Moon Shadow: ...Nothing to say...nothing at all. I am silenced.
Endless Myth: It'll be okay. Really.
Moon Shadow:
Endless Myth: Well...here's chapter five...looks like I'll be doing a lot of typing.
*** Chapter Five
"AND NOW WE WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION, THAT THE DUELIST KINGDOM TOURNAMENT, AFTER BEING CLOSED FOR FIFTEEN YEARS, WILL BE REOPENED. YES, DUEL MONSTER'S FANS, THE TOURNAMENT WILL TAKE THIS PLACE THIS SUMMER AND WILL BE OPEN TO ANY REGISTERED DUELISTS.
AFTER BEING TURNED DOWN BY KAIBA CORPS, MR. HOSHI OF TOKYO, JAPAN, WENT TO INDUSTRIAL ILLUSIONS. THE GRANDSON OF THE LATE MAXIMILLION PEGASUS, PETER PEGASUS, ACCEPTED HIS OFFER AND HAS COMPLETELY RESTORED THE ISLAND-
Seto Kaiba turned off the radio and slammed his desk with his fist. Lee, sitting at the computer, looked up.
"Dad? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. What time did you say you had to leave?"
"Um, Sara said she's be here to pick me up around five-"
"Weren't you just with those people yesterday?"
"Yes. But Ben and Sara and Matt have homework that they have to get finished before tomorrow, so Tim and I thought we'd go over and keep them company while they worked."
"Why aren't you in school today, anyway?"
"Teacher workday." she grinned. "Three day weekend."
"Oh. Well, you have five minutes. Do you want me to walk you down?"
"No, I'll be fine." Lee signed off of the computer and started towards the door, but her father's secretary poked her head in the door.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba?"
"Yes?" he answered impatiently. Lee backed away from the door.
"Mr. Hoshi, from Industrial Illusions, is here to see you. Shall I have him come in?"
"Fine." he scowled. "Tell him to make it quick." The secretary nodded and left, and in a moment was replaced by Mr. Hoshi, who was smiling.
"What do you want?" Seto snarled, pulling Lee against him, his hand on her shoulder.
"I needed to speak with you." Mr. Hoshi looked towards Lee. "In private, I thought-Oh, but this must be you young daughter." He extended his hand and Lee coolly shook it. "Amazing how much she looks like her mother," he said, but he was looking at Seto when he did. Lee stared at him.
I don't look anything like my mother, she thought, puzzled.
"Lee," Seto said, "Why don't you go down and wait for Sara?"
"'Kay." Lee said, happy to leave. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Hoshi." She added at the last minute, and skipped out of the office. She pressed the 'down' button on the elevator and waited impatiently for it to arrive. As she was waiting, Mr. Hoshi came bursting out of her father's office, looked rather ruffled. He stood in front the elevator. When he noticed her he smiled.
"Oh, Lebecca," he said, and moved to stand next to her. Lee smiled shakily and looked impatiently up at the counter on the elevator. 9...10...11...it had to get all the way up to twenty. She gazed out the window at the rain slapping the windowpane, uncomfortably aware of Mr. Hoshi standing right next to her. She jumped when she felt something on her arm, and whirled around to see him grasping her arm in his rough hand.
"Let go of me, please." She said, her eyes flashing dangerously. He smiled and pulled her up to him.
"Lee Kaiba." he growled. "I'll nail you someday for breaking the law, girl."
"Let me go!"
"Just wait-"
"Mr. Hoshi-" a cold voice broke in. Both he and Lee looked back and saw the slim figure of Seto Kaiba in the door of his office. Mr. Hoshi dropped Lee's arm. "-If you lay a hand on my daughter, I swear to god that security will escort you to jail before you can say a word in your defense."
"Well, Mr. Kaiba, you see, maybe you-"
"Leave. Now." he said coldly, and Mr. Hoshi nodded and slunk out of the room, going through the door labeled STEPS. "Lebecca-"
"Dad-I have to go." She flashed him a quick smile and stepped into the elevator, the sliding door soon blocking her father from her view.
"Seto, we have to tell her."
