CHAPTER THREE!
Author's Notes: Bad news… my computer got a virus. Yes, a really bad virus- the Blaster worm, to be precise (shame on myself for not downloading the patch soon enough… I'm probably the only one in my family who even knew what the Blaster worm was, so you can't blame the rest of them). Anyway, the upshot is that we had to reset the hard drive, and all my notes for upcoming chapters for this fic were obliterated. Yes, I've lost three weeks of time, yes, it's taken me forever to get back to writing this. BUT I WILL NOT ABANDON THE FIC! triumphantly dramatic fanfare plays So, I should re-write my notes within the next week or two, but I'm writing Chapter Three off of nothing (except for re-reading #1 and 2 on fanfiction . net). Once again, apologies, curse Microsoft, curse the Blaster worm, curse me, and I WILL FINISH. I may end up having to ask for an extension, though, but I'm going to try to hurry up.
AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO… triumphantly expectant fanfare plays
ON WITH CHAPTER THREE!
* * *
Whoa, Realm travel is pretty psychedelic.
This was Joey Wheeler's initial and only reaction to the unique sensation of being flung through a break in the space-time continuums by the power of an ancient magical artifact.
It didn't take very long. One minute, he was standing, touching Yugi's shoulder, who in turn had direct-indirect contact with Kaze, Aikan, Miyaburu and Duke Devlin. Miyaburu's eye began to glow an odd shade of pale green, and then the room started melting around them.
There was really no other way to describe it. The colors began to slowly blur, dripping downward like sloppily-applied wet paint on a wall, until shapes were no longer recognizable. Then, various lines, pixels of color, and odd, organic shapes began to drip from the top to the bottom of Joey's field of vision, faster and faster, until-
WHUMP.
There was not an audible noise, but the mental impact of "landing" was clearly felt. The approriate set of images had snapped into place, though Joey was still a bit too dizzy for a close examination of his surroundings.
Around him, the other five team members were clearly in various states of mental dissaray, and Pegasus was actually showing slight signs of physical exhaustion. He recovered fairly quickly, however, and lifted his gaze to his companions, waiting for them to get their bearings.
Kaze was the first to snap back to earth and speak. "Where are we, Peg- I mean, Miyaburu?"
Miyaburu grinned at the slip, somewhat struck by the irony that Kaze was the first to make it. "The Second Realm, of course. What did you expect, an address? I've never been here before, so I don't know any more than you do. I just used the same coordinates that our killer did, so we have a place to start from."
Kaze looked briefly annoyed, but composed himself quickly. "I suppose that's all we can ask for." He sized up his team. Yugi was looking nervously around at the others in the group, Joey had a glazed, lost look on his face, Duke Devlin was staring at him hard, Aikan was also staring, but with a more questioning air, and Miyaburu was… Miyaburu.
He sighed. "Okay, look guys. We should try to find out as much about this world as we can before we go prancing off into something we know nothing about. We should also try to stay hidden, either literally or by blending in somehow. Like Miyaburu says, this is new territory for all of us, and we must stay alert and not call attention to ourselves."
Hmph. As much attention as this group could not call, anyway, he thought as he watched Devlin "accidentally" almost knock Joey over as he walked by.
* * *
"This is the spot where my library once stood. He burned it down yesterday, chased me across half the town, forced me to duel him, of all things, and was creaming me. He only left when you showed up."
Ichiko's logical self still wasn't completely sure if this guy, Kouten, was a friend or not, but she so desperately needed an ally… someone, anyone, who would give her support. She quite literally had nothing else left in her life besides the immediate here and now, besides what little support she could find around her in each passing second. Thinking about the future was definitely something she didn't want to, or couldn't, do.
Kouten was studying the rubble of the destroyed building. Stone foundations. Charred paper everywhere. Dust. Ash. Heat; even now, so long after the last flames had gone out.
For the first time since they'd arrived at ground zero, Kouten spoke to her. "What was burned here?"
