Brood: *skips happily in* Lalalalalalala.....lots of chapters to my
name! And a cute little One-shot story also!
Zutsokaki: What the heck..........what are you doing?
Brood: Making you wonder what I'm doing! *munches on some Lemon Cream Pie that Yami L.o.D was giving out* Mmmmmmm.........piiiieee....
Zutsokaki: Erm....yeah.... I think I will sleep now, since this story sucks too much for me to be wasting my awakeness on it.
Brood: Well, you suck to much for me to be wasting my LIFE on you! So....ha!
Zutsokaki: If none of you could tell, she's sort of hyper. She used to be a rougue , all cool and stuff, but.........not when you get some sugar and a few good reviews in her....
Brood: Now who would believe that cute little old me was rougue? Come on Zutso-kun!
Zutsokaki: *Uses the pillow given to him by Yami Ieyre* Friend, I thank you for this.
Brood: I think that now I shall have to get onto my story! Yup! Chapter 8 here we come! And I would also like to take this chance to give away a little prize that can be in title only, because I have nothing to give!.....oh wait......
Zutsokaki: *coughs* CHEAP!*coughs*
Brood: *settles this time for an evil glare* Well anyway.... I would like to take this chance to give out Brood Mayran's Super Spiffy Reviewer Award!
Zutsokaki: Ran out of names?
Brood: No. But this reviewer will be announced at the end of this very chapter!
CHAPTER 8
Mokuba ran through the trees and shrubbery of the forest in the direction Amoura's yell came from. His shirt caught on a low branch, and he pulled himself free, swearing in spite of himself. He stumbled over a rock, caught himself, and burst into another clearing by a small brook.
Amoura was standing in the middle of the clearing, a man standing opposite of her. He had a magnum trained on her forehead. She looked scared, but her eyes remained calm.
"I owe you payback for the night on the ship! You humiliated me there!"
"You brought zat on yourzelf, and you know it."
"AMOURA!" Mokuba yelled out at her from beside a bush.
The man holding the gun at her whipped around, still holding the gun on Amoura.
"Bandit Keith! Let her go now!" Mokuba balled up his fists and glared at the much larger man. Keith was wearing some leather riding clothes and a black bandanna tied around his forehead in headband style, but he was unmistakeable.
"Hey! It's you! You're....Mokuba Kaiba! What are you doing here, you little runt!?"
"None of your beeswax! Just let Amoura go now!"
Amoura watched them, then turned her head to Mokuba. "Mokuba......leave now.....just go! Go on! I can 'andle zis!"
Keith grinned and glared at Mokuba over the edges of his sunglasses. "Maybe you should listen to this little chick. She's got guts, and alot of smarts to tell you to leave! And why the hell are you here!? This is an exclusive tournament!"
"Maybe I was invited, you big bully!"
Amoura stared at Mokuba. "You do realize zat zis man 'as a gun, right Mokuba?"
"Yeah, but I also know that my big brother would kill this guy with his bare hands if he even tried to hurt me!"
"But Mokuba.....vhat good could your brother do to a dead boy?"
Keith grinned and ran his free hand through his hair. "So she has more smarts than I thought, little Mokuba....and when everyone finds out that you are on the island, obviously without your brother's knowledge, it's all over for you. You will be sent back! That damned Pegasus wouldn't let you stay....he may even take you his prisoner again!" Keith laughed loudly, throwing his head back a little bit.
Amoura growled softly and made a move to attack him.
Mokuba wasn't one to be ignored though. He dived at Keith while he was slightly distracted with himself, and sank his teeth into the arm that was holding the gun.
"GAAARRRRGGG!! YOU LITTLE BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!!!!" Keith swung his arm away and tossed Mokuba into a nearby bush. Mokuba sat there for a moment, stunned, while Amoura watched in terror, frozen in her spot.
"Unnnggg....." Mokuba writhed a little, and realized he was stuck in the bush. His shirt was caught in the small brambles. Keith raised the gun level to Mokuba's head.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Insector Haga watched the third contender that day walk away with his/her head hung in shame. He absolutely loved breaking the soul of a duelist in a crushing battle, giving them no doubt who was the greatest duelist around. Him, of course.
Haga bounded lightly from the duel station, his three new chips on his glove. He counted fourteen small diamonds in his dark green glove, the chips encircling the square-shaped band. He picked up his bag and brushed a strand of light green hair away from his beady eyes, it falling back to where it was before.
He definitly felt as if he were making up for his indescrepancies at the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. If he kept up the pace, he would be waltzing into Pegasus's hidden fortress with no problem. Even if there was a problem. He had to FIND the place first. It wasn't in plain sight, like his castle was.
His ID flicked open, and he marked the dueling station on his map. A small bug crunched pleasantly underneath of his boot, only reminding him as he walked that it was a good omen. It represented to him that it was the future condition of all duelists in his way. Crushed, beaten, and left in plain sight and humiliation, for all of the world to see in their pain. He grinned as he hit the "Enter" key. He would be the victor of this tournament, of that he was sure.
They passed a small bridge over a brook and stopped at it's other bank. Yugi set down his pack and sighed. The other's followed suit and pulled out some berries from their packs. Mai complained that her supply was running low, and immediatly sent Honda out to get more.
Honda darkly agreed with Mai that they needed more berries, but also thought out loud that maybe Mai's supply was the only one running low because she kept snacking on her's the night before.
Mai yelled at him, and Honda ran off to find the berries. Yugi supposed Honda was now the group Provider. He grinned and leaned back on his sleeping bag roll, listening to the soft trickle of water beside them, and the soft rustling of the wind in the trees.
After a moment, Honda returned with some berries and they split all of them up. Then they all sat down and enjoyed a moment's rest beside the small brook.
When they were finally ready to go, they packed up and decided unanimously to follow the brook. They hefted the solid weight of the bags onto their backs and set out again. A few small and short hours passed without notable event. Then they sat down again and pulled out their canteens for refill. The brook they were by was clean and pure.
Joey pulled out his canteen, and Mai, along with Bakura, eyed him warily. Joey opened it up and started to swig down the last of his water.
