From Darkness To Light: Lost
By Asher Tye
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I wish I did 'cause then I'd be rich. Since I'm not, suing me would be pointless. Thanks bunches for all the reviews. I can't wait to see the reviews for this chapter. I should say this, I have never seen Gozabura, so if my description of him seems a little off, I'll just chalk it up to the same thing that happened to Princess Sally over the course of the Sonic Comic. Also, I don't know the names of the Egyptian Gods' attacks, so I figured I'd use a few of my own.
Summary: The group prepares to make their way to the Dark Citadel with the help of the Spirit of the Books. Danger and peril litter the journey... as well as a pretty pink bow for Mokuba?
*_* - Personal Thoughts /_/ - Yugi to Yami \_\ - Yami to Yugi Telepathic communication
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Aza moved quietly through his tower as he lead his eight human guests down back down to the second floor. Soon they found themselves standing in front of a door that seemed to be covered in about a foot of dust. This was further evidenced when Aza blew on the door's keyhole and kicked up a huge cloud of dust that quickly had everyone coughing and sneezing.
"Sorry about that, I haven't used this room in about five or six years," the crow goblin said as he inserted a bronze key into the door's lock and opened it. Inside the room was filled with desks, chairs, graphs, globes and even a chalkboard.
"What is dis, a classroom?" Joey asked.
"It's part classroom, part storage space, Mr. Wheeler," Aza answered. "In times when the Plains were considerably calmer than they are today, Lords, Ladies, and Mayors sent their children to me to advance their education's beyond that of their own homes abilities. Ah, for a return to those beautiful times."
"You were a teacher? Then this tower was some sort of... school?" Tea asked as she started looking around the room.
"Of course," the Spirit of Books replied. "And it is a good thing too, since that is precisely how I'm gonna be able to help you get to Cormick. Now I just have to find something..." While Aza looked around the room, Tea spotted something sitting on one of the desks. It was a blue book with two gloves sitting beside it while at it bottom sat two boots. What peeked Tea's curiosity the most, however was the fact that the book possessed no title and no author's name appeared on the cover.
"Aza, what is this?" Tea asked.
"Hmm," the feathered monster said as he walked over to the teenaged girl. A smile came to the goblin's beaky features as he saw what Tea was pointing at. "Oh you marvelous girl, you found it for me."
"Huh?" Tea watched as her bird-like host began smacking the book on it's cover.
"Come on, wake up. Nap time is over and it's time to get to work."
"What are you...?" Everyone was surprised as the two gloves suddenly lifted into the air before grabbing the edge of the desk Amazingly, the book started to lift off the table as the two boots moved neatly under the book. Aza continued to call, banging on desks as he called out instructions to wake up. Suddenly, the group found themselves surrounded by several more of the book-like creatures.
"Bookum?!" Yugi said, a very amused smile coming over the short boy's face.
"What?" Seto queried.
"These are all Bookum monsters," Yugi explained. "Small, book-shaped magicians. I think they're level two monsters."
"Do they have any special powers we should know about?" Joey asked backing away from the monster.
"No, they're pretty harmless," Yugi replied.
"Don't let their lack of power fool you my dear boy. Bookum are tireless workers and very intelligent, ideal helpers in keeping this place clean and organized. Though with the lack of students, I'm afraid you're not seeing them at their best. They've gotten lazy and begun to neglect their duties." All around Aza the book monsters all seemed to bend over in sadness and Yugi could swear he could see a stream of tears coming down their covers. "Oh yes I'm afraid it's been a long time since my Bookum have had a task worthy of their exceptional skill. Until now." At the Spirit of Book's words the Bookum immediately perked up, some even beginning to jump in joy at the prospect. "Now then, I am going to be taking these nice people on a trip, incognito of course. We require food, money and other supplies." Immediately the Bookum began to scatter, running around to collect everything their master would need. Before all could go, Aza snatched to of the Bookum but their spines . "Not you two, I have a special task for you."
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Once more, Aza had led his guests to another door, this one considerably less filthy than the last, but with a rusted door knob and lock. The two Bookum, standing on one another's non-existent shoulders as they opened the door.
"How are they doing that?" Marik asked.
