"A Commando in King Yami's Court"
A/N: I love this fic. No rules, whatever I say goes because there is no canon to reference back to! ::indulges in insane laughter:: ::is hit on the head with a brick:: Oww...ahem, moving right along...
Remember, any confusion, all the charts and likewise explanatory stuff is in part one!
Schiz's Shoutouts:
I am still in shock that this fic is so damn popular, but I always appreciate the self-esteem boosts that I get from the reviews. (I've updated because I need my 'fix'! ::wink wink::)
Magicman/Smokegirl-- You had to expect the duel between Joey and Seto, even if I made Joey a lowly squire (which I wouldn't, I love him too much.) Yes, curse those aliens! And they *will* find Earth anyway, I mean, the planet isn't going anywhere. They might still attack, but Bakura is basically a very empathetic soul...remember, there are no real birds in the future, and that is a very sad thing for him. Bakura wants to give the other creatures that humankind doomed another chance, as well as the people themselves.
Jaid Skywalker-- I'm cool! ::hands out cookies:: I love my reviewers!
Ryan-Ookami--You're great. I'm glad somebody likes my fic so much...the title on this part is *huge,* but I had to make it so.
****
"A Commando in King Yami's Court"
Part Four: In Which The Time Travellers Get Roped into Going on a Scary Quest for the Egotist in Charge,
And Introducing...the Evil Mastermind We've Heard so Much Complaining About
The odd band of travellers arrived at the great palace of King Yami after about five days of military-level hard marching. Bakura was still horridly out of shape for such physical activity, but since they had met up with Sorceress Taea and convinced her of the good doctor's non-evilness, the Fidelitas practitioner had placed refreshment charms on them all. Tristan had protested in vain that such a measure performed upon him would be a waste of effort, as he really didn't need any help with a simple stroll through forest and field. The cyborg had been in charge of a small company of Space-Terrans fighting the Andromedans on the northern Mars Ice-cap; in his opinion, that was infinitely worse than anything he'd face on this relatively peaceful, unspoiled Earth.
The first person they met was a small lady with long red hair and soft brown eyes, a girl of indeterminate age with an air of solemnity around her. She stood and faced them, then spread her skirts in a low curtsy and said gravely, "Speak, travellers, that I might know who to announce to the king."
"Lady Serenity," Taea replied, "It is I, Sorceress Taea, with Sir Seto of Kaiba and two strangers."
"Let them tell me their names."
Bakura had been observing the girl closely. He noticed that she did not blink, nor did she look directly at the sorceress to whom she spoke. ~Why, this girl is blind!~ He realized. To her he said, "I am Doctor Bakura Ryou."
She nodded. "The other?"
The cyborg answered, "Captain Tristan Taylor."
Lady Serenity pronounced, "Now I know your voices, to learn all the better the more you are here. And, Sir Seto, I have not yet heard your voice, which I have sorely missed while you were away."
Seto smiled and touched her hand lovingly. "Do not let your brother hear you say such things, my dear lady, for he is the protective sort."
Serenity smiled back and sighed, "Ah, this I know full well!"
Taea hid a smile with one hand. Bakura stifled a laugh, and Tristan privately wondered whether that hit hadn't knocked a few screws loose in Sir Seto's head. But Taea whispered behind her hand, "The Lord of Kaiba is hopelessly in love with the Lady of Salamandron. And here comes Sir Joseph, the fun begins..."
"Kaiba! What business do you have harrassing my sister?" This demand came from a man equal in height to Tristan, dressed in a coat of iron-studded leather with matching boots. He brushed his shaggy blonde hair out of golden-brown eyes and glared at the blue-eyed knight.
Angrily, Sir Seto shot back, "Ask the lady and she'll tell you that I've done no such thing, you mad dog!"
"Mad dog, yet again?" Sir Joseph dropped a hand to the formidable sword that hung at his side. His eyes were alight with indignation as he snarled, "Your insults and wrongs to my family remain the same, Kaiba. Once more, and I shall be forced to challenge you."
