Author- Next chapter, I'm having a lot of fun thinking about this story! ^^
I've been having really good dreams lately, and as you may or may not know
dreams are my best source of inspiration!
$*$*$*$*$
"So we're supposed to keep our item's secret?"
"And not tell or show anyone else? That's exactly what the guy told you?"
She nodded solemnly, "That's what he said. Well, he only said to keep my item secret, but I'm sure he meant all of them. He seemed to be...almost afraid of it or something. And I could tell that he was hesitant about answering any of my questions."
We had been questioning Caitlin crazy about every single little bit of information she had gotten from someone she found in the woods. She had told us a little about how he looked, and I was starting to wonder if there was a reason two of the people we had met had looked like they came from a history book. I was sure that my puzzle, Ryou's ring, and Caitlin's amulet had something very important to do with this place. The longer I stayed here, the more I wished my Yami was here to help solve the problems we were facing. I don't want to say that I had almost grown dependant with my Yami, because over the last few years I had almost become a completely different person and didn't really need his help as much, but I have to admit that it was nice to have him around.
"And that's all the information you could get out of him?" I said.
"[1] Jitsu wa...he didn't really take a liking to me. I don't know why. Sure I fell on him, but I apologized right away and he still wouldn't be nice!" She said defensively, "He was probably just a jerk."
I couldn't help find it funny that Caitlin fell on Bryac as a first impression. Sounded like something she'd do, but I noticed that she had conveniently left that out of the first version of her story.
Ryou smiled; "You fell on him? Mou? [2]"
It must have been the way Ryou said it, or the look on Caitlin's face when he said it, but I couldn't help erupt into laughing, "Uso daro konna! [3]"
"Anata ne! [4]" She shouted, "I didn't mean to! The slope was really slippery! It wasn't my fault I tell you!"
That didn't help. Both Ryou and I were laughing hard now and Caitlin scowled at us, "Oh yeah, laugh it up. And- hey! It wasn't THAT funny!"
"You're right, sorry." I said, wiping a small tear from my eye, "I guess it's just that you would think we'd expect something like that from you."
She glared at me, but said nothing to defend herself. I smiled playfully and opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a drop of water that fell in my eye. Rain? All of us looked up at the sky, as if on cue. Just a few minutes ago, the sun was shinning brightly, but now, the sun was no where to be found. The sky was an angry black, and clouds were no longer light and feathery and showed definite signs of a thunderstorm. Then, the rain just instantly started to pour and soaked us to the bone in a matter of seconds. Caitlin threw her arms up into the air and shouted in her frustration.
"Oh this is great. JUST GREAT. We're stranded in the middle of practically nowhere, with no food or clothes or ANYTHING and NO ONE will help us. But it can't get any worse then this right?" She yelled at the sky, sarcastic ranting almost lost in the heavy rain.
The lightning flashed across the sky, the thunder followed with such a loud crash that you could feel it in the pit of your stomach, and our last surviving first went out with a hiss. The whole world around us had changed with the blink of an eye. The once cheerful and amazing woods that surrounded us looked black as night and more dangerous then I had ever seen a forest look before. Feeling helpless against the rain, I curled up under a large tree and waited, gripping my knees with my hands to stay warm against the icy sheets of rain. Ryou pulled his sweater over his head and sighed, but Caitlin just continued yelling at the sky.
"YOU *long line of curses* SKY!"
"Wow, Caitlin, you really showed that sky whose boss."
I jumped, and spun around like everyone else. A figure stood, face hidden behind a long, dark brown cloak. I could tell it was a boy, because he then laughed quietly at his own joke. Another cloaked figure stood next to him, and they both stared at us intently. Caitlin, strangely seemed to know who the first person was, and groaned at him.
"Get lost Bryac. If you're just going to come and annoy me, then I don't want to talk to you." She said menacingly.
"I've come back for one reason, and one reason only. I need you to come with me so we can figure out how to get you home as soon as possible." He said, lowering her hood a little.
I could now see what Caitlin meant when she said, 'sort of strange looking'. He had piercing blue eyes and black hair that fell to about his chin. There was a scar or two on his face, and he had a strange kind of look in his eyes that made me wonder what he was really up to...
Another cloaked person jogged up to the first two, and because her hood was already down, I could recognize her as Yoko. She took a deep breath before skidding to a halt on the wet leaves and smiling up at Bryac and the third person, who took no notice that she had even arrived.
"I lost you for a moment in there." She explained cheerfully, "And then my cloak got caught on a pointy bush, but I'm here now."
The boy named Bryac didn't even look at her, but continued his conversation with us. "You need to come with us to." Then his gaze shifted on me, "I assume these are the other two holders of the-"
"My nakama [5]." She interrupted, gesturing to us.
Bryac cocked his head to the side, "Excuse me?"
"Nakama. My close friends. This is Ryou Bakura, and Yugi Motou."
Yoko shook her head, sending loose water flying everywhere like a dog, "Oh no, you can't go by those names. You can't have your same name or you might be killed."
*@* Caitlin's POV *@*
[A/N: This was one of the first chapters I ever wrote, even before chapter one, so I had Caitlin's point of view for most of it, but I'll switch back to Yugi and Ryou's points of view next chapters to make up for it. I promise. Sorry again!]
"What?" I exclaimed, "But I like my name!"
"Caitlin," She said quietly, "That means virginal beauty."
She looked at her feet while she said that, but glanced at Bryac when she put the emphases on 'beauty'. I couldn't tell if she was making a point secretly to him, or making fun of how I looked. It wasn't my fault I wasn't drop dead gorgeous! Sure I had a bad case of acne on my forehead and I was forever cursed with greasy hair and freckles, but it's not like I was parading around saying I was the most beautiful thing in the world, was I?
"I didn't pick it!" I said quickly, noticing the looks they were giving each other.
The girl who was still heavily cloaked suddenly let her hood fall to reveal her face. She had coffee colored brown hair and an exceptionally pale face. Her eyes immediately reminded me of 'mother of pearl' shells, because they strangely looked like they had every color in the world in them, yet, they seemed gray. What was even more strange, was that she seemed to have no expression, and looked like she was studying something far away that no one else could see.
"Oh we know that," She said, voice like running water, "It was destiny that named you."
I groaned, were they trying to hint something to me or something? I didn't understand any of it! Not a word! Bryac looked almost worried when the girl continued, and he whispered, 'Thina...' threateningly, like she was going to give something away.
"From now on, we'll call you Amaya, which means Night Rain. For like the rain, you are gentle at first glance, but can turn harsh at any given moment. And can take many forms, but are shrouded in the dark future of night and no one knows when you will die."
This time Bryac sent Thina a dirty look but quickly looked away and at a stick on the ground. Yoko looked wide-eyed at her and shook her head slightly to note she wasn't supposed to say that much. What exactly was wrong with my name? I ask you!
Yugi shrugged, "I guess it wouldn't be THAT bad if I had a different name for a while, just until we get back into the real world right? Which will be soon I hope."
The girl, who I believed was named Thina, looked closely at him in a quizzical way, then her eyes went back to the state of looking at something in the distance, "If it is what you believe, then I am satisfied. If you believe it to be the truth, then I cannot agree. Either way, you need to take on a false name in order to hide your item. They might know your true names by now, and even if they don't, they will soon find out."
"Why don't we want them to know our names? And who's they?" I asked, looking from one to the other for an answer.
She ignored me and the girl with pink hair continued with giving Yugi a name, "Let's see.... you are a tough one to figure out, but I think I've got a name perfect for you. You can be called Inari!"
Yugi grinned, "What does that mean?"
She shrugged, "Shrimp."
Yugi pouted while she explained, "You LOOK like a Inari, they won't ever be able to find you out."
"But who!" I pleaded, getting steadily more and more frustrated, "WHO is after our items!"
"And you Ryou." Yoko said, obviously avoiding my question for some reason, "You can be Makoto. It means sincere and honest."