She realized he meant more than just the physical. "My life's work," she responded simply. "A lifetime of research, consisting this object." She tapped the Rod of 1,000 Minds hanging at her belt. In response to Kouten's questioning gaze, she replied, "It's a family heirloom," and left it at that.
The bearded young man didn't look quite satisfied, but nodded anyway. "The man who attacked you," he began, changing the subject, "I know who he was. His name is Shinwaa Metsubou, and as I have told you he murdered my father, and I am seeking revenge on him. That much should be obvious."
Ichiko simply nodded, waiting to see if he would continue. He did. "Metsubou is skilled as both a duelist and a swordsman. He crushed my father in a duel, for which the price was his weapon, a glaive called Lightning. Then, he drew his own sword, and slew my father, weaponless, defenseless, as I watched. I attacked him in a rage, but he just laughed, tossed me back my father's glaive, and ran off. I had been following him all over the world for many months, unable to do anything, until I met you."
Ichiko was stunned, and slowly, a feeling of gradually increasing terror began to mount within her. If this man, Metsubou, had succeeded in defeating her in a duel, would he have murdered her as well?
Her panicky musings were quickly terminated by the sound of approaching voices.
"…is totally burned down. Kinda weird, you know?"
"Remember, we still know nothing about this world or it's customs-"
"Yeah, yeah, but so far it seems pretty much like our own a few hundred years ago, with a few obvious differences. I mean, it isn't wildly different or anything. And I doubt they burn houses down for the heck of it."
"We can't be sure of-"
"Quiet, everyone! We're not attracting attention to ourselves, remember?"
It sounded like a large group of people (she had counted at least four voices speaking) was headed towards them from around the corner, and talking quite loudly. She glanced at Kouten, slightly unnerved by the nature of their conversation.
Kouten did not appear worried. He shifted his weight slightly, glanced toward the source of the voices, and waited for something to appear. No sign of nervousness appeared on his face.
The expected group rounded the corner. And they were a motley bunch indeed. A short, spiky-haired young boy, an older, blond-haired boy, a tall, spiky-haired teenager with dice earrings, a blonde, teenaged girl, a middle-aged man with white, shoulder-length hair covering half his face, and, standing in the back, a young man of nineteen or so, taller than all the others, his gaze taking in everything around him, his muscles reacting like someone trained for battle.
An odd bunch, to be sure… and the conversation they'd been having earlier made them all the odder. I have to look strong, like Kouten, she thought. But she was already jumpy, and these people just creeped her out.
Well, if her body would betray her, perhaps she could feign strength with words. "Who are you and what is your business here?" she began boldly.
A few members of the group stopped, as if to answer, but the middle-aged man froze completely. He pushed back his long white hair, and Ichiko shivered involuntarily;his right eye was a brilliant gold ball inserted into an empty socket, and it was glowing with an eerie light.
Ichiko's nerves werein no state to deal with any new abnormalities ina logical way, and her fight-or-flight instincts took hold immediately. She was running again, just like last time, unable to stop herself, trying to escape. She was running so fast that she almost didn't stop when she heard the white-haired man speak.
"Everyone, grab that man, quickly ! He's our killer!"
Ichiko spun around on her heel in time to see all four teenage boys immediately jump Kouten, grab his glaive away from him, and pin him to the ground.
It was too much for her to process. Unable to do anything else, her brain simply shut down.
* * *
Quickly bringing the Gin Hebi up to meet the sword weilded by the Hand of the Shadow operative with whom Kawari was currently locked in combat, he parried the blow and then fell to his knees to dodge a second blow from the man's other blade. Fighting ambidextrous swordsmen was the worst.
A few feet away, he could see Kaeru covering him with his handgun, quickly taking out two guards armed with machine guns as they turned the corner before they could do any damage.
Kawari finally spotted weakness in the other man as his made a weak downward chop with his sword, trying to hack him in two down on the floor. Kawari rolled under his opponents legs, then stabbed him in the back while he was still reorienting himself after his miss.