"Forced, yes," Seto acknowledged, "but only because you know that you cannot face me and hope to win."
Bakura was nearly convinced that Sir Joseph would have drawn his sword and cut out Seto's heart had Serenity not placed a restraining grip over the hand on his weapon. The pretty court-lady begged, "Dear brother, do not take to heart the rash words of Sir Seto. You have no cause to duel over me."
The blond knight's resolve wavered, and finally, he nodded, saying aloud for his sister's benefit, "I heed your counsel, Serenity. But my warning still stands." He then turned and strode into the palace courtyard.
Once sure that he was gone, Serenity turned around and slapped Seto's arm in mock-punishment. "And you! You know there is no need to provoke my brother so. You say it yourself, Seto, he is protective of me!"
With a surly scowl, Seto answered, "He provokes me in equal measure, my lady! Acting as though I am unfit to speak to you..."
"Do not frown," the lady replied, more gently, "it makes your face look so hard and unattractive."
Bakura was slightly surprised at the almost normal way Serenity interacted with familiar people, dropping the solemnity that characterized her demeanor around strangers. But he guessed that Serenity could infer expressions from the tone of a speaker's voice, and that she had probably, at one time, either been able to see or had asked one of her servants to make such an expression so that she could feel how it looked.
"Well, my lady," Taea said conversationally, "we shall just be going into the castle now, seeing as your hot-headed brother has announced the presence of Sir Seto already with his anger."
Serenity nodded and was led back to her seat by the sorceress. "Yes, it is common knowledge that when Joseph goes storming about, Seto is somewhere near. I've even heard Queen Mai talk of it...shameful!" The last part of her remark was louder, and aimed at the knight.
Seto replied, "Take care, my lady. I must see these travellers to the throne room."
Tristan finally piped up again, but mentally this time, ~Exactly what is a medieval king going to have that will help us get back to the twenty-second century?~
Bakura simply shook his head, finding that to be the best answer he could come up with.
****
A man got down on one knee near a battle-marked area of woodland and field, running his black-gloved hands over the grass. He appeared familiar, a bit smaller and more delicate-looking than most, with shoulder-length white-blond hair, although he wore his loose. His eyes were hidden by the shadow of his bangs, but his mouth could be seen twisted into a cold smile that was just barely not a sneer.
"Men with skill in the ways of technology," he muttered in a low rasp to himself, holding up a shard of circuit that Bakura had missed earlier in the scientist's attempt to clear away his effect on the past, brought to him by one of his many servants, "and thus my rivals."
The man stood, brushing his black garments free of grass and dirt, and said to the seemingly empty air, "Find the one with my face and his warrior-guardian. Bring them to me in the Halls of Ryo."
An inhuman cacophony of sound--screeches, chittering, and strange giggles--surrounded the black-garbed warlock. Dozens of small beasties, like Zafiro the dragon-gecko but uglier and less well-behaved, materialized to do his bidding. Ryo lifted one hand and intoned,
::The breath of wind, the rush of cloud;
All this and more you are allowed;
To seek the ones I bid you seek;
The warrior and my double meek;
All speed and secrecy to you I bestow;
And now I say to each of you, go!::
Shrieks of excitement rose from the clamouring crowd as they dispersed and left Ryo alone once more.
"Now, Bakura Ryou...we'll see if your powers are, as your looks, equal to mine." Ryo snickered, vanishing in a vaporous darkness, his evil laugh still ringing over the vale.
****
The throne room was massive, a giant stone chamber lined with all sorts of weapons, standards, and cages shrouded in colored brocade cloths. Strange sounds came from these cages, and Bakura was sure that none of the hidden animals within were normal. Tristan affirmed this with his scan of the place, mentally communicating his concern at being surrounded by unidentified alien creatures.
On a raised white marble dais, carved out of massive single pieces of wood and set with myriad precious stones and metals, were huge thrones. One gleamed of gold, ruby, onyx, sapphire, and emerald. Upon this was seated a tall, slender man with strange purplish-black hair that spiked wildly, and lightining-bolt-like gold-blond bangs that partially shadowed his slanted reddish-purple eyes. An ornate diadem of gold and diamonds adorned his brow, and he was clad in the richest clothes that either of the time travellers had ever seen.