"How come he gets to be sincere and I have to be a shrimp?" Yugi said, a whine starting to show in his voice.
I waved my arms for their attention, "Hello? I'm trying to ask a question! Will someone please explain this to me!"
Bryac sighed and looked at me, "Ok, here's the deal. There is someone here that is after your items. We don't know why, but from what our men have heard, he's planning to use them to unleash something of 'great power'. We don't know what this item is, and we don't know HOW he'll use your Destiny Items to unleash whatever it is, hell, we don't even know for sure that it's true, we've just got a big hunch."
"Who's trying to take the items?" Ryou asked, "Do you know that much?"
Bryac nodded, "Yes, we know who it is. Someone very rich, with great power, and great influence over the Dream Realm. You don't need to know his name though, it isn't important. What is important, is that he has men all over the place looking for your items."
"Like that man who was after me before?" I said quietly, "The big stupid one?"
"There are lots of 'big stupid' ones on his side, and there are some on our side too, whether that be a good or bad thing, but if whoever it was went after your item, they were probably on the other side."
The rain started to die down a little, and for that I was thankful, but I couldn't shake off the cold feeling I was getting by the way Bryac spoke of this.
"Our side is trying to keep the other side from getting what they need to unleash great power." He continued, laying a sort of backpack on the ground and starting to rummage through it. "We can't let him get those items."
"What if he did though...?" Yugi said, biting his lip.
Bryac stopped, and stared at him straight in the eye, "If they got those items, then our whole world would come to an end. First, he would probably kill all of you, and then everyone in the Dream Realm that he could lay his hands on. Everything would be his, and there isn't anything that anyone would be able to do to stop him."
A long silence followed this. Just the thought of having the entire Dream Realm's fate resting on our shoulders made my head spin. Thina and Yoko nodded sadly when everything was said, and for the first time since the car crash on my birthday, I was really terrified of what was going to happen. Then a thought came over me that made me feel like Bryac wasn't telling us everything.
"If he is just going to kill us in the end," I said, "Then why doesn't he just kill me and get it over with. Then he could take my item and go on his merry way."
Yugi and Ryou both looked at them after I finished my question, probably thinking the same thing I was. Bryac hesitated, and Yoko looked around nervously. Then hr glared at me for some reason, and turned back to looking through the backpack.
"He'd have to find you first." He muttered.
Now I was thoroughly confused. Why was Bryac so tense around me? What did I ever do to him that made him hate me so much? Breaking the mood of the conversation, Yoko smiled warmly at us.
"We're the rebels!" She said proudly, "We don't agree with what he's trying to do, and we've been looking for you for a while now. It's our duty to keep everyone safe no matter what!"
The glassy eyed girl from before spoke again turning her head slightly to the side, "We must go, now. He is coming with a group and he has heard us speaking."
Bryac acted on this immediately and dove into his pack, "Shit were are they!?"
"What?" Ryou said, looking around him for something dangerous, "What's wrong?"
"Yes!" Bryac exclaimed, pulling out an arm full of brown, hooded cloaks almost identical to the ones they were wearing. "Put these on quickly."
I covered myself up as fast as I could and followed the group of cloaked figures running into the forest. I couldn't tell who was who because they all looked the same, and chased after them all in silence.
"Remember your new names," I heard Thina call, "Keep your hood up, don't let them distinguish you at all! And most importantly, never let them see your items!"
"Who!?" Ryou panted, "Who is them! I don't understand!"
I was about to ask the same question, but Bryac shouted at us to run without 'meaningless chit-chat' and lead us into a large cave on the side of a cliff. The figure I assumed was Bryac walked at a fast pace the entire time, leading them deeper and deeper into the black. Yugi started to take his hood off when we were far deep inside but could still see a little, and Yoko stopped him.
Now, it was impossible to see anything in the dark, and ones only chance of staying with the group was to do your very best following the sound of their footsteps. It must have been ten minutes before we heard voices. They weren't mean sounding or anything, and although they were keeping their voices low, they were defiantly laughing and talking like good friends. They kept getting louder and louder, which told me I was getting closer to were they were, and I couldn't help feeling very nervous about the whole thing. Poor Ryou accidentally kicked a rock aside and the noise echoed for a few seconds, causing the voices to stop, and everyone around him to stand still, waiting for something to happen.
"Who's there?" A deep voice grunted, "I'm warning you, I'm armed and ready for an attack! You probably can't see me but I have a long sword in my hand, and I must warn you, I am a master in the art of sword fighting!"
"You truly believe that you could call yourself a master in sword play? And yet you go around announcing the fact that you carry a sword around? I am ready for an attack whenever you are." Bryac answered coolly to no one but darkness.
"Well I'll be darned, sounds like ol' Bryac's back from searching for that item of mass destruction!"
"Oi! Welcome back Bry'!" Another voice said, seeming to be right behind us.
"Hey he brought some friends with him this time!" Said a voice near my right side. It was just close enough to wonder if they had started to wonder over to us. My heart picked up speed at the thought of having people around me all gripping swords.
"Finally satisfied with your catch at long last ay Bryac?"
"He's got sum' people with him this time, boys!
"Really?"
"How many are there?"
"'Bout three or so, not includin' the ding-dong and the ditz. You do include em and there's five."
"I do believe we all know how to count Aiden!"
"Sorry 'bout that."
They sounded like they were all around us, but I couldn't see at all to tell. I heard a loud BOOM that sounded like someone hit the ground hard, then another male voice laughed.
"We've got a jumpy one over here!"
"Don't surprise me."
"Which one? Damn this dark, can't see a bloomin' thing. Who's near the lantern?"
"Oi, Cavamik! Turn on the bloody light why don't ya?"
A soft glow washed around us enough to see again, and I almost screamed. They were all around us alright, they had surrounded us all very closely and although they didn't look frightening as frightening as I pictured them to be. They were all armed with a sword much like Bryac's golden one, and had either a similar grin plastered on their faces, or a highly inquisitive expression. I wasn't surprised to see that all of the members seemed to be males, and none of them were older then around 20. One with bright red hair and blinding green eyes walked up, grinning, and squinted at them. Then he chuckled, and with a strong Irish accent, spoke loudly.
"Well Bryac you should 'ave told us it was you. You almost scared the shit out of Cavamick here. I though 'e was goin' ta wet 'imself I did."
A younger looking member of the group blushed and rubbed the back of his head, laughing a tiny bit at his actions but obviously embarrassed. He had blond hair and deep blue eyes, and by the way he was gripping his sword, I guessed that he was the one who was the first to speak about being a swordsman. Funny, now that he was in the light and looking embarrassed it didn't make me want to jump out of my skin.
Bryac smirked, "Thought I might have a little fun with him first Darren."
"Good god man! Who did you take off the streets this time mate? I thought you said-"
"I'm just making sure they turn out alright, and nothing more. Making sure they find their way in the world."
"You said that 'bout Yoko and Thina and we can't get rid of 'em!"
A few scattered laughs at this comment, and everyone's faces brightened. Even Yoko and Thina had to smile about that, and I knew immediately that all of these people must be very close.
"They are valuable to our mission, and I know they might be crazy and very annoying but they have their good parts too."
"What good parts do these blokes 'ave?" Then his face fell and he spoke more quietly, "Wait, do you mean that they are the-"
"Yes Darren, they are. All three of them."
Everyone in the room whispered and murmured amongst themselves, smiles forgotten.
Darren's eyebrows went up, "They are? You don't say! All three at once then?"
Bryac nodded and jerked his head over to where we were standing and Darren nodded. I felt like shouting, 'If somebody doesn't tell me what's wrong with being a girl named Caitlin with a beetle shaped amulet now I'm going to scream!' But I couldn't seem to find my voice at the moment, and just stood in silence and kept my frustration to myself.
