Long chapter and it's a bit darker so an opinion is needed at the end of it. I'm on new ground here so all the advice I can get is helpful.
I am screwing up the plot of the animated series and I do not know the magna so don't bother shouting at me. I'll ignore you. Enjoy this chapter by the way as I preplanned it! Wow! Yay me!
I'm taking on board some of the suggestions that have been sent my way by the way, but I'm not saying who's are what so as to give you some surprises. I hope you enjoy this slightly darker turn I'm taking. It'll only last another chapter and a half then I'm back to my usual humor-self. I was just growing a bit tired of going around in the same bloody circles to the extent that I wanted to drive my key-board through my skull... Enjoy the distraction whilst it lasts and tell me what you think!
Chapter 8: Demons
The broad figure smiled, moving his hand to one of the pockets of his red suit and producing an object from the material depths. Holding up Yami's dueling deck, still inside the water-proof case she kept it in, Pegasus handed it to Tetsuo without looking, his cold eye still fixed on Yami as the Millennium Eye sparkled in the dim lighting.
"I shouldn't worry, Yami. I have no interest in you this time; my motives are purely business. I am, displeased, that my previous efforts to take over Kaiba.Corp have failed, and as of such I am planning to take the company using a different tactic to my former methods which have proved unsuccessful. As he is the father of your son there, I believe that you are a rather good bargaining chip to accomplish my goals."
Yami was sure that her face had remained coldly neutral throughout that self-important speech of his, but apparently Pegasus had seen something for he smiled in amusement and tipped his head to the side considering her. "You didn't know? Well I am surprised. The great Game King not knowing exactly what is going on at all times nor making an attempt. How interesting. Perhaps your prolonged period in that new body of yours is affecting your mind more than I had originally thought. No matter though."
"You won't achieve your goals Pegasus. You cannot compete with Kaiba in the business arena and win. He will crush you," she replied confidently, glaring with gusto at her old opponent.
Pegasus laughed, an ugly sound that made her want to strangle him just to cut off the noise. "Oh, I don't think so. Anyway, I did not come down here to converse with you, no matter how entertaining you are proving to be. I only wished to inform you of why you are here. If you do not cause too much of a problem then no harm will come to you. If you do-"
"No harm will come to her."
Pegasus turned slowly to face Tetsuo, his brow raised in surprise. Yami also clicked her eyes to him sharply, her own eyes widened at the firm tone in which he had suddenly spoken in.
"I beg your pardon Tetsuo," he demanded tightly, his back rigid now as he stared down at the smaller man who was still sat casually in his chair, staring up with resolution at his 'boss'.
"I said, she will not be harmed. It is not necessary to you and I shall see to it that she remains untouched personally if you disagree," Tetsuo replied evenly, his devilish eyes holding a steely tint as he held Pegasus's angered stare without flinching.
"You, are under only alive under my orders. You have no reason to believe that I won't kill you if you continue this insubordination," his employer hissed back with venom, his hands curling into fists. Yami had never heard such anger in his usually cool voice before; this guard was something interesting indeed.
"What makes you believe that you can kill me," Tetsuo countered, his hands raising and fingertips lightly coming together, his eyes still on Pegasus's.
Yami gasped at the sensation that rolled through her when he parted his fingers, her eyes rolling drunkenly before she regained her senses and grounded herself. Unable to see what was happening with Pegasus stood between her and the guard, she could still feel the enormous levels of dark energies that were swirling and pulsating in the room. Apparently Pegasus could sense it too, taking a step back from the still-sitting and yet menacing form. The power quickly faded as Tetsuo lowered his hands, a dangerous smirk pulling at his lips now.
"We will discuss this later," Pegasus snapped before turning on his heel and striding out of Yami's sight, the sound of his footsteps resounding as he walked down the corridor and slammed the heavy metal door shut behind him.
Tetsuo watched him go before clicking his eyes back to Yami. "Your couch should be arriving any minute now. I will require you to stand in the corner of your cell until it has been deposited and the men have left."
"You're from the Shadow Realm," Yami murmured in realisation, her skin still tingling at the contact with such dark energies. It had taken her a few moments to remember that feeling; it had been a long time since she was in the presence of such a powerful wielder of dark magic.