Then, to everyone's surprise, he started to convulse and shake around. Yugi and Mai were panicking, and Honda ran over to him and started to clap on Joey's back. It was obvious he was gagging on something.
Soon enough, a small, silver, and very dead fish popped out of Joey's surprised face. Mai's eyes welled and brimmed with tears of mirth, and she screwed up her mouth to prevent from laughing louder than she was currently snickering. Bakura chanced a small smirk and an evil narrowing of the eyes, as he was obviously communicating with his darker half.
Yugi snickered a little bit himself, as he watched the small fish. He gently picked it up and sent it drifting limply down the brook.
Honda watched Yugi do this and decided to send it off with a....touching eulogy. "I hope he lived better than he died...." He shot a grin over at a still red-faced Joey. He wasn't as touched.
"I nearly died on a fish, and all you can do is snicker and grin at it all!?!?!?!?!" He puffed up a little bit and stopped right there, because Mai had just exploded into laughter.
"Mai, this isn't funny!!!!!!!!"
Mai stopped her laughing long enough to fling a quote at Joey. "Revenge is a dish best served COLD, my dear Joey!" Then she chuckled just a bit more, the rest of them catching on to what happened.
"You put that fish in Joey's water!?!?! And how has he been avoiding drinking it for the past day!?!" Anzu looked confused, but highly amused.
"Sheer dumb luck." Mai had now completly stopped laughing, and strode past the speechless teen. "Why don't we continue on now?" Joey's mouth hung open, but he grabbed his bag. Bakura chuckled again as they went along, stopping for a second to refill the canteens. Joey checked his for anymore fish.
When he happily found his canteen fish-free, he attached it to his back and caught up with the rest of them.
Lisa bounded and skipped along next to Seto, who had put on his coat. It really was all to chilly on the island.....
The two travellers went along the island, Seto dueling a couple of times. Lisa dueled once, and Seto had found her deck to be effective, dispite the slight lack of outright strategy.
Lisa ran ahead and found a small water pond, and started to happily skip rocks, her nine diamond chips reflecting off of the pond's surface. He watched her with his usual expression as he sat down. He sort of enjoyed her boisterous presence around him. He had to remember to curse himself later for becoming soft. Her eyes did sort of remind him of Mokuba's though, so he decided to blame that for now.
The small girl laughed and skipped along the banks, the rocks forgotten temorarily. She began to sing snatches of Irish songs that she knew, and tripping on a thick patch of grass. She fell over and onto her face.
Seto was standing before he knew it, but caught himself in time and simply asked, "Are you alright?"
Lisa stood up. She had some grass and dirt on her face, and she wiped it off casually. "I'm just fine Kebby-kun!" She walked up to him and grinned.
"Fine. Let's keep moving then." He gruffly picked up his back and began walking away. Lisa grabbed her bag and started to follow. She skipped happily again for while, when suddenly she paused, then stopped completly and began running in an oppostite direction.
"Nii-CHAN!! NII-CHAN!!!! NIIIIIII-CCHHHAAANNN!!!" Lisa yelled as she ran through the woods. Seto had seen her take off and ran after her.
"LISA!! COME BACK HERE YOU FOOLISH GIRL!!!!" He jumped over a stray log and ducked under a branch with little difficulty, grabbing for the back of her shirt.
He missed by about two inches. "BUT I SAW MY NII-CHAN!! SISTER!! It's ME!! IT'S LISA!!"
Seto started feeling ill. He didn't see anyone at all, but for some reason, Lisa seemed to. She kept running, and somehow evading his grasp.
/What is wrong with her!?!?!?!/ He figured she was getting ahead of him because she was smaller and could fit through gaps in the foliage better, but that fact did little to help him get the little girl back.
He didn't know why, but he would feel AWFUL for losing her on this large island. You never know who you could meet. He grabbed for her again, and this time she ran left and continued shouting for her sister. He realized that she was crying also.
"Why can't you see me!!!??? WHY ARE YOU STILL RUNNING!? Can't you hear me O-NII-CHAN!!???" Seto could hear her racking sobs as she tripped and fell, him not stopping fast enough and tripping over her.
He rolled around and grabbed her by the sholders, shaking her a little bit. "Who are you seeing!? I don't see anyone!!!"
She started to struggle against him. "Over there! It's my sister! Can't you see her! She is trying to get through that bush! I have to get to her!! LET ME GO KAIBA!!!!!!"
Seto immediatly froze. She had called him Kaiba. He got a second to look into her eyes before she took advantage of his temorary paralisis and she ran off shouting for her sister again. He had only stood up when he lost sight of her.
He dashed through the small thick of the forest where she had gone, but he could find no trace of her.
He had completly lost Lisa. And now he felt terrible. But there was nothing he could do right now, so he took a moment to collect himself, and he was off again.
Yugi was a little bit agitated at the moment. His friends didn't realize it, but he was really unsettled. He and his Yami had been feeling strange darkness for awhile now, and he was dying to know where it was coming from.
//Yugi! I am completly sure that someone has opened the Shadow Realm!//
/Shadow Realm? Why would anyone do that?/
//Pegasus?//
/He isn't supposed to be at the fortress for about a week and a half!/
//At the fortress.........//
/.............................could it be........./
//It could, aibou. Maybe HE is here.......//
They were interrupted by Joey motioning madly in front of them. He had ran ahead a bit, but had stopped over a bush and was now waving his arms for them to come over quietly. Yugi, Anzu, Mai, Bakura, and Honda all crept over to Joey, wondering what was making him whisper.
"I that.....who I think it is.....with who I think it is?" He pointed slowly to a clearing beyond the bushes about fourty feet away.
Sitting right there was Amoura. She was holding a small boy in her arms. The all quickly recognized him as Mokuba with an uncomfortable jolt. They watched in stunned silence as Amoura shook the boy. She had been crying. They could all see her smooth tear stained cheeks, her sea green hair disheveled.
"Oh Mokuba.....get up.....please....get up for moi? Vake up now, zleepy 'ead....it's time to keep moving......."
