Chapter 7
The two figures stood on a building, overlooking the city.
"I guess we failed." A boy said.
"That's depressing." His female counterpart replied.
"Joke all you want, but if Dire gets his hands on her, we're done for." The girl sighed.
"I suppose so. But what can we do? Like it or not, we're helpless . . . . . . . . . Damen." The boy turned to look at her, short brown hair was cropped to his ears, green eyes flashed lightly, he was short and lean. His black pants and red shirt were flapping in the loose wind. He had strapped to his side a sword. The girl had blonde hair which was flipping in the wind. (A/N: Yes I said flipping. I MEANT TO!! ARGH!! Sorry, just a little hyper! BWA HAHAHAHAHA!!) Her white shirt was extremely loose, leaving her arms bare and her midriff exposed. Her black skirt was tight and barely covered her thighs. High black boots were shined and polished perfectly. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and her long bangs were slightly wavy. Blue eyes were concentrated. A quiver of arrows were strung to her back and a long sturdy bow in her hand.
"I guess we'll just have to track him down. That'll be a pain." Crystal muttered and stood up. Damen stared at her.
"I s'pose. But it is our job. Shade would kill us if we didn't." He smiled. Crystal sighed once more.
"Oh well." Damen was about to jump off when she stopped him.
"Yeah?"
"What about . . . . . Nirvana?" Damen sighed.
"Leave the prick." Crystal stiffened.
"But. . . .he's our BROTHER! How can you say that?!"
"He left us, he left us in our time of need to protect someone I could care less about."
"But . . . . . our necklace . . ." She held the four pointed star in her hand, the chain wrapped about her neck. Looking carefully someone would have noticed that at the edges were four gems. One was blue, one yellow, another black and the last was green. At the center of hers was a yellow gem. Damen wore one as well, his center was a green gem. Nirvana had worn one with a blue center. The gem tipped points of their necklaces, usually were bright, as if they had a miniature lightbulb in it, the blue one, was dull and dark. Meaning, the holder of that necklace, was dead.
"We don't know if he's alive or dead, the necklace light goes out if the carrier dies, of if the necklace is lost." Damen said calmly. Crystal looked away.
"You know as well as I do that he would never take it off given the choice." Damen scowled.
"He's NOT DEAD!!" Damen yelled and jumped off. Crystal stared after him, then shook her head. On her necklace, there was three points left alight. The yellow was hers, green was Damen, blue was Nirvana, his light was dead. And black, black belonged to Shade, the man who had appeared bearing the necklace, she had no idea who he was. She and Damen were the last of the Celestials, people with magical abilities. They had been wiped out in an attack. Other survivors they had found died of illnesses. Only three were left by this year. Now it was only two. Crystal sighed, then followed her brother by jumping across the roofs, she leaped a gap that was at least 5 meters.
'Nirvana, sorry.' She thought.
***
"NIRVANA!! KARI!!" Yami yelled out into the street. Joey ran by his side. People were yelling at them, screaming at him to stop making so much noise or they'd call the police. Too bad, if they were so angry, maybe they could explain how two of his friends had just vanished. If it was Bakura that had taken Kari then he wouldn't be worried. Nirvana had been cool and calm when dealing with him, this time the spirit had been panicky, loose and acting like an animal does in front of fire, that wild fear. Something was wrong, was this the enemy that Nirvana had spoken of? A cop car suddenly rolled out in front of him. He growled his anger. Someone stepped out.
"What's wrong? I got a call that you were disturbing the public." Joey, who was by his side growled.
"Outta my way! If they're so angry, maybe they should help!" He yelled. A woman got out from the passenger side.
"Joey calm down!" Yami said panicked. Joey didn't listen.
"NO!! These dimwads are blocking us when they should be helping us!"
"JOEY!!" Yami yelled out shocked. Joey spun around and found himself faced with a gun.
"Sir, I ask that you calm down." The woman said calmly.
"NO WAY!" He yelled out. Joey stalked forward. The man said into the radio.
"We are dealing with an enraged teen. May possibly resort to violence."
"I'm warning you! I'll shoot!" The woman said angrily. Joey kept moving forward. The woman raised her gun, finger on the trigger. Yami ran forward.
"JOEY!!" He tackled his friend just as the woman shot. Landing on the ground Yami yelled out.
"YU-GI!!" Joey screamed. Yami kneeled on the ground, hand over his bleeding arm. The woman stared shocked.
"BARBERA!! You know you're not supposed to shoot! They're only kids!" The man yelled angrily, he spoke into the radio.
"We have a code 3. Emergency! 27 alley Brudeway." The rest of his talk blurred out as Yami's vision hazed. He shook his head. Standing up he ripped off a strip of cloth.
"Not now, we have to find Hikari." Joey ran after him.
"Can you make it?" Yami smiled.
"After being in the shadow realm, this is just a bee sting." He said wrapping the cloth around his arm. Joey nodded, but kept a close eye on his friend. They both ran off.
"H-hey! Get back here!" The man called. The woman stared, her eyes . . . . . . . . were lifeless. Her will, was not her own anymore. She raised the gun once more.
***
Tristan was running down a side way, Taia by his side. They kept running when something reached their ears. A gun shot.
***
Marick walked along the sidewalk. He was slowly rounding a corner when something met his ears. The popping of a gun.
***
Yami spun around as the woman pulled the trigger. The bullet almost hit Yami when it collided with an invisible force and dropped with a dull clink. A cloaked figure stood in front of Yami, hand raised. Joey was staring perplexed. The figure raised it's other hand and slammed a force into the woman. The cop stared blankly, life slowly returned to her eyes.
"W-what?!" Yami waved his uninjured arm over her. She glowed a light gold which was quickly disappearing.
"Shadow Magic. She was controlled by shadow powers." He said in awe, then flinched, his arm sent jolt of pain up his body. He fell to his knees. Joey kneeled down next to him, worry plastered across the blonde's face.
"You okay?" Yami nodded.
"It just hurts a bit." Joey snorted.
"A bit my foot." He helped Yami to stand and sighed. The figure growled.