After the man crumpled to the ground, he glanced at Kaeru. His yami shot the man in the chest, just be sure he was dead and wouldn't give the alarm, and then followed Kawari up the stairs they had cleared. Killing was painful work, in more ways than one, but oftentimes that was the only solution to a problem. Such as breaking into the heavily-guarded Hand of the Shadow headquarters to complete one of the most important missions since the removal of Yami; to steal the Hand leader's plans for future attacks without him realizing what had been stolen.
As soon as he and his yami alighted on the next floor, they saw three guards, all three bearing machine guns, moving toward them, obviously alerted by the noise on the previous floor.
"Go on up!" Kaeru yelled, as his left arm was suddenly blown off by machine gun fire. "I'll hold these guys off, then catch up!"
Kawari didn't waste time to doubt his yami's ability to fullfil the promise. Kaeru would need a new temporary physical body when he caught up with him, of course, but as the Millennium Ring was safely around his neck that wouldn't be a problem.
The next floor seemed deserted; presumably, the guards now attacking Kaeru on the floor below had abandoned their posts to check out the noise. Kawari hurried along the hall, quietly, and climed the staircase.
Looking down the next hallway, Kawari could see a guard at an intersection of paths, looking straight ahead, obviously not aware of any suspicious goings-on. He only had a sword in one hand and a small handgun in the other. Kawari could probably take him if he had to, but he'd rather not risk it if he could avoid any conflict.
If only I knew what path to take, Kawari thought. But Kaeru had the map with him, and he had to keep moving. This operation depended on speed; quickly in, and quickly out, before the people higher up than the guards were alerted of anything. But there was no way of choosing which path to take without the guard noticing his presence.
Kawari quickly removed a small cloth soaked in chloroform from his equipment belt. No need to kill anyone when this would be just as effective for removal.
Sneaking up behind the well-disciplined guard was easy. A quick grab to the neck, the cloth stuffed in his face, and the poor man was out like a light. What Kawari failed to account for was the fact that the guard had had a partner, not visible from the staircase.
The second guard, equipped with the same weapons as his partner, fired his gun randomly from reflexes, then spun around to see Kawari and his unconscious partner sprawled on the ground. Kawari had just enough time to draw the Gin Hebi and parry to avoid being impaled by the guard's massive broadsword. His arm was painfully jarred with the impact. A dirk wouldn't be much good against a broadsword for long.
Moving quickly, using his small size and speed fully to his advantage. Kawari tried to distract the man into opening his guard. The man had switched to his gun, as Kawari had expected and hoped; while the guard's training may have told him that the gun was the more powerful weapon, the sword was far more dangerous to Kawari. He easily predicted where the next bullet would be fired, dodging and searching for an opening. One well-placed hit was all it took, if he could get it…
Unfortunately, this happened to be a fairly smart guard Instead of blindly following his orders to only use the sword as a last resort, he seemed to realize that the gun wasn't doing much good. Drawing his broadsword again, he slashed at Kawari, who parried reflexively but was knocked back onto the floor by the powerful blow. He instinctively rolled out of the way just in time to prevent being impaled by the guard's stabbing attack. This guard was not only smart, but strong and merciless; however, his attacks seemed random and lacked a guiding tactic or strategy. That was his weakness.
Kawari dodged several random blows, waiting for the moment he knew would appear. He kept the Gin Hebi ready, but did not try to parry. Suddenly, a plan flashed through Kawari's mind, as the man swept his sword in large horizontal arcs just narrowly missing his waist.
Dodging a cut from the left, Kawari feigned an overdodge, and pretended to be caught off-balance. The man smiled, seeing his chance, and lifted the sword high above his head, preparing for a dramatic killing blow that he knew Kawari could not dodge.
Except he did. Ending his pretense, Kawari quickly jumped out of the way, and the momentum of the guard's failed cut took him all the way over onto the floor. From there, it was a simple stab to the heart to kill him.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Kawari looked at the two fallen guards- one unconscious, the other dead, with a pool of blood rapidly forming under his facedown form. He stared at the dark red portent of death for several minutes.
What have I done? Kawari thought. And he thought of the man, just a few floors below, stabbed through the back, and of all the other Hand operatives he had killed today. Suddenly, death would not leave him alone.