He grinned, seemingly pleased that she had figured it out so quickly. "Yes, as are you in a sense, Yugioh. I must say it is good to see you again, although I am fully aware that you do not have any memory of me. Such is the curse of being imprisoned for so many years inside a magical item."
"How do I know you?" Yami asked, admittedly curious now.
"You summoned me when you were pharaoh to forge the eight Millennium items before you sealed the entrances to the Shadow Realm. To encase such powerful magical energies you needed a powerful sorcerer to aid you and you chose me. I was returned to the Shadow Realm after you died securing the seal, but Pegasus dragged me back out a few years ago when he began to reassemble the Shadow Games once again.
"I believe he wished to make me a card as I had been before, but because you had summoned me once before and with the powers of his Millennium Eye still unpredictable to him, he inadvertently gave my soul a physical body. I have been in his employment ever since, which I have no real problem with."
"I'm sorry. I don't remember. But if you have indeed served me before why do you hold me prisoner now?"
"I am still protecting you. I have already said as much but I have no profound desire to make myself a significant problem to Pegasus. I have no desire to try and exist in this reality, in this century, on my own and I certainly have no desire to harm you. You will be released without incident when Mr. Kaiba bows to Pegasus's demands or, somehow, you manage to escape."
The last was said with a sly smile, his eyes darkening as they narrowed. Yami smiled also, nodding her head in a silent acknowledgement. "Why does Pegasus trust you? With his Eye he can easily tell when you lie or are concealing an emotion."
"My powers have not diminished in this world and despite his thoughts otherwise, he is not in complete control of that Eye. His arrogance clouds his judgement and that has allowed me to harness some of its powers. As a result, he cannot see what I truly think or feel. This could be helpful if Kaiba does not succumb to his demands and he attempts to harm you or the child."
He fell silent, standing up and motioning with a hand that Yami should move back. Steeping obediently into the far corner, Yami watched as the bars that comprised the cell door rose up and slid into the ceiling, leaving the doorway open for two men carrying a long piece of furniture to step through.
Placing the black leather couch on the floor, their eyes flickering to Yami warily, they moved back out and Tetsuo pressed the button beside the door again to bring the bars back down. Once they were locked back into place, Yami stepped back out of the corner and immediately moved to the couch, sighing in relief when she relaxed her weigh into the smooth material, the well padded surface easing the pain that had been shooting up and down her spine.
Waiting until the men had left, Tetsuo returned to his seat, stretching his legs out infront of him and crossing them at the ankles. "I have been wiping the tapes from the microphone in this corridor for the last few minutes but the technicians will suspect something is afoot if I do not relinquish control now. It would be preferable if you would refrain from speaking about anything I have just said to you."
"I understand. Thank you."
"You are most welcome."
****
"And you have absolutely no idea where he's holding her?" Yugi practically shouted at Seto, jumping abruptly from the seat as he finished relaying the details he had just received. The CEO had just arrived at the Game Shop after receiving a call from Pegasus demanding total ownership of Kaiba.Corp within the next forty-eight hours or he would begin to carry out his threats on Yami.
"Outside of the Duelist Kingdom I was unaware that he even had a facility. It isn't unfeasible that he had one built recently though, or he could have bought a building to do this. He has the money for it," Seto growled beginning to feel physically sick with concern now.
Tearing out his cell-phone, he punched in the number of the phone he had given Joey before he left with Honda to search for Tea. He could hear the teen struggling with something when he picked up, his breath coming hard down the line.
"Before ya ask we found Tea. She ain't looking too good though so we're taking her to the hospital now," he hissed down the line, grunting quietly as he adjusted Tea's weight around his neck.
The girl was still out cold, the blood drying down her back relaying the threat of a concussion. Honda had an arm around her waist lifting her slightly and Joey had one of her arms slung around his neck, his hand gripping her wrist firmly. They had been carrying her weight completely off of the ground before the phone rang but they didn't have time to stop moving whilst he talked.
"No. I've got a car out just tell me where you are and I'll bring you all here. I'll get a doctor too but we need to find out what the hell happened. Tea may be able to say where he took her."