Mai managed to stagger a whisper. "Is.....Mokuba ok....?" She hadn't even bothered to mention why the boy billionare was on the island in the first place.
Yugi, before any of them could grab him, burst through the bushes and ran to Amoura.
"AMOURA!!! IS MOKUBA OKAY!?!?!?"
Amoura's head shot up quickly, and stared wide and blearry eyed at the quickly advancing Yugi. "YUGI! It is you! Oh, please 'elp me get Mokuba up.....he won't get up......I've been trying for about an 'our now......"
Yugi looked down at Mokuba, the others coming up slowly behind him. He appeared to be sleeping.
"What happened?" Bakura came up and knelt by Mokuba.
"Zis 'orrible man came, ze zame one from ze party on ze zhip......and 'eld a gun to us! He wanted revenge! Mokuba passed out on ze branches over zere, and I managed to get our azzailant away before he could really 'urt us! But now, Mokuba von't vake up!!"
Mai stooped over Mokuba and pulled something out of her bag. She held it up to Mokuba's nose.
"It's Smelling Salts!" Honda looked over at Mokuba, and they all bent over him. Mokuba stirred, then twitched, then his eyes flickered open.
The first thing he saw was seven pairs of eyes bent over his face.
"AHH!!!" Mokuba shot up, at the same time, hitting Joey in the head. They both fell backwards, Mokuba back into Amoura's arms and Joey landing uncomfortably on the ground, his butt taking the hit of the fall.
"MOKUBA!! YOU'RE AVAKE!!!" Amoura held him in her arms tightly. She'd hate herself for eternity if something happened to Seto's little brother.
Mokuba, in a second of panic, had hidden his face by Amoura's chest. He slowly lifted his head towards the others. "It's.....all of you!"
Yugi sat down by Amoura and Mokuba and smiled. "Yes, it is us Mokuba. Now, why don't you tell us why you're here?"
Mokuba looked up at Amoura and sat up, her relinquishing her hold on the boy. "Where's Bandit Keith? Why am I alive? I thought I was a goner......" He looked down.
Everyone was suddenly enraged. "BANDIT KEITH!!" Joey was on the verge of a meltdown. He turned sideways and punched a tree.
Anzu stared hard at Mokuba and Amoura. "Was it Bandit Keith? Or could you have been mistaken?"
"NO WAY!" Mokuba looked Anzu in the eyes. "It had to be him! It looked just like him, dressed like him, called me a twerp...."
Joey rounded on them. "That settles it. Twerp....that's definitly Keith...."
Yugi was lost in a slight train of thought. Then he carefully said, "You know, we never did get a good look at the guy who harrassed you, Amoura. He sort of took off after that....."
"Oui, Yugi. He did. But ve are zafe now....."
Mokuba turned to face Amoura. "But nobody is safe while he has that gun!"
Everyone there suddenly had wide eyes and open mouths.
"HE HAS A GUN!!?!?!?!" Honda was in a state of disbelief.
"This isn't good guys!" Bakura looked worried, and had a right to do so.
Mai decided she had to change the subject. "Are you here looking for Seto, Mokuba?" Mai looked at him.
"Yeah, I am. Have you guys seen him?"
"Sorry Mokuba, we haven't. Not since we were there on the ship with him." Anzu looked at him sympatheticaly.
Mokuba stood up and the others followed suit. "I want to find him. Come on.....can we go now?"
Amoura looked down on him. "Mokuba....ve left our zings at our campzite....ve must go get it now...."
"Oh yeah! Let's go! Will you all come with us?" Mokuba looked over at the group of duelists.
Yugi looked at the others, who all nodded. Mai put her salts away and they headed for the camp. Amoura and Mokuba picked up their things, and Amoura opened up her ID.
"I zink ve should go in zat direction." She pointed. "I vant to go into zis dense looking area 'ere and zee vhat it zere....."
Honda flipped his ID open and checked it out, marking the spot on his map while he was at it. "Yeah, it does seem like a pretty good place to go.......what do you say guys?"
They all nodded again, and set off.
"Now, let us check those lovely lists again........hmm....my eliminator duelists are doing their applied task well! They have taken the chips of about seventy different duelists all together!!!"
A certain Mr. Crawford sat at his balcony, sipping some 1856 vintage red wine, a grin playing on his lips. He swirled his wine and then checked on the statistics of his two favorite duelists so far.
"Ahhh.....Kaiba-boy......you seem to be hitting a slump! You only have fifteen chips! And Yugi is doing admirably.....seventeen....." Pegasus turned his head down to the sunset and sighed.
"My good friend is doing his job most favorably as well....I am so glad he left to actually BE an eliminator.....and soon....everything I ever wanted out of life will be mine...."
He stood from his seat and walked inside. He swiftly disappeared.
He counted his diamond chips in the over-large glove he wore. Twenty-nine.....not bad for a day's work. He had been thouroughly scouring portions of forest for quite some time, weeding out the duelists, challenging them, and winning from them all of their diamond chips. The stupid children didn't know what hit them.
He did have his goals, of course. Pegasus was going to help him there. He was going to make sure of that. He needed his help of course, so that is why he sought out the damn winged horsey in the first place. Pegasus was essential, otherwise how could this tournament be held?
The diamond chips glinted in the sun in irratic patterns as the sun tried to fight it's way through the dense foliage in the forest. Leaves crunched under his feet and he thought that the chips were glinting angrily at him for his violent ways. Like he gave a crap. Violent is as violet does.....he grasped the Millennium Rod in his pocket (A/N: I'll bet....0.o) and grinned (A/N: Oh god) as he walked on.
He spotted out of the corner of his eye someone walking in the shrubbery. He ran over quickly and jumped in front of the person. This time, it was a young girl. No older than fourteen. He pointed at her, and then at the cards he held up in his other hand.
She eyed the oversized dueling glove and nearly ran away. She pointed at herself, making a gulping noise in her throat. He nodded and led her away to her defeat.
Mokuba stumbled and yawned. Honda looked at his watch and announced that it was nearly eleven o' clock at night.