"That wasn't any ordinary bullet." He muttered and walked up to the woman who backed away, the figure raised a hand out, palm up. The gun flew to his hand, he grabbed it and clicked the barrel open. He took a bullet out, then swore and dropped the tiny silver object with a sudden jerk. Joey stared.
"What is it?"
"An amalgam made bullet. Amalgam is a special metal made to kill spirits, and any mystical creatures." He growled and held the gun out in front of him. He muttered an indistinguishable word and the gun burst into green flames. It disappeared without leaving a trace, the bullet on the ground also vanished. The man pulled his gun out shaking.
"W-who are you?! What are you?!" The figure smiled, he waved his hand once and the man dropped into a deep sleep. The woman backed away. She turned and ran, the figure raised another hand and snapped his fingers, the woman crumpled into a deep sleep like her partner. He then turned to Yami. Walking over he swore.
"Normal bullets wouldn't hurt you so much, but a bullet like this will kill you eventually." He took Yami's arm gently and examined it. He growled.
"This is too much of a problem for me. You will have to see Crystal." Yami looked at him.
"Crystal? That name sounds familiar." The figure nodded.
"It's the same name as the girl who is staying at Hikari's supposed home." Joey opened his mouth to say something when the figure cut him off.
"Hospitals won't be able to do a thing except remove the bullet. By then though it'll be too late." Joey snapped his mouth shut.
"Let's get going." The figure muttered as he hoisted up Yami's bad arm over his shoulder gently. Joey took the other arm and they hauled him off.
***
Marick raced along the streets. His motorcycle doing 100mph and climbing. What had caused that shot? All he knew was that it wasn't good. He drove right past a parked limo, without looking in, if he had, he would have noticed that the door was slightly open, a line of blood trickling out.
***
It was the next morning, Yami and Joey were accompanied to the house Hikari had gone to on her first day. They walked into the creepy old house and went right past the woman at the counter. She looked up and was about to protest when she saw the figure. She smiled.
"Rough night?"
"Really rough." He replied calmly, and proceeded off towards the double doors at the end of the hall. Walking in Yami saw two people, a boy and a girl. Both had a 4 pointed star around their neck like Nirvana. The girl jumped up.
"You back already? What happened?"
"Kari's gone." The figure grunted and rested Yami down on a bed by the side. The room was a large dining hall. In the middle was a large table with computers, and all sorts of gadgets on it, sort of like a movie scenario. The walls were lined with maps and the sides were covered by beds at the bottom. The carpet was a dark navy blue and very thin. Nothing fancy, except for the awkward lamps on the ceiling, they were like a spiral of thin wires that were curled as if they were pulled into a spiraling vortex. At the end of each tip was a small circular point at which small silver and blue sparkles would rain out of. (A/N: If you're a kingdom hearts player then go to Hollow Bastion and climb onto the book case. Look at the sparkly thing, that's kind of what I mean.) Yami winced as they lay him down. He signaled to Crystal. She walked over, one look at the wound and she swore.
"An amalgam bullet?" The figure nodded.
"Dammit! How long has he had it in his system Shade?" Damen demanded. Shade sighed.
"About 5 hours." Everyone stared.
"Why did you take so long to get him here?!"
"Because I didn't know where the hell you were dammit! I had to go all over town looking for you. I didn't expect to see you at a run down church home." Crystal growled.
"Kari . . . . ." Yami whispered. Everyone turned to him.
"What?"
"Kari . . . . . and Nirvana." Damen leapt at Yami.
"Nirvana?! You know him?! Where is he?!"
"He's gone." Joey replied.
"What?" The girl asked in a shocked voice. Joey pulled a small bag out of his pocket. It was a sandwich baggy, inside you could see small dark green pieces of jade.
"I also found this on the ground where Nirvana was standing when he vanished." Joey whispered and held up a four pointed necklace. The matching one to Shade, Crystal, and Damen's. The center was dark, lifeless. She backed away horrified.
"Nirvana." She whispered. Damen was awe struck.
"T-that's a fake!" He croaked out, his mouth suddenly paper dry. Crystal backed away into the wall, still gaping. Suddenly she brought her hands to her sides to hold her self in a silent hug, tears fell silently down her cheeks. Damen fell to his knees, still staring helplessly at it.
"Nirvana. . . ."
***
Yu-Gi had control of his body again, something the spirit protested strongly. It would give Yami more time since the bullet affected humans less, but the pain would be strong. As soon as they switched Yu-Gi gave out a sharp cry and clenched the bed sheet with white knuckles. Crystal tried to work as fast and as efficient as she could. Joey walked out of the room to stare around the foyer. Suddenly his cell phone rang. He took it out.
"Joey here." A voice spoke out in a panicky voice.
"Joey? Mokubah here."
"Mokubah? How'd you get my number?"
"Found it on the system, never mind that, listen, have you seen Seto since last night?" Silence. Joey stared into the receiver a little scared.
"Not since around midnight. Why?" A small voice replied.
"He said he'd be back by 1:00am the latest, he was supposed to make sure I went to bed on time. He never showed."
Joey gaped, eyes wide.
"But . . . . you're the most important thing in his life! He would never miss an appointment with you if he could help it! Just like I'd never miss an appointment to meet my little sis. Something's not right here." Mokubah's voice came back quiet and a little shaken, he had a lot more control then Joey thought possible for his age.
"I think . . . . . . I think something's happened. Something bad." Joey nodded.
"Yu-Gi's been hurt, as soon as he can walk, we'll go looking for your brother. I'll call Taia and the others to let them know. Keep calm and let us know if you find anything okay?" Mokubah gulped.
"Yeah."
***
Mokubah hung up the phone and sighed. Who could he trust with this knowledge? James. Definitely, Seto's advisor liked his brother a lot and would never betray him. James would know who else to talk to. Mokubah ran off. He ran up to the lab where the man could usually be found, Mokubah banged on the door. A woman opened it. Mokubah rushed past her. Straight up to James.
"I need you to come with me right away!" Mokubah said between gasps. James nodded, passing his clipboard to someone else he walked out without question.