At the king's left side was the second throne, set with silver, rose quartz, topaz, and turquoise, which served as the seat for a lovely woman with a gently curling waterfall of light blonde hair and pale purple eyes that glittered as coldly as the diamonds in her silver crown. She was arrayed in, if anything, an even more opulent costume than that of her king and husband.
On the king's left was a small man--Bakura would have almost thought him a boy--with similar purple-black hair pulled back tightly and braided to fall somewhere near his knees. The man was dressed simply, in dark silk robes of blue that was nearly black. He was playing absently with a rope-like gold chain about his neck, and his wide, dark violet eyes were not focused on his surroundings.
"Sir Seto of Kaiba," the king said gruffly, confidently. The brown-haired knight bowed low. "My knight-errant, the Dragonchaser." It was obvious that King Yami disapproved of Sir Seto's habit of keeping dragons instead of killing them. "You have brought strangers to my presence."
Queen Mai was seated quite comfortably in her throne--in fact, slouching with a terrible posture--and commented lazily, "And they are the strangest of strangers that I have yet seen! One has the appearance of a half-armored knight, and the other bears an uncanny resemblance to the Dark One."
"They are people of the future, people who live among the stars and battle evil forces threatening them." Seto explained. It was somewhat reassuring to have someone who believed so fully in the half-story they'd fed him, for the King and Queen exchanged glances of incredulity and their eyes took on a scornful light.
"It is truth."
Everyone in the room turned to look at the man on King Yami's right. He was staring straight ahead, and his violet eyes had turned a pupilless sea-green. King Yami asked gently, "And what else do you see concerning these men, Yugi?"
"They are...living in strange metal places...death is outside, a dark void...and a place red as blood, windstorms and bleak deserts..." Yugi, a Magus Tenebrae, clutched his head as though in pain. Someone else was speaking through him now. "They came without warning, sir. Their weapons couldn't be defended against...and the survivors aren't exactly unharmed; your cybernet boys have hold of them now."
An odd expression on Tristan's face caught Bakura's eye. The tall cyborg shook his head sharply and sent to Bakura, ~That sounds like my commanding officer from Terra Base Luna, making a report to the Colonial Council.~
How could he respond to that? Bakura simply shrugged, turning his attention back to the dark-haired wizard. Another voice, this one softer and almost musical, passed his lips,
"And you believe that you can save the planet from destruction? Stop the Cataclysm? It's pure speculation, doctor, tell me why we should support your plan, which in all honesty makes me doubt your sanity." Then Yugi crumpled to the ground, both hands pressed over his face, and in his normal voice asked quietly, "Strangers, do you recognize those whom have spoken?"
"Yes." Bakura answered, speaking for both of them, for the second voice had been reminiscent of Dr. Marina Chatwin--the head of the science council.
"Then, my king," Yugi said quietly from his position kneeling on the dais, "you must listen to them well. Many lives in a far-distant age depend upon these men."
King Yami remained silent, lost in thought, for a long time. Mai seemed to have lost her interest in the whole issue, and she whistled a high note toward one of the cages. A small bird-like creature fluttered to her, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the animal was half-humanoid, a tiny bird-woman. Tristan cocked his head to one side, and his sunglasses went green again. No one had ever told him the past would be so damned strange. All these incomprehensible creatures, monstrosities by the standards of his time, and 'magic,' the illogical way that people got things done around here.
Bakura had started to fidget by the time that Yugi finally commanded, "Ask, then, what you will of me, and I shall do all in my power to return you to whence you came."
Tristan began to answer respectfully, "Well, your majesty--"
"Names!" Mai cried suddenly, and Bakura couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes ceiling-ward in exasperation. The gorgeous queen clasped her hands together and leaned forward. "I know not your names!"