Mai immediatly stopped and set her things down. Amoura unrolled Mokuba's sleeping bag and set him carefully down, tucking him in. He fell asleep instantly. Joey ran off to find firewood, and Yugi pulled out a match.
Joey came back with the wood, and Amoura set some stones around the parameter of the fire area. They set the wood down and Yugi set it on fire. Bakura came up and warmed his hands.
"Goodness, I have been very cold lately....."
Mai came up and felt his hands. "They.....feel like ice, Bakura...."
"I did say that I was very cold....."
Yugi eyed him warily and turned back to the fire.
"Mew!"
At this noise, everyone's head shot up. They all turned in the direction of the noise, and saw that from Amoura's side bag had emerged......a small kitten.
Honda nearly freaked. "I'm ALLERGIC TO CATS!!!!!! WHAT IS IT DOING HERE!!!!!!!!!!"
The kitten looked up at Mental Breakdown Honda and pranced over to him, the bell around it's neck tinkling lightly. Honda shook wildly and fell backwards. "Ahh....ahhh....ahhh...AAHHCHHOOO!!" Honda sneezed loudly.
Anzu, Joey, and Mai, on the other hand, were delighted. Anzu scooped it up into her hands and it looked lazily into Anzu's eyes and gave a small "mew."
Mai giggled. "Awww.....it's so adorable! How ever did you get away with bringing it?"
Joey scratched it behind it's ear, and it wiggled and nudged Joey's hand. "It looks like a little baby silver tabby to me."
"You are correct, Joey. It iz indeed a zmall tabby. 'Er name iz Yunet."
Yugi looked up at Amoura. "Yunet.....that's an Egyptian name, isn't it?"
"And you are correct az vell, Yugi. I just zaw ze name Yunet one day, and it ztuck on ze little zing mainly because of ze markings around 'er eyes. Zee 'ow it looks like Egyptian eye makeup? She zleeps all of ze time, zo it is easy to do all of zis, and keep an eye on 'er. She vakes up now and zen...."
The little Yunet wriggled out of Anzu's grasp and strutted over to where Mokuba was sleeping. She immediatly began playing with his long hair, swatting back and forth like some over battered mouse toy.
Amoura laughed lightly and opened a small resealable pouch she procured out of her bag. She set it down close to Yunet and turned back to them. "She vill not run away from me. She loves 'er food and long 'air all too much, making Mokuba and I lovely targets for 'er playtime."
Honda had gotten up by this time, and had inched away from the small fuzzy lump of cute kittenness. Bakura had just looked the baby cat with mild interest.
The kitten had moved back to Amoura, and began playing with a thick string hanging out of Amoura's pocket. She batted the kitten away from the string, and shoved it back into her pocket. She picked the kitten up and deposited it into Yugi's lap.
"Please keep an eye on 'er. I am going to go exzplore for a moment....."
Yugi watched her go, and yelled after her. "Shouldn't someone go with you! Just in case it's not safe!!"
"I vill be fine, Yugi......just keep an eye on ze cat please...." Amoura walked off into the darkness around them.
Joey patted Yugi on the sholder. "She'll be fine, man! It's not like she's careless like Mai!"
Mai retorted with a witty growl. Honda wouldn't go anywhere near Yugi because of little Yunet, and the cat stretched her paws out and batted at Yugi's bangs playfully. Yugi laughed happily and the cat mewed at him happily.
Amoura came back safely about ten minutes later, and unrolled her sleeping bag. Bakura watched her. "Did you find anything interesting, Amoura?"
"I did actually." The others stared at her. "I found some gates.....but I could not zee vhat vas inzide, zo ve should go in ze morning and check it out."
Honda leaned forward. "Gates? What would gates be doing on this island?"
"Don't you remember," Yugi started, "that Pegasus said that the island was still sort of new to him, and that even he didn't know what was on all of it? There must be some building that was forgotten. I say we do check it out in the morning."
They all agreed, and unfurled their bags, crawling inside. Yunet curled up in Amoura's hair, making a small nest out of it.
The next morning, they all got up quickly, Amoura rousing Mokuba, and him wondering why there was an enormous knot in his hair. Amoura laughed and pointed at Yunet, who was following Honda around. They ate a quick breakfast and walked off in the direction Amoura had specified.
They had only walked for about a minute when Amoura stopped. "Now, ze gates are just around zis thick of trees, I do zink....." She went and looked around the trees and gasped audibly. The others ran up behind her and gasped as well. They couldn't believe their eyes. But they did know that this was a VERY good find....
Brood: Woo hoo! Bet nobody will be able to guess what it is!!! Betcha betcha betcha!! And sorry for those A/N's earlier on....couldn't help it....and also....HOW MANY OF YOU THOUGHT I HAD KILLED MOKUBA!! Hehehehehe! I really want to know, review and tell me if you did think I had for even the teensiest moment......lol
Zutsokaki: *ahem.
Brood: And if you do not know who that person was, I shall have to beat you with a Twizzler......
Zutsokaki: *AHEM!
Brood: And sorry for making this chapter so short, it's about two twenty in the morning.....
Zutsokaki: *AHEM!! *shoves an envelope into Brood's hands*
Brood: *looks at it* OH YEAH! I will now give away the Brood Mayran's Super Spiffy Reviewer Award! The winner gets a guest appearance in my Cast Party fic! It is a cast party tie in to this story of course! This reviewer has been amusing me with her entries since she first started, and has never ceased to make me grin!
Zutsokaki: Or yell happily, causing me temporary ear damage.
Brood: .......all annoyances aside, the winner of Brood Mayran's Super Spiffy Reviewer Award is IEYRE!!! Kudos to you friend! I hope you enjoy your guest appearance in my party fic!
Zutsokaki: *reads what Yami I. wants to do to him.....* .....................
Brood: Woah....he has an actual fangirl.....this is the best! I LOVE YOU ALL AND PLEASE KEEP UP THE GREAT REVIEWS!! *and wish me luck, I've entered a Yu-Gi-Oh! Card game local tournament!
Zutsokaki: You'll lose.
Brood: HUSH YOU! I'm much to happy and sleepy to be bothered right now! Ieyre, please be patient for your entrance chappie to come up!