"Yes Mr. Kaiba?"
"Seto's been missing since midnight, or around there. We need to find him." Mokubah explained, the older man blanched. Seto was one of his best friends, despite the boy's cold behavior, Seto was like a son to him. James thought for a minute, then turned to the boy.
"I need you to go on satellite control and see if you can track the transmitter Kaiba is always carrying on the tip of his vest. If that doesn't work we may have to do a DNA scan." Mokubah nodded.
"I'll get some others that we can trust to help us." The man said and walked off. Mokubah ran for the research room.
***
Taia's cell rang. She picked it out of her purse and pushed the button. Talking into the receiver she asked
"Hello?"
"Taia? Problem, I just got a call from Mokubah and he said that his brother's been missing since last night. I need you to search for him and the others." Joey's voice said clearly. Taia nodded.
"Can do Joey." Tristan stared.
"I hope you know he can't see you nodding. What's up?"
"Kaiba's missing." Was all she said.
***
Marick rode past the same limo as last night. Now that was odd, why was it still parked here? Marick got off his bike and put the helmet on his bike, walking over he stared, the door was partly open, a dark spot lay beneath, it branched out like water does on the street. He opened the door a bit and a revolting smell met his nose. Marick took one glance inside and brought his arm to his nose, he slammed the door shut, grabbing his phone out of his pocket he called Yu-Gi's cell.
***
Yu-Gi groaned when his phone rang. Crystal was just finishing the bandage when it rung in his pocket. He took it out and mumbled into it
"Hello?"
"Yami? Problem. Kaiba's limo is on this street, it's been here since last night. I looked inside, the driver has been capped. No body of our millionaire though." Yu-Gi stared at it.
"Speak English Marick." Yu-Gi said in a small whine. Marick growled.
"What is the matter with you?! You sound so pathetic, as if you've been-"
"Shot? Why yes I have thank you." Yu-Gi said sarcastically. Silence.
"You were SHOT?!" The boy sighed.
"Call me when you calm down. My head is one whole migraine." Yu-Gi hung up and laid his head against the wall. Marick on the other end looked as his phone is surprise, he growled and punched in Taia's number. She picked up.
"Hello?"
"Taia, do you know anything about Yu-Gi being SHOT?!" He demanded climbing back onto his bike. Stunned silence once more.
"WHAT?!" Marick couldn't help but smirk.
"I guess you didn't know either." Taia pressed the end button, then punched in Yu-Gi's number and pressed send, (A/N: Annoying isn't this?)
"Yu-Gi." Came a croaked voice from the other end of the line. Taia took a deep breath.
"HOW DID YOU GET SHOT?!" Tristan gaped at her.
"WHAT?! Yu-Gi got SHOT?! How?!" Yu-Gi groaned. Tristan grabbed the phone and yelled into it
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?!?!"
"Not now you guys, my head hurts madly. I'll call you back later." There was a click and a dull buzz meaning Yu-Gi had cut the line. Taia sighed.
***
Marick looked at the phone sweatdropping.
"Oh boy." He muttered, he pulled on his helmet, then stopped. He never did tell Yami about meeting Mai yesterday did he? Oh well. He kicked his bike into overdrive and zoomed down the street. His phone was held to his ear by a shoulder and it was ringing.
"Kaiba Corp."
"The alleyway of Dormon street. Get there quick." Was all he said, hanging up he grinned and drove off.
***
James put the phone down puzzled. Mokubah came running in.
"What is it?"
"Someone called and told me to send someone down to an alleyway." Mokubah nodded.
"I'll go. Mokubah declared grinning and ran off. James sighed, Mokubah would do anything to save his brother. He had a feeling that one day, it would kill him.
***
Yami winced a bit while sitting up. He had switched with Yu-Gi the moment the affects of the bullet had worn off. Scratch the pain, but the pharaoh was less affected by pain then Yu-Gi. He sighed.
"So let's review the facts. Kari is gone, they got rid of . . . . . her protector." He said hesitantly when seeing the pained looks of Crystal and Damen's face.
"Kaiba's gone too." Joey put in, everyone looked at him.
"KAIBA?!" Joey nodded.
"I just got a call from Mokubah saying that his bro has been missing for some time." Yami stared, eyes wide.
"So Kari and Nirvana are gone." Shade began. "Seto has disappeared, someone tried to kill Yami. Clearly it's someone who has great strategic abilities." Damen muttered something to know one in particular. Yami sighed and turned his eyes back to the small bag in his hand. Through their mental link Yu-Gi asked
"So why do you think whoever took Kari destroyed this?"
"I don't know. But it has some link to Nirvana, that much is clear." Yu- Gi gave a mental nod and stared at the tiny pendant, or rather, the shards of the pendant. Yami touched it slightly. The room was engulfed by white light.
"What the-?!" Damen yelled out. Joey ran back into the room.
"What's going on?!" Yami never replied.
~ Flashback ~
A girl sat on the chair, her knees against her chest, black hair tumbling over her shoulders. A woman in a white lab coat sat in front of her on another chair. She held a brown clipboard.
"My dear. Are you alright?"
"I hate to say it but that is the stupidest question I have ever been asked." The girl replied snickering. The woman blinked, acting like she knew everything that was going to happen.
"Now, I understand you have been through a large ordeal. Now you must remember that you have lots to live for, like your stepmother-"
"A drunken whore." The girl replied snickering. The woman blanched.
"Kari!"
"The name is Hikari you b*tch." The girl said calmly. The woman sighed.
"I know how you feel, you feel like the world has lost all meaning. What with losing your brother, father, and all." The girl laughed out at this.
"My brother and father? My brother isn't gone. He's still watching over me. And my father? I never cared for the bastard." The woman drew back shocked. The girl sighed.
"Leave me alone you damn shrink."
"I am a doctor. I'm trying to help."
"A shrink."
"A person who tries to save lives. To help others."
"And in other words, a godamn shrink." The woman sighed in defeat.
"Alright. I'm a shrink or whatever you wish to call me."
