Kristy Selean: Okay, I have to explain it a little bit. The first scene is just a flashback for the audience only. In other words, the characters don't know about it. The next scene and on is actually occurring to the characters. Okay, that's all.

You Stay Out of This!

Chapter 6

Darkness. Pitch black with the uncomfortable smell of sulfur lingering in the air. Soot all over the floor. A major struggle took place in the darkness. Ashes were everywhere. Even the golden doors that led to the next room seemed tainted with the darkness the soot held.

"Ariah."

The whispered word sent a chill down her spine. It was like standing out in the winter snow with summer clothes on - freezing. She stepped forward to meet his fate. She feared what was to become of him. Was it because of love? She had to admit that it seemed like it even if she wished it wasn't.

"Ariah!"

This time, it was more boisterous like lightning and thunder, the call of a slave. The queen wished to see her. She clutched at her heart in fear. By the looks of it, her worst fear may have come true. The verdict of the capture prince had been decided. Slowly, she stepped across the sooted floor, careful to step only on the black covered mat that was camouflaged from view. The sooted doors opened to reveal a beautiful room of delicate plants, moonlight, and serenity, but this room was very deceiving. This tranquility only hid the queen's true self.

"I am here, my queen."

Lavish with papyrus stems and various types of plants were the furnishings in the room. The softest cloth in all of Egypt adorned the queen's bed. White, gleaming clothes held on the queen who wore the infamous Egyptian headdress of gold and bracelets on her wrists. The queen stood up in a graceful and dignified yet lazy, cat-like manner.

"Set out as usual. Tonight will be his last night of comfort. My servants shall set up the ritual. You may enjoy his company first."

Ariah bowed lowly in hopes of hiding her face. Tears threatened to streak down, but she held them back and regained herself before lifting up her head. Ariah stepped back a few steps before turning around and setting out for what she had to do. Before long, she was standing in the doorway of his room. Hesitantly, she knocked on the door.

"Yami?" she called.

The door immediately swung open as Yami invited her in. Ariah closed the door behind her. She had to tell him soon no matter what it took.

"Yami, you're time is...almost over."

Yami stepped over to pull the curtains over to keep his privacy. He peered out of the window for a brief moment before closing them.

"What is to happen to me?"

Ariah couldn't take it anymore. Tears flooded her eyes and threatened to fall, but she stood firm and wouldn't let them. Yami immediately started approaching her when she held up her hands to tell him to stand his distance.

"You are to spend tomorrow night in the queen's bed."

Yami winced at the thought. It completely sickened him. What was wrong with that old hag that captured him? It was just...disgusting.

"After that, you are to be beheaded the following dawn."

Yami gazed at Ariah's eyes. Those sapphire pools that contrasted with her ebony hair and slightly tanned skinned drew him into a trance. Ariah stared back at Yami. Was he not afraid that he was going to die? How did he feel about this? Why didn't he react? Yami steadily walked toward her. Ariah gasped and took a step back.

"Are you afraid of me?"

Concern washed over his eyes, the tools that kept on peering into her soul. Ariah shook her head negative. One hand over her heart, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Yami, I..."

Silence reigned over the room as she pondered over the words that wanted to roll off her tongue. What was she suppose to say to someone who was going to die? I'll miss you?! Before she knew it, tears streaked down her eyes.

"I...I'm afraid of losing you..."

She paused there. There was nothing more to add. Yami got off the bed and walked closer to her. Ariah held her breath as he approached and kept her eyes shut. The eyes are the windows to the soul. She was afraid that he'd see through her. Then again, didn't she just admit how she felt? Yami came near...

"And why would you be afraid of losing me? I'm only another captive supervised by a servant girl. Why would you care?"

"Please, Yami, don't tease me."

Clear, crystalline drops fell from her face to the floor. Ariah winced. This was not supposed to happen. What was going on here? Ariah bit her lip to keep from crying out in frustration. The worst was yet to come. It wasn't over yet.

"Ariah..."

Like a deer facing the headlights of a car, Ariah stared. That was it. She was caught. Stunned for a few moments, she stared back at Yami until she quickly turned away. She would have to tell him.

"That's...not the end of it."

Yami's eyebrows threatened to disappear into his hairline.

"Until you meet the queen tomorrow night..." Ariah swallowed the bile that rose up in her throat.

"...I'm yours," Ariah whispered.

It wasn't that she didn't like Yami. (Quite the contrary.) Still, it shouldn't have been that way. A night together, then it's the queen's turn, and the dawn after, he'd be dead. Ariah was too busy thinking about what would happen to Yami that she didn't notice him fall on his knees, gaping up at her. He could do as he pleased with her? Hold her, hug her, and tell her that he loved her? Anything? It seemed unfair to her. How many times did she have to suffer through that? Yami became engrossed with his own thoughts that minutes flew by before they realized what happened - their precious time was running out.

"How long do I have?"

"Until sundown of tomorrow."

Yami paused for a moment while Ariah kept quiet. After a few moments more of silence, Yami took a step toward Ariah and sighed.

"Ariah, I have something to confess to you."

Ariah scrutinized the young prince. What was he saying?

"I...I think I'm in love with you."

Ariah's eyes widened. This was going to be a long night...

