direction than Fyari and Halcyon. Jaron bowed to them and walked swiftly after her, leaving only four of the Old Ones in the clearing, two living, two dead.
Maude, with Seto's arms around her still, turned to Ryou with a pained look on her face. "I believe it is now that we must leave you. We have taught you all you may know without being forced to become one of us. Lilith and I will search for a replacement for Azari." She sighed and looked regretfully at the remnants of the star. "We will have to also find them a partner.
Maybe a time mage. We need a new one of those too." She and Lilith bowed to Ryou and the rest of his friends. Maude then disentangled herself from Seto, and walked over to Ryou. She kissed him gently on the cheek and smiled sadly. She and Lilith strode off into the trees. Seto followed them.
Go read JRR's books!
BETRAYAL, OR IS IT?
They both looked at the bed. One of them walked over and put their hand on Lith's forehead. Lith opened her eyes and said, "Teyva! You're here!" She looked over at the other girl. "Azari! You came too! I'm so glad."
Everyone looked at Teyva and Azari. Teyva was nothing like what they had all been visualizing. She looked like a punk. Her body was leanly built and she was dressed in a black leather tank top and tight black leather bell bottoms. Around her neck was a spiked dog collar and on both of her wrists was a spiked bracelet. She wore black leather platform boots and her hair was an odd purple and she had even stranger eyes, one green, the other purple. She was also wearing black lipstick and eye shadow. She bowed to Ryou and said in an odd, rasping voice, "You must be Ryou. Lilith told us of your peculiar problem. We are here to offer help."
Azari nodded. Her amber eyes were all they could see from underneath her black cloak. She shed the cloak and they say her properly. She had rather messy shoulder-length blue hair and cat ears. Azari was built like Teyva. She wore a black tunic and black pants. Her feet were bare. Around her neck was a roughly hewn silver choker with a pitch black stone as the center piece. Is seemed to glow with black light. She smiled at Lilith and they observed how pointy her
teeth were.
The doorbell rang. Tea went to go get it again. This time she was followed back by a young man and woman. Teyva smiled at them. "Hey Fern! Jaron." Azari retreated into a dark corner behind Teyva.
Fern smiled. She was tall and thin, almost wraith-like. She had waist-length deep blue hair and dark blue eyes. Her long robe was dark blue and there was kelp stuck to her. She had the scent of the sea about her.
Jaron grinned at Teyva and Azari. He had short brown-green hair and dark green eyes. He was short and stocky, a sharp contrast to Fern. He was wearing a dark green tunic and trousers. He, like Azari, went bare-footed. "Hey Teyva! Heelo Lilith. Haven't seen you guys for a while." He looked down sadly at Maude. "Poor Maude. She may be a warrior, but she still
needs someone to watch her back for her."
"Really?" Maude said, eyes still closed. Everyone jumped, excepting Teyva.
Teyva laughed. "I wondered how long you were going to lay there. Heelo Maude. Nice to see you still all in one piece."
Maude chuckled and sat up. She looked oddly at Seto. "How long have you been there? Wait, don't answer that. Hello all." She smiled at Fern, Jaron, and Azari. Fern smiled back and Jaron blushed. Azari began grinning like the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. She did evil eye and finger movements. Maude cracked up laughing.
Again the doorbell rang again. Tea looked at Lilith. "If this is your other friends, is everyone here yet?"
Lilith grinned at her. "Yep. You'll be able to stand still for a few moments."
Tèa went to get the doorbell. Joey, Tristan, Mai, and Yugi had crunched themselves into one corner. Ryou was sitting on the bed with his knees against his chest. Seto was sitting on the bed too. Everyone else besides Maude and Lilith were standing in various spots in the thankfully large room.
Tèa came back leading two more people. The middle-aged woman stopped at the doorway. She caught sight of all the other Old Ones and let out a harsh laugh. "Hah. Happy little party, this." She brushed back her silver hair back from her thin face. She was very short and thin. Her silver robe clung to her like a second skin. Her silver eyes darted from face to face, finally resting on Maude, who had tears of mirth running down her face. "My my. Dying, are we?" She turned to Ryou. "Forgive me. My name is Halcyon. These hooligans are my old friends."