"How about annoying little cretin?"
"KARI!" The woman cried out shocked.
"It's HIKARI damnit. Get it right or I'll rip your heart out and slit your throat where you stand." Hikari hissed at her. The woman gulped, her clipboard clattered to the ground and she backed away, up to the wall. Threats were taken seriously these days, even from children. The woman gulped and held her hands up.
"Hikari. Please calm down."
"God I hate you damn people! Always probing with questions, acting like you understand the world. Well you don't! I hate you and every single one of your godamn kind!" White waves began to radiate off of Kari. The woman pressed her self against the door even more.
"Hikari STOP IT! Stop whatever you're doing you freakish hellspawn!" The girl grinned.
"Oh, I'm not from hell. I'm from heaven. You ever hear of a fallen angel?" She asked, wings fanning out on her back. The woman grabbed the door handle and ran out screaming. The girl grinned, then the wings vanished. A white form materialized beside her, each step it took made the form clearer. By the time it reached her shoulder, Nirvana was fully materialized.
"You should have let me deal with her."
"Naw, I'm sick of all these people trying to dig into my skull for answers. I had to vent some anger out." Kari replied giggling. Nirvana sighed.
"As you wish my lady." The girl stared sorrowfully at him.
"I hate this. It's bad enough that I lost everything, but these people keep bringing the pain back, they keep reminding me. Why won't they just let me forget?" Nirvana sighed.
"Humans think they know everything, they want to know everything. They seek to satisfy their own thirst for knowledge."
"They're like vampires aren't they?" Kari asked smiling lightly. "Stupid bloodsuckers." Nirvana chuckled.
"I suppose so, what an interesting way of looking at them."
"Hey Nirvana? I know it's you that allows me to do all these great things, like be a good athlete or be fearless-"
"No, I do nothing. It is you that does all this. I only protect you."
"And . . . . what are you protecting me from?"
"Dire."
"Who's that?" She asked. Brown eyes wide and perplexed.
"He's a demon. The basic opposite of the Celestials. Us. He lives to kill all of us, so that our threat is diminished. He will come after you especially." Nirvana whispered touching her forehead gently. A symbol that no one could recognize appeared, it shone brightly, then vanished.
"Why me?"
"You're special Hikari. You're-"
~ End ~
Yami sat up with a start. Joey stumbled onto his butt, Damen was staring wide eyed, while Crystal seemed to have gone into shock. Shade, well no one could see his emotions beneath that black hood.
"He didn't leave us then. He stayed true to his purpose . . ." Crystal said softly. Damen's face contorted in agony. He dropped to his knees and slammed his fist on the ground.
"Dammit. DAMMIT!" He hissed out through gritted teeth, tears slowly welled up at the edges of his eyes, then fell onto the thinly carpeted floor. Crystal stared at him solemnly. Shade turned to Damen.
"Wha-?"
"I never knew! I thought he left to follow his own path. I thought he abandoned us! When he said he was going to protect someone I never thought he meant HER!" Yami stared.
"What is Hikari? Why does she need protection?" Crystal stared at him, blue eyes were stern but glazed with pain.
"We are Celestials, we were once a proud race, but the as you know, the demons and the angles have been at war for some time. And no I'm not talking about the little baby cupids that are stark naked. I'm talking about real life angels, warriors, souls that will fight for their future. We lost. They threatened to kill the humans if we didn't surrender, we wouldn't be able to protect them either, so we gave in. They promised not to hurt us, they lied." She shuddered.
"They killed everyone in sight. Then went for the royal family, all were slaughtered. Only me, Damen, and Nirvana made it out. There might be other survivors, but I don't know of them." Damen continued.
"The royal family were slaughtered as you know. Or, at least we thought. One of them survived, the child was three, and hidden in a closet beneath a bundle of old clothes. Amazingly the infant was silent throughout the whole ordeal. Nirvana went back into the castle, he had to know if they were all dead." Damen shook his head.
"We tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. So we waited for him to come back. It was two hours before he came back, he was covered in blood and carrying something in his arms, a little white bundle." Damen shuddered, unable to go on.
"We asked him what it was. He was silent for a minute, then told us it was a human child. The demons had stolen it and left it there. Damen and Nirvana . . . . . . . they had a fight. Damen said to leave the thing to rot, it was the reason the kingdom fell in the first place. Nirvana refused, he left us to go seek his own path and to protect the child and raise it."
"I was so angry, the last time I saw him was then . . . . . . right after we had the fight. I could never forget." Damen shook his head.
"He was protecting her, I knew her face right off. How often had a face appeared like that? The black hair? That shined like a light brown mixed with gold. The translucent brown eyes? Her face was shaped exactly like her father's. If that didn't convince me, I knew it by the symbol. That was the sign of the angels." Joey blanched.
"Don't tell me she's a-!!" Crystal cut in.
"That sign was worn by only the Royal family. Hikari is Princess Yuzara. The only child of King Lumen and Queen Secona. She is the princess and heir to the throne of the angels, she is the one meant to lead us to war. A war in which, one side wins, and the other dies."
***
Mokubah stared into the limo, face pale. James growled and slammed the door shut, he took out his cell.
"Get a forensic team down here right now!"
***
The figure walked slowly in the alley, a hand to his chest. He gasped slightly. He fell to the floor with a dull thud. With some difficulty he sat up. No use now, he had to make the call. He brought a hand crusted with blood up to his vest and clicked the little icon.
"Seto? SETO!! Where are you?"
"Mokubah . . . . . . . . 43 str-" He looked up, they had found him. They swooped down on him and he lost all thought.
"Seto? SETO!!"
***
Yami gaped.
"H-how do you come into this story." He asked turning to Shade. The man sighed.
"Do you remember what Hikari told you? About the incident?"
"Where she lost her brother? Yeah. WAIT! You're not-" The figure pulled back the hood. Joey gaped and stumbled back.
"My name is Daniel Usagi. I'm her elder brother."
Disclaimer: I own only the plot, Hikari, Nirvana, Shade, Damen, Crystal and I think that's it.
