BookDragon: "I'm back…sorry about last week, my brain just wasn't working right."
Bill: "On with the fic!"
Chapter 17: Opportunity shows itself
"How many people have you beaten at this game so far?"
"Thousands upon thousands of souls this world has produced." Tomb Robber gleamed, smiling wickedly, starting to erode what little self confidence Ann had.
/Oh man, we're _really_ dead. / And for once Calendae did not disagree, instead she turned to Bill.
"Bill?" No boy on the end of that, obviously she wasn't in a happy mood. Bill barely noticed and swung his head in her direction, not quiet focusing on her expression but staring off into deep space, extremely bored and tired of doing nothing for what seemed to be the last thirty minutes. Kaiba was leaning on Bakura slightly snoring, and Bakura's face was still very very very blank from the comment he had made earlier, so he didn't notice Kaiba's extra weight on him.
"Hm?"
"Is t-… How long will it be until they arrive?" Bill took a small glance at his watch and quickly calculated, eyes remaining very blank all the while, and finally made a click to the correct answer.
"Maybe about five minutes, at the least I should say, maybe you-" He never got to finish the rest of his remark, because a blast of cool air hit them all squarely as a hole blew open and two figures climbed in quickly. The first was Ann's/Calendae's double, looking brightened eyed and furious. The other was Marik, keeping a short distance away with a disgruntled look. His cheek had a deep red mark that looked very much like the shape of a person's hand.
"What are you doing?!" Kakra screamed furiously at the back of Tomb Robber's snowed hair.
"They agreed to a duel." He told her in a sly voice, but you could still hear a bit of disgusted annoyance through the mist of it. Kakra's face turned completely red.
"…I wanted to deal with them…darling." Calendae blinked with some surprise and Ann just stood, mystified by the action occurring.
/…she sounds mad. /
"She is you idiot…" Calendae snapped, watching keenly as the start of what looked to be a quarrel began. Ann took the hint that Calendae didn't want to be pestered right at this very moment; she was anxious as she leaned her head forward a few centimeters.
"Well…sweetie…you weren't here to take care of them, so I thought I'd do you a favor…darling." He snarled back, eyes flickering with some irritation. Ann was starting to figure out that a quarrel was coming up, from the glares and the cool attitudes started to boil.
"I would have been here…honey…if you could just wait for one damned minute."
"Well, honeybunch, you said to go along with out you!"
"That was sarcasm you idiot!" Kakra snapped nastily, as Ann slowly understood where she had seen this before. Mostly from Marie in her short bursts of fights with her boyfriend, this made Ann wince to hear a voice so close to her own bellowing in the same way.
/ I have to get out of here. / Calendae ignored her, staying tense and wide-eyed. She ignored Bill and Bakura's dumbfounded expression and Kaiba's irritated one. She ignored the second portal open and a crowd of people step out, Yugi in the lead. He opened his mouth to ask what was happening when a large smack sounded and he was left shocked.
TombRobber quickly grabbed his cheek in surprise to Kakra's sudden violent slap to his face and started shouting enraged at her, full lung power and purple in the face with his brown eyes fully a blaze. Kakra's golden orbs burned with the same hurt and anger as she retaliated, but he caught her hand this time, anger that even and threw her away from him. Insults pelted every inch of air space between them and the fight continued for another five minutes without letting up.
/ We should call this a surrender…he's too busy dealing with her to duel us. Let's get the hell out of here. /
"Yes. Let's take the opportunity while it is presented…but first…Billyboy." Bill jumped in surprise and twisted his head so fast that he would probably have a bad case of whiplash later; his big eyes blinked asking 'what' with out really asking.
"Do you have some paper and a pen on you?" Kaiba shoved a small pad and pen right under her nose in response. Surprised, Calendae slowly took both of them, watching him cautiously, and started scribbling out a small note.
To Kakra & Company
Thank you for your surrender. This will be resolved next time we meet. See you soon.
~Calendae & Company
/Oh that was original. / Ann thought sarcastically.