The bright red haired mage Fyari slipped in behind Halcyon. His watery blue eyes shifted from face to face. He smoothed down his blood red robes. He ran his fingers through his messy hair and it stuck up even more. He gave Teyva a sly smile and said innocently, "Hello Teyva. Still hoping someone will adopt you? You should polish your collar more often. It's getting a bit cloudy."
Teyva glared at him. Then burst out laughing. "Oh Fyari. You delight in teasing me, don't you?"
Fyari flashed her a comically solemn bow. Then both of them cracked up and had to sit down.
Lilith sighed. "You people. Now you have to be serious. Ok. We are looking for a dark skinned woman with black hair. Her face resembles that of a rat. Her name is Ratri. Very fitting name. If you find her, mind call everyone else. Understand? Let's get going then." Everyone filed out. Maude told Othai to stay in the house and he sulked off. They went
downstairs and out the front door. Ryou turned to shut the door when he caught sight of a note in the keyhole. He opened it. It read:
I HAVE YOUR UNCLE. DON'T
WORRY ABOUT YOUR AUNT.
SHE IS A VERY GOOD FRIEND
OF MINE. SEE YOU AROUND.
LOVE,
Ratri
Teyva turned around to see where Ryou was. She walked back to him and took the note out of his trembling fingers. It was shot out of her hand with a familiar looking black arrow. "DUCK!!" Teyva yelled just as a torrent of arrows came whistling past their heads. She grabbed Ryou's arm and dragged him to the ground with everyone else..
Lilith stood up suddenly. "GET BACK DOWN YOU MORON!!!!" Maude screamed at her. Lilith shook her head. She began a spell. Tendrils of green seeped from her finger tips and began to weave into a vail. She let the last of the green snap into place. She motioned for everyone to get up. They did so cautiously, then saw that the arrows bounced off the vail. They all began running in the opposite direction as the archers.
Then Azari, Teyva, Lilith and Fyari stopped dead. Everyone else stopped to and looked at them.
"We're surrounded," Teyva whispered. She glanced wildly at the trees, which had begun to hum. Then she snapped up straight, eyes wide and face pale. "Ratri. What is Ratri backwards?" She looked at the rest of the Old Ones, eyes full of terror.
Azari stared at her. Then she spoke in an odd hissing whisper. "Do you mean that we are being pursued by IRTAR?!? We might as well just sit down and wait for her to find us!"
Jaron's shoulders slumped. "Now we know where she went. I kind of wish we hadn't found out."
Halcyon nodded, then saw the incomprehension on the faces of the young ones. "Irtar, or, as you call her, Ratri, is like us. She is the oldest of us. She is a time mage. She always was fascinated with things of power. She left us to search the world for powerful things. She was always too easy to impose upon. I suppose someone has offered her a reward for the Millennium Ring and for it's bearer's death." She turned to Yugi. "It would be wise if you left us. We will not ask you to go alone. We will transport you somewhere safe. If there is one."
Yugi nodded, eyes wide. Then he grew several feet and, in a deeper voice, said, "No. I will not leave. When friends are in danger I do not run."
Halcyon stared open-mouthed at him. "What?" She looked at Ryou, who was staring at him too. Halcyon turned back to Yami-Yugi. "Don't you understand? Your being here with that dratted Millennium Puzzle is just making it easier for Irtar to track us! You're killing your friend, not helping him!"
Yami-Yugi frowned and thought a moment. Then he looked at Seto. Seto backed away, wide-eyed. Yami turned back to Halcyon. "You speak wisdom, little bird. But I believe I can do more good than harm. I am coming. Now, what is the plan?"
Maude stepped forwards and grabbed a handful of Yami's clothing. "Do you know how stupid I think you are?"
Yami stared coldly back at her. "I believe this is a good choice. Unhand me."