The two figures stood on a building, overlooking the city.
"I guess we failed." A boy said.
"That's depressing." His female counterpart replied.
"Joke all you want, but if Dire gets his hands on her, we're done for." The girl sighed.
"I suppose so. But what can we do? Like it or not, we're helpless . . . . . . . . . Damen." The boy turned to look at her, short brown hair was cropped to his ears, green eyes flashed lightly, he was short and lean. His black pants and red shirt were flapping in the loose wind. He had strapped to his side a sword. The girl had blonde hair which was flipping in the wind. (A/N: Yes I said flipping. I MEANT TO!! ARGH!! Sorry, just a little hyper! BWA HAHAHAHAHA!!) Her white shirt was extremely loose, leaving her arms bare and her midriff exposed. Her black skirt was tight and barely covered her thighs. High black boots were shined and polished perfectly. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and her long bangs were slightly wavy. Blue eyes were concentrated. A quiver of arrows were strung to her back and a long sturdy bow in her hand.
"I guess we'll just have to track him down. That'll be a pain." Crystal muttered and stood up. Damen stared at her.
"I s'pose. But it is our job. Shade would kill us if we didn't." He smiled. Crystal sighed once more.
"Oh well." Damen was about to jump off when she stopped him.
"Yeah?"
"What about . . . . . Nirvana?" Damen sighed.
"Leave the prick." Crystal stiffened.
"But. . . .he's our BROTHER! How can you say that?!"
"He left us, he left us in our time of need to protect someone I could care less about."
"But . . . . . our necklace . . ." She held the four pointed star in her hand, the chain wrapped about her neck. Looking carefully someone would have noticed that at the edges were four gems. One was blue, one yellow, another black and the last was green. At the center of hers was a yellow gem. Damen wore one as well, his center was a green gem. Nirvana had worn one with a blue center. The gem tipped points of their necklaces, usually were bright, as if they had a miniature lightbulb in it, the blue one, was dull and dark. Meaning, the holder of that necklace, was dead.
"We don't know if he's alive or dead, the necklace light goes out if the carrier dies, of if the necklace is lost." Damen said calmly. Crystal looked away.
"You know as well as I do that he would never take it off given the choice." Damen scowled.
"He's NOT DEAD!!" Damen yelled and jumped off. Crystal stared after him, then shook her head. On her necklace, there was three points left alight. The yellow was hers, green was Damen, blue was Nirvana, his light was dead. And black, black belonged to Shade, the man who had appeared bearing the necklace, she had no idea who he was. She and Damen were the last of the Celestials, people with magical abilities. They had been wiped out in an attack. Other survivors they had found died of illnesses. Only three were left by this year. Now it was only two. Crystal sighed, then followed her brother by jumping across the roofs, she leaped a gap that was at least 5 meters.
'Nirvana, sorry.' She thought.
***
"NIRVANA!! KARI!!" Yami yelled out into the street. Joey ran by his side. People were yelling at them, screaming at him to stop making so much noise or they'd call the police. Too bad, if they were so angry, maybe they could explain how two of his friends had just vanished. If it was Bakura that had taken Kari then he wouldn't be worried. Nirvana had been cool and calm when dealing with him, this time the spirit had been panicky, loose and acting like an animal does in front of fire, that wild fear. Something was wrong, was this the enemy that Nirvana had spoken of? A cop car suddenly rolled out in front of him. He growled his anger. Someone stepped out.
"What's wrong? I got a call that you were disturbing the public." Joey, who was by his side growled.
"Outta my way! If they're so angry, maybe they should help!" He yelled. A woman got out from the passenger side.
"Joey calm down!" Yami said panicked. Joey didn't listen.
"NO!! These dimwads are blocking us when they should be helping us!"
"JOEY!!" Yami yelled out shocked. Joey spun around and found himself faced with a gun.
"Sir, I ask that you calm down." The woman said calmly.
"NO WAY!" He yelled out. Joey stalked forward. The man said into the radio.
"We are dealing with an enraged teen. May possibly resort to violence."
"I'm warning you! I'll shoot!" The woman said angrily. Joey kept moving forward. The woman raised her gun, finger on the trigger. Yami ran forward.
"JOEY!!" He tackled his friend just as the woman shot. Landing on the ground Yami yelled out.
"YU-GI!!" Joey screamed. Yami kneeled on the ground, hand over his bleeding arm. The woman stared shocked.
"BARBERA!! You know you're not supposed to shoot! They're only kids!" The man yelled angrily, he spoke into the radio.
"We have a code 3. Emergency! 27 alley Brudeway." The rest of his talk blurred out as Yami's vision hazed. He shook his head. Standing up he ripped off a strip of cloth.
"Not now, we have to find Hikari." Joey ran after him.
"Can you make it?" Yami smiled.
"After being in the shadow realm, this is just a bee sting." He said wrapping the cloth around his arm. Joey nodded, but kept a close eye on his friend. They both ran off.
"H-hey! Get back here!" The man called. The woman stared, her eyes . . . . . . . . were lifeless. Her will, was not her own anymore. She raised the gun once more.
***
Tristan was running down a side way, Taia by his side. They kept running when something reached their ears. A gun shot.
***
Marick walked along the sidewalk. He was slowly rounding a corner when something met his ears. The popping of a gun.
***
Yami spun around as the woman pulled the trigger. The bullet almost hit Yami when it collided with an invisible force and dropped with a dull clink. A cloaked figure stood in front of Yami, hand raised. Joey was staring perplexed. The figure raised it's other hand and slammed a force into the woman. The cop stared blankly, life slowly returned to her eyes.
"W-what?!" Yami waved his uninjured arm over her. She glowed a light gold which was quickly disappearing.
"Shadow Magic. She was controlled by shadow powers." He said in awe, then flinched, his arm sent jolt of pain up his body. He fell to his knees. Joey kneeled down next to him, worry plastered across the blonde's face.
"You okay?" Yami nodded.
"It just hurts a bit." Joey snorted.
"A bit my foot." He helped Yami to stand and sighed. The figure growled.