"Well are you ever going to tell us who they are or are ya just going ter make us find out ourselves?"
Bryac smiled, a once in a lifetime thing I had already learned, "I didn't think you cared that much."
"Course I care! Let's see 'em then!"
Obediently, I took off my hood. I wished I hadn't after I noticed Yugi and Ryou didn't do the same and my face grew hot instantly when I noticed everyone's eyes were on me. Darren nodded to me.
"Thank you lass, at least one doesn't want ta make me job any harder. You can call me Darren, the second in command of this here little group of sword friends, and second only to Bryac himself. So, who might you be?"
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, they seemed friendly enough, so I gave them my name as asked, nodding the same as Darren did to me.
"I...think my name is currently Amaya thank you, and it's...a pleasure to meet you sir."
Everyone in the cave oohed, laughed, or both, making me only wish even harder I would have kept my hood up. Some of them bowed their heads and smiled.
I am starting to hate this place, you can't tell if people are mocking you or not.
Darren grinned, "Well now, it seems we have ourselves a proper lady in the cave."
I blushed again, probably scarlet by now, "I just said...hi..."
"We know, it's just all the lasses here nowadays are pigs with no class at all. You never hear a polite word now adays since the whole ordeal with...anyway. It's alright though, you can tell us your real name. I can tell by yer red hair that the name you gave was given to you. Which is alright too, we all haf ter go by given names to save our skins every once in a while. And I'm sure your reason is not too different from ours."
I felt shocked that he figured it out so quickly, but nodded and said, "I'm...Caitlin. Just Caitlin...uh...sir."
Another huge grin from Darren, "There now, an Irish name for an clearly Irish lass!"
Clearly? I guess it was possible, I never really knew my mom or dad. They could have just taken me with them to Japan for a while, you never could tell. I just nodded and kept quiet in case I said something wrong or regretful.
He turned to my friends and said, "You can take your cue any time now, I don' bite."
Ryou and Yugi reluctantly slipped off their hoods and looked around nervously. Yugi spoke first.
"I'm Yugi, uh...hello." Yugi said, with a little wave.
"R-Ryou Bakura." Ryou managed to smile a bit when he said that, but he still looked uncomfortable about the whole thing.
They all looked at each other as if trying to see what made them look so frightening and chortled. They seemed to be a fine batch of people who were always smiling, and they somehow made you feel welcome very quickly before even knowing the half of their names. The one I assumed called Cavamick stepped forward.
"It's alright, you know. We're friends of Bryac's and it's our duty to make sure no one gets caught by the Dream Government or Yukio."
"Caught?" Yugi said suspiciously.
Cavamick had an accent similar to Ryou's, and he strongly reminded me of Legolas in the Lord of the Rings, "Well that's why you're here aren't you? Besides the items, you're here to help us fight against the government?"
I noticed Bryac shake his head quickly in a firm 'No' and Cavamick looked very taken back. Yugi decided to stay away from that subject, also seeing the firmness in Bryac's decision, and brought up a brighter comment.
Yugi nodded, "I didn't realize there was so much politics in dreams!"
"Of course there is, without politics the whole place would fall apart!"
"So you're after the whole government? I thought that you were only after one person." Ryou said, thoughtfully.
Cavamick nodded, "True, we're pretty much just against one person, but he's the one who is influencing the government. His name is Yukio, and HE'S the one that wants to kill everyone and such. He's after four things that are supposed to give him ultimate power or something along those lines. Three Destiny Items, and something else that we aren't quite sure of. We have to find out what it is before we can stop him from taking it, but he's keeping his plans under tight security, and not even our best spies have been able to get a word of what he's after. All we know, is that if he does get...IT then this place will go to hell in a hand basket. "
"But that'll never happen!" A man in about his early twenties shouted, raising to his feet and raising his fist into the air. "We'll stay united 'till the end and no one will be able to ruin our chance of victory!"
A loud cheer erupted from the group that took Yugi, Ryou, and me by surprised and we jumped at the sudden volume. I cleared my throat and everyone waited to hear what I was going to say, for once I felt like someone supper important.
"Yukio..." I repeated, "I've heard that name before..."
Cavamick nodded, "You very well might have by now. He's very common among the tongue now a days, not very highly spoken of though I might add."
"Well..." Yugi said, joining the conversation at last with confidence, "how do you plan to stop him? I don't mean to be a downer or anything but, if he has all this power how do you stand any chance of winning?"
Darren beamed as if Yugi had given them a compliment, "We're planning on storming up to the government and giving them a piece of our minds. We are praying to the lord above that they'll see what they are doing wrong supporting that slime, and be able to help us fight against us and stop Yukio's rain of wrath before it starts. And if all else fails..."
He trailed off, staring into space for a while in deep thought. Cavamick noticed his unfinished sentence and shook his head sadly. Yugi looked at the two eagerly.
"What? What will you do?"
Cavamick sighed, "If all else fails, if we can't convince them..." I thought he was too at a loss for words and we would NEVER know, but Cavamick regained himself and said softly, "...we'll have to go to war."
"War!?" I exclaimed, "Excuse me? How could you possibly win a war against a government and a crazy person with tons of power!? It's suicide!"
I couldn't help being sour spirited, I just spoke my mind most of the time and let my feelings come out. It didn't seem like a very good idea, and they all seemed so nice...I wasn't ever one to like death a whole lot, and I tried to avoid it at all costs. Heck, I did my best to never kill a bug, and letting a group of kind people go kill themselves was almost as bad as killing them, in my opinion.
Darren stared into space while talking, "We have people all over the place that are on our side. Like a secret society against the demon called Yukio. We've been training most of them to fight and others to be spies for us. Everyone counts, every single person can do something to help out. Many might die in the war, and I am not exactly looking forward to it, but we're doing it for the future and... and I'd rather die doing something worthwhile then live in cowardice!"
I paused for a moment, then smiled, "I guess you've got a point there. In that case, I'll fight with you against Yukio."
What can I say? I enjoy doing something courageous when the odds are against you. And if I couldn't stop them, might as well help them. People yelled at me for being so quick to different opinions, most of the time, but here everyone seemed to be happy with my choice. Everyone, of course, but Bryac.
Bryac stood upright immediately and put his hands stiffly at his sides, "Oh no you aren't! I didn't lead you here to sign you up and train you for this war! You don't even live here!"
I glared at him, "I may not live here, but I'm here now, and therefore, I'm involved in this. It is now my problem. Darren said himself that every man -and I'm sure he meant woman too- counts and I'll do my best to help!"
"I'm taking you home as quickly and as quietly as possible before this law is passed, you don't need to get involved in this. If you get out of here half of our problems are solved! If you stay, you are just making things worse!"
Although I was fighting hard, I managed to keep my voice quieter then I normally fought in. Soon, Yugi and Ryou were at my sides too. Ryou may not be the bravest person in the world, but he likes to see people suffer about as much as I do- (which if you don't remember, is not at all) -and would do what he could. Yugi was always ready for something heroic and adventurous and strongly agreed with me.
"I'm sure we can do something!" Ryou said.
Yugi nodded, "I'm sure we're part of the mess, so we're going to help clean it up."
Bryac looked from me, to Yugi, Ryou, and then the whole group around him who quietly wanted us on their side with them. He looked at his feet finally, feeling very defeated, and grunted.
"But- UGH! Fine! I'm going to try and get them out of here as soon as possible, but if we don't get there in time, they can help with whatever they can. ON THE WAY mind you, I am still not happy about this."
Yugi grinned at Ryou, who seemed to be having late second thoughts about fighting in a war.
"Under one condition." Bryac added over the positive chatting, "Someone is going to have to teach them how to fight properly. They're going to need more then what they have, I think magic training will be learned quicker then sword play. Who volunteers?"
No one spoke, and I could have sworn I heard crickets chirping. Finally, Darren cleared his throat and smiled.
"I nominate Bryac and his freaky friends to teach them!"