No. He was on a mission. Time for remorse, regret, that was later. This was now. Kaeru was depending on him to see this through. He shot down the hallway which held a staircase at its end, running away from the river of blood that he felt sure was chasing after him. He was running so fast that he did not see the three ugly, grinning guards, all armed with large guns, coming down the stairs in front of him until he had run straight into their legs.
These guards were not smart, but cruel and stupid, with powerful weapons. For a minute they just stared, but then they came to their senses and lifted their weapons. There, they waited for a moment, delighting in the cruel silence that followed. Kawari was still too stunned to do anything.
Three grins loomed in front of him. Three hands moved to the trigger. Three dead bodies, still grinning cruelly, fell to the floor in front of him.
He wasn't dead. And the three guards were. That wasn't possible, was it? Unless… he lifted his gaze to the stairs behind where the large guards had stood.
"Hey, buddy, how ya doin? Looks like I got here just in time, huh?"
Hope beyond hope. "Saguru? Is that…?"
"The one and only, bud!"
* * *
Escaping to the Third Negative Realm had been an easy task for Shinwaa Metsubou. Because the Saga Blade existed in every realm simultaneously, transporting its owner to any Realm, True or Negative, required no effort at all, on behalf of either party.
Admittedly, it had been a narrow escape. He had been so caught up in the duel that he had failed to keep watch for other enemies. But he would be more careful in the future. He had to be, if he were going to survive and become the Bringer of the Ninth Legend.
But that duel! He had been about to win, to gain for himself the ultimate artifact of evil, the only artifact that could destroy his quest. For the quest was still uncertain. Eight of the twelve Kernels he needed were his, but there were still four remaining. And one of those eight was in the hands of an uncertain ally.
Collecting the Kernel from Second True was going to be a quick stop… that is, until he realized that the current bearer of the Rod of 1,000 Minds was in the area. Burning the library had been the sword's suggestion, and quite a good one, at that. It had got her running and afraid, so she couldn't call on her evil witch powers during the duel. That she was evil was beyond a doubt; she had the Rod, she knew what it was, and she wanted the Saga Blade as well. How much she knew about the Ninth Legend and the Kernels, Metsubou was uncertain; she hadn't seemed scared or impressed when he mentioned it, but that could be an act.
She would chase him, that was another thing beyond doubt. She had seen the Blade and wanted it for herself. And the destined battle would then be fought in full.
As for the rest of the Second True mission… well, it was unfortunate about that storm-man, but the sword told Metsubou to kill him, and he always did everything the sword told him to. That was why he was destined to be the Bringer.
But enough. Heroes never made progress by thinking retrospective thoughts. He only had Third Negative, Fourth True, Fourth Negative, and Fifth True left to gain before his collection was complete.
Oh, and then back to First Negative to collect the Kernel from that group he had left it with… what were they called again?
Oh yes, of course. The Hand of the Shadow.
* * *
Clutching his injured left arm to stop the bleeding as best he could, Kaeru staggered up the stairs. The three guards lay dead behind him, but he was much worse for the wear. He was exceptionally glad he'd sent Kawari on ahead.
A mortal couldn't have sustained these injuries, he thought grimly. His left arm was gushing blood where it had been blown off by machine gun fire. In addition, a large chunk of his nose had been carried off by a very close call. Several bullets were lodged in various places in his body, and he was losing blood at a rapid rate. If he didn't catch up to Kawari to create a new body soon, his temporary physical body would "die," and even if you're an immortal, spirit, dying can render you useless for a month or so at least. And that would be nothing like helpful to the current mission.
He staggered down the abandoned hallway, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He continued his vain attempts to stop the dangerous bleeding, but it was impossible. His only hope was to catch up with Kawari fast.
And he'll be moving quickly, too. Things didn't look good. But he wouldn't die. He couldn't. Not now, not with Kaze and the whole rest of the Opposition depending on his leadership!