"I've found some questions have no answers, at least none make sense," Aza replied as he silently passed his feathery hand through the space between book and glove. Soon the two monsters had the door open and were quickly pulling out a rather large trunk. Inside the trunk were several all sets of clothes. "Ah excellent."
"What's dis for?" Joey asked.
"As you may guess playing host to children of various ages, I tend to collect a great deal of spare clothes, forgotten, or unwanted for one reason or another," Aza said as he removed a small armored breastplate from the trunk along with several more clothes of varying materials, colors and sizes. "And it's a good thing too, since now they will provide an excellent source of costumes to hide you." The Spirit of Books pulled out a rather large sheet of purple velvet. "Excellent, I was hoping I still had this."
"Hmph, a whole trunk full of clothes and this featherbrain pulls out a tablecloth for us to wear," Bakura snidely said.
"Actually this is going to be part of Ms. Tea's costume."
"Excuse me?"
"In addition to providing new clothes, these costumes must also function to make people hesitant to approach us, particularly those people under Zoa's employ. To that end, I have decided that you, my dear, will take on the role of one of the few creatures that can still wander the world with little harassment; a Magician of Faith."
"A Magician of Faith?"
"Yes, the Sisterhood of the Faith in Luchym is one of the few organizations whose wrath Zoa's forces still fear. It is my hope that with a convincing story, as well as a Magician of Faith, we can pass relatively unmolested."
"A 'convincing story'?" Marik asked as one of the Bookum began to measure him, something the young Egyptian was patiently accepting, for now. "What story do you have in mind?"
"Time for that later, I think. For now, allow the Bookum to finish their job, please and then we can have lunch. I expect a good meal would go a very long way towards making this a bit more tolerable."
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In a little under five hours, plenty of time for Yugi and company to eat and refresh themselves, the garments for the roles Aza had chosen for them were completed. Tea looked at herself in the mirror, trying to look at the same time dignified and completely caring as the Spirit of Books had coached her to do. It turned out that the velvet sheet had instead been a thick curtain, and the brown haired teen could already feel a small film of sweat forming on her. The Bookum had used a gold colored cord with tassels as a makeshift belt, while a former coat stand became her staff. All in all, the small creatures had done a pretty good job.
"It will not stand a close inspection I'm afraid, but for our purpose, I believe this will prove more than adequate," Aza said, turning back to a curtained door where the older boys were, supposedly, busy changing into the outfits they'd been provided. From the curtain came Joey smiling a little as he emerged wearing a dark green robe and a big pointy hat.
"Joey, what's so funny."
"You should see Kaiba Tea... I don't know what he's supposed ta be, but if we do get stopped I'm bettin' tha enemy's gonna bust a gut laughin' at him."
"Can it Chihuahua!" Seto Kaiba said as he walked out from behind the curtain. The young CEO was wearing the same iron breastplate Aza had first pulled from the trunk, trying his best to pretend it wasn't the least bit uncomfortable. Under the chestplate, it could be seen that he was also wearing a pink silk shirt complete with a ruffled collar and puffed up sleeves. He was also wearing a red pair of shorts that stood just over a pair of what looked like yellow pantyhose. Sitting on top of his brown hair was a green cap holding peacock's feather in it's rim. On the breastplate, which had been polished by the Bookum, it could be seen that there was a symbol of a peacock attacking what appeared to be some sort of generically drawn monster.
"Wow, that looks straight out of Sleeping Beauty."
"There had better be a very good reason why I'm wearing this ridiculous getup."
"There is," Aza said, pointing towards the symbol on his chest. "That is the symbol of the royal court of Florin. The costume is modeled after what the young lords of that realm are wearing, since that is the role you are going to be playing. All you need to do is act obnoxious and spoiled, and behave like everyone around you is slime."
"Wow, da transformation's unbelievable," Joey said.
"And you, Mr. Wheeler, are going to be playing the part of my apprentice."
"Your wha...?"
"My apprentice. A scholar-in-training who is going out on his first road study with his master as he guides Lord Azaro Florin and Sister Anzu of the Faith on their trek back to Luchym."