"Stop shouting in my ear! We're... Outside of the arcade heading towards the pools."
Seto hung up instantly, punching in another number and stepping outside as he talked to the driver, planning to move swiftly onto the doctor's surgery after he finished that call.
Mai gave Yugi a small smile although her eyes were deeply concerned. "Can't you feel her? We could track her down if we knew which direction to head in."
Yugi shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears that threatened to fall. "I don't think she has the puzzle on. I can't feel her at all."
Mai put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically, well aware of how close the pair where. They were essentially one person and the feeling of having the other half of his essence cut off from him must have had him feeling terrible. In the physical sense Yugi looked pale, his hands twisting with each other nervously.
Seto re-emerged slipping his phone back into his pocket and taking a seat back at the table. He had barely sat down before the small device rung again. Frowning slightly, he pulled it back out again quickly and snapped down the line. Falling silent as he listened, Yugi and Mai saw him visibly pale before he jumped to his feet and began to practically scream curses down the line.
Cutting off the connection, he took a calming breath before meeting their eyes. "That was Pegasus. He has Tea, Joey and Honda too now."
"What can we do?" Yugi asked, eyes hardening with resolve. He had faced that lunatic before and was more than prepared to face him again, especially now that so many of his friends were in danger.
"I don't think there's anything we can do until we track down where he's holding them. I'll make some calls and see what buildings have had particularly high-tech security systems, computers and so forth installed. You two stay here incase by some miracle they get out and call."
Seto stalked back out to call one of his more valuable contacts in the country leaving Yugi and Mai alone once more.
"I hope they're alright. I'd feel better if I could feel Yami, but I can't feel anything without her puzzle on her."
****
"Give me the puzzle, Tetsuo," Yami demanded, reasoning that if Pegasus had given him her deck then he would probably be in possession of the puzzle too.
He shook his head slightly, standing unexpectedly and thumbing the controls for her door. "I do not have it otherwise you would be wearing it. I can only do so much and right now it is up to you, Yugioh. Please come with me. Something has happened and Pegasus has requested your presence above level."
Frowning as she tried to figure out what the hell had happened now, Yami moved off of the couch and approached the doorway. Once she had stepped outside, she felt a prickle of power from Tetsuo as he took her elbow gently in his gloved hand. Leading her down the corridor silently, they entered the lift at the end and watched the display light up as they rose. Apparently they had been on the deepest sublevel, some ten levels beneath the ground. Now they were rising to the twelfth floor, the lift chiming and the metal doors sliding open to allow them out of the tight space.
Yami rolled her eyes when she found herself to be in what could only be described as a throne room, the high ceiling walls lined with pillars and the tall curtains adorned with thick curtains that were pulled to one side. She could see her reflection in the floor as she approached the large chair at the far end of the room in which Pegasus sat, one long leg cross over the other and his finger-tips placed together infront of his eyes.
"Yami, I do believe I have found a more productive way of bringing Kaiba.Corp into my possession, and a few other trinkets whilst I am at it, and you're going to help me."
That was the only warning he gave before the room lurched and Yami felt her very soul being dragged out of her body by the Millennium Eye. Blinking to clear the disorientation of being pulled so abruptly into the Shadow Realm without using her own magic, Yami glanced about herself briefly. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a tall figure standing just to the right behind her.
It was Tetsuo, but instead of the customary black suit that his uniform comprised off, he now wore long, thick, sleeveless robes. Coal black, they were lined with a red the same hue as his pupils which seemed to glow in the dim. Peculiar markings in red and black criss-crossed up the length of both his arms and smaller symbols seemed to pour from the scars beneath this eyes continuously, the marks disappearing down his throat and into the dark folds of his robes. His hair remained the same; still a paling shade of purple pulled into a tail only this time there was a more intricate ornament holding it back rather than a simple tie.
Pegasus seemed less than pleased that he had come with them from the way he was glaring at the creature. Tetsuo's face remained stony and impassive though, staring forward seemingly into nothing as he stood regally.