"That wasn't any ordinary bullet." He muttered and walked up to the woman who backed away, the figure raised a hand out, palm up. The gun flew to his hand, he grabbed it and clicked the barrel open. He took a bullet out, then swore and dropped the tiny silver object with a sudden jerk. Joey stared.
"What is it?"
"An amalgam made bullet. Amalgam is a special metal made to kill spirits, and any mystical creatures." He growled and held the gun out in front of him. He muttered an indistinguishable word and the gun burst into green flames. It disappeared without leaving a trace, the bullet on the ground also vanished. The man pulled his gun out shaking.
"W-who are you?! What are you?!" The figure smiled, he waved his hand once and the man dropped into a deep sleep. The woman backed away. She turned and ran, the figure raised another hand and snapped his fingers, the woman crumpled into a deep sleep like her partner. He then turned to Yami. Walking over he swore.
"Normal bullets wouldn't hurt you so much, but a bullet like this will kill you eventually." He took Yami's arm gently and examined it. He growled.
"This is too much of a problem for me. You will have to see Crystal." Yami looked at him.
"Crystal? That name sounds familiar." The figure nodded.
"It's the same name as the girl who is staying at Hikari's supposed home." Joey opened his mouth to say something when the figure cut him off.
"Hospitals won't be able to do a thing except remove the bullet. By then though it'll be too late." Joey snapped his mouth shut.
"Let's get going." The figure muttered as he hoisted up Yami's bad arm over his shoulder gently. Joey took the other arm and they hauled him off.
***
Marick raced along the streets. His motorcycle doing 100mph and climbing. What had caused that shot? All he knew was that it wasn't good. He drove right past a parked limo, without looking in, if he had, he would have noticed that the door was slightly open, a line of blood trickling out.
***
It was the next morning, Yami and Joey were accompanied to the house Hikari had gone to on her first day. They walked into the creepy old house and went right past the woman at the counter. She looked up and was about to protest when she saw the figure. She smiled.
"Rough night?"
"Really rough." He replied calmly, and proceeded off towards the double doors at the end of the hall. Walking in Yami saw two people, a boy and a girl. Both had a 4 pointed star around their neck like Nirvana. The girl jumped up.
"You back already? What happened?"
"Kari's gone." The figure grunted and rested Yami down on a bed by the side. The room was a large dining hall. In the middle was a large table with computers, and all sorts of gadgets on it, sort of like a movie scenario. The walls were lined with maps and the sides were covered by beds at the bottom. The carpet was a dark navy blue and very thin. Nothing fancy, except for the awkward lamps on the ceiling, they were like a spiral of thin wires that were curled as if they were pulled into a spiraling vortex. At the end of each tip was a small circular point at which small silver and blue sparkles would rain out of. (A/N: If you're a kingdom hearts player then go to Hollow Bastion and climb onto the book case. Look at the sparkly thing, that's kind of what I mean.) Yami winced as they lay him down. He signaled to Crystal. She walked over, one look at the wound and she swore.
"An amalgam bullet?" The figure nodded.
"Dammit! How long has he had it in his system Shade?" Damen demanded. Shade sighed.
"About 5 hours." Everyone stared.
"Why did you take so long to get him here?!"
"Because I didn't know where the hell you were dammit! I had to go all over town looking for you. I didn't expect to see you at a run down church home." Crystal growled.
"Kari . . . . ." Yami whispered. Everyone turned to him.
"What?"
"Kari . . . . . and Nirvana." Damen leapt at Yami.
"Nirvana?! You know him?! Where is he?!"
"He's gone." Joey replied.
"What?" The girl asked in a shocked voice. Joey pulled a small bag out of his pocket. It was a sandwich baggy, inside you could see small dark green pieces of jade.
"I also found this on the ground where Nirvana was standing when he vanished." Joey whispered and held up a four pointed necklace. The matching one to Shade, Crystal, and Damen's. The center was dark, lifeless. She backed away horrified.
"Nirvana." She whispered. Damen was awe struck.
"T-that's a fake!" He croaked out, his mouth suddenly paper dry. Crystal backed away into the wall, still gaping. Suddenly she brought her hands to her sides to hold her self in a silent hug, tears fell silently down her cheeks. Damen fell to his knees, still staring helplessly at it.
"Nirvana. . . ."
***
Yu-Gi had control of his body again, something the spirit protested strongly. It would give Yami more time since the bullet affected humans less, but the pain would be strong. As soon as they switched Yu-Gi gave out a sharp cry and clenched the bed sheet with white knuckles. Crystal tried to work as fast and as efficient as she could. Joey walked out of the room to stare around the foyer. Suddenly his cell phone rang. He took it out.
"Joey here." A voice spoke out in a panicky voice.
"Joey? Mokubah here."
"Mokubah? How'd you get my number?"
"Found it on the system, never mind that, listen, have you seen Seto since last night?" Silence. Joey stared into the receiver a little scared.
"Not since around midnight. Why?" A small voice replied.
"He said he'd be back by 1:00am the latest, he was supposed to make sure I went to bed on time. He never showed."
Joey gaped, eyes wide.
"But . . . . you're the most important thing in his life! He would never miss an appointment with you if he could help it! Just like I'd never miss an appointment to meet my little sis. Something's not right here." Mokubah's voice came back quiet and a little shaken, he had a lot more control then Joey thought possible for his age.
"I think . . . . . . I think something's happened. Something bad." Joey nodded.
"Yu-Gi's been hurt, as soon as he can walk, we'll go looking for your brother. I'll call Taia and the others to let them know. Keep calm and let us know if you find anything okay?" Mokubah gulped.
"Yeah."
***
Mokubah hung up the phone and sighed. Who could he trust with this knowledge? James. Definitely, Seto's advisor liked his brother a lot and would never betray him. James would know who else to talk to. Mokubah ran off. He ran up to the lab where the man could usually be found, Mokubah banged on the door. A woman opened it. Mokubah rushed past her. Straight up to James.
"I need you to come with me right away!" Mokubah said between gasps. James nodded, passing his clipboard to someone else he walked out without question.