Maude just grabbed him with her other hand too. "I'm about to do a gate spell and I'm going to shove you through, whether you like it or not." She glared at him. "Do I need to do that?"
Yami brought up his fist and hit Maude squarely on the left cheek. She winced but didn't let go. Finally Yami said, "It won't work." He smirked at her and kicked her.
Maude stared at him with a deep burning hatred. "I hate stupid people. And you're at the top of my list at the moment. Another thing. Don't you realize that if you are wounded, your mortal might die? Have you considered that?"
For the first time Yami actually stopped and thought. Then he shook his head. "I believe I know best for-"
"YOU ARE GOING TO GET US ALL KILLED!!! WHAT PART OF 'DEAD' DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Maude shook him violently, then began her gateing spell.
Yami took a step back from her. "You wouldn't understand my motives. And I do understand the word 'dead'." He glanced at the nearly totally constructed gate. "And that won't work."
Teyva came up behind him. "Yes, it will." Teyva threw a ball of purple fire at him and caught the rebounding flame in a box. She locked it and held it in front of Yami's astonished face. "Yes, I have your soul. Now, I am about to throw this through Maude's gate. And you will follow it. Understood?"
Yami's face was death-white. "How could you?" he whispered.
"Like this." Teyva tossed the box through the gate and Yami dove after it. Maude closed the gate. Teyva smiled at Maude. "Nice gateing, sister."
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH YUGI?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Tea screamed at Maude and Teyva.
Teyva looked coldly at her. "He was a danger to us. We will get him back unharmed, never fear."
Lilith stood very still. "Now, if you are quite done stealing souls, Teyva, we should get out of here." She Changed and they began mounting.
Ryou stopped. If he kept on running away, he would never get his Millennium Ring back. He had to go face Ratri. No, Irtar. This was confusing. He looked up and saw Maude looking at him with an understanding look on her face. She slid off Lilith's back and walked over. "You aren't going alone, youngster. Old Maude's a coming."
Fern, Fyari, Jaron, Teyva, and Azari all slid off Lilith's back too. They walked over to stand with Ryou and Maude. Lilith glanced at them, and nodded. She took flight before any of Ryou's friends could get off.
"Hey, I'm coming too." Seto stood there. He hadn't been on Lilith yet.
Maude groaned and covered her face. "Seto, Seto, Seto. You pain me."
Fern glared at him. "Why didn't you get on Lilith?!? You'll just get in the way!"
Maude wove the answer. They shoved Seto through the door and Maude closed it. She sighed. "Ok. We should go find Irtar."
Azari wove a shadow spell around them so that they would look like ordinary night shadows. They took to the fringe of the trees, silently stalking towards the archers. Lilith's barrier had faded without her there to maintain it. The archers had figured out that they weren't there anymore. Ryou was acutely aware of how loud his breathing was.
After ten minutes of running from tree to tree, Teyva finally found something. She waved frantically for them. They all came over. Teyva pointed to the clearing in front of their bush and stand of trees. Ratri stood there with Ryou's aunt by her side. His uncle was bound and gagged with four guards around him. Ryou began shivering uncontrollably. It was 'them'. His
shivering became more and more violent until he was sure the bush was quivering.
Then, to his horror, Teyva stepped out of the bush and walked to Ratri/Irtar. "Hey Irtar! How are you?"
Irtar swung around, then saw who it was and relaxed. "Oh, heelo Teyva. You startled me! Did you bring them?"
Ryou heard this and stared unbelieving at Teyva's back. She had betrayed them. Everyone else was also staring at her with astonishment quickly turning to hatred.
Teyva moved closer to Ryou's uncle and Irtar. "Yep. They're coming. Could I see the ring?"
Irtar, trusting as a small child, handed her the Ring. Teyva took it and began examining it. She kept inching slowly closer to Uncle Gregory.
Ryou and all the rest decided what to do at the same time. They jumped out of the bushes and attacked Irtar and Teyva. Or, at least, tried. Irtar sent up a lightning quick shield around Uncle Gregory, Teyva, herself, and Aunt Agatha.