With a graceful shrug, accepting this odd quirk of the queen's, Tristan directed his attention to her and replied, "I am called Tristan, and this is Bakura, your highness."
"Tristan of what? Bakura of what?"
Entirely disgusted with the state of affairs and admittedly impatient to leave this feudal time behind him where it belonged, Bakura replied with considerable harshness, "Tristan of Prime Mars Colony Unit Omega and Bakura of the Fifth Lagrange Point Colony Gamma."
Pale eyes blinked in surprise, and Mai murmured, "Very strange territories you have claimed, Bakura of the Fifth La Grenge Point Kolny Gamma."
Deciding it would be imprudent to point out her mangling of the colony designation, Bakura nodded cooperatively and explained with a perfectly straight face, "That's why we rarely use them in introductions. But as Tristan was saying..."
Tristan picked up his former thread of conversation immediately, "We wish only to return to our home time, that we may try again to acheive our mission, King Yami."
Yami sighed deeply. Yugi had stood again by this time, and he answered for the king, "It is possible for me to send you back, but not without my Talisman."
"Talisman?" Bakura repeated. ~Good Lord, what now?~
"Aye," Seto said behind them, "Like the black ball which you used, Magus Yugi must have his Millennial Puzzle to do his work."
Yugi nodded and explained, "The Puzzle is my source of power, and the focus of my abilities. With it, I would not have become so drained by that simple scrying I performed earlier."
They could just walk out now, find a quiet place and attempt the impossible task of putting the Space-Time Control Module back together. But Tristan was of the simple philosophy of 'Never say die, even when you're dead,' and asked, "Well, where is it, then?"
"It is in the possession of the Dark One, Ryo." Yami replied.
Bakura sighed softly. Ryo, always with Ryo. Really, they could say thanks very much, walk out, and try to live in the middle ages with the unbathed masses. Bakura wouldn't complain more than three times every hour...
But Tristan was already saying officiously, "I accept the mission of recovering the Millenial Puzzle."
Bakura managed to keep himself from screaming in horror, but it was a hard fight.
END PART FOUR
A/N: I love this fic. No rules, whatever I say goes because there is no canon to reference back to! ::indulges in insane laughter:: ::is hit on the head with a brick:: Oww...ahem, moving right along...
Remember, any confusion, all the charts and likewise explanatory stuff is in part one!
Schiz's Shoutouts:
I am still in shock that this fic is so damn popular, but I always appreciate the self-esteem boosts that I get from the reviews. (I've updated because I need my 'fix'! ::wink wink::)
Magicman/Smokegirl-- You had to expect the duel between Joey and Seto, even if I made Joey a lowly squire (which I wouldn't, I love him too much.) Yes, curse those aliens! And they *will* find Earth anyway, I mean, the planet isn't going anywhere. They might still attack, but Bakura is basically a very empathetic soul...remember, there are no real birds in the future, and that is a very sad thing for him. Bakura wants to give the other creatures that humankind doomed another chance, as well as the people themselves.
Jaid Skywalker-- I'm cool! ::hands out cookies:: I love my reviewers!
Ryan-Ookami--You're great. I'm glad somebody likes my fic so much...the title on this part is *huge,* but I had to make it so.
****
"A Commando in King Yami's Court"
Part Four: In Which The Time Travellers Get Roped into Going on a Scary Quest for the Egotist in Charge,
And Introducing...the Evil Mastermind We've Heard so Much Complaining About
The odd band of travellers arrived at the great palace of King Yami after about five days of military-level hard marching. Bakura was still horridly out of shape for such physical activity, but since they had met up with Sorceress Taea and convinced her of the good doctor's non-evilness, the Fidelitas practitioner had placed refreshment charms on them all. Tristan had protested in vain that such a measure performed upon him would be a waste of effort, as he really didn't need any help with a simple stroll through forest and field. The cyborg had been in charge of a small company of Space-Terrans fighting the Andromedans on the northern Mars Ice-cap; in his opinion, that was infinitely worse than anything he'd face on this relatively peaceful, unspoiled Earth.