"We've been through this, Serenity." he sighed. They were standing in the kitchen of the Kaiba house. "If we tell her now, it will ruin everything we've tried to keep secret for sixteen years."
"You know how I feel about keeping this kind of secret."
"If Lee finds out, she'll run off and do something stupid, you know she will, sweetheart."
"Yes."
"I don't want her to get hurt. I...." he looked down at the floor and then up at his wife again. "I feel like she's my daughter. I feel responsible for her. And what Mai would do if I let her daughter be discovered after all this time..." he sank down in a chair. Serenity came over and stood next to him, her hands resting on his shoulders. He reached up and covered her small hand with his own, and closed his tired eyes.
"If you were in charge of a country, what would you do first?" Lee asked dreamily from her place on Ben's living room floor. Tim and Matt were playing video games in front of the television, and Ben and Sara were stretched out on the floor with their textbooks besides them, doing calculus homework.
At her question, Ben looked up. "Make skateboarding the national sport," he said immediately, and looked down at his math again.
"Okay. Tim, how about you?"
"I dunno. Um...make it illegal to give homework on the weekends. Matt?"
Matt pressed pause on the video game. "I honestly have no idea." he said, and smiled at Lee.
"You're boring." she laughed.
"Sorry." he turned back to the game.
"What would you do, Lee?" Sara asked without looking up.
"That's easy. I would-"
"Oh, oh, wait!" Tim said sarcastically. "I bet I can guess it! You would make it...legal for girls to duel! Right?"
"Maybe." Lee said, offended. "Or maybe I would just make it illegal for anyone to play."
"Yeah, but then you couldn't either," he pointed out. Then, "Dammit, Matt!"
"Pay attention." Matt said, still absorbed in the game.
"I could play if I wanted to." Lee responded to Tim. "If I was in charge, I could do whatever I wanted."
"But who would you play?" Ben asked. "No offense, Lee, but even you aren't quite good enough to play Duel Monsters by yourself.
"All right, you win." Lee said, and stared out the window again. Tim threw down the controller.
"Matt-"
"That's five bucks right there, man."
Tim sighed and rolled over on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He reached into his backpack, lying on the ground near him, and pulled out his sphere, tossing it up and down to himself. Lee was sitting next to the wall, and Matt had turned off the game and was writing his monologue for English.
"Lee-didn't you have this assignment?"
"Yeah. But I finished it."
"Cool. You want to help me?"
"No."
"Oh." He tapped his pencil against his paper and looked up again. "Do you have a pen I could borrow?"
"Sure, let me get it." Lee reached behind her for her purse and rummaged through it looking for the pen. "Oh crud-" she had dropped her own sphere in her search, and it rolled across the floor. She reached for it, but as her fingers clasped around it, she slipped on a loose piece of paper and flew up, fumbling for the sphere as she fell. It flew through the air towards the floor.
At the same time, Tim's fingers slipped off the surface of the glass ball, causing his sphere to fall to the ground. The two orbs collided in midair, and everyone in the room flinched, expecting to see the delicate glass shatter on contact. But instead there was just a sickening crunch, and both spheres hit the ground, glowing bright as the sun. Lee looked across at Tim, and he met her eyes; they both reached for one of the spheres.
Ben had jumped up and was peering over Tim's shoulder. In a minute he turned back to Lee.
"What does it say?" he asked quietly. Lee looked down at the sphere cradled in her hands. On one side, a golden eye shone bright. She turned it over in her fingers, studying it intently. On the other side, in the same color as the eye, were the words:
Seeing beyond the shadows is what I do best; What lies in the future is your destiny to see. Gazing past the veil of time to see what lies ahead Using the power you now hold in you hand, You can see through the shadows using innocent eyes.
"What does it mean?" Matt asked, standing behind Lee. Sara was leaning back on the wall away from the action. "Tim, do you know what yours means?"
"Does your sphere even have anything on it?" Lee put it.
"Yeah. Yeah, it does. It says,
'Reflected in you, reflected in me, Using human eyes to see what should not be seen. The past is mystical and far away, But the power you have within Can know what lies behind the wall of time.'