Something felt wrong though, aside from the fact that the puzzle's weight was not against her chest as it should have been, even in this realm. Looking down, her eyes widened slightly when Yami saw that she had actually become a 'he' once more. His stomach entirely flat now, he could see his blue boots and saw that he was also in the clothes that he wore during the Duelist Kingdom.
"I thought it fitting that in this final duel you should appear as you did when we first met. Of course this form is merely a metaphysical of your mind so your son is still kicking away in your physical body," Pegasus assured in a voice that was anything but assuring.
"State your purpose for bringing us here," Yami snapped, his deeper voice resonating in the inky blackness that surrounded them.
Pegasus smiled oily, pleased that Yami's character hadn't changed since they had last met face-to-face. "Of course, you always were impatient. It's quite simple; we will both put up two things that we want and then duel for them. Will you duel?"
Yami paused in thought at that. Ordinarily he would have dueled without question as Pegasus obviously had something that he wanted, even if he was currently unaware of it. But in the Shadow-Realm any damage done to her monsters during the game would be reflected onto himself; their minds were connected to this game and if the mind is damaged then the body follows. He couldn't afford that with his body in it's current state.
"No."
Pegasus was obviously surprised at the response, his expression displaying as much before it smoothed over into its usual arrogant state. He had expected Yami too comply and then demand that they start immediately. This was most unusual.
"I will not duel you, but I shall play another game with you, one that is not tied as greatly to my physical state as Duel Monsters. What are you playing for?"
He smirked. Yami was so predictable at times. "If I win, I will automatically obtain ownership of Kaiba.Corp-"
"That isn't mine to wager!" Yami interrupted growing more furious by the second. Being dragged into the Shadow Realm through his nemeses' powers rather than his own was bad enough, but now the lunatic was making these ridiculous demands of him.
"No, but I think that the second thing that I bet will be incentive enough to make you wager that," Pegasus replied easily before waving a hand, a spotlight illuminating a few yards behind and to the side of him. Yami watched as three figures huddled on the ground came into view, grinding his teeth hard when he recognized them.
Joey and Honda were both knelt either side of Tea who seemed to be injured and unconscious on the ground. The blond had his arm raised to shield his eyes from the light but lowered it when he spotted Yami. Shouting soundlessly, he motioned to Tea before making various gestures at Pegasus, obviously unaware that he couldn't be heard.
"I tire quickly of their cheer-leading, so I thought it better for them to be silent this time. Now, if I win, I will take over Kaiba.Corp without question and retain ownership of their souls, although I may be too late for the girl. Her injury is quite severe."
"Damn you Pegasus! Fine, but if I win, you'll return my friends to me and allow us to all go free. Also, you will never make another attempt to take Kaiba.Corp as your own," Yami shouted even though it was not necessary. His voice carried easily over the void, but with the anger threatening to overflow in his spirit he felt the need to release some of the emotions, lest he have Pegasus headless and gutted despite the consequences.
"Deal. Now, as I brought you here quite against your will I shall allow you to chose the game."
"We will select a single card, not from our own decks, but from the Shadow Realm itself. The one with the higher attack power wins."
"I accept, now I – What the hell do you think you're doing?! How dare you?!" Pegasus began shouting in outrage no longer looking at Yami but at Tetsuo instead.
Turning, he watched as the robed figure glided forward and produced the Millennium Puzzle from the depths of his robes. Reaching out, he dropped the weight into Yami's palm before producing his dueling deck also, slipping into his deep pocket whilst Yami stared.
Turning to Pegasus now, Tetsuo spoke in a voice that was essentially the same as it had been in the physical realm, only this time it echoed about the blackness ominously. "You agreed to play Yugioh and as of such you have allowed him permission to his Puzzle. The King of Games does not play without it."
"Fine," Pegasus snarled out before making a quick motion in the air, his hand snapping back to him with a single card between his fingers. Turning it over to see the face, he smiled smugly before tossing the card between them, watching with mild interest as it exploded into a bright light that bulged and expanded until it had taken a recognizable shape.
"I summon the Tri Horned Dragon."
Yami stared dumbly at the broad head of the dragon, the beast lowering its skull to stare directly into his eyes, the cold depths contrasting to the fire in his own.
//Oh fuck.//
TBC
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