Bryac looked like he saw a ghost, "WHAT!? THAT'S NOT WHAT I-"
Loud cheering and 'Here here!' interrupted him. Again, Bryac got that defeated look on his face, and groaned behind the hands he had smacked over his face in his distress. Yoko was practically skipping.
"Isn't that great Bryac! We get to train them! This will be so much fun won't it Thina?"
Yoko turned to her glossy eyed friends, who seemed to be in deep concentration.
"Thina?" She said once more.
Everyone stopped and looked at the girl Thina. An soft, and eerie glow formed around her and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they had turned a pure white and the pupils dilated immediately. Thina looked up at the group of people slowly, and said softly, "They are in the cave."
Fear struck me. I didn't like the sound of the 'they' Thina was always talking about, and I had witnessed first-hand how that kind of a statement had affected Bryac. Everyone began to mutter between themselves and back a little deeper into the cave, Bryac and Darren gripped their swords on habit.
"Who?" Bryac said loudly, and clearly, "Who is in the cave Thina?"
Thina again thought, then she looked right above Bryac's head and answered, "Five of the men on Yukio's side. One is new, but the others are all skilled. Yukio is with them and they are rapidly approaching. They are after the Destiny Items."
This time, the people around me broke into pandemonium and were on their feet. Darren had his sword pulled out and was holding it out in front of him now. Everyone seemed to be in pure shock at the mention of Yukio and his trail after our items, and Yugi, Ryou and I could only stand and watch them helplessly. Darren cursed and turned to Thina.
"Why the hell did you wait till now to tell us!" He said, sustaining the urge to shout.
Bryac yanked the hood of his own cloak over his head and shouted for someone to turn the lights off. Everything went black at once and I heard many swords being pulled out although I couldn't see a thing. I was startled when I heard Bryac breathe behind me, "Whatever you do, keep hidden the best you can. Stay in the shadows behind us and draw little attention to yourself."
Draw little attention to myself.
That's the story of my life. I've been trying to do that since I was nine and whether or not it was a good thing, I was very bad at it. There were a few shuffling noises in the dirt on the cave floor, and then there was only the sound of a distant dripping. It was like a clock, counting the seconds we stood agonizingly still.
Drip.
I held my breath when foot prints were heard, crushing the small clods of dirt and getting louder and louder.
Drip.
A dim light was visible now, just a prick of light that made the already tense group get even more tense. Yugi clutched his puzzle and hid it under the clock, taking a deep breath and waiting. I held the Beetle tightly in my fist, and Ryou had his hand on the lump on his shirt where his Ring was hiding. We all waited, afraid to even glance occasionally at one another. That was what everyone was doing. It was all we could do.
Drip.
Someone's sword hit the wall of the cave and echoed loudly. Everyone held their breath as the light again turned our way. Still far ahead, but close enough to fear that we would be sighted.
"Be careful you imbecile!" A voice hissed, "We probably scared them away now with all the racket you're making!"
"I'm sorry sir,"
I could only picture a look of relief on my face said clearly 'thank god it wasn't one of us'. Although my eyes were getting used to the black, I still was as blind as a bat. The one who had knocked his sword against the wall apologized over and over until the first one to speak hissed at him again to, and I quote, 'Shut the hell up or I'll have to make you!'
"I'm s-sorry..." He said again under his breath.
I heard a quick shuffling of feet, and then the second person whimpering. The light that was bobbing ahead of us dropped to the floor, still lit, and rolling into the cave wall. The first one spoke in such a raged tone and threatening voice, it made me shiver when he spoke through his teeth.
"I thought I told you to shut up."
Another whimper and I heard on take a step.
"I'll be quiet! I promise! Just please, don't kill me!" The second one pleaded.
I wished it was lighter on one hand, and on the other, I was thankful it was so dark. I wished for light so I could see what was happening to the poor man who hit the wall. I pictured the first man cornering him against the wall and pointing a sword at him, but one could never be sure in the dark. And I was glad it was dark, because then it was harder for them to see us, and although we were nervous, I could tell they were too.
"Oh, I won't kill you." He grunted, "But if you don't take this matter more seriously next time, I don't think I'll have a choice."
"Y-yes sir."
There was more quiet an uneasy breathing, then the leader said in a gruff tone, "Let's move out! I bet the kid was lying, there isn't anything back here and I think that kid was just leading us down a wild goose chase."
Another noise echoed through the cave from behind me. Someone had kicked a rock against the cave and the retreating footsteps halted.
"Sir? Did you hear that?" One voice said.
"I thought I told you to shut up!" The leader voice growled, followed by a loud yelp of pain and something falling onto the ground. Silence.
"DID I OR DID I NOT TELL YOU TO MOVE OUT!"
The group shuffled rapidly away from where they were. Everyone let out a breath they had been holding and relaxed a bit, I pulled down my hood for a little air and looked down at the pin head sized light that was now moving away from them. As soon as they were sure the coast was clear, Cavamick turned on the lantern just enough to see it lighting his face and the people closest to him.
No one moved though, probably still just getting over the shock over what happened. I didn't dare let go of the beetle in my hands, and was breathing heavily. That horrible man wasn't even Yukio, and he was THAT bad. How terrible could Yukio possibly be? Darren slid his sword back into its place and took a step forward as Cavamick spoke quietly.
"I think it's about time we called a meeting." He said, "Please, Yoko, could you keep an eye on the new members whilst we speak. Thina will come with us; I think it is needed."
Yoko nodded, and lead me, Ryou, and Yugi down into the darkness of the cave away from the others. I could help the gasp that escaped me when I saw the body of a man lying dead on the floor. He may be the enemy, but I couldn't help feeling a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach accompanied with a sensation of pity and sorrow for the man. In the dark, the face of the man kept flashing before my eyes and I couldn't get his out of my head. He didn't deserve to die. No one deserves to die. Yoko had a strange look of disgust plastered on her face when she noticed his body, but luckily, Yugi and Ryou didn't notice it. The fear inside me was growing at an alarming rate, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I could be that man if I didn't watch my step.
At last, we were out into the sunlight. I had to squint as the bathed my face in warm light, and we sat down in a patch of shade under a tree. Yoko smiled constantly, but she didn't say anything. Neither did Ryou and Yugi. But it didn't bother me, I had a lot of things on my mind. Why was Bryac so angry with me all the time? What was he hiding that made him always have to tell people with his face not to tell us something. What did they have to keep from us? I didn't have any idea yet, but I was going to do anything in my power to find out.
*~*~*
Author- ^^ I finished! Phew! *wipes sweat off brow* This was a whole lot longer then I thought it was going to be. Boy this chapter was darker then I meant it to be. I was just on such a roll with my newest ideas! You can ask my brother, he came into my room in the middle of my flood of inspiration, when my fingers were going about a million words per minute (exaggeration, I can only do 52 wpm) and he said, 'How the heck!' I just couldn't stop! All the ideas came to me!
I had a lot of fun re-writing this chapter though. Funny, this is the third version of this chapter with all the explaining. I've had three different plot ideas concerning Yukio, and I think I like this one best. Oh! By the way, Yukio is actually pronounced like Yu-Gi-Oh. Except with a Ki instead of a Gi. And NO, it is not because I was too lazy to think of a name and just changed that one around, it's because that name's meaning is 'HE WHO GETS WHAT HE WANTS'. Fitting ne?
Oh yes, and I apologize for all the Japanese in the chapter this time. I just couldn't resist! I found all these phrases I just had to use off a site. Here are the meanings-
[1] Jitsu wa...- Truth is...
[2] Mou?- Already?
[3] Uso daro konna!- You have got to be kidding!
[4] Anata ne!- Now wait a minute!
[5] Nakama- Close friends
Well, that's all for now folks! The next DR chapter should EXPLAIN ALL! (Well, some of it anyway.) ^^ But before then, we are going to join the mishaps of the mortal Yami's next chapter! SUNC!