Zutsokaki: What the heck..........what are you doing?
Brood: Making you wonder what I'm doing! *munches on some Lemon Cream Pie that Yami L.o.D was giving out* Mmmmmmm.........piiiieee....
Zutsokaki: Erm....yeah.... I think I will sleep now, since this story sucks too much for me to be wasting my awakeness on it.
Brood: Well, you suck to much for me to be wasting my LIFE on you! So....ha!
Zutsokaki: If none of you could tell, she's sort of hyper. She used to be a rougue , all cool and stuff, but.........not when you get some sugar and a few good reviews in her....
Brood: Now who would believe that cute little old me was rougue? Come on Zutso-kun!
Zutsokaki: *Uses the pillow given to him by Yami Ieyre* Friend, I thank you for this.
Brood: I think that now I shall have to get onto my story! Yup! Chapter 8 here we come! And I would also like to take this chance to give away a little prize that can be in title only, because I have nothing to give!.....oh wait......
Zutsokaki: *coughs* CHEAP!*coughs*
Brood: *settles this time for an evil glare* Well anyway.... I would like to take this chance to give out Brood Mayran's Super Spiffy Reviewer Award!
Zutsokaki: Ran out of names?
Brood: No. But this reviewer will be announced at the end of this very chapter!
CHAPTER 8
Mokuba ran through the trees and shrubbery of the forest in the direction Amoura's yell came from. His shirt caught on a low branch, and he pulled himself free, swearing in spite of himself. He stumbled over a rock, caught himself, and burst into another clearing by a small brook.
Amoura was standing in the middle of the clearing, a man standing opposite of her. He had a magnum trained on her forehead. She looked scared, but her eyes remained calm.
"I owe you payback for the night on the ship! You humiliated me there!"
"You brought zat on yourzelf, and you know it."
"AMOURA!" Mokuba yelled out at her from beside a bush.
The man holding the gun at her whipped around, still holding the gun on Amoura.
"Bandit Keith! Let her go now!" Mokuba balled up his fists and glared at the much larger man. Keith was wearing some leather riding clothes and a black bandanna tied around his forehead in headband style, but he was unmistakeable.
"Hey! It's you! You're....Mokuba Kaiba! What are you doing here, you little runt!?"
"None of your beeswax! Just let Amoura go now!"
Amoura watched them, then turned her head to Mokuba. "Mokuba......leave now.....just go! Go on! I can 'andle zis!"
Keith grinned and glared at Mokuba over the edges of his sunglasses. "Maybe you should listen to this little chick. She's got guts, and alot of smarts to tell you to leave! And why the hell are you here!? This is an exclusive tournament!"
"Maybe I was invited, you big bully!"
Amoura stared at Mokuba. "You do realize zat zis man 'as a gun, right Mokuba?"
"Yeah, but I also know that my big brother would kill this guy with his bare hands if he even tried to hurt me!"
"But Mokuba.....vhat good could your brother do to a dead boy?"
Keith grinned and ran his free hand through his hair. "So she has more smarts than I thought, little Mokuba....and when everyone finds out that you are on the island, obviously without your brother's knowledge, it's all over for you. You will be sent back! That damned Pegasus wouldn't let you stay....he may even take you his prisoner again!" Keith laughed loudly, throwing his head back a little bit.
Amoura growled softly and made a move to attack him.
Mokuba wasn't one to be ignored though. He dived at Keith while he was slightly distracted with himself, and sank his teeth into the arm that was holding the gun.
"GAAARRRRGGG!! YOU LITTLE BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!!!!" Keith swung his arm away and tossed Mokuba into a nearby bush. Mokuba sat there for a moment, stunned, while Amoura watched in terror, frozen in her spot.
"Unnnggg....." Mokuba writhed a little, and realized he was stuck in the bush. His shirt was caught in the small brambles. Keith raised the gun level to Mokuba's head.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Insector Haga watched the third contender that day walk away with his/her head hung in shame. He absolutely loved breaking the soul of a duelist in a crushing battle, giving them no doubt who was the greatest duelist around. Him, of course.
Haga bounded lightly from the duel station, his three new chips on his glove. He counted fourteen small diamonds in his dark green glove, the chips encircling the square-shaped band. He picked up his bag and brushed a strand of light green hair away from his beady eyes, it falling back to where it was before.
He definitly felt as if he were making up for his indescrepancies at the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. If he kept up the pace, he would be waltzing into Pegasus's hidden fortress with no problem. Even if there was a problem. He had to FIND the place first. It wasn't in plain sight, like his castle was.
His ID flicked open, and he marked the dueling station on his map. A small bug crunched pleasantly underneath of his boot, only reminding him as he walked that it was a good omen. It represented to him that it was the future condition of all duelists in his way. Crushed, beaten, and left in plain sight and humiliation, for all of the world to see in their pain. He grinned as he hit the "Enter" key. He would be the victor of this tournament, of that he was sure.
They passed a small bridge over a brook and stopped at it's other bank. Yugi set down his pack and sighed. The other's followed suit and pulled out some berries from their packs. Mai complained that her supply was running low, and immediatly sent Honda out to get more.
Honda darkly agreed with Mai that they needed more berries, but also thought out loud that maybe Mai's supply was the only one running low because she kept snacking on her's the night before.
Mai yelled at him, and Honda ran off to find the berries. Yugi supposed Honda was now the group Provider. He grinned and leaned back on his sleeping bag roll, listening to the soft trickle of water beside them, and the soft rustling of the wind in the trees.
After a moment, Honda returned with some berries and they split all of them up. Then they all sat down and enjoyed a moment's rest beside the small brook.
When they were finally ready to go, they packed up and decided unanimously to follow the brook. They hefted the solid weight of the bags onto their backs and set out again. A few small and short hours passed without notable event. Then they sat down again and pulled out their canteens for refill. The brook they were by was clean and pure.
Joey pulled out his canteen, and Mai, along with Bakura, eyed him warily. Joey opened it up and started to swig down the last of his water.