Teyva looked at them. She saw the hatred in their eyes and flinched, as if hurt by it. She walked towards them, holding Ryou's Millennium Ring. "Don't hate me," she said pleadingly. "I had no choice."
But, it seemed to Ryou, that she was talking slightly over her shoulder. Irtar didn't seem to agree with him, though. She walked up behind Teyva, smirking. She waved sarcastically at all of them. "Heelo Fern! Maude, Jaron, Fyari, Halcyon, Azari. What a merry company. And what's this? Ryou Bakura? It must be a second christmas!"
Maude gave her a withering look. She caught Teyva's eyes and held them, managing to show Teyva the depths of her feelings. Teyva winced and looked pleadingly at them, willing them to understand.
Teyva stared at all of them. Oh if only she had thought to tell them she had spent the last hundred years getting Irtar to trust her! She had been spying on Irtar for them for years, pretending to be her ally. She had fed Irtar a bunch of fake information. If only she had thought to tell them!
Then Teyva imperceptibly tripped a spell she had set earlier. It drew all but a tiny bit of strength out of Irtar. Irtar screamed and the barrier broke. Fern, Fyari, Jaron, Halcyon, Maude, Azari, and Ryou all charged. Ryou went straight for his aunt. She screamed and tried to run. She tripped and fell, sprawling on the ground. Ryou grabbed her hands and feet, while
with his toes drawing the spell that would paralyze her. He finished it and his aunt stopped moving.
The rest of them had gone for Irtar, Teyva, and Uncle Gregory's guards. Fern, Jaron, Fyari, and Halcyon all took on their own guard. Azari went for Teyva and Maude charged Irtar. Ryou jumped up and ran over to Maude to help her.
Teyva and Azari looked at each other. Teyva still held the Millennium Ring in her hand. Azari stared at her, her gaze half sorrow, half hatred. "Why? Why, you little bitch?!" Azari tackled Teyva and bit her. Teyva cried out and Azari managed to get her collar and both of her bracelets off her. Teyva slashed at Azari and caught her across the forehead above her eyes.
Blood trickled into Azari's eyes as she took a long knife out of her sleeve. Before Teyva could kick her away, she struck. Teyva let out an agonized groan and looked up at Azari, her eyes full of more than physical pain.
"I..spent.....the......last......hundred years.....getting....... her..... to....... trust...... me...... so.....we...could..............use.......it against her. I'm........ sorry.. I..... never..told you," she managed to gasp. Then her heart pumped the last of the blood out of her system.
Azari stared at her in horror. "TEYVA!" She grabbed Teyva's shoulders and shook her gently. "Teyva! Oh, Teyva! Why didn't you tell me?!? Teyva!"
Teyva's head lolled on her shoulder as Azari pulled her into a sitting position. "Oh, Teyva! You stupid bitch! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!?"
When Teyva didn't respond, Azari realized she would never answer. She sank to the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest and cried. Cried for poor, stupid Teyva. Cried for herself and all the rest, who's thoughts about Teyva had been hateful ones and how greatly they had deceived themselves. Cried for the gift that Teyva had taken out of the world with
her. There were no more spirit mages. Teyva was the last one.
Maude and Ryou's battle with Irtar was not going very well. Irtar had put up a shield. They had put one up around her's. The shields made it so any spell they threw at her just soaked into the shield. Soon Fern, Fyari, and Jaron joined them. Halcyon was still grappling with her guard. Fyari had cut Uncle Gregory free. Uncle Gregory sat there rubbing his wrists
and watching the battles taking place.
Irtar saw Azari kill Teyva. "TEYVA!!!" she shrieked. She then realized that the Millennium Ring was still in Teyva's lifeless hands. And it then dawned on her what had just happened. She stared at Teyva, someone she had always thought of as a friend. Betraying her. But now she was dead. Dead.
With all of the mage's combined effort, they shot a bolt of multicolored light through both of the shields and hit Irtar. She screamed once, then was following Teyva down the walk to Death's house.