The first person they met was a small lady with long red hair and soft brown eyes, a girl of indeterminate age with an air of solemnity around her. She stood and faced them, then spread her skirts in a low curtsy and said gravely, "Speak, travellers, that I might know who to announce to the king."
"Lady Serenity," Taea replied, "It is I, Sorceress Taea, with Sir Seto of Kaiba and two strangers."
"Let them tell me their names."
Bakura had been observing the girl closely. He noticed that she did not blink, nor did she look directly at the sorceress to whom she spoke. ~Why, this girl is blind!~ He realized. To her he said, "I am Doctor Bakura Ryou."
She nodded. "The other?"
The cyborg answered, "Captain Tristan Taylor."
Lady Serenity pronounced, "Now I know your voices, to learn all the better the more you are here. And, Sir Seto, I have not yet heard your voice, which I have sorely missed while you were away."
Seto smiled and touched her hand lovingly. "Do not let your brother hear you say such things, my dear lady, for he is the protective sort."
Serenity smiled back and sighed, "Ah, this I know full well!"
Taea hid a smile with one hand. Bakura stifled a laugh, and Tristan privately wondered whether that hit hadn't knocked a few screws loose in Sir Seto's head. But Taea whispered behind her hand, "The Lord of Kaiba is hopelessly in love with the Lady of Salamandron. And here comes Sir Joseph, the fun begins..."
"Kaiba! What business do you have harrassing my sister?" This demand came from a man equal in height to Tristan, dressed in a coat of iron-studded leather with matching boots. He brushed his shaggy blonde hair out of golden-brown eyes and glared at the blue-eyed knight.
Angrily, Sir Seto shot back, "Ask the lady and she'll tell you that I've done no such thing, you mad dog!"
"Mad dog, yet again?" Sir Joseph dropped a hand to the formidable sword that hung at his side. His eyes were alight with indignation as he snarled, "Your insults and wrongs to my family remain the same, Kaiba. Once more, and I shall be forced to challenge you."
"Forced, yes," Seto acknowledged, "but only because you know that you cannot face me and hope to win."
Bakura was nearly convinced that Sir Joseph would have drawn his sword and cut out Seto's heart had Serenity not placed a restraining grip over the hand on his weapon. The pretty court-lady begged, "Dear brother, do not take to heart the rash words of Sir Seto. You have no cause to duel over me."
The blond knight's resolve wavered, and finally, he nodded, saying aloud for his sister's benefit, "I heed your counsel, Serenity. But my warning still stands." He then turned and strode into the palace courtyard.
Once sure that he was gone, Serenity turned around and slapped Seto's arm in mock-punishment. "And you! You know there is no need to provoke my brother so. You say it yourself, Seto, he is protective of me!"
With a surly scowl, Seto answered, "He provokes me in equal measure, my lady! Acting as though I am unfit to speak to you..."
"Do not frown," the lady replied, more gently, "it makes your face look so hard and unattractive."
Bakura was slightly surprised at the almost normal way Serenity interacted with familiar people, dropping the solemnity that characterized her demeanor around strangers. But he guessed that Serenity could infer expressions from the tone of a speaker's voice, and that she had probably, at one time, either been able to see or had asked one of her servants to make such an expression so that she could feel how it looked.
"Well, my lady," Taea said conversationally, "we shall just be going into the castle now, seeing as your hot-headed brother has announced the presence of Sir Seto already with his anger."
Serenity nodded and was led back to her seat by the sorceress. "Yes, it is common knowledge that when Joseph goes storming about, Seto is somewhere near. I've even heard Queen Mai talk of it...shameful!" The last part of her remark was louder, and aimed at the knight.
Seto replied, "Take care, my lady. I must see these travellers to the throne room."
Tristan finally piped up again, but mentally this time, ~Exactly what is a medieval king going to have that will help us get back to the twenty-second century?~
Bakura simply shook his head, finding that to be the best answer he could come up with.