I have no idea what it means. Unless..." his voice faded and he slipped his hand in to his pocket and he pulled out two worn cards. Without a word he held up the two trap cards for everyone to see. Shadow of Eyes and Mirror Wall.
Lee found her voice. "Tim." she said, her voice calm. "How can the words on these spheres have anything to do with those two cards?"
"Lee, can't you see? They fit! They fit perfectly!"
"No, Tim." She said. She pointed towards the cards. "Read the cards. They have to do with that."
"Lee, listen!" Tim gestured towards her sphere. "Look. See how it refers to shadows? Look at the name of the card. And 'with innocent eyes'?" Tim shook his head. "I'm right. My mother gave me these cards. She used them all the time. And my mother gave me this sphere. I don't know where you got yours, but you have to trust me."
"Well what about the other one?" Lee and Tim were face to face now, with Matt standing near them, Sara and Ben off to the side, neither of them saying anything.
"The other one? Look how easy it is! Reflecting? Mirrors reflect. And the person is supposed to 'tear down the wall'. Mirror Wall? Why can't you see it?" He was practically shouting. "We could-this could give us the answers to everything. I don't know about you, but I think that there's probably some connection to why we look alike and why we both have one of the spheres."
"Tim. There may be, but we don't know anything about this!"
"I guess we've reversed roles now, haven't we?"
"What?"
"Before it was me who was reluctant to use the magic. Now it's you."
"I don't have any reason to risk anything for this!"
"What are you risking?" Lee didn't answer him. "Exactly. Lee-" he said, quietly now. He leaned forward towards her. "Lee, I don't know anything about this either. But I've been trying for so long to find out about my past and now you're here and it's unlocked so many new doors-if the magic of the Millennium Spheres can help me find my father, or bring back my mother, then I have to." He stared at her. "And it won't work unless we try together."
Lee looked down at the floor. Then she felt something on her hand, and saw Shadow of Eyes being pushed into her hand. She clasped her fingers around it and looked up at Tim. Then she smiled. "Lets go." She held up the card. "What do we do?"
"I don't know."
"Guys," Matt spoke up. "Guys, don't do this. I couldn't stand it if you...if you were hurt."
"Don't worry, Matt." Sara said. "I think this is-that is, I think this isn't such a bad idea." She looked up at Ben and pressed against him. "Right?"
"I don't know." Ben said hesitantly. "This whole magic thing...Hey Tim, maybe Lee's right. No offense, this whole 'seeing into the past' thing, I don't know, just seems like a lot of bull to me." He wrapped his arm around Sara.
"I'm right." Tim said, exasperatedly. "I know I'm right. But we're never going to find out if we don't do anything."
"You're right about that, at least." Lee said. "Let's get this show on the road. Maybe if we...god, I don't know. I didn't ever learn this is in Home Ec."
"Maybe you should say the poem or something, and hold the cards." Matt suggested. They all stared at him, and he shrugged. "I don't know, it always works in books."
"Well, at least it's a suggestion," Tim said. "Which poem should we say first?"
"Why don't you say yours and I'll say mine? Then if something does happen, we'll be together at least."
"Okay."
"All right." Lee paused. "You know I feel really stupid, right?"
"That makes two of us."
"Good." Lee took a deep breath. "On three, okay? One...two...three..."
'Seeing beyond shadows is what I do best; What lies in the future is your destiny to see. Gazing past the veil of time to see what lies ahead Using the power you now hold in your hand You can see through the shadows using innocent eyes.'
Lee's clear voice chanted the words in perfect harmony with Tim, his voice lower than hers.
'Reflected in you, reflected in me, Using human eyes to see what should not be seen. The past is mystical and far away, But the power you have within Can know what lies behind the wall of time.'
When they finished, their eyes met and then broke, each staring down at the card in their hand.
The surface of each card, where the picture would normally be had turned dark silver, and it was swirling downwards like a twister, pulling them down. In her card, Lee could see a dark, wispy mist that parted to reveal more words:
Combine the powers and unlock the secrets Open the doors of your mind to me Open wide the gates of time.