"Luchym? I thought we were going to some place called Cormick?" Yugi said as he stepped out from behind the curtain. It was Tea's turn to giggle at what she saw Yugi was wearing. The normally shy boy was wearing a loose gray vest and a matching pair of shorts that only came halfway down to his knees. A pair of sandals were on the boy's feet, complete with leather straps that wrapped around his ankles and shins up to his knees. His tri-colored hair no longer stood up in it's normal crown formation but was instead slicked down, actually coming down to hide his ears and the back of his neck. The vest was in fact too big for the small boy and in fact hung down low on Yugi, allowing the top of the Millennium Puzzle graze against his chest. All in all, Tea had to admit to herself that he looked pretty cute, even if she couldn't quite guess what he was supposed to be. To her surprise, Ryou came out wearing a similar outfit to Yugi's, save for the fact that it fit his larger body better.
"Cormick is our ultimate destination, but if we were let that information go willy-nilly, it's almost guaranteed that Zoa's forces would take an interest in us. Luchym is in the same general direction as Cormick, so it's safe to claim that as our destination, at least for the time being."
"So, if Kaiba is a Lord, Tea's a Magician of Faith, and Joey is playing your apprentice, then... uh what are Yugi and I supposed to be?" Ryou asked. At his question, Aza seemed fidget nervously.
"Well... uh... you see... With Mr. Kaiba being a Florin Lord and all... we needed something in the way of... servants."
"Servants?"
"Well actually, due to Florin's customs and culture, the correct term would actually be... slaves."
"SLAVE!!" Bakura yelled in what had to be the quickest possession the ancient Tomb Robber had ever performed as he jumped at the Spirit of Books. "I didn't spend my life becoming the greatest thief the world has ever known to be relegated to playing the part of a slave to some twentieth century RICH BRAT!!"
"How dare you talk to me like that you slimy little..."
"ENOUGH!" Yami said as he came between Seto and Bakura. "We do not have the luxury of fighting amongst ourselves now."
"Just because you fit the role of a slave so perfectly doesn't mean I do!"
"Watch your mouth you mothballed pickpocket," Joey said.
"In truth, neither Pharaoh Yami nor Mr. Bakura are able to play the part of slaves. It's Yugi and Ryou who were built for that part."
"What?" Yugi asked, a little put out that he was being called a slave.
"I'm sorry but it is the truth. You both slouch, you stutter, you're overly quiet... I mean this as no insult, merely as observations. And a Florin Lord would not travel anywhere without bound servants to see to his every need, hence the need for them to play slaves. And the costumes were designed for Yugi and Ryou, not Yami and Bakura."
"Which leads me to the next part. I'm afraid you'll have to remove your Millennium Items."
"What?!" was the reply of both yamis.
"Solid gold jewelry, particularly jewelry so easily recognizable, can only be detrimental to us in the long run."
"But if Yugi isn't wearing the Puzzle, I can't help him, I can barely communicate with him," Yami said in a clearly distressed voice.
"It's all right, Yami," Yugi said as he began to remove the Millennium Puzzle. "I think I'll be able to handle anything that comes our way without too much trouble." Yugi handed the golden item over to Joey. "Joey, please keep this safe for me."
"Don't worry Yug, dey'll have ta pry dis offa my cold body," Joey said, tucking the puzzle into the folds of his robe. "What about you?"
"My item is flat, so I believe I'll hang on to it under my vest."
"It's safer if you don't keep it," Seto said as he walked over to the tomb robber. "And since the safety we're talking about is my little brother's..." Seto Kaiba's arm was a blur as he snatched the Millennium Ring from Bakura, yanking the item so hard that the string securing it to him snapped loudly. "A pity, had you invested in a chain like Yugi did, I bet things like this wouldn't happen." Ryou's body swayed a little bit as his spirit resumed it's rightful control of his form. Slowly, the white- haired boy rubbed his now sore neck.
"Did you have to pull so hard?" Ryou asked quietly.
"Be thankful I chose to remove the ring from your neck and not the other way around," Seto said. "But now I have a question, where IS my little brother?"
"He's the other half of your disguise," replied Aza. "Admittedly, a Lord of Florin would not leave Florin without good reason. Your reason is to escort the Lady Anzu back to Luchym along with the two new disciples she is inducting into the sisterhood, who also happen to be your siblings."