Why on Earth did I let Kawari convince me to take this mission? It's a stupid mission anyway…
"Damnit!" he cursed aloud as he tripped over the dead body of a guard. In the brief second he took to study the body, he realized two things: it was Kawari who killed him, and it hadn't been that long ago. His aibou was still nearby. He began to run down the corridor towards the stairs.
Maybe I shouldn't have let Kawari go ahead, if it was going to be this dangerous, he thought. No. We shouldn't have come at all. His aibou's safety was top-priority to him, even more important than the Opposition. He had to find him, for more reasons than one. He didn't have much time left. He had to keep running.
Too late did he register the three bodies sprawled at the bottom of the staircase. He tripped, went flying, and planted himself face-first in a bloody mass with the corpses.
Kaeru tried several times to get up, but he couldn't. He was too weak from blood loss. All he could do was lie there, and contemplate his folly, while waiting to die. His spirit would become lost in the depths of the Millennium Ring when his temporary physical body died, and it would take some time for his conscious thought to become re-energized into the spirit. It was not as devastating as the death of a mortal, but right at the moment it was extremely inconvenient.
And painful, he reminded himself. Death had taken him once before during his time as an immortal yami, and he had no wish to repeat the experience.
But that was beginning to look inevitable, as his left arm continued to pour red liquid. He wasn't even making an effort to stop the flow now. It pooled under him, soaking his clothes, hair, and face.
He had time for one last conscious thought before his mind was claimed by unconsciousness.
Kawari had better have had a good reason for all of this.
* * *
"I am no murderer, trust me. I am Kouten the Stormborn, and I seek revenge on a murderer myself."
"I must disagree with you, sir," Miyaburu began lazily, looking at the four teenagers holding the murderer at bay. So far, there hadn't been an attempt at magical attack, but Miyaburu was expecting it and ready. He also noted Yugi's nervous look, and understood that to mean that Yami had the same idea.
"You see," he continued, "I was able to take a reading of the magical psyche of the person we are tracking. Your weapon there is completely covered in it, suggesting that this is the artifact you use to commit your crimes and travel between Realms. There is no doubt that you are the magic-user we are looking for."
"The only question," Kaze pronounced quietly, "is 'why?'"
"Why" indeed? thought Aikan. Her mind was trained by the Opposition to be tactical, and the one thing she believed true about all criminals was that they always had a motive. Maybe it had something to do with that girl who ran away when we found him. Or maybe she was his next victim.
"You murdered innocent people!" she accused, trying to force him into a defense that would give her some further clue. "You killed many people in our Realm, and then disappeared to this one! Why would you commit such terrible crimes?"
She succeeded in making the man angry, at least. "Who are you to talk to me of murder?" he shouted in a rage. "Who are you to talk to me of terrible crimes? My family has been the victim of murder, not the perpetrators! You pitiful fools know nothing, and if you intend to destroy me, know that I will fight for my honor and my father's!"
He accompanied this speech with a furious tug at his restrainers, to no avail. When this measure failed, he attempted to reach his weapon, also with little success.
"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," Kaze replied evenly. "We are all well-trained in combat, and you'd be no match for all six of us combined."
For the first time, Yugi spoke. "Wait a minute! This makes no sense! If he's trying to go for his weapon, why doesn't he just use magic to kill us all? We saw what he was capable of when he killed Rex Raptor without a blemish!"
The first person to respond was his own yami.
\It could be that he must be touching his weapon to work his magic,\ the ancient spirit explained. \It could have powers similar to those of the Millennium Items. But Miyaburu is correct about the psyche. I sense it also…\
Miyaburu said much the same thing aloud, as Yugi mentioned to the group that Yami concurred with the magical assessment of the man's glaive.
"We have heard enough evidence," decided Kaze. "What shall be this man's fate? Remember, he has murdered many innocent people, including one of my own operatives. I cannot put that fact aside lightly. The generally accepted penalty for serial murder is execution."
Kouten stood silently and still, still held by the group, unable to do anything about the inevitable fate that awaited him.
"I'm still confused-" Aikan began, but she was cut off by a frantic shout from the shadows behind the burned building.