!~ Retaw ~!
$*$*$*$*$
"So we're supposed to keep our item's secret?"
"And not tell or show anyone else? That's exactly what the guy told you?"
She nodded solemnly, "That's what he said. Well, he only said to keep my item secret, but I'm sure he meant all of them. He seemed to be...almost afraid of it or something. And I could tell that he was hesitant about answering any of my questions."
We had been questioning Caitlin crazy about every single little bit of information she had gotten from someone she found in the woods. She had told us a little about how he looked, and I was starting to wonder if there was a reason two of the people we had met had looked like they came from a history book. I was sure that my puzzle, Ryou's ring, and Caitlin's amulet had something very important to do with this place. The longer I stayed here, the more I wished my Yami was here to help solve the problems we were facing. I don't want to say that I had almost grown dependant with my Yami, because over the last few years I had almost become a completely different person and didn't really need his help as much, but I have to admit that it was nice to have him around.
"And that's all the information you could get out of him?" I said.
"[1] Jitsu wa...he didn't really take a liking to me. I don't know why. Sure I fell on him, but I apologized right away and he still wouldn't be nice!" She said defensively, "He was probably just a jerk."
I couldn't help find it funny that Caitlin fell on Bryac as a first impression. Sounded like something she'd do, but I noticed that she had conveniently left that out of the first version of her story.
Ryou smiled; "You fell on him? Mou? [2]"
It must have been the way Ryou said it, or the look on Caitlin's face when he said it, but I couldn't help erupt into laughing, "Uso daro konna! [3]"
"Anata ne! [4]" She shouted, "I didn't mean to! The slope was really slippery! It wasn't my fault I tell you!"
That didn't help. Both Ryou and I were laughing hard now and Caitlin scowled at us, "Oh yeah, laugh it up. And- hey! It wasn't THAT funny!"
"You're right, sorry." I said, wiping a small tear from my eye, "I guess it's just that you would think we'd expect something like that from you."
She glared at me, but said nothing to defend herself. I smiled playfully and opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a drop of water that fell in my eye. Rain? All of us looked up at the sky, as if on cue. Just a few minutes ago, the sun was shinning brightly, but now, the sun was no where to be found. The sky was an angry black, and clouds were no longer light and feathery and showed definite signs of a thunderstorm. Then, the rain just instantly started to pour and soaked us to the bone in a matter of seconds. Caitlin threw her arms up into the air and shouted in her frustration.
"Oh this is great. JUST GREAT. We're stranded in the middle of practically nowhere, with no food or clothes or ANYTHING and NO ONE will help us. But it can't get any worse then this right?" She yelled at the sky, sarcastic ranting almost lost in the heavy rain.
The lightning flashed across the sky, the thunder followed with such a loud crash that you could feel it in the pit of your stomach, and our last surviving first went out with a hiss. The whole world around us had changed with the blink of an eye. The once cheerful and amazing woods that surrounded us looked black as night and more dangerous then I had ever seen a forest look before. Feeling helpless against the rain, I curled up under a large tree and waited, gripping my knees with my hands to stay warm against the icy sheets of rain. Ryou pulled his sweater over his head and sighed, but Caitlin just continued yelling at the sky.
"YOU *long line of curses* SKY!"
"Wow, Caitlin, you really showed that sky whose boss."
I jumped, and spun around like everyone else. A figure stood, face hidden behind a long, dark brown cloak. I could tell it was a boy, because he then laughed quietly at his own joke. Another cloaked figure stood next to him, and they both stared at us intently. Caitlin, strangely seemed to know who the first person was, and groaned at him.
"Get lost Bryac. If you're just going to come and annoy me, then I don't want to talk to you." She said menacingly.
"I've come back for one reason, and one reason only. I need you to come with me so we can figure out how to get you home as soon as possible." He said, lowering her hood a little.
I could now see what Caitlin meant when she said, 'sort of strange looking'. He had piercing blue eyes and black hair that fell to about his chin. There was a scar or two on his face, and he had a strange kind of look in his eyes that made me wonder what he was really up to...
Another cloaked person jogged up to the first two, and because her hood was already down, I could recognize her as Yoko. She took a deep breath before skidding to a halt on the wet leaves and smiling up at Bryac and the third person, who took no notice that she had even arrived.
"I lost you for a moment in there." She explained cheerfully, "And then my cloak got caught on a pointy bush, but I'm here now."
The boy named Bryac didn't even look at her, but continued his conversation with us. "You need to come with us to." Then his gaze shifted on me, "I assume these are the other two holders of the-"
"My nakama [5]." She interrupted, gesturing to us.
Bryac cocked his head to the side, "Excuse me?"
"Nakama. My close friends. This is Ryou Bakura, and Yugi Motou."
Yoko shook her head, sending loose water flying everywhere like a dog, "Oh no, you can't go by those names. You can't have your same name or you might be killed."
*@* Caitlin's POV *@*
[A/N: This was one of the first chapters I ever wrote, even before chapter one, so I had Caitlin's point of view for most of it, but I'll switch back to Yugi and Ryou's points of view next chapters to make up for it. I promise. Sorry again!]
"What?" I exclaimed, "But I like my name!"
"Caitlin," She said quietly, "That means virginal beauty."
She looked at her feet while she said that, but glanced at Bryac when she put the emphases on 'beauty'. I couldn't tell if she was making a point secretly to him, or making fun of how I looked. It wasn't my fault I wasn't drop dead gorgeous! Sure I had a bad case of acne on my forehead and I was forever cursed with greasy hair and freckles, but it's not like I was parading around saying I was the most beautiful thing in the world, was I?
"I didn't pick it!" I said quickly, noticing the looks they were giving each other.
The girl who was still heavily cloaked suddenly let her hood fall to reveal her face. She had coffee colored brown hair and an exceptionally pale face. Her eyes immediately reminded me of 'mother of pearl' shells, because they strangely looked like they had every color in the world in them, yet, they seemed gray. What was even more strange, was that she seemed to have no expression, and looked like she was studying something far away that no one else could see.
"Oh we know that," She said, voice like running water, "It was destiny that named you."
I groaned, were they trying to hint something to me or something? I didn't understand any of it! Not a word! Bryac looked almost worried when the girl continued, and he whispered, 'Thina...' threateningly, like she was going to give something away.
"From now on, we'll call you Amaya, which means Night Rain. For like the rain, you are gentle at first glance, but can turn harsh at any given moment. And can take many forms, but are shrouded in the dark future of night and no one knows when you will die."
This time Bryac sent Thina a dirty look but quickly looked away and at a stick on the ground. Yoko looked wide-eyed at her and shook her head slightly to note she wasn't supposed to say that much. What exactly was wrong with my name? I ask you!
Yugi shrugged, "I guess it wouldn't be THAT bad if I had a different name for a while, just until we get back into the real world right? Which will be soon I hope."
The girl, who I believed was named Thina, looked closely at him in a quizzical way, then her eyes went back to the state of looking at something in the distance, "If it is what you believe, then I am satisfied. If you believe it to be the truth, then I cannot agree. Either way, you need to take on a false name in order to hide your item. They might know your true names by now, and even if they don't, they will soon find out."
"Why don't we want them to know our names? And who's they?" I asked, looking from one to the other for an answer.
She ignored me and the girl with pink hair continued with giving Yugi a name, "Let's see.... you are a tough one to figure out, but I think I've got a name perfect for you. You can be called Inari!"
Yugi grinned, "What does that mean?"
She shrugged, "Shrimp."
Yugi pouted while she explained, "You LOOK like a Inari, they won't ever be able to find you out."
"But who!" I pleaded, getting steadily more and more frustrated, "WHO is after our items!"
"And you Ryou." Yoko said, obviously avoiding my question for some reason, "You can be Makoto. It means sincere and honest."