Fern lowered her hands and everyone else followed suit. She turned to see Halcyon laying on the ground next to her dead guard. Halcyon groaned and sat up, holding a large gash down her side.
Then Ryou caught sight of Azari sitting next to Teyva's corpse, crying. He walked over to Azari. "Why do you cry? She betrayed us."
Azari looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. "You don't understand," she croaked. "She told, me, as she was dying, what was really going on." She took the Millennium Ring from Teyva's stiff fingers and handed it to Ryou. "She was a spy for us. She gained Irtar's trust and used it against her. She was the reason the barrier around Irtar failed. And she's the
last of the spirit mages. And I killed her. I killed the best friend and partner I've ever had. I killed the last one with a link to the spirit world. I have murdered more that you will ever know." She turned from him, stood up, and walked away into the forest.
Ryou watched her go, then looked down at his Millennium Ring. Was this worth a life? No. It wasn't. It was only worth it's weight in sawdust, not blood. He looked down at Teyva, at the knife handle sticking out of her chest. Her face, twisted with pain. He bent down and picked up her collar and bracelets. He turned them over in his hands. He walked over to the
others, holding them.
They all looked at him, holding Teyva's jewelry. "She didn't betray us," he said quietly. "She was a spy for us. She gained Irtar's trust." He held up his Millennium Ring. "She was the one who took down Irtar's barriers. She was the one who held the Ring out of Irtar's reach. She betrayed Irtar, not us." He looked down at the Ring. "This is not worth flesh and blood. It is not worth a life, a soul, a spirit. And one who was the last of her kind."
Fyari stood up slowly and took the collar and bracelets from Ryou's hands. He ran his fingers over them, tears forming in his pale eyes. "Oh little puppy. How I wish you had told your master where you ran and with whom." One of his tears fell onto one of the spikes and slid down it, leaving a shiny track.
Everyone but Fyari and Ryou stared at the collar and bracelets in disbelief. Finally Halcyon struggled to her feet. "Where is Azari? I fear she will hurt herself in her grief over Teyva." She began loping the way Ryou pointed.
They all followed, Maude and Ryou helping Uncle Gregory. Fern did a gate spell and sent Ryou's aunt back to her house to be dealt with later. They followed the path that Azari, in her sorrow, had clearly left.
Once they found her, she was sitting cross legged on a stone by a stream, her back turned to them. Halcyon stumbled forward and touched Azari's shoulder. "Azari, you didn't know. There was no way you could have known." She shook Azari gently.
Azari fell backwards and slipped off the rock. Jaron gasped. With her other knife, Azari had slit her wrists. Ryou, though repulsed, moved forward. On closer inspection, he saw that she had cut words into herself. Blood oozed from the words: I am sorry Teyva I failed you.
Ryou drew back. He dropped the Millennium Ring on the ground, backing away from it. It had two people's blood on it. Teyva and Azari's. Halcyon jumped backwards from Azari, horror plainly written on her face. Fern walked over to Ryou. Maude just stood there, her eyes filling up with tears. Jaron walked over and picked up Azari. He started back to where Fyari
stood over Teyva's body.
Fern stopped in front of Ryou, picked up the Ring, and shoved it in his chest. "We sacrificed all for you. Don't you dare throw that on the ground!" She looked up at him, her thin face frighteningly passionate. "Teyva sacrificed her own life to get that back for you. True, it was partly to save the world from Irtar. But mostly it was to get it back for you. And you throw it on the ground." Fern glared at him. "Oh, great show of gratitude." She turned away from from him and followed the rest back to where Teyva lay.
Ryou thought for a moment. Fern was right. Teyva had done a lot for him. And now she was dead. And in exchange for her life he had cast away the thing she had died to save. He was ashamed. He put the ring around his neck, then followed them. When he got back to the clearing, Lilith was there with Joey, Tèa, Mai, and Tristan.
"Ryou?" Tea said cautiously, taking a step towards him. "Are you all right?"
Joey followed her. "You don't look so great."