And then they were gone.
Peter Pegasus, surveying the restoration of the Duelist Kingdom Island from a window, felt a jolt run through his body. He whirled around and was faced with the full-length mirror. He reached out to touch it, then leaned back with a start.
"The twin spheres have been activated," he whispered. "The magic will be destroyed." He turned away from the mirror. "Hoshi!" he barked. "Kaiba, did you talk to him?"
"Yes sir."
"And the girl. You met her?"
"Yes sir." "Hoshi, the girl.... and the boy, her brother...they must both die within the year."
"Sir, I-"
Peter whirled around and faced Hoshi directly. "And Mai Valentine..."
"Yes, sir?"
"Kill her, too."
"And the father..."
Peter smiled, and the Millennium Eye flashed. "No. We'll just let him suffer." And laughed...
***
Mai was sleeping, her hair spread out on the pillow, breathing in and out softly. A breeze blew the window open, and the wind that blew into the room woke her. She opened her eyes sleepily and rolled over, facing the ceiling. She sighed, then rose, and walked quietly into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water, and sat at the table to drink it, the cool liquid running down her throat. When she was finished, she set the glass in the sink, and tiptoed through the hall, stopping at the door of the room where her children slept.
She leaned against the doorframe and cocked her head, watching the small figures that were her daughter and son move up and down slowly-
But they weren't moving. Mai stepped closer and peered down into the cradle, just to reassure herself, but when she looked down she had to stifle a scream-her children weren't there. She put a hand on the rim of the cradle to steady herself, took a deep breath, closed her eyes and opened them again. Her face hardened and her eyes flashed dangerously. Mai heard a noise at the window and ran to look out. She saw a shadowy figure climbing down the side of her fifth story apartment. The figure looked up and saw Mai standing at the window. He started and began to climb faster. Mai ran out of the room, and in a flash was dressed. Her deck she slipped into her pocket. Her heart was beating hard, and she was aware of the risk she was taking.
Mai slipped out of the building and started down the deserted street. As she walked cautiously through the city, she thought she could make out a figure lurking in the shadows. As she drew closer, the figure started running, and kept running. Mai broke into a run, too, and she followed him through the city, her heart pounding in her chest, and her muscles aching. She chased him out of the city and to the seashore. He stopped running next to a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. He turned.
"My, my, Ms. Valentine." He said corrosively, "Come to reclaim your children? They are your only hope of regaining your dignity, aren't they." It wasn't a question.
"Stop playing games, Peter!" Mai gasped, clutching her side. "You know that I didn't free that monster!"
"Stop playing games? Why should I? It's you who have to do that. And you did free that dragon. I set you up, of course, but you just walked into my trap unknowingly, like a fly caught in a spider's web." He laughed at the woman standing in front of him. "And now you're children are in my hands."
"If you hurt them-"
"Then what?" he spat. "What will you do then, Mai?" When she didn't answer, he looked down at the two helpless children lying at his feet, wrapped in a blanket, still asleep. "If your children die tonight.no one will be able to save the world. These children are the only people who can stop me." He narrowed his eyes and the golden eye glowed in his right socket. "These twins.with the power they have.they can alter the past, influence the future. Oh, not for a long while, I should think. Maybe sometime around...oh, age sixteen. But I want to get rid of them as soon as possible." He held up a knife, and the moonlight glanced off the silver blade, sharp as a sword. "Say goodbye to your children, Mai Valentine. Your only hope will be gone."
"Peter, please, I'll do anything," she begged, tears glinting in her eyes, but he had already plunged the blade downwards, and the only sounds were that of Mai screaming, Peter laughing, and a baby crying.
Across the world from that cliff, Joey Wheeler turned over in his sleep.
*** Endless Myth: There! Are you happy?
Moon Shadow: Yeah. Just in a bad mood, I guess.
Endless Myth: Ha! Tell me about it. You just don't want to go to school tomorrow.
Moon Shadow: Tell me about it. Please review, people! Maybe it'll make me feel better.
Endless Myth: Just press the little button and give us thirty seconds of your time.well, maybe forty-five if you want to click on the "favorites" button.