"Don't kill him!" a female voice screamed. "I know what happened! He's not your killer- he just tried to kill the killer with his weapon!"
Pandemonium broke loose at this statement. Duke Devlin immediately started asking Miyaburu if this could be true, Pegasus was asking Miyaburu for permission to activate the Millennium Eye again, Yugi zoned out as he began reviewing this possibility with his Yami, Joey was shouting about stupid excuses, and the girl began trying to explain herself to an audience that wasn't listening.
Finally, the new arrival managed to silence the crowd with a shout of "I KNOW WHO THE REAL MURDERER IS!"
Everyone, even Joey, stopped to listen to this revelation.
"His name is Shinwaa Metsubou, and he killed Kouten's father-" she gestured at the named man, "-and burned down my library! The reason Kouten's weapon has the taint of his magical psyche is because he tried to kill Metsubou with it, but failed when he teleported himself away. If he can Realm-travel, he probably went to another Realm."
There was a stunned silence for a moment. Then Joey managed to get confused about exactly the least important part of her statement. "How do youse knows about dem other Realms?"
Kouten and Ichiko sighed together. "Everyone in Second True knows about the other Realms," the girl explained patiently. "It's common theory. But although it's theoretically possible to travel from one Realm to another scientifically, no one's ever done it."
Kaze looked at Miyaburu for more information. Yami silently asked Yugi permission to come out, and Yugi silently denied it.
"What she says could be true," Miyaburu admitted under Kaze's searching gaze. "The taint of magical psyche on the weapon is small enough that it does seem slightly more like a residue than a producer."
"And the fact that she corroborates the story, and the fact that he has no motive…" Aikan continued speculatively.
"Very well," Kaze agreed reluctantly. There was no arguing with true reason and blatant evidence. "Release him." This command was hardly necessary, as Joey was the only one still holding on to Kouten, and the latter appeared much more powerful than a former.
"Okay, now we need to figure out where this Metsubou guy went-" Devlin started to say.
"Wait." Kouten straigtened himself up to his full height and gazed down at Kaze. "I want an apology for the way you treated me."
"Now wait just a minute, there," Joey began indignantly. "We've got a Realm-hoppin' murderer to catch, and if you think we're gonna take the time to-"
Kaze cut him off with a raised hand. "I apologize for our behavior," he acceded graciously. "But if there is any additional favor you want…"
"Yes," Kouten told him. "I assume you are familiar with the procedure for conducting card duels? Good. Because I want to duel you now. I want to know if you really are as tough as you talk."
Kaze kept his hand raised in Joey's direction, cutting off more indignation before it began. "I cannot deny that my behavior was indeed such as to incite this type of request. Very well, I accept your challenge to duel, and I inform you that I intend to win. However, as I no longer have possession of my dueling deck-" he managed to say this with very little remorse, considering how much he deserved to have- "I am forced to select a proxy to duel for me." Kouten raised his eyebrows at this, but had no objection.
Kaze took a brief moment to size up his teammates before continuing. "And I select Yugi Motou, and the spirit of his Millennium Puzzle, for that honor."
* * *
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Well, I guess I'd better post this now. I owe everyone a third chapter after a month of forced hiatus. I originally planned to get around to writing the duel in this chapter as well, but I just want this posted now, so I'll wait. This is a fairly short chapter, compared to Chapter 2, but I also think it's a bit higher quality. You can tell me if I'm dreaming or not in your REVIEWS (hint, hint). A note on the Kawari scenes: I am no expert in any type of weapon, and don't pretend to be. If I royally screwed up any details about either swords or guns, you have every right to beat me with invisible detail-screw-up-sticks, and tell me so in your review. Depending on how serious the error is, I'll probably do a repost to fix it, because something about how I described the weapons just felt wrong. Of course, like I said, I'm no expert, so how should I know. Hah. Well, next chapter hopefully to follow soon, although I'm almost sure now I'll need an extension if HCG doesn't extend the deadline past November 1st. Anyway, I'm still writin' away, so don't give up on me yet.
-Neptune