****
A man got down on one knee near a battle-marked area of woodland and field, running his black-gloved hands over the grass. He appeared familiar, a bit smaller and more delicate-looking than most, with shoulder-length white-blond hair, although he wore his loose. His eyes were hidden by the shadow of his bangs, but his mouth could be seen twisted into a cold smile that was just barely not a sneer.
"Men with skill in the ways of technology," he muttered in a low rasp to himself, holding up a shard of circuit that Bakura had missed earlier in the scientist's attempt to clear away his effect on the past, brought to him by one of his many servants, "and thus my rivals."
The man stood, brushing his black garments free of grass and dirt, and said to the seemingly empty air, "Find the one with my face and his warrior-guardian. Bring them to me in the Halls of Ryo."
An inhuman cacophony of sound--screeches, chittering, and strange giggles--surrounded the black-garbed warlock. Dozens of small beasties, like Zafiro the dragon-gecko but uglier and less well-behaved, materialized to do his bidding. Ryo lifted one hand and intoned,
::The breath of wind, the rush of cloud;
All this and more you are allowed;
To seek the ones I bid you seek;
The warrior and my double meek;
All speed and secrecy to you I bestow;
And now I say to each of you, go!::
Shrieks of excitement rose from the clamouring crowd as they dispersed and left Ryo alone once more.
"Now, Bakura Ryou...we'll see if your powers are, as your looks, equal to mine." Ryo snickered, vanishing in a vaporous darkness, his evil laugh still ringing over the vale.
****
The throne room was massive, a giant stone chamber lined with all sorts of weapons, standards, and cages shrouded in colored brocade cloths. Strange sounds came from these cages, and Bakura was sure that none of the hidden animals within were normal. Tristan affirmed this with his scan of the place, mentally communicating his concern at being surrounded by unidentified alien creatures.
On a raised white marble dais, carved out of massive single pieces of wood and set with myriad precious stones and metals, were huge thrones. One gleamed of gold, ruby, onyx, sapphire, and emerald. Upon this was seated a tall, slender man with strange purplish-black hair that spiked wildly, and lightining-bolt-like gold-blond bangs that partially shadowed his slanted reddish-purple eyes. An ornate diadem of gold and diamonds adorned his brow, and he was clad in the richest clothes that either of the time travellers had ever seen.
At the king's left side was the second throne, set with silver, rose quartz, topaz, and turquoise, which served as the seat for a lovely woman with a gently curling waterfall of light blonde hair and pale purple eyes that glittered as coldly as the diamonds in her silver crown. She was arrayed in, if anything, an even more opulent costume than that of her king and husband.
On the king's left was a small man--Bakura would have almost thought him a boy--with similar purple-black hair pulled back tightly and braided to fall somewhere near his knees. The man was dressed simply, in dark silk robes of blue that was nearly black. He was playing absently with a rope-like gold chain about his neck, and his wide, dark violet eyes were not focused on his surroundings.
"Sir Seto of Kaiba," the king said gruffly, confidently. The brown-haired knight bowed low. "My knight-errant, the Dragonchaser." It was obvious that King Yami disapproved of Sir Seto's habit of keeping dragons instead of killing them. "You have brought strangers to my presence."
Queen Mai was seated quite comfortably in her throne--in fact, slouching with a terrible posture--and commented lazily, "And they are the strangest of strangers that I have yet seen! One has the appearance of a half-armored knight, and the other bears an uncanny resemblance to the Dark One."
"They are people of the future, people who live among the stars and battle evil forces threatening them." Seto explained. It was somewhat reassuring to have someone who believed so fully in the half-story they'd fed him, for the King and Queen exchanged glances of incredulity and their eyes took on a scornful light.
"It is truth."
Everyone in the room turned to look at the man on King Yami's right. He was staring straight ahead, and his violet eyes had turned a pupilless sea-green. King Yami asked gently, "And what else do you see concerning these men, Yugi?"
"They are...living in strange metal places...death is outside, a dark void...and a place red as blood, windstorms and bleak deserts..." Yugi, a Magus Tenebrae, clutched his head as though in pain. Someone else was speaking through him now. "They came without warning, sir. Their weapons couldn't be defended against...and the survivors aren't exactly unharmed; your cybernet boys have hold of them now."