Calendae ripped the paper as quietly as she could, even though if she ripped it normal no one would've noticed anyway, the quarrel was so loud, and forced the pen and paper back into Kaiba's grasp and quickly picked all Ann's cards up again and stuffed them hastily in her pocket and left the note. Then she turned on her heel and entered the freshly made black portal, beckoning them to follow quickly, and left the Shadow Realm with Ann talking loudly in her ear.
/ I never thought we would end a duel like this. Jeez, this is lame. /
"I hope it's better than drifting in that realm for all eternity."
/…and there's that…where are we going? /
"Yami, where are we going?" Calendae shouted through the dimness. No one spoke behind them for a moment, and then Yami's voice growled right in Ann's/Calendae's ear venomously.
"What have you done with Ann?" Tea, Joey, Tristan, and Serenity looked at each other nervously as Marie pushed past Yami/Yugi with great speed. Ann founded herself blinking with surprise as Calendae laughed and turned to them, a cocky grin covering her face.
"Wow you catch on fast. Guess they don't call you pharaoh for noth-" Calendae never finished because right then Marie took her by the color and lifted her off the ground with ease, glaring furiously frightened but angry, right into her eyes.
"What have you done with my sister?!" Her voice was at full hate, shrieking mostly. Ann's head was set at full tilt as everyone was suddenly filled with caution. Even Yami took a step away from her.
"Ann?" Calendae asked, more to Ann for information or support, but Marie took it as a question to her instead.
"Yes, you slime ball! What the hell have you done with Ann!?" Calendae looked at Ann's invisible foggy form…frightened? Ann was stunned. Calendae was actually scared; afraid of someone as…well lets not say strong. Ann's mind needed to reboot, this was just too much for her to take, and this was worst that Kakra's actions. To see Marie this angry because she simply wasn't there was just confusing, mind numbing.
"ANN!/ Ann woke up to Calendae's calls and found herself suddenly in Marie's grasp, looking straight into a pair of enraged eyes. Those eyes suddenly lifted with surprise as Ann pulled her death grip off her slowly, a bit scared, and turned to everyone else, then back to Marie's baffled expression.
"…Chill, man… just…chill." It was the only thing she could think of saying. Her fingers had suddenly gone cold as ice at their perplexed faces, all except Bill's, Bakura's, and Kaiba's. Yami reacted faster than the rest of them.
"Who was that?!"
"That was Calendae… where are we?" Yami ignored the question all together.
"Who is she?!"
"My other double…look, it's a long story, where are we?"
"ANOTHER double?!"
"…Yes…for the last time WHERE ARE WE?!"
"You're safe." A voice other than the group but familiar said.
"Ammon?" Bill's voice chimed.
"Indeed. I got your message, what happened?"
"It's a long story; we need to get out of here…where ever we are…"
"Oh, don't you know? We're in the basement of your house, Bill."
"…Oh." A couple of lights suddenly flicked on brightly over their heads, making Ann squint painfully as a figure at the top of the stairs, looking down at them, and after a few blinked found it to be Ammon after all, but with no longer a scent of a warm welcome when he looked straight at Ann.
"I smell an intruder." He said, almost angrily. Ann sighed as the mayhem started again.
"Really? What does an intruder smell like?" Bill asked plainly, making Ann want to laugh.
"You know that's not what a meant." Ammon growled, eyes narrowing on Ann, making her want to squirm with discomfort from his black eyes.
"Alright it's Ann; now knock it off Ammon, Calendae's friendly." He quickly glanced at Bill and pulled away his glare, doing as he was told, but he still had that cautious expression still on his face. Ann was already irritated by Marie's big sister behavior, she didn't need him going all big brotherish to her when he wasn't even related!
"Enough Ammon." She snapped. "I'll explain in the library, Calendae wants to go to the library anyway, and when we all have some food in us first."
"I agree!" Joey, Tristan, Yugi (Yami had step back), and Bill all said in joyous voices all at the same time. The rest of them didn't have a choice.
BookDragon: "Sorry about the lame duel ending…I couldn't think of any clever way to have either of them win…"
Bill: "Please review."