Endless Myth: It'll be okay. Really.
Moon Shadow:
Endless Myth: Well...here's chapter five...looks like I'll be doing a lot of typing.
*** Chapter Five
"AND NOW WE WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION, THAT THE DUELIST KINGDOM TOURNAMENT, AFTER BEING CLOSED FOR FIFTEEN YEARS, WILL BE REOPENED. YES, DUEL MONSTER'S FANS, THE TOURNAMENT WILL TAKE THIS PLACE THIS SUMMER AND WILL BE OPEN TO ANY REGISTERED DUELISTS.
AFTER BEING TURNED DOWN BY KAIBA CORPS, MR. HOSHI OF TOKYO, JAPAN, WENT TO INDUSTRIAL ILLUSIONS. THE GRANDSON OF THE LATE MAXIMILLION PEGASUS, PETER PEGASUS, ACCEPTED HIS OFFER AND HAS COMPLETELY RESTORED THE ISLAND-
Seto Kaiba turned off the radio and slammed his desk with his fist. Lee, sitting at the computer, looked up.
"Dad? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. What time did you say you had to leave?"
"Um, Sara said she's be here to pick me up around five-"
"Weren't you just with those people yesterday?"
"Yes. But Ben and Sara and Matt have homework that they have to get finished before tomorrow, so Tim and I thought we'd go over and keep them company while they worked."
"Why aren't you in school today, anyway?"
"Teacher workday." she grinned. "Three day weekend."
"Oh. Well, you have five minutes. Do you want me to walk you down?"
"No, I'll be fine." Lee signed off of the computer and started towards the door, but her father's secretary poked her head in the door.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba?"
"Yes?" he answered impatiently. Lee backed away from the door.
"Mr. Hoshi, from Industrial Illusions, is here to see you. Shall I have him come in?"
"Fine." he scowled. "Tell him to make it quick." The secretary nodded and left, and in a moment was replaced by Mr. Hoshi, who was smiling.
"What do you want?" Seto snarled, pulling Lee against him, his hand on her shoulder.
"I needed to speak with you." Mr. Hoshi looked towards Lee. "In private, I thought-Oh, but this must be you young daughter." He extended his hand and Lee coolly shook it. "Amazing how much she looks like her mother," he said, but he was looking at Seto when he did. Lee stared at him.
I don't look anything like my mother, she thought, puzzled.
"Lee," Seto said, "Why don't you go down and wait for Sara?"
"'Kay." Lee said, happy to leave. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Hoshi." She added at the last minute, and skipped out of the office. She pressed the 'down' button on the elevator and waited impatiently for it to arrive. As she was waiting, Mr. Hoshi came bursting out of her father's office, looked rather ruffled. He stood in front the elevator. When he noticed her he smiled.
"Oh, Lebecca," he said, and moved to stand next to her. Lee smiled shakily and looked impatiently up at the counter on the elevator. 9...10...11...it had to get all the way up to twenty. She gazed out the window at the rain slapping the windowpane, uncomfortably aware of Mr. Hoshi standing right next to her. She jumped when she felt something on her arm, and whirled around to see him grasping her arm in his rough hand.
"Let go of me, please." She said, her eyes flashing dangerously. He smiled and pulled her up to him.
"Lee Kaiba." he growled. "I'll nail you someday for breaking the law, girl."
"Let me go!"
"Just wait-"
"Mr. Hoshi-" a cold voice broke in. Both he and Lee looked back and saw the slim figure of Seto Kaiba in the door of his office. Mr. Hoshi dropped Lee's arm. "-If you lay a hand on my daughter, I swear to god that security will escort you to jail before you can say a word in your defense."
"Well, Mr. Kaiba, you see, maybe you-"
"Leave. Now." he said coldly, and Mr. Hoshi nodded and slunk out of the room, going through the door labeled STEPS. "Lebecca-"
"Dad-I have to go." She flashed him a quick smile and stepped into the elevator, the sliding door soon blocking her father from her view.
"Seto, we have to tell her."