"SIBLINGS? I wasn't aware I had more than one."
"Well, if Mokuba and Marik would please come out!"
"I'M NOT COMING OUT!" Mokuba yelled from behind the curtain obscuring himself and Marik.
"THE SAME GOES FOR ME!"
"Come on guys it can't be that bad," Tea said.
"Says you Gardner, your not looking at what we're looking at," Marik said.
"What do you have them wearing?" Yugi asked, curious as to what the groups two youngest members could be wearing that was more embarrassing than what he had on.
"Well, you must understand. If Zoa is looking for Mokuba, then he will be looking for a twelve year old boy with long black hair. With that in mind, I had the Bookum create something unique for him and Marik. And Since only girls are admitted into the Sisterhood of the Faith..." With those words, Aza pulled back the two boys' curtain revealing the source of their reluctance to exit. Mokuba was wearing a purple and royal blue dress with three flowers printed on it. The shoulders of the blouse were puffed up similar to the way Seto's shirt sleeves were, while his hands and forearms were covered in long white gloves. The skirt was royal blue and flowed with the very slightest breeze as it dove to his shins clad in light blue socks. It was Mokuba's hair that had changed the most, however, having been changed from jet black to dark gray and then tied into two pigtails, each adorned with a pink ribbon. In his hands were a pair of black slippers.
"Lookit dat, it's the return of the Kaibaland Princess," Joey said as he burst out laughing. It was a short laugh as the two slippers came sailing through the air strike the annoying blonde in the face. "Hey, what was that for?!"
"Thought it might improve your vision!" Mokuba said as he turned towards the Spirit of Books. "You can't seriously expect me to go out in public looking like this?"
"Actually, it does make sense," Seto said.
"What!?" Mokuba exclaimed. "Look, Seto, I didn't mind dressing up to model for that princess you put in your VR game, but I'm not about to let some demon find me wearing this... this... girly stuff."
"Zoa's looking for a boy, so it's safe to say he won't be paying too much attention to girls," Seto said. "Not a bad idea actually, though next time you have an idea like this, it would be in your sincere best interest to tell me first Aza."
"Yes, yes, I understand."
"So I'm taking Mokuba..." Tea began.
"The Lady Marlena," Aza corrected.
"Right the Lady Marlena to Luchym as a new disciple for the Sisterhood. I guess Marik's the second sibling?"
"You tell me," came Marik's flat voice as he walked out of the changing room, clad in a dress similar to Mokuba's, save that it was done in shades of green. His hair had been died a darker shade of gray to match Mokuba's and had been tried up into a ponytail. "I'm warning you, though, Wheeler, laugh at me and not even the Pharaoh will be able to find your soul where I'll send it."
"Now that we're all set up, I believe we should prepare to leave," Aza said. "The Bookum should have my trailer loaded with the supplies I have. With any luck we should make it to Rimulder before dark where we can collect the rest of the things we'll need for our journey."
"Rimulder?"
"It's where I went today and about the only place around here where we can get a set of oxen."
"Oxen? I thought we were using that car of yours?"
"My studebaker is an excellent vehicle, that is true young man, but it requires gasoline, something that is not overly abundant in the Shadow Realm. Oxen on the other hand, can feed on grass from the side of the road," Aza said as he turned to leave. "Now if you would please follow me. Oh and Mr. Mokuba if you would please put on your shoes."
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A few minutes later found the group of eight inside what passed for Aza's garage where the Bookum were very busy packing things into the car and trailer. Seto stood nearby his arms crossed as he looked at each and everything being packed. Nearby, Yugi had once more donned the Millennium Puzzle so that Yami could look over the maps Aza planned to use to guide them to Cormick along with Ryou and Marik. Elsewhere Joey was helping the Bookum load up the car while Mokuba and Tea were receiving last minute instruction from Aza on how they should act and what they should expect along with one final bit of advice for Mokuba himself.
"I've noticed that like Bakura, Marik, and Yugi, you too carry a millennium item," Aza said pointing to Mokuba's golden left eye.
"Yeah, Raven had me put this on to duel Yami," Mokuba answered. I guess in all the excitement, I kinda forgot about it."
"Well, we'll have to come up with some way to hid it. It doesn't exactly go with your new identity."