Aishana woke up, startled by what she saw: her own death in the past or her ancestor's death, whichever it was. She could have sworn she felt the pain of the blade in her heart and screamed at the agony along with her dream figure. Throat parched and headache worsening, Aishana got up out of bed. She wasn't going to get much sleep this night.

The Motou residence was slowly awaking with a melancholy drift. Sugoroku had already left the house for work, and Yugi and Yami both saw the same dream that Aishana just happened to see. Needless to say, they were stunned, confused, and saddened.

"Yami, did you..."

"See the dream? Yeah."

Yami sighed. It was a heart-wrenching scene. He didn't even really know that girl Aishana, but whether it was her or another girl that looked exactly like her, it was really sad to see it. Yugi sighed soon after.

"Let's go out for a walk or something. We need to shake this out of our minds," Yugi explained before taking the keys and walking out of the house. Yami followed behind him and locked the door. Today was Saturday, but it truly was a strange atmosphere around town. The arcade center was empty, shops had barely anyone there - it was almost like a ghost town. Two shadows followed them, but the two halves didn't notice their presence.

'Should we do anything?'

'No, we just need to keep an eye on them.'

The two figures used their telepathy to speak to each other and then turned at a different corner from the duo. Yami and Yugi continued walking, unaware of what just happened while the owners of the two shadows watched them from a building not too far off. Egyptians.

With not much success, the two counterparts headed home and flipped on the TV. Maybe the news would give them something else to think about.

[...and downtown, there is a serious problem going on. Somehow buildings are all being knocked over and random fires are starting around the place. It's almost as if there is an invisible Godzilla around...]

Yugi and Yami stared. Buildings came crashing down and fires were definitely starting, but they weren't just random incidents.

"Yami, look! Isn't that-?"

"Doma, the angel of silence? What is it doing here?"

Red eyes gleamed as green and brownish colored armor flashed with the lightning that struck down the buildings. There stood Doma, the angel of silence on top of another building, destroying everything in sight. Kuribos bounced around everywhere, jumping on top of people, playing in the rubble, and throwing the debris around.

One glance told the whole story. Yugi and Yami jumped up out of their seats and headed back into town. Just as they saw in the news, Doma the angel of silence was playing Fourth of July with lightning bolts on top of buildings, and Kuribos were chucking rocks at all those who passed by. Yugi's eyes widened as Yami shook his head at the sight. They were going to destroy Domino City!

Yugi backed up in shock only to bump into someone who was standing behind him. A grocery bag was barely caught in midair.

"Whoa!"

Yugi recognized the voice immediately. What exactly was she doing here at this time of day?

"Tea?"

"What is it, Yugi?"

"Tea, can't you see them? The Kuribos?"

Tea stared at Yugi, confusion, filling up in her eyes. Joey and Tristan weren't far off from them, but they acted as though they couldn't see them either. Yugi shook his head and walked off with Yami.

"Never mind."

Tea shrugged and walked in the opposite direction. Yugi and Yami continued walking home. Things were just getting stranger and stranger in their town. Would bringing some duel cards scare the monsters away? Yugi thought about it long and hard until he decided that maybe that was the best thing.

"Yami, we need to get our decks. Maybe we can do something with the cards."

Yami nodded and followed. Yugi did have a point there. Who knew what power the cards might hold. It just might help with this scenario. Yugi started sprinting when Yami's eyes widened.

"Yugi, look out for-"

Pow!

Yami cringed at the sight. Yugi just collided into someone.

"Ow. Talk about a curse or something." Yugi groaned as he got up.

"Uhn. What curse?"

Yugi sprang back a few feet when he realized who it was: Aishana. Yami smirked at Yugi's blushing face.

"Tell me about it, aibou. You've been running into practically every pretty girl we knew today."

Yugi glared daggers at Yami and swore vengeance under his breath. Aishana got up, unaware of the last comment that Yami made. By the clothes she was wearing, the two assumed that she was out on a jog.

"Well, what are you two doing here?"

"Just checking up on things around town. Have you heard the news today?" inquired Yami.

"Yeah. I just saw it before I started running out. Strange huh? I never thought Domino City would be inhabited by ghosts."

Yugi's eyes widened as Yami's scrutinized her.

"You mean you can't see what's causing the damage?" Yugi questioned.

Aishana shook her head. A few moments more and the two disappeared around the corner in hopes of finding the solution to the problem. Aishana continued to walk off until two shadows encountered her own, the shadows of the same two Egyptians earlier. Aishana calmly turned around to meet her visitors.

"Anything else?"

Aishana grinned at the two.

"Nothing really to add to it. Oh, but make sure the Kuribos don't hurt anyone and Doma keeps it down. Our prince seemed very disturbed by the scene."

"Yes, ma'am."

The two scampered off leaving Aishana to finish her jog.

'Soon, the time will come. Until then, hold on, our dear Prince. We're coming back to get you.'

to be continued...

Kristy Selean: Yeah! Okay, I finally got this thing done!!!!! After weeks and weeks of torment, it is finally finished!! insert evil laughter that is different from the last one here Yay! Happy, happy, joy, joy! Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you didn't, I'LL MAKE YOU ENJOY IT!!! Just kidding. Yeah, the plot's getting really complicated as we go along, but as soon as Yami's past (the one I gave him) is revealed, everything will be made clear. Well, till the next chapter, ja ne!