"How come he gets to be sincere and I have to be a shrimp?" Yugi said, a whine starting to show in his voice.
I waved my arms for their attention, "Hello? I'm trying to ask a question! Will someone please explain this to me!"
Bryac sighed and looked at me, "Ok, here's the deal. There is someone here that is after your items. We don't know why, but from what our men have heard, he's planning to use them to unleash something of 'great power'. We don't know what this item is, and we don't know HOW he'll use your Destiny Items to unleash whatever it is, hell, we don't even know for sure that it's true, we've just got a big hunch."
"Who's trying to take the items?" Ryou asked, "Do you know that much?"
Bryac nodded, "Yes, we know who it is. Someone very rich, with great power, and great influence over the Dream Realm. You don't need to know his name though, it isn't important. What is important, is that he has men all over the place looking for your items."
"Like that man who was after me before?" I said quietly, "The big stupid one?"
"There are lots of 'big stupid' ones on his side, and there are some on our side too, whether that be a good or bad thing, but if whoever it was went after your item, they were probably on the other side."
The rain started to die down a little, and for that I was thankful, but I couldn't shake off the cold feeling I was getting by the way Bryac spoke of this.
"Our side is trying to keep the other side from getting what they need to unleash great power." He continued, laying a sort of backpack on the ground and starting to rummage through it. "We can't let him get those items."
"What if he did though...?" Yugi said, biting his lip.
Bryac stopped, and stared at him straight in the eye, "If they got those items, then our whole world would come to an end. First, he would probably kill all of you, and then everyone in the Dream Realm that he could lay his hands on. Everything would be his, and there isn't anything that anyone would be able to do to stop him."
A long silence followed this. Just the thought of having the entire Dream Realm's fate resting on our shoulders made my head spin. Thina and Yoko nodded sadly when everything was said, and for the first time since the car crash on my birthday, I was really terrified of what was going to happen. Then a thought came over me that made me feel like Bryac wasn't telling us everything.
"If he is just going to kill us in the end," I said, "Then why doesn't he just kill me and get it over with. Then he could take my item and go on his merry way."
Yugi and Ryou both looked at them after I finished my question, probably thinking the same thing I was. Bryac hesitated, and Yoko looked around nervously. Then hr glared at me for some reason, and turned back to looking through the backpack.
"He'd have to find you first." He muttered.
Now I was thoroughly confused. Why was Bryac so tense around me? What did I ever do to him that made him hate me so much? Breaking the mood of the conversation, Yoko smiled warmly at us.
"We're the rebels!" She said proudly, "We don't agree with what he's trying to do, and we've been looking for you for a while now. It's our duty to keep everyone safe no matter what!"
The glassy eyed girl from before spoke again turning her head slightly to the side, "We must go, now. He is coming with a group and he has heard us speaking."
Bryac acted on this immediately and dove into his pack, "Shit were are they!?"
"What?" Ryou said, looking around him for something dangerous, "What's wrong?"
"Yes!" Bryac exclaimed, pulling out an arm full of brown, hooded cloaks almost identical to the ones they were wearing. "Put these on quickly."
I covered myself up as fast as I could and followed the group of cloaked figures running into the forest. I couldn't tell who was who because they all looked the same, and chased after them all in silence.
"Remember your new names," I heard Thina call, "Keep your hood up, don't let them distinguish you at all! And most importantly, never let them see your items!"
"Who!?" Ryou panted, "Who is them! I don't understand!"
I was about to ask the same question, but Bryac shouted at us to run without 'meaningless chit-chat' and lead us into a large cave on the side of a cliff. The figure I assumed was Bryac walked at a fast pace the entire time, leading them deeper and deeper into the black. Yugi started to take his hood off when we were far deep inside but could still see a little, and Yoko stopped him.
Now, it was impossible to see anything in the dark, and ones only chance of staying with the group was to do your very best following the sound of their footsteps. It must have been ten minutes before we heard voices. They weren't mean sounding or anything, and although they were keeping their voices low, they were defiantly laughing and talking like good friends. They kept getting louder and louder, which told me I was getting closer to were they were, and I couldn't help feeling very nervous about the whole thing. Poor Ryou accidentally kicked a rock aside and the noise echoed for a few seconds, causing the voices to stop, and everyone around him to stand still, waiting for something to happen.
"Who's there?" A deep voice grunted, "I'm warning you, I'm armed and ready for an attack! You probably can't see me but I have a long sword in my hand, and I must warn you, I am a master in the art of sword fighting!"
"You truly believe that you could call yourself a master in sword play? And yet you go around announcing the fact that you carry a sword around? I am ready for an attack whenever you are." Bryac answered coolly to no one but darkness.
"Well I'll be darned, sounds like ol' Bryac's back from searching for that item of mass destruction!"
"Oi! Welcome back Bry'!" Another voice said, seeming to be right behind us.
"Hey he brought some friends with him this time!" Said a voice near my right side. It was just close enough to wonder if they had started to wonder over to us. My heart picked up speed at the thought of having people around me all gripping swords.
"Finally satisfied with your catch at long last ay Bryac?"
"He's got sum' people with him this time, boys!
"Really?"
"How many are there?"
"'Bout three or so, not includin' the ding-dong and the ditz. You do include em and there's five."
"I do believe we all know how to count Aiden!"
"Sorry 'bout that."
They sounded like they were all around us, but I couldn't see at all to tell. I heard a loud BOOM that sounded like someone hit the ground hard, then another male voice laughed.
"We've got a jumpy one over here!"
"Don't surprise me."
"Which one? Damn this dark, can't see a bloomin' thing. Who's near the lantern?"
"Oi, Cavamik! Turn on the bloody light why don't ya?"
A soft glow washed around us enough to see again, and I almost screamed. They were all around us alright, they had surrounded us all very closely and although they didn't look frightening as frightening as I pictured them to be. They were all armed with a sword much like Bryac's golden one, and had either a similar grin plastered on their faces, or a highly inquisitive expression. I wasn't surprised to see that all of the members seemed to be males, and none of them were older then around 20. One with bright red hair and blinding green eyes walked up, grinning, and squinted at them. Then he chuckled, and with a strong Irish accent, spoke loudly.
"Well Bryac you should 'ave told us it was you. You almost scared the shit out of Cavamick here. I though 'e was goin' ta wet 'imself I did."
A younger looking member of the group blushed and rubbed the back of his head, laughing a tiny bit at his actions but obviously embarrassed. He had blond hair and deep blue eyes, and by the way he was gripping his sword, I guessed that he was the one who was the first to speak about being a swordsman. Funny, now that he was in the light and looking embarrassed it didn't make me want to jump out of my skin.
Bryac smirked, "Thought I might have a little fun with him first Darren."
"Good god man! Who did you take off the streets this time mate? I thought you said-"
"I'm just making sure they turn out alright, and nothing more. Making sure they find their way in the world."
"You said that 'bout Yoko and Thina and we can't get rid of 'em!"
A few scattered laughs at this comment, and everyone's faces brightened. Even Yoko and Thina had to smile about that, and I knew immediately that all of these people must be very close.
"They are valuable to our mission, and I know they might be crazy and very annoying but they have their good parts too."
"What good parts do these blokes 'ave?" Then his face fell and he spoke more quietly, "Wait, do you mean that they are the-"
"Yes Darren, they are. All three of them."
Everyone in the room whispered and murmured amongst themselves, smiles forgotten.
Darren's eyebrows went up, "They are? You don't say! All three at once then?"
Bryac nodded and jerked his head over to where we were standing and Darren nodded. I felt like shouting, 'If somebody doesn't tell me what's wrong with being a girl named Caitlin with a beetle shaped amulet now I'm going to scream!' But I couldn't seem to find my voice at the moment, and just stood in silence and kept my frustration to myself.
"Well are you ever going to tell us who they are or are ya just going ter make us find out ourselves?"