"Yes Mr. Kaiba?"
"Seto's been missing since midnight, or around there. We need to find him." Mokubah explained, the older man blanched. Seto was one of his best friends, despite the boy's cold behavior, Seto was like a son to him. James thought for a minute, then turned to the boy.
"I need you to go on satellite control and see if you can track the transmitter Kaiba is always carrying on the tip of his vest. If that doesn't work we may have to do a DNA scan." Mokubah nodded.
"I'll get some others that we can trust to help us." The man said and walked off. Mokubah ran for the research room.
***
Taia's cell rang. She picked it out of her purse and pushed the button. Talking into the receiver she asked
"Hello?"
"Taia? Problem, I just got a call from Mokubah and he said that his brother's been missing since last night. I need you to search for him and the others." Joey's voice said clearly. Taia nodded.
"Can do Joey." Tristan stared.
"I hope you know he can't see you nodding. What's up?"
"Kaiba's missing." Was all she said.
***
Marick rode past the same limo as last night. Now that was odd, why was it still parked here? Marick got off his bike and put the helmet on his bike, walking over he stared, the door was partly open, a dark spot lay beneath, it branched out like water does on the street. He opened the door a bit and a revolting smell met his nose. Marick took one glance inside and brought his arm to his nose, he slammed the door shut, grabbing his phone out of his pocket he called Yu-Gi's cell.
***
Yu-Gi groaned when his phone rang. Crystal was just finishing the bandage when it rung in his pocket. He took it out and mumbled into it
"Hello?"
"Yami? Problem. Kaiba's limo is on this street, it's been here since last night. I looked inside, the driver has been capped. No body of our millionaire though." Yu-Gi stared at it.
"Speak English Marick." Yu-Gi said in a small whine. Marick growled.
"What is the matter with you?! You sound so pathetic, as if you've been-"
"Shot? Why yes I have thank you." Yu-Gi said sarcastically. Silence.
"You were SHOT?!" The boy sighed.
"Call me when you calm down. My head is one whole migraine." Yu-Gi hung up and laid his head against the wall. Marick on the other end looked as his phone is surprise, he growled and punched in Taia's number. She picked up.
"Hello?"
"Taia, do you know anything about Yu-Gi being SHOT?!" He demanded climbing back onto his bike. Stunned silence once more.
"WHAT?!" Marick couldn't help but smirk.
"I guess you didn't know either." Taia pressed the end button, then punched in Yu-Gi's number and pressed send, (A/N: Annoying isn't this?)
"Yu-Gi." Came a croaked voice from the other end of the line. Taia took a deep breath.
"HOW DID YOU GET SHOT?!" Tristan gaped at her.
"WHAT?! Yu-Gi got SHOT?! How?!" Yu-Gi groaned. Tristan grabbed the phone and yelled into it
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?!?!"
"Not now you guys, my head hurts madly. I'll call you back later." There was a click and a dull buzz meaning Yu-Gi had cut the line. Taia sighed.
***
Marick looked at the phone sweatdropping.
"Oh boy." He muttered, he pulled on his helmet, then stopped. He never did tell Yami about meeting Mai yesterday did he? Oh well. He kicked his bike into overdrive and zoomed down the street. His phone was held to his ear by a shoulder and it was ringing.
"Kaiba Corp."
"The alleyway of Dormon street. Get there quick." Was all he said, hanging up he grinned and drove off.
***
James put the phone down puzzled. Mokubah came running in.
"What is it?"
"Someone called and told me to send someone down to an alleyway." Mokubah nodded.
"I'll go. Mokubah declared grinning and ran off. James sighed, Mokubah would do anything to save his brother. He had a feeling that one day, it would kill him.
***
Yami winced a bit while sitting up. He had switched with Yu-Gi the moment the affects of the bullet had worn off. Scratch the pain, but the pharaoh was less affected by pain then Yu-Gi. He sighed.
"So let's review the facts. Kari is gone, they got rid of . . . . . her protector." He said hesitantly when seeing the pained looks of Crystal and Damen's face.
"Kaiba's gone too." Joey put in, everyone looked at him.
"KAIBA?!" Joey nodded.
"I just got a call from Mokubah saying that his bro has been missing for some time." Yami stared, eyes wide.
"So Kari and Nirvana are gone." Shade began. "Seto has disappeared, someone tried to kill Yami. Clearly it's someone who has great strategic abilities." Damen muttered something to know one in particular. Yami sighed and turned his eyes back to the small bag in his hand. Through their mental link Yu-Gi asked
"So why do you think whoever took Kari destroyed this?"
"I don't know. But it has some link to Nirvana, that much is clear." Yu- Gi gave a mental nod and stared at the tiny pendant, or rather, the shards of the pendant. Yami touched it slightly. The room was engulfed by white light.
"What the-?!" Damen yelled out. Joey ran back into the room.
"What's going on?!" Yami never replied.
~ Flashback ~
A girl sat on the chair, her knees against her chest, black hair tumbling over her shoulders. A woman in a white lab coat sat in front of her on another chair. She held a brown clipboard.
"My dear. Are you alright?"
"I hate to say it but that is the stupidest question I have ever been asked." The girl replied snickering. The woman blinked, acting like she knew everything that was going to happen.
"Now, I understand you have been through a large ordeal. Now you must remember that you have lots to live for, like your stepmother-"
"A drunken whore." The girl replied snickering. The woman blanched.
"Kari!"
"The name is Hikari you b*tch." The girl said calmly. The woman sighed.
"I know how you feel, you feel like the world has lost all meaning. What with losing your brother, father, and all." The girl laughed out at this.
"My brother and father? My brother isn't gone. He's still watching over me. And my father? I never cared for the bastard." The woman drew back shocked. The girl sighed.
"Leave me alone you damn shrink."
"I am a doctor. I'm trying to help."
"A shrink."
"A person who tries to save lives. To help others."
"And in other words, a godamn shrink." The woman sighed in defeat.
"Alright. I'm a shrink or whatever you wish to call me."