"We've been through this, Serenity." he sighed. They were standing in the kitchen of the Kaiba house. "If we tell her now, it will ruin everything we've tried to keep secret for sixteen years."
"You know how I feel about keeping this kind of secret."
"If Lee finds out, she'll run off and do something stupid, you know she will, sweetheart."
"Yes."
"I don't want her to get hurt. I...." he looked down at the floor and then up at his wife again. "I feel like she's my daughter. I feel responsible for her. And what Mai would do if I let her daughter be discovered after all this time..." he sank down in a chair. Serenity came over and stood next to him, her hands resting on his shoulders. He reached up and covered her small hand with his own, and closed his tired eyes.
"If you were in charge of a country, what would you do first?" Lee asked dreamily from her place on Ben's living room floor. Tim and Matt were playing video games in front of the television, and Ben and Sara were stretched out on the floor with their textbooks besides them, doing calculus homework.
At her question, Ben looked up. "Make skateboarding the national sport," he said immediately, and looked down at his math again.
"Okay. Tim, how about you?"
"I dunno. Um...make it illegal to give homework on the weekends. Matt?"
Matt pressed pause on the video game. "I honestly have no idea." he said, and smiled at Lee.
"You're boring." she laughed.
"Sorry." he turned back to the game.
"What would you do, Lee?" Sara asked without looking up.
"That's easy. I would-"
"Oh, oh, wait!" Tim said sarcastically. "I bet I can guess it! You would make it...legal for girls to duel! Right?"
"Maybe." Lee said, offended. "Or maybe I would just make it illegal for anyone to play."
"Yeah, but then you couldn't either," he pointed out. Then, "Dammit, Matt!"
"Pay attention." Matt said, still absorbed in the game.
"I could play if I wanted to." Lee responded to Tim. "If I was in charge, I could do whatever I wanted."
"But who would you play?" Ben asked. "No offense, Lee, but even you aren't quite good enough to play Duel Monsters by yourself.
"All right, you win." Lee said, and stared out the window again. Tim threw down the controller.
"Matt-"
"That's five bucks right there, man."
Tim sighed and rolled over on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He reached into his backpack, lying on the ground near him, and pulled out his sphere, tossing it up and down to himself. Lee was sitting next to the wall, and Matt had turned off the game and was writing his monologue for English.
"Lee-didn't you have this assignment?"
"Yeah. But I finished it."
"Cool. You want to help me?"
"No."
"Oh." He tapped his pencil against his paper and looked up again. "Do you have a pen I could borrow?"
"Sure, let me get it." Lee reached behind her for her purse and rummaged through it looking for the pen. "Oh crud-" she had dropped her own sphere in her search, and it rolled across the floor. She reached for it, but as her fingers clasped around it, she slipped on a loose piece of paper and flew up, fumbling for the sphere as she fell. It flew through the air towards the floor.
At the same time, Tim's fingers slipped off the surface of the glass ball, causing his sphere to fall to the ground. The two orbs collided in midair, and everyone in the room flinched, expecting to see the delicate glass shatter on contact. But instead there was just a sickening crunch, and both spheres hit the ground, glowing bright as the sun. Lee looked across at Tim, and he met her eyes; they both reached for one of the spheres.
Ben had jumped up and was peering over Tim's shoulder. In a minute he turned back to Lee.
"What does it say?" he asked quietly. Lee looked down at the sphere cradled in her hands. On one side, a golden eye shone bright. She turned it over in her fingers, studying it intently. On the other side, in the same color as the eye, were the words:
Seeing beyond the shadows is what I do best; What lies in the future is your destiny to see. Gazing past the veil of time to see what lies ahead Using the power you now hold in you hand, You can see through the shadows using innocent eyes.
"What does it mean?" Matt asked, standing behind Lee. Sara was leaning back on the wall away from the action. "Tim, do you know what yours means?"
"Does your sphere even have anything on it?" Lee put it.
"Yeah. Yeah, it does. It says,
'Reflected in you, reflected in me, Using human eyes to see what should not be seen. The past is mystical and far away, But the power you have within Can know what lies behind the wall of time.'