Then, to everyone's surprise, he started to convulse and shake around. Yugi and Mai were panicking, and Honda ran over to him and started to clap on Joey's back. It was obvious he was gagging on something.
Soon enough, a small, silver, and very dead fish popped out of Joey's surprised face. Mai's eyes welled and brimmed with tears of mirth, and she screwed up her mouth to prevent from laughing louder than she was currently snickering. Bakura chanced a small smirk and an evil narrowing of the eyes, as he was obviously communicating with his darker half.
Yugi snickered a little bit himself, as he watched the small fish. He gently picked it up and sent it drifting limply down the brook.
Honda watched Yugi do this and decided to send it off with a....touching eulogy. "I hope he lived better than he died...." He shot a grin over at a still red-faced Joey. He wasn't as touched.
"I nearly died on a fish, and all you can do is snicker and grin at it all!?!?!?!?!" He puffed up a little bit and stopped right there, because Mai had just exploded into laughter.
"Mai, this isn't funny!!!!!!!!"
Mai stopped her laughing long enough to fling a quote at Joey. "Revenge is a dish best served COLD, my dear Joey!" Then she chuckled just a bit more, the rest of them catching on to what happened.
"You put that fish in Joey's water!?!?! And how has he been avoiding drinking it for the past day!?!" Anzu looked confused, but highly amused.
"Sheer dumb luck." Mai had now completly stopped laughing, and strode past the speechless teen. "Why don't we continue on now?" Joey's mouth hung open, but he grabbed his bag. Bakura chuckled again as they went along, stopping for a second to refill the canteens. Joey checked his for anymore fish.
When he happily found his canteen fish-free, he attached it to his back and caught up with the rest of them.
Lisa bounded and skipped along next to Seto, who had put on his coat. It really was all to chilly on the island.....
The two travellers went along the island, Seto dueling a couple of times. Lisa dueled once, and Seto had found her deck to be effective, dispite the slight lack of outright strategy.
Lisa ran ahead and found a small water pond, and started to happily skip rocks, her nine diamond chips reflecting off of the pond's surface. He watched her with his usual expression as he sat down. He sort of enjoyed her boisterous presence around him. He had to remember to curse himself later for becoming soft. Her eyes did sort of remind him of Mokuba's though, so he decided to blame that for now.
The small girl laughed and skipped along the banks, the rocks forgotten temorarily. She began to sing snatches of Irish songs that she knew, and tripping on a thick patch of grass. She fell over and onto her face.
Seto was standing before he knew it, but caught himself in time and simply asked, "Are you alright?"
Lisa stood up. She had some grass and dirt on her face, and she wiped it off casually. "I'm just fine Kebby-kun!" She walked up to him and grinned.
"Fine. Let's keep moving then." He gruffly picked up his back and began walking away. Lisa grabbed her bag and started to follow. She skipped happily again for while, when suddenly she paused, then stopped completly and began running in an oppostite direction.
"Nii-CHAN!! NII-CHAN!!!! NIIIIIII-CCHHHAAANNN!!!" Lisa yelled as she ran through the woods. Seto had seen her take off and ran after her.
"LISA!! COME BACK HERE YOU FOOLISH GIRL!!!!" He jumped over a stray log and ducked under a branch with little difficulty, grabbing for the back of her shirt.
He missed by about two inches. "BUT I SAW MY NII-CHAN!! SISTER!! It's ME!! IT'S LISA!!"
Seto started feeling ill. He didn't see anyone at all, but for some reason, Lisa seemed to. She kept running, and somehow evading his grasp.
/What is wrong with her!?!?!?!/ He figured she was getting ahead of him because she was smaller and could fit through gaps in the foliage better, but that fact did little to help him get the little girl back.
He didn't know why, but he would feel AWFUL for losing her on this large island. You never know who you could meet. He grabbed for her again, and this time she ran left and continued shouting for her sister. He realized that she was crying also.
"Why can't you see me!!!??? WHY ARE YOU STILL RUNNING!? Can't you hear me O-NII-CHAN!!???" Seto could hear her racking sobs as she tripped and fell, him not stopping fast enough and tripping over her.
He rolled around and grabbed her by the sholders, shaking her a little bit. "Who are you seeing!? I don't see anyone!!!"
She started to struggle against him. "Over there! It's my sister! Can't you see her! She is trying to get through that bush! I have to get to her!! LET ME GO KAIBA!!!!!!"
Seto immediatly froze. She had called him Kaiba. He got a second to look into her eyes before she took advantage of his temorary paralisis and she ran off shouting for her sister again. He had only stood up when he lost sight of her.
He dashed through the small thick of the forest where she had gone, but he could find no trace of her.
He had completly lost Lisa. And now he felt terrible. But there was nothing he could do right now, so he took a moment to collect himself, and he was off again.
Yugi was a little bit agitated at the moment. His friends didn't realize it, but he was really unsettled. He and his Yami had been feeling strange darkness for awhile now, and he was dying to know where it was coming from.
//Yugi! I am completly sure that someone has opened the Shadow Realm!//
/Shadow Realm? Why would anyone do that?/
//Pegasus?//
/He isn't supposed to be at the fortress for about a week and a half!/
//At the fortress.........//
/.............................could it be........./
//It could, aibou. Maybe HE is here.......//
They were interrupted by Joey motioning madly in front of them. He had ran ahead a bit, but had stopped over a bush and was now waving his arms for them to come over quietly. Yugi, Anzu, Mai, Bakura, and Honda all crept over to Joey, wondering what was making him whisper.
"I that.....who I think it is.....with who I think it is?" He pointed slowly to a clearing beyond the bushes about fourty feet away.
Sitting right there was Amoura. She was holding a small boy in her arms. The all quickly recognized him as Mokuba with an uncomfortable jolt. They watched in stunned silence as Amoura shook the boy. She had been crying. They could all see her smooth tear stained cheeks, her sea green hair disheveled.
"Oh Mokuba.....get up.....please....get up for moi? Vake up now, zleepy 'ead....it's time to keep moving......."
Mai managed to stagger a whisper. "Is.....Mokuba ok....?" She hadn't even bothered to mention why the boy billionare was on the island in the first place.