An odd expression on Tristan's face caught Bakura's eye. The tall cyborg shook his head sharply and sent to Bakura, ~That sounds like my commanding officer from Terra Base Luna, making a report to the Colonial Council.~
How could he respond to that? Bakura simply shrugged, turning his attention back to the dark-haired wizard. Another voice, this one softer and almost musical, passed his lips,
"And you believe that you can save the planet from destruction? Stop the Cataclysm? It's pure speculation, doctor, tell me why we should support your plan, which in all honesty makes me doubt your sanity." Then Yugi crumpled to the ground, both hands pressed over his face, and in his normal voice asked quietly, "Strangers, do you recognize those whom have spoken?"
"Yes." Bakura answered, speaking for both of them, for the second voice had been reminiscent of Dr. Marina Chatwin--the head of the science council.
"Then, my king," Yugi said quietly from his position kneeling on the dais, "you must listen to them well. Many lives in a far-distant age depend upon these men."
King Yami remained silent, lost in thought, for a long time. Mai seemed to have lost her interest in the whole issue, and she whistled a high note toward one of the cages. A small bird-like creature fluttered to her, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the animal was half-humanoid, a tiny bird-woman. Tristan cocked his head to one side, and his sunglasses went green again. No one had ever told him the past would be so damned strange. All these incomprehensible creatures, monstrosities by the standards of his time, and 'magic,' the illogical way that people got things done around here.
Bakura had started to fidget by the time that Yugi finally commanded, "Ask, then, what you will of me, and I shall do all in my power to return you to whence you came."
Tristan began to answer respectfully, "Well, your majesty--"
"Names!" Mai cried suddenly, and Bakura couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes ceiling-ward in exasperation. The gorgeous queen clasped her hands together and leaned forward. "I know not your names!"
With a graceful shrug, accepting this odd quirk of the queen's, Tristan directed his attention to her and replied, "I am called Tristan, and this is Bakura, your highness."
"Tristan of what? Bakura of what?"
Entirely disgusted with the state of affairs and admittedly impatient to leave this feudal time behind him where it belonged, Bakura replied with considerable harshness, "Tristan of Prime Mars Colony Unit Omega and Bakura of the Fifth Lagrange Point Colony Gamma."
Pale eyes blinked in surprise, and Mai murmured, "Very strange territories you have claimed, Bakura of the Fifth La Grenge Point Kolny Gamma."
Deciding it would be imprudent to point out her mangling of the colony designation, Bakura nodded cooperatively and explained with a perfectly straight face, "That's why we rarely use them in introductions. But as Tristan was saying..."
Tristan picked up his former thread of conversation immediately, "We wish only to return to our home time, that we may try again to acheive our mission, King Yami."
Yami sighed deeply. Yugi had stood again by this time, and he answered for the king, "It is possible for me to send you back, but not without my Talisman."
"Talisman?" Bakura repeated. ~Good Lord, what now?~
"Aye," Seto said behind them, "Like the black ball which you used, Magus Yugi must have his Millennial Puzzle to do his work."
Yugi nodded and explained, "The Puzzle is my source of power, and the focus of my abilities. With it, I would not have become so drained by that simple scrying I performed earlier."
They could just walk out now, find a quiet place and attempt the impossible task of putting the Space-Time Control Module back together. But Tristan was of the simple philosophy of 'Never say die, even when you're dead,' and asked, "Well, where is it, then?"
"It is in the possession of the Dark One, Ryo." Yami replied.
Bakura sighed softly. Ryo, always with Ryo. Really, they could say thanks very much, walk out, and try to live in the middle ages with the unbathed masses. Bakura wouldn't complain more than three times every hour...
But Tristan was already saying officiously, "I accept the mission of recovering the Millenial Puzzle."
Bakura managed to keep himself from screaming in horror, but it was a hard fight.
END PART FOUR