"In fact, you look kinda bad," Tristan said, concerned.
Mai just looked around at all of the blood and death spread around her. Then she caught sight of Teyva. She stared at her, openmouthed.
Ryou fended off his friends. "I'm fine. Please, just let me sort things out." He sat down on the ground and put his head between his knees. The scent of blood was beginning to make him a bit queasy.
Maude opened a gate and Seto stepped out and threw his arms around her neck. "You're not dead!"
Maude dropped her head tiredly on his shoulder. "No, I'm not. But others are." She gently shook Seto off and made another gate. Yami-Yugi stepped out and grabbed a fistful of her gray cloak.
"Idiot," he hissed. "I knew she wasn't a traitor! You were the ones who got her killed
when I could have saved her! Idiot. Do you know how stupid I think YOU are?"
Maude stared at him. "How could we have known you knew?!? You never said anything!" She pulled her cloak out of his grasp and turned away.
Seto put his arms around her shoulders and glared at Yami-Yugi. "Stop it. She's been through a lot." He led Maude away.
Yami-Yugi snorted. Then he shrank back to his normal size. "AHHHHHHH! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!?!"
Everyone turned to stared at him. He blushed and went over to his other friends.
Lilith went over to Fyari, who was sitting next to Teyva, staring blankly at her body. She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." That was all she could say before she sat down next to him and began crying also.
Halcyon stood off to one side, watching all of her friends, the Old Ones, cry their heads off. Everyone died. True, Teyva and Azari's deaths pulled at her heart. But they had done what they must. Well, Azari may not have, but Teyva did. Teyva had understood the consequences and taken the risk of death. But now there were no more spirit mages. Halcyon shook her head and turned away. Sorrow wasn't constructive. There were other problems, back where she should be. She had to go. She walked off into the forest without as much as glancing over her shoulder once.
Jaron looked up in time to see her wandering off into the forest. He put Azari on the ground. Gathering the earth forces to him, he displaced six feet of earth right next to her. He gently put her down and laid a leaf on her chest. The glowing of her stone had dimmed, then gone out. He let the earth settle back into place, then went searching for a rock. He came back with a relatively flat stone and began carving words onto it. When it was done, it read:
AZARI, SHADOW TALKER
THE SHADOWS SHALL MISS HER.
MAY SHE WALK THROUGH
DEATH'S HOUSE WITH NO FEAR.
He sat back and shoved it into the soft earth where she lay. He walked over to Teyva. Before he could start, Fyari held up his hand to stop him. He stood and gathered fire wood. Once he was done, he lay it in a spirit star and put Teyva in the middle, her collar and bracelets on her chest. Then he began speaking.
"May her spirit join those of the
ones who came before her with her
gift. 'When the black breath blows
and Death's shadow grows and all
lights pass, Life to the dying in the
spirit's hand lying.'"
He focused and the star went up in flames. Teyva didn't burn, she faded. She faded into a silver/purple mist which flowed over them all and seemed to whisper, "Farewell, young ones."
Fyari wiped his streaming eyes and he too walked away into the forest, after Halcyon. Fern let the fire burn low, then she put it out with a spout of seawater. Fern turned to Maude, Lilith, and Ryou and bowed. "Farewell. I must get back to my territory. I am glad that I was of assistance." She walked off into the forest in a different direction than Fyari and Halcyon. Jaron bowed to them and walked swiftly after her, leaving only four of the Old Ones in the clearing, two living, two dead.
Maude, with Seto's arms around her still, turned to Ryou with a pained look on her face. "I believe it is now that we must leave you. We have taught you all you may know without being forced to become one of us. Lilith and I will search for a replacement for Azari." She sighed and looked regretfully at the remnants of the star. "We will have to also find them a partner.
Maybe a time mage. We need a new one of those too." She and Lilith bowed to Ryou and the rest of his friends. Maude then disentangled herself from Seto, and walked over to Ryou. She kissed him gently on the cheek and smiled sadly. She and Lilith strode off into the trees. Seto followed them.