I have no idea what it means. Unless..." his voice faded and he slipped his hand in to his pocket and he pulled out two worn cards. Without a word he held up the two trap cards for everyone to see. Shadow of Eyes and Mirror Wall.
Lee found her voice. "Tim." she said, her voice calm. "How can the words on these spheres have anything to do with those two cards?"
"Lee, can't you see? They fit! They fit perfectly!"
"No, Tim." She said. She pointed towards the cards. "Read the cards. They have to do with that."
"Lee, listen!" Tim gestured towards her sphere. "Look. See how it refers to shadows? Look at the name of the card. And 'with innocent eyes'?" Tim shook his head. "I'm right. My mother gave me these cards. She used them all the time. And my mother gave me this sphere. I don't know where you got yours, but you have to trust me."
"Well what about the other one?" Lee and Tim were face to face now, with Matt standing near them, Sara and Ben off to the side, neither of them saying anything.
"The other one? Look how easy it is! Reflecting? Mirrors reflect. And the person is supposed to 'tear down the wall'. Mirror Wall? Why can't you see it?" He was practically shouting. "We could-this could give us the answers to everything. I don't know about you, but I think that there's probably some connection to why we look alike and why we both have one of the spheres."
"Tim. There may be, but we don't know anything about this!"
"I guess we've reversed roles now, haven't we?"
"What?"
"Before it was me who was reluctant to use the magic. Now it's you."
"I don't have any reason to risk anything for this!"
"What are you risking?" Lee didn't answer him. "Exactly. Lee-" he said, quietly now. He leaned forward towards her. "Lee, I don't know anything about this either. But I've been trying for so long to find out about my past and now you're here and it's unlocked so many new doors-if the magic of the Millennium Spheres can help me find my father, or bring back my mother, then I have to." He stared at her. "And it won't work unless we try together."
Lee looked down at the floor. Then she felt something on her hand, and saw Shadow of Eyes being pushed into her hand. She clasped her fingers around it and looked up at Tim. Then she smiled. "Lets go." She held up the card. "What do we do?"
"I don't know."
"Guys," Matt spoke up. "Guys, don't do this. I couldn't stand it if you...if you were hurt."
"Don't worry, Matt." Sara said. "I think this is-that is, I think this isn't such a bad idea." She looked up at Ben and pressed against him. "Right?"
"I don't know." Ben said hesitantly. "This whole magic thing...Hey Tim, maybe Lee's right. No offense, this whole 'seeing into the past' thing, I don't know, just seems like a lot of bull to me." He wrapped his arm around Sara.
"I'm right." Tim said, exasperatedly. "I know I'm right. But we're never going to find out if we don't do anything."
"You're right about that, at least." Lee said. "Let's get this show on the road. Maybe if we...god, I don't know. I didn't ever learn this is in Home Ec."
"Maybe you should say the poem or something, and hold the cards." Matt suggested. They all stared at him, and he shrugged. "I don't know, it always works in books."
"Well, at least it's a suggestion," Tim said. "Which poem should we say first?"
"Why don't you say yours and I'll say mine? Then if something does happen, we'll be together at least."
"Okay."
"All right." Lee paused. "You know I feel really stupid, right?"
"That makes two of us."
"Good." Lee took a deep breath. "On three, okay? One...two...three..."
'Seeing beyond shadows is what I do best; What lies in the future is your destiny to see. Gazing past the veil of time to see what lies ahead Using the power you now hold in your hand You can see through the shadows using innocent eyes.'
Lee's clear voice chanted the words in perfect harmony with Tim, his voice lower than hers.
'Reflected in you, reflected in me, Using human eyes to see what should not be seen. The past is mystical and far away, But the power you have within Can know what lies behind the wall of time.'
When they finished, their eyes met and then broke, each staring down at the card in their hand.
The surface of each card, where the picture would normally be had turned dark silver, and it was swirling downwards like a twister, pulling them down. In her card, Lee could see a dark, wispy mist that parted to reveal more words:
Combine the powers and unlock the secrets Open the doors of your mind to me Open wide the gates of time.
And then they were gone.