Yugi, before any of them could grab him, burst through the bushes and ran to Amoura.
"AMOURA!!! IS MOKUBA OKAY!?!?!?"
Amoura's head shot up quickly, and stared wide and blearry eyed at the quickly advancing Yugi. "YUGI! It is you! Oh, please 'elp me get Mokuba up.....he won't get up......I've been trying for about an 'our now......"
Yugi looked down at Mokuba, the others coming up slowly behind him. He appeared to be sleeping.
"What happened?" Bakura came up and knelt by Mokuba.
"Zis 'orrible man came, ze zame one from ze party on ze zhip......and 'eld a gun to us! He wanted revenge! Mokuba passed out on ze branches over zere, and I managed to get our azzailant away before he could really 'urt us! But now, Mokuba von't vake up!!"
Mai stooped over Mokuba and pulled something out of her bag. She held it up to Mokuba's nose.
"It's Smelling Salts!" Honda looked over at Mokuba, and they all bent over him. Mokuba stirred, then twitched, then his eyes flickered open.
The first thing he saw was seven pairs of eyes bent over his face.
"AHH!!!" Mokuba shot up, at the same time, hitting Joey in the head. They both fell backwards, Mokuba back into Amoura's arms and Joey landing uncomfortably on the ground, his butt taking the hit of the fall.
"MOKUBA!! YOU'RE AVAKE!!!" Amoura held him in her arms tightly. She'd hate herself for eternity if something happened to Seto's little brother.
Mokuba, in a second of panic, had hidden his face by Amoura's chest. He slowly lifted his head towards the others. "It's.....all of you!"
Yugi sat down by Amoura and Mokuba and smiled. "Yes, it is us Mokuba. Now, why don't you tell us why you're here?"
Mokuba looked up at Amoura and sat up, her relinquishing her hold on the boy. "Where's Bandit Keith? Why am I alive? I thought I was a goner......" He looked down.
Everyone was suddenly enraged. "BANDIT KEITH!!" Joey was on the verge of a meltdown. He turned sideways and punched a tree.
Anzu stared hard at Mokuba and Amoura. "Was it Bandit Keith? Or could you have been mistaken?"
"NO WAY!" Mokuba looked Anzu in the eyes. "It had to be him! It looked just like him, dressed like him, called me a twerp...."
Joey rounded on them. "That settles it. Twerp....that's definitly Keith...."
Yugi was lost in a slight train of thought. Then he carefully said, "You know, we never did get a good look at the guy who harrassed you, Amoura. He sort of took off after that....."
"Oui, Yugi. He did. But ve are zafe now....."
Mokuba turned to face Amoura. "But nobody is safe while he has that gun!"
Everyone there suddenly had wide eyes and open mouths.
"HE HAS A GUN!!?!?!?!" Honda was in a state of disbelief.
"This isn't good guys!" Bakura looked worried, and had a right to do so.
Mai decided she had to change the subject. "Are you here looking for Seto, Mokuba?" Mai looked at him.
"Yeah, I am. Have you guys seen him?"
"Sorry Mokuba, we haven't. Not since we were there on the ship with him." Anzu looked at him sympatheticaly.
Mokuba stood up and the others followed suit. "I want to find him. Come on.....can we go now?"
Amoura looked down on him. "Mokuba....ve left our zings at our campzite....ve must go get it now...."
"Oh yeah! Let's go! Will you all come with us?" Mokuba looked over at the group of duelists.
Yugi looked at the others, who all nodded. Mai put her salts away and they headed for the camp. Amoura and Mokuba picked up their things, and Amoura opened up her ID.
"I zink ve should go in zat direction." She pointed. "I vant to go into zis dense looking area 'ere and zee vhat it zere....."
Honda flipped his ID open and checked it out, marking the spot on his map while he was at it. "Yeah, it does seem like a pretty good place to go.......what do you say guys?"
They all nodded again, and set off.
"Now, let us check those lovely lists again........hmm....my eliminator duelists are doing their applied task well! They have taken the chips of about seventy different duelists all together!!!"
A certain Mr. Crawford sat at his balcony, sipping some 1856 vintage red wine, a grin playing on his lips. He swirled his wine and then checked on the statistics of his two favorite duelists so far.
"Ahhh.....Kaiba-boy......you seem to be hitting a slump! You only have fifteen chips! And Yugi is doing admirably.....seventeen....." Pegasus turned his head down to the sunset and sighed.
"My good friend is doing his job most favorably as well....I am so glad he left to actually BE an eliminator.....and soon....everything I ever wanted out of life will be mine...."
He stood from his seat and walked inside. He swiftly disappeared.
He counted his diamond chips in the over-large glove he wore. Twenty-nine.....not bad for a day's work. He had been thouroughly scouring portions of forest for quite some time, weeding out the duelists, challenging them, and winning from them all of their diamond chips. The stupid children didn't know what hit them.
He did have his goals, of course. Pegasus was going to help him there. He was going to make sure of that. He needed his help of course, so that is why he sought out the damn winged horsey in the first place. Pegasus was essential, otherwise how could this tournament be held?
The diamond chips glinted in the sun in irratic patterns as the sun tried to fight it's way through the dense foliage in the forest. Leaves crunched under his feet and he thought that the chips were glinting angrily at him for his violent ways. Like he gave a crap. Violent is as violet does.....he grasped the Millennium Rod in his pocket (A/N: I'll bet....0.o) and grinned (A/N: Oh god) as he walked on.
He spotted out of the corner of his eye someone walking in the shrubbery. He ran over quickly and jumped in front of the person. This time, it was a young girl. No older than fourteen. He pointed at her, and then at the cards he held up in his other hand.
She eyed the oversized dueling glove and nearly ran away. She pointed at herself, making a gulping noise in her throat. He nodded and led her away to her defeat.
Mokuba stumbled and yawned. Honda looked at his watch and announced that it was nearly eleven o' clock at night.
Mai immediatly stopped and set her things down. Amoura unrolled Mokuba's sleeping bag and set him carefully down, tucking him in. He fell asleep instantly. Joey ran off to find firewood, and Yugi pulled out a match.