"How about annoying little cretin?"
"KARI!" The woman cried out shocked.
"It's HIKARI damnit. Get it right or I'll rip your heart out and slit your throat where you stand." Hikari hissed at her. The woman gulped, her clipboard clattered to the ground and she backed away, up to the wall. Threats were taken seriously these days, even from children. The woman gulped and held her hands up.
"Hikari. Please calm down."
"God I hate you damn people! Always probing with questions, acting like you understand the world. Well you don't! I hate you and every single one of your godamn kind!" White waves began to radiate off of Kari. The woman pressed her self against the door even more.
"Hikari STOP IT! Stop whatever you're doing you freakish hellspawn!" The girl grinned.
"Oh, I'm not from hell. I'm from heaven. You ever hear of a fallen angel?" She asked, wings fanning out on her back. The woman grabbed the door handle and ran out screaming. The girl grinned, then the wings vanished. A white form materialized beside her, each step it took made the form clearer. By the time it reached her shoulder, Nirvana was fully materialized.
"You should have let me deal with her."
"Naw, I'm sick of all these people trying to dig into my skull for answers. I had to vent some anger out." Kari replied giggling. Nirvana sighed.
"As you wish my lady." The girl stared sorrowfully at him.
"I hate this. It's bad enough that I lost everything, but these people keep bringing the pain back, they keep reminding me. Why won't they just let me forget?" Nirvana sighed.
"Humans think they know everything, they want to know everything. They seek to satisfy their own thirst for knowledge."
"They're like vampires aren't they?" Kari asked smiling lightly. "Stupid bloodsuckers." Nirvana chuckled.
"I suppose so, what an interesting way of looking at them."
"Hey Nirvana? I know it's you that allows me to do all these great things, like be a good athlete or be fearless-"
"No, I do nothing. It is you that does all this. I only protect you."
"And . . . . what are you protecting me from?"
"Dire."
"Who's that?" She asked. Brown eyes wide and perplexed.
"He's a demon. The basic opposite of the Celestials. Us. He lives to kill all of us, so that our threat is diminished. He will come after you especially." Nirvana whispered touching her forehead gently. A symbol that no one could recognize appeared, it shone brightly, then vanished.
"Why me?"
"You're special Hikari. You're-"
~ End ~
Yami sat up with a start. Joey stumbled onto his butt, Damen was staring wide eyed, while Crystal seemed to have gone into shock. Shade, well no one could see his emotions beneath that black hood.
"He didn't leave us then. He stayed true to his purpose . . ." Crystal said softly. Damen's face contorted in agony. He dropped to his knees and slammed his fist on the ground.
"Dammit. DAMMIT!" He hissed out through gritted teeth, tears slowly welled up at the edges of his eyes, then fell onto the thinly carpeted floor. Crystal stared at him solemnly. Shade turned to Damen.
"Wha-?"
"I never knew! I thought he left to follow his own path. I thought he abandoned us! When he said he was going to protect someone I never thought he meant HER!" Yami stared.
"What is Hikari? Why does she need protection?" Crystal stared at him, blue eyes were stern but glazed with pain.
"We are Celestials, we were once a proud race, but the as you know, the demons and the angles have been at war for some time. And no I'm not talking about the little baby cupids that are stark naked. I'm talking about real life angels, warriors, souls that will fight for their future. We lost. They threatened to kill the humans if we didn't surrender, we wouldn't be able to protect them either, so we gave in. They promised not to hurt us, they lied." She shuddered.
"They killed everyone in sight. Then went for the royal family, all were slaughtered. Only me, Damen, and Nirvana made it out. There might be other survivors, but I don't know of them." Damen continued.
"The royal family were slaughtered as you know. Or, at least we thought. One of them survived, the child was three, and hidden in a closet beneath a bundle of old clothes. Amazingly the infant was silent throughout the whole ordeal. Nirvana went back into the castle, he had to know if they were all dead." Damen shook his head.
"We tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. So we waited for him to come back. It was two hours before he came back, he was covered in blood and carrying something in his arms, a little white bundle." Damen shuddered, unable to go on.
"We asked him what it was. He was silent for a minute, then told us it was a human child. The demons had stolen it and left it there. Damen and Nirvana . . . . . . . they had a fight. Damen said to leave the thing to rot, it was the reason the kingdom fell in the first place. Nirvana refused, he left us to go seek his own path and to protect the child and raise it."
"I was so angry, the last time I saw him was then . . . . . . right after we had the fight. I could never forget." Damen shook his head.
"He was protecting her, I knew her face right off. How often had a face appeared like that? The black hair? That shined like a light brown mixed with gold. The translucent brown eyes? Her face was shaped exactly like her father's. If that didn't convince me, I knew it by the symbol. That was the sign of the angels." Joey blanched.
"Don't tell me she's a-!!" Crystal cut in.
"That sign was worn by only the Royal family. Hikari is Princess Yuzara. The only child of King Lumen and Queen Secona. She is the princess and heir to the throne of the angels, she is the one meant to lead us to war. A war in which, one side wins, and the other dies."
***
Mokubah stared into the limo, face pale. James growled and slammed the door shut, he took out his cell.
"Get a forensic team down here right now!"
***
The figure walked slowly in the alley, a hand to his chest. He gasped slightly. He fell to the floor with a dull thud. With some difficulty he sat up. No use now, he had to make the call. He brought a hand crusted with blood up to his vest and clicked the little icon.
"Seto? SETO!! Where are you?"
"Mokubah . . . . . . . . 43 str-" He looked up, they had found him. They swooped down on him and he lost all thought.
"Seto? SETO!!"
***
Yami gaped.
"H-how do you come into this story." He asked turning to Shade. The man sighed.
"Do you remember what Hikari told you? About the incident?"
"Where she lost her brother? Yeah. WAIT! You're not-" The figure pulled back the hood. Joey gaped and stumbled back.
"My name is Daniel Usagi. I'm her elder brother."
Disclaimer: I own only the plot, Hikari, Nirvana, Shade, Damen, Crystal and I think that's it.