Peter Pegasus, surveying the restoration of the Duelist Kingdom Island from a window, felt a jolt run through his body. He whirled around and was faced with the full-length mirror. He reached out to touch it, then leaned back with a start.
"The twin spheres have been activated," he whispered. "The magic will be destroyed." He turned away from the mirror. "Hoshi!" he barked. "Kaiba, did you talk to him?"
"Yes sir."
"And the girl. You met her?"
"Yes sir." "Hoshi, the girl.... and the boy, her brother...they must both die within the year."
"Sir, I-"
Peter whirled around and faced Hoshi directly. "And Mai Valentine..."
"Yes, sir?"
"Kill her, too."
"And the father..."
Peter smiled, and the Millennium Eye flashed. "No. We'll just let him suffer." And laughed...
***
Mai was sleeping, her hair spread out on the pillow, breathing in and out softly. A breeze blew the window open, and the wind that blew into the room woke her. She opened her eyes sleepily and rolled over, facing the ceiling. She sighed, then rose, and walked quietly into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water, and sat at the table to drink it, the cool liquid running down her throat. When she was finished, she set the glass in the sink, and tiptoed through the hall, stopping at the door of the room where her children slept.
She leaned against the doorframe and cocked her head, watching the small figures that were her daughter and son move up and down slowly-
But they weren't moving. Mai stepped closer and peered down into the cradle, just to reassure herself, but when she looked down she had to stifle a scream-her children weren't there. She put a hand on the rim of the cradle to steady herself, took a deep breath, closed her eyes and opened them again. Her face hardened and her eyes flashed dangerously. Mai heard a noise at the window and ran to look out. She saw a shadowy figure climbing down the side of her fifth story apartment. The figure looked up and saw Mai standing at the window. He started and began to climb faster. Mai ran out of the room, and in a flash was dressed. Her deck she slipped into her pocket. Her heart was beating hard, and she was aware of the risk she was taking.
Mai slipped out of the building and started down the deserted street. As she walked cautiously through the city, she thought she could make out a figure lurking in the shadows. As she drew closer, the figure started running, and kept running. Mai broke into a run, too, and she followed him through the city, her heart pounding in her chest, and her muscles aching. She chased him out of the city and to the seashore. He stopped running next to a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. He turned.
"My, my, Ms. Valentine." He said corrosively, "Come to reclaim your children? They are your only hope of regaining your dignity, aren't they." It wasn't a question.
"Stop playing games, Peter!" Mai gasped, clutching her side. "You know that I didn't free that monster!"
"Stop playing games? Why should I? It's you who have to do that. And you did free that dragon. I set you up, of course, but you just walked into my trap unknowingly, like a fly caught in a spider's web." He laughed at the woman standing in front of him. "And now you're children are in my hands."
"If you hurt them-"
"Then what?" he spat. "What will you do then, Mai?" When she didn't answer, he looked down at the two helpless children lying at his feet, wrapped in a blanket, still asleep. "If your children die tonight.no one will be able to save the world. These children are the only people who can stop me." He narrowed his eyes and the golden eye glowed in his right socket. "These twins.with the power they have.they can alter the past, influence the future. Oh, not for a long while, I should think. Maybe sometime around...oh, age sixteen. But I want to get rid of them as soon as possible." He held up a knife, and the moonlight glanced off the silver blade, sharp as a sword. "Say goodbye to your children, Mai Valentine. Your only hope will be gone."
"Peter, please, I'll do anything," she begged, tears glinting in her eyes, but he had already plunged the blade downwards, and the only sounds were that of Mai screaming, Peter laughing, and a baby crying.
Across the world from that cliff, Joey Wheeler turned over in his sleep.
*** Endless Myth: There! Are you happy?
Moon Shadow: Yeah. Just in a bad mood, I guess.
Endless Myth: Ha! Tell me about it. You just don't want to go to school tomorrow.
Moon Shadow: Tell me about it. Please review, people! Maybe it'll make me feel better.
Endless Myth: Just press the little button and give us thirty seconds of your time.well, maybe forty-five if you want to click on the "favorites" button.