Joey came back with the wood, and Amoura set some stones around the parameter of the fire area. They set the wood down and Yugi set it on fire. Bakura came up and warmed his hands.
"Goodness, I have been very cold lately....."
Mai came up and felt his hands. "They.....feel like ice, Bakura...."
"I did say that I was very cold....."
Yugi eyed him warily and turned back to the fire.
"Mew!"
At this noise, everyone's head shot up. They all turned in the direction of the noise, and saw that from Amoura's side bag had emerged......a small kitten.
Honda nearly freaked. "I'm ALLERGIC TO CATS!!!!!! WHAT IS IT DOING HERE!!!!!!!!!!"
The kitten looked up at Mental Breakdown Honda and pranced over to him, the bell around it's neck tinkling lightly. Honda shook wildly and fell backwards. "Ahh....ahhh....ahhh...AAHHCHHOOO!!" Honda sneezed loudly.
Anzu, Joey, and Mai, on the other hand, were delighted. Anzu scooped it up into her hands and it looked lazily into Anzu's eyes and gave a small "mew."
Mai giggled. "Awww.....it's so adorable! How ever did you get away with bringing it?"
Joey scratched it behind it's ear, and it wiggled and nudged Joey's hand. "It looks like a little baby silver tabby to me."
"You are correct, Joey. It iz indeed a zmall tabby. 'Er name iz Yunet."
Yugi looked up at Amoura. "Yunet.....that's an Egyptian name, isn't it?"
"And you are correct az vell, Yugi. I just zaw ze name Yunet one day, and it ztuck on ze little zing mainly because of ze markings around 'er eyes. Zee 'ow it looks like Egyptian eye makeup? She zleeps all of ze time, zo it is easy to do all of zis, and keep an eye on 'er. She vakes up now and zen...."
The little Yunet wriggled out of Anzu's grasp and strutted over to where Mokuba was sleeping. She immediatly began playing with his long hair, swatting back and forth like some over battered mouse toy.
Amoura laughed lightly and opened a small resealable pouch she procured out of her bag. She set it down close to Yunet and turned back to them. "She vill not run away from me. She loves 'er food and long 'air all too much, making Mokuba and I lovely targets for 'er playtime."
Honda had gotten up by this time, and had inched away from the small fuzzy lump of cute kittenness. Bakura had just looked the baby cat with mild interest.
The kitten had moved back to Amoura, and began playing with a thick string hanging out of Amoura's pocket. She batted the kitten away from the string, and shoved it back into her pocket. She picked the kitten up and deposited it into Yugi's lap.
"Please keep an eye on 'er. I am going to go exzplore for a moment....."
Yugi watched her go, and yelled after her. "Shouldn't someone go with you! Just in case it's not safe!!"
"I vill be fine, Yugi......just keep an eye on ze cat please...." Amoura walked off into the darkness around them.
Joey patted Yugi on the sholder. "She'll be fine, man! It's not like she's careless like Mai!"
Mai retorted with a witty growl. Honda wouldn't go anywhere near Yugi because of little Yunet, and the cat stretched her paws out and batted at Yugi's bangs playfully. Yugi laughed happily and the cat mewed at him happily.
Amoura came back safely about ten minutes later, and unrolled her sleeping bag. Bakura watched her. "Did you find anything interesting, Amoura?"
"I did actually." The others stared at her. "I found some gates.....but I could not zee vhat vas inzide, zo ve should go in ze morning and check it out."
Honda leaned forward. "Gates? What would gates be doing on this island?"
"Don't you remember," Yugi started, "that Pegasus said that the island was still sort of new to him, and that even he didn't know what was on all of it? There must be some building that was forgotten. I say we do check it out in the morning."
They all agreed, and unfurled their bags, crawling inside. Yunet curled up in Amoura's hair, making a small nest out of it.
The next morning, they all got up quickly, Amoura rousing Mokuba, and him wondering why there was an enormous knot in his hair. Amoura laughed and pointed at Yunet, who was following Honda around. They ate a quick breakfast and walked off in the direction Amoura had specified.
They had only walked for about a minute when Amoura stopped. "Now, ze gates are just around zis thick of trees, I do zink....." She went and looked around the trees and gasped audibly. The others ran up behind her and gasped as well. They couldn't believe their eyes. But they did know that this was a VERY good find....
Brood: Woo hoo! Bet nobody will be able to guess what it is!!! Betcha betcha betcha!! And sorry for those A/N's earlier on....couldn't help it....and also....HOW MANY OF YOU THOUGHT I HAD KILLED MOKUBA!! Hehehehehe! I really want to know, review and tell me if you did think I had for even the teensiest moment......lol
Zutsokaki: *ahem.
Brood: And if you do not know who that person was, I shall have to beat you with a Twizzler......
Zutsokaki: *AHEM!
Brood: And sorry for making this chapter so short, it's about two twenty in the morning.....
Zutsokaki: *AHEM!! *shoves an envelope into Brood's hands*
Brood: *looks at it* OH YEAH! I will now give away the Brood Mayran's Super Spiffy Reviewer Award! The winner gets a guest appearance in my Cast Party fic! It is a cast party tie in to this story of course! This reviewer has been amusing me with her entries since she first started, and has never ceased to make me grin!
Zutsokaki: Or yell happily, causing me temporary ear damage.
Brood: .......all annoyances aside, the winner of Brood Mayran's Super Spiffy Reviewer Award is IEYRE!!! Kudos to you friend! I hope you enjoy your guest appearance in my party fic!
Zutsokaki: *reads what Yami I. wants to do to him.....* .....................
Brood: Woah....he has an actual fangirl.....this is the best! I LOVE YOU ALL AND PLEASE KEEP UP THE GREAT REVIEWS!! *and wish me luck, I've entered a Yu-Gi-Oh! Card game local tournament!
Zutsokaki: You'll lose.
Brood: HUSH YOU! I'm much to happy and sleepy to be bothered right now! Ieyre, please be patient for your entrance chappie to come up!