Bryac smiled, a once in a lifetime thing I had already learned, "I didn't think you cared that much."
"Course I care! Let's see 'em then!"
Obediently, I took off my hood. I wished I hadn't after I noticed Yugi and Ryou didn't do the same and my face grew hot instantly when I noticed everyone's eyes were on me. Darren nodded to me.
"Thank you lass, at least one doesn't want ta make me job any harder. You can call me Darren, the second in command of this here little group of sword friends, and second only to Bryac himself. So, who might you be?"
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, they seemed friendly enough, so I gave them my name as asked, nodding the same as Darren did to me.
"I...think my name is currently Amaya thank you, and it's...a pleasure to meet you sir."
Everyone in the cave oohed, laughed, or both, making me only wish even harder I would have kept my hood up. Some of them bowed their heads and smiled.
I am starting to hate this place, you can't tell if people are mocking you or not.
Darren grinned, "Well now, it seems we have ourselves a proper lady in the cave."
I blushed again, probably scarlet by now, "I just said...hi..."
"We know, it's just all the lasses here nowadays are pigs with no class at all. You never hear a polite word now adays since the whole ordeal with...anyway. It's alright though, you can tell us your real name. I can tell by yer red hair that the name you gave was given to you. Which is alright too, we all haf ter go by given names to save our skins every once in a while. And I'm sure your reason is not too different from ours."
I felt shocked that he figured it out so quickly, but nodded and said, "I'm...Caitlin. Just Caitlin...uh...sir."
Another huge grin from Darren, "There now, an Irish name for an clearly Irish lass!"
Clearly? I guess it was possible, I never really knew my mom or dad. They could have just taken me with them to Japan for a while, you never could tell. I just nodded and kept quiet in case I said something wrong or regretful.
He turned to my friends and said, "You can take your cue any time now, I don' bite."
Ryou and Yugi reluctantly slipped off their hoods and looked around nervously. Yugi spoke first.
"I'm Yugi, uh...hello." Yugi said, with a little wave.
"R-Ryou Bakura." Ryou managed to smile a bit when he said that, but he still looked uncomfortable about the whole thing.
They all looked at each other as if trying to see what made them look so frightening and chortled. They seemed to be a fine batch of people who were always smiling, and they somehow made you feel welcome very quickly before even knowing the half of their names. The one I assumed called Cavamick stepped forward.
"It's alright, you know. We're friends of Bryac's and it's our duty to make sure no one gets caught by the Dream Government or Yukio."
"Caught?" Yugi said suspiciously.
Cavamick had an accent similar to Ryou's, and he strongly reminded me of Legolas in the Lord of the Rings, "Well that's why you're here aren't you? Besides the items, you're here to help us fight against the government?"
I noticed Bryac shake his head quickly in a firm 'No' and Cavamick looked very taken back. Yugi decided to stay away from that subject, also seeing the firmness in Bryac's decision, and brought up a brighter comment.
Yugi nodded, "I didn't realize there was so much politics in dreams!"
"Of course there is, without politics the whole place would fall apart!"
"So you're after the whole government? I thought that you were only after one person." Ryou said, thoughtfully.
Cavamick nodded, "True, we're pretty much just against one person, but he's the one who is influencing the government. His name is Yukio, and HE'S the one that wants to kill everyone and such. He's after four things that are supposed to give him ultimate power or something along those lines. Three Destiny Items, and something else that we aren't quite sure of. We have to find out what it is before we can stop him from taking it, but he's keeping his plans under tight security, and not even our best spies have been able to get a word of what he's after. All we know, is that if he does get...IT then this place will go to hell in a hand basket. "
"But that'll never happen!" A man in about his early twenties shouted, raising to his feet and raising his fist into the air. "We'll stay united 'till the end and no one will be able to ruin our chance of victory!"
A loud cheer erupted from the group that took Yugi, Ryou, and me by surprised and we jumped at the sudden volume. I cleared my throat and everyone waited to hear what I was going to say, for once I felt like someone supper important.
"Yukio..." I repeated, "I've heard that name before..."
Cavamick nodded, "You very well might have by now. He's very common among the tongue now a days, not very highly spoken of though I might add."
"Well..." Yugi said, joining the conversation at last with confidence, "how do you plan to stop him? I don't mean to be a downer or anything but, if he has all this power how do you stand any chance of winning?"
Darren beamed as if Yugi had given them a compliment, "We're planning on storming up to the government and giving them a piece of our minds. We are praying to the lord above that they'll see what they are doing wrong supporting that slime, and be able to help us fight against us and stop Yukio's rain of wrath before it starts. And if all else fails..."
He trailed off, staring into space for a while in deep thought. Cavamick noticed his unfinished sentence and shook his head sadly. Yugi looked at the two eagerly.
"What? What will you do?"
Cavamick sighed, "If all else fails, if we can't convince them..." I thought he was too at a loss for words and we would NEVER know, but Cavamick regained himself and said softly, "...we'll have to go to war."
"War!?" I exclaimed, "Excuse me? How could you possibly win a war against a government and a crazy person with tons of power!? It's suicide!"
I couldn't help being sour spirited, I just spoke my mind most of the time and let my feelings come out. It didn't seem like a very good idea, and they all seemed so nice...I wasn't ever one to like death a whole lot, and I tried to avoid it at all costs. Heck, I did my best to never kill a bug, and letting a group of kind people go kill themselves was almost as bad as killing them, in my opinion.
Darren stared into space while talking, "We have people all over the place that are on our side. Like a secret society against the demon called Yukio. We've been training most of them to fight and others to be spies for us. Everyone counts, every single person can do something to help out. Many might die in the war, and I am not exactly looking forward to it, but we're doing it for the future and... and I'd rather die doing something worthwhile then live in cowardice!"
I paused for a moment, then smiled, "I guess you've got a point there. In that case, I'll fight with you against Yukio."
What can I say? I enjoy doing something courageous when the odds are against you. And if I couldn't stop them, might as well help them. People yelled at me for being so quick to different opinions, most of the time, but here everyone seemed to be happy with my choice. Everyone, of course, but Bryac.
Bryac stood upright immediately and put his hands stiffly at his sides, "Oh no you aren't! I didn't lead you here to sign you up and train you for this war! You don't even live here!"
I glared at him, "I may not live here, but I'm here now, and therefore, I'm involved in this. It is now my problem. Darren said himself that every man -and I'm sure he meant woman too- counts and I'll do my best to help!"
"I'm taking you home as quickly and as quietly as possible before this law is passed, you don't need to get involved in this. If you get out of here half of our problems are solved! If you stay, you are just making things worse!"
Although I was fighting hard, I managed to keep my voice quieter then I normally fought in. Soon, Yugi and Ryou were at my sides too. Ryou may not be the bravest person in the world, but he likes to see people suffer about as much as I do- (which if you don't remember, is not at all) -and would do what he could. Yugi was always ready for something heroic and adventurous and strongly agreed with me.
"I'm sure we can do something!" Ryou said.
Yugi nodded, "I'm sure we're part of the mess, so we're going to help clean it up."
Bryac looked from me, to Yugi, Ryou, and then the whole group around him who quietly wanted us on their side with them. He looked at his feet finally, feeling very defeated, and grunted.
"But- UGH! Fine! I'm going to try and get them out of here as soon as possible, but if we don't get there in time, they can help with whatever they can. ON THE WAY mind you, I am still not happy about this."
Yugi grinned at Ryou, who seemed to be having late second thoughts about fighting in a war.
"Under one condition." Bryac added over the positive chatting, "Someone is going to have to teach them how to fight properly. They're going to need more then what they have, I think magic training will be learned quicker then sword play. Who volunteers?"
No one spoke, and I could have sworn I heard crickets chirping. Finally, Darren cleared his throat and smiled.
"I nominate Bryac and his freaky friends to teach them!"