"That's not a problem," Mokuba said. "Raven told me how to take it out. It's supposed to be really simple. I just..." Mokuba reached for the Millennium Eye, his fingers catching onto iris etched into the Eye's golden surface as he pulled it. A few tugs and the golden sphere left both Mokuba's socket and his living eye free. "There."
"That was the single most disgusting thing I think I've ever seen," Tea said.
"Fascinating," exclaimed Aza. "I would love to have a chance to study such an item."
"Is there anything else you wanted to tell us?" Mokuba asked the birdman as he continued to peer at the golden sphere in the boy's hands.
"Ah yes. Mokuba, as a soon to be member of the Sisterhood of Faith, people may approach you and give you some stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Oh nothing fancy, mainly bits of string and paper, maybe a few polished stones."
"Why would they do that?" Tea asked.
"Well, being inducted as one of the Sisters of the Faith is supposed to be an intensely spiritual thing to do. The items given to both you and Marik are believed to be charged with the bad luck and misfortune of the people's lives. By giving them to you, it is believed that when you become purified as 'Sisters' they will receive good luck."
"Oh."
"Above that, you are also a Florin Lady, which means there will be certain limitations to what you can and cannot do. At all times you have to keep yourself prim and proper, even to a fault." Aza went on to explain more. Soon the task of the Bookum was complete and the supplies were loaded up. Once more, albeit reluctantly, Yami handed his Millennium Puzzle to Joey as the group took up comfortable positions on the car and the group set off.
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The sun was setting in the village of Rimulder as the studebaker pulled into town slowly, careful to avoid the crowd of people still milling about on the streets.
"Can't this buggy move any faster!" Seto said inside the cab of the car.
"It can, Lord Azaro," Aza said. "But if I'm not careful, I could serious injure anyone I was to hit."
"Foolish peasants," came Seto's reply. "They should learn to move out of the way of the important."
"One mustn't treat the poor with such contempt simply for being poor," Tea said.
"With all do respect Sister Anzu, it is my sisters Marlena and Michelle that will be your students, not myself." With those words, Seto stepped down from the automobile. The young "Lord" looked around, a look of disdain on his face. "I certainly hope you'll be able to find something a bit less... unruly for us to travel in, Master Aza. I hired you to find the smoothest course for us to Luchym, and I am paying you enough to ensure the ride is peaceful as well."
"Hey, kindly respect my master, your lordship. Your royal butt won't get bruised..."
"Katsuya!" Aza said. "I expect you to act with much less braziness, especially when you are representing me in public."
"I apologize, sir."
"Lord Azaro, I beg your pardon for my apprentice's lack of respect, however it will take time to find a suitable wagon to speed us on our way."
"So what are we supposed to do till then," Marik said in a snippy a feminine voice he could muster.
"Yeah, what?" Mokuba said, using an equally snippy voice. Both of the "girls" received a disapproving stare from Tea.
"In the mean time, my lord, it would be wise for us to find lodgings for the night," Aza continued. "I would suggest this inn here, the Swarthy Hog."
"Such a repugnant name." Marik said.
"Michelle, please. It is unbecoming of a future sister to look down her nose at others."
"Yes Mam," Marik said through grated teeth.
"Very well," Seto said. "I supposed this place looks serviceable, at the very least. Yuri, Ryme!" As Seto called, both Yugi and Ryou got out of the trailer, both looking disheveled from the rough ride.
"Yes Master?" the two boys said, doing their best to maintain a smile on both their faces as they stood before Seto.
"If the two of you can get your lazy bodies moving, unpack the trailer post-haste," Seto said. Yugi and Ryou had only just begun to move before Seto barked again. "I said MOVE IT!" Immediately both boys started moving in a panicked hurry.
"Hold on a minute," Joey said. "I'll help you two out. Dat is, if it's all right with you your lordship."
"If that's what it takes to make you happy," Seto said. "You... Yuri. Make sure he doesn't touch my sisters' things. If you dare let this... simpleton touch Michelle or Marlena's dresses, it's twelve lashes."
"Yes sir, yes sir," Yugi stammered out as he backed away from Seto.