Bryac looked like he saw a ghost, "WHAT!? THAT'S NOT WHAT I-"
Loud cheering and 'Here here!' interrupted him. Again, Bryac got that defeated look on his face, and groaned behind the hands he had smacked over his face in his distress. Yoko was practically skipping.
"Isn't that great Bryac! We get to train them! This will be so much fun won't it Thina?"
Yoko turned to her glossy eyed friends, who seemed to be in deep concentration.
"Thina?" She said once more.
Everyone stopped and looked at the girl Thina. An soft, and eerie glow formed around her and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they had turned a pure white and the pupils dilated immediately. Thina looked up at the group of people slowly, and said softly, "They are in the cave."
Fear struck me. I didn't like the sound of the 'they' Thina was always talking about, and I had witnessed first-hand how that kind of a statement had affected Bryac. Everyone began to mutter between themselves and back a little deeper into the cave, Bryac and Darren gripped their swords on habit.
"Who?" Bryac said loudly, and clearly, "Who is in the cave Thina?"
Thina again thought, then she looked right above Bryac's head and answered, "Five of the men on Yukio's side. One is new, but the others are all skilled. Yukio is with them and they are rapidly approaching. They are after the Destiny Items."
This time, the people around me broke into pandemonium and were on their feet. Darren had his sword pulled out and was holding it out in front of him now. Everyone seemed to be in pure shock at the mention of Yukio and his trail after our items, and Yugi, Ryou and I could only stand and watch them helplessly. Darren cursed and turned to Thina.
"Why the hell did you wait till now to tell us!" He said, sustaining the urge to shout.
Bryac yanked the hood of his own cloak over his head and shouted for someone to turn the lights off. Everything went black at once and I heard many swords being pulled out although I couldn't see a thing. I was startled when I heard Bryac breathe behind me, "Whatever you do, keep hidden the best you can. Stay in the shadows behind us and draw little attention to yourself."
Draw little attention to myself.
That's the story of my life. I've been trying to do that since I was nine and whether or not it was a good thing, I was very bad at it. There were a few shuffling noises in the dirt on the cave floor, and then there was only the sound of a distant dripping. It was like a clock, counting the seconds we stood agonizingly still.
Drip.
I held my breath when foot prints were heard, crushing the small clods of dirt and getting louder and louder.
Drip.
A dim light was visible now, just a prick of light that made the already tense group get even more tense. Yugi clutched his puzzle and hid it under the clock, taking a deep breath and waiting. I held the Beetle tightly in my fist, and Ryou had his hand on the lump on his shirt where his Ring was hiding. We all waited, afraid to even glance occasionally at one another. That was what everyone was doing. It was all we could do.
Drip.
Someone's sword hit the wall of the cave and echoed loudly. Everyone held their breath as the light again turned our way. Still far ahead, but close enough to fear that we would be sighted.
"Be careful you imbecile!" A voice hissed, "We probably scared them away now with all the racket you're making!"
"I'm sorry sir,"
I could only picture a look of relief on my face said clearly 'thank god it wasn't one of us'. Although my eyes were getting used to the black, I still was as blind as a bat. The one who had knocked his sword against the wall apologized over and over until the first one to speak hissed at him again to, and I quote, 'Shut the hell up or I'll have to make you!'
"I'm s-sorry..." He said again under his breath.
I heard a quick shuffling of feet, and then the second person whimpering. The light that was bobbing ahead of us dropped to the floor, still lit, and rolling into the cave wall. The first one spoke in such a raged tone and threatening voice, it made me shiver when he spoke through his teeth.
"I thought I told you to shut up."
Another whimper and I heard on take a step.
"I'll be quiet! I promise! Just please, don't kill me!" The second one pleaded.
I wished it was lighter on one hand, and on the other, I was thankful it was so dark. I wished for light so I could see what was happening to the poor man who hit the wall. I pictured the first man cornering him against the wall and pointing a sword at him, but one could never be sure in the dark. And I was glad it was dark, because then it was harder for them to see us, and although we were nervous, I could tell they were too.
"Oh, I won't kill you." He grunted, "But if you don't take this matter more seriously next time, I don't think I'll have a choice."
"Y-yes sir."
There was more quiet an uneasy breathing, then the leader said in a gruff tone, "Let's move out! I bet the kid was lying, there isn't anything back here and I think that kid was just leading us down a wild goose chase."
Another noise echoed through the cave from behind me. Someone had kicked a rock against the cave and the retreating footsteps halted.
"Sir? Did you hear that?" One voice said.
"I thought I told you to shut up!" The leader voice growled, followed by a loud yelp of pain and something falling onto the ground. Silence.
"DID I OR DID I NOT TELL YOU TO MOVE OUT!"
The group shuffled rapidly away from where they were. Everyone let out a breath they had been holding and relaxed a bit, I pulled down my hood for a little air and looked down at the pin head sized light that was now moving away from them. As soon as they were sure the coast was clear, Cavamick turned on the lantern just enough to see it lighting his face and the people closest to him.
No one moved though, probably still just getting over the shock over what happened. I didn't dare let go of the beetle in my hands, and was breathing heavily. That horrible man wasn't even Yukio, and he was THAT bad. How terrible could Yukio possibly be? Darren slid his sword back into its place and took a step forward as Cavamick spoke quietly.
"I think it's about time we called a meeting." He said, "Please, Yoko, could you keep an eye on the new members whilst we speak. Thina will come with us; I think it is needed."
Yoko nodded, and lead me, Ryou, and Yugi down into the darkness of the cave away from the others. I could help the gasp that escaped me when I saw the body of a man lying dead on the floor. He may be the enemy, but I couldn't help feeling a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach accompanied with a sensation of pity and sorrow for the man. In the dark, the face of the man kept flashing before my eyes and I couldn't get his out of my head. He didn't deserve to die. No one deserves to die. Yoko had a strange look of disgust plastered on her face when she noticed his body, but luckily, Yugi and Ryou didn't notice it. The fear inside me was growing at an alarming rate, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I could be that man if I didn't watch my step.
At last, we were out into the sunlight. I had to squint as the bathed my face in warm light, and we sat down in a patch of shade under a tree. Yoko smiled constantly, but she didn't say anything. Neither did Ryou and Yugi. But it didn't bother me, I had a lot of things on my mind. Why was Bryac so angry with me all the time? What was he hiding that made him always have to tell people with his face not to tell us something. What did they have to keep from us? I didn't have any idea yet, but I was going to do anything in my power to find out.
*~*~*
Author- ^^ I finished! Phew! *wipes sweat off brow* This was a whole lot longer then I thought it was going to be. Boy this chapter was darker then I meant it to be. I was just on such a roll with my newest ideas! You can ask my brother, he came into my room in the middle of my flood of inspiration, when my fingers were going about a million words per minute (exaggeration, I can only do 52 wpm) and he said, 'How the heck!' I just couldn't stop! All the ideas came to me!
I had a lot of fun re-writing this chapter though. Funny, this is the third version of this chapter with all the explaining. I've had three different plot ideas concerning Yukio, and I think I like this one best. Oh! By the way, Yukio is actually pronounced like Yu-Gi-Oh. Except with a Ki instead of a Gi. And NO, it is not because I was too lazy to think of a name and just changed that one around, it's because that name's meaning is 'HE WHO GETS WHAT HE WANTS'. Fitting ne?
Oh yes, and I apologize for all the Japanese in the chapter this time. I just couldn't resist! I found all these phrases I just had to use off a site. Here are the meanings-
[1] Jitsu wa...- Truth is...
[2] Mou?- Already?
[3] Uso daro konna!- You have got to be kidding!
[4] Anata ne!- Now wait a minute!
[5] Nakama- Close friends
Well, that's all for now folks! The next DR chapter should EXPLAIN ALL! (Well, some of it anyway.) ^^ But before then, we are going to join the mishaps of the mortal Yami's next chapter! SUNC!
!~ Retaw ~!