"You don't really think Kaiba'd try to whip you, do you Yugi?" Ryou whispered to his shorter friend.
"Kaiba's just playing a part, he has to say things like that..." Yugi whispered back before looking cautiously back at his "master." "At least, I hope that's all there is to it."
"Don't worry Yug, if his royal pain-in-the-buttness tries to follow through, I'll introduce his face ta one of them walls," Joey said, a little louder than Yugi would have liked.
"Joey, please keep it down," Yugi said, his hand clamping down on the tall boy's mouth. "I would rather listen to Seto's threats than have some demon get to play my ribs like a xylophone."
"Sorry, sorry Yugi," Joey said in a much softer voice. "I kinda forgot where we were."
"Um, guys," Ryou began. "Did you two see where everyone else went?"
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Just inside the Swarthy Hog, the rest of the group was busy getting themselves rooms at the inn, much to the chagrin of the owner.
"Awfully rude a' you, birdman, assuming this place is gonna have room for all these people," said the innkeeper, whom the earthlings were surprised to see was not human himself, but was instead a rather plump looking orc. The big monster seemed to be appraising the new arrivals as possible troublemakers, but stopped as his eyes fell upon Seto. "A Florenian, eh? Never seen one o' you before, whatcha up to, slummin' heh heh heh?"
"I will thank you to address me as your lordship... And stand straight when you are in my presence peasant!" Seto said, obscuring Mokuba from the innkeeper's sight.
"Ain't we full o' ourselves."
"Do you have rooms for us or not?" Seto demanded.
"Yeah, you're lucky, I got two rooms left. I figure the boys can bunk in one and the girls in the other, if'n that's okay with the sister there," the orc said, nodded towards Tea.
"I.. I have no problem with that," Tea answered.
"Excellent," Seto said just as Ryou walked in with Joey carrying a large trunk between them. "Ah, one of my servants. You can show Ryme here where our room is so he and my other slave can bring our things up."
"Dere's no need for dat, your 'worship,' we've got people to do that." Two more orcs, smaller and obviously related to the innkeeper appeared. One of the orcs effortlessly picked up the trunk Joey and Ryou had been struggling with while the other took several parcels from Yugi as he entered.
"Those better not be any of Marlena and Michelle's things Yuri!"
"N.. no master, I have not yet unpacked the ladies' things."
"Very well then. Unload the girls' things first so these... orcs don't go pawing through them," Seto said turning back to the innkeeper. "I assume this... 'establishment' has someplace to eat. I can't see myself paying so much for rooms that do not include food, and I have no wish to hob-nob with the locals."
"Well, we do have a bar and it does serve food, but it might be a bit rough for your tender palate," the orc said in a condescending voice. "And the crowd might get a bit rough for them girls." Suddenly, Seto grabbed the orc by his shirt and looked him square in his piggish eyes.
"Are you suggesting I am unable to defend my sisters from mere farmers and other filth?"
"Farmers will be the least of your worries, sir, should you continue using so obnoxious an attitude," came a voice behind Seto as he felt the cold steel of an ax come to rest on his shoulder. Seto turned to find himself staring at a rather intimidating and very familiar looking minotaur. The Battle Ox was obscuring the speaker, an old, stooped over man wearing a great deal of black robes and a hateful look on his face.
*The Vindictive Old Man?* Seto thought to himself. What really drew the KaibaCorp executive's attention, however, were the large blue Z symbols on both creature's chests.
"You are a long way from Floren, young man, so it would be advisable for you to still that insolent tongue... before it finds it's way onto someone's dinner plate."
"How dare...." Seto moved forward, only to find himself blocked by the Spirit of Books.
"You must forgive my young friend," Aza said.
"Ah, you would be Aza, the mythical Spirit of Books, eh?" the old man said. "How fortuitous, we were just journeying to your tower on orders from Master Zoa."
"Oh?"
"Yes, Master Zoa wishes for you help in locating some... strays for him. He would of course be willing to reward you most handsomely for your help."
"I doubt Zoa possesses anything that I would find rewarding..."
"Please, don't turn us away so quickly," the old man cautioned. "Zoa is not a fiend to be..." At that point, the aged sorcerer's eyes drifted down to notice Mokuba standing behind his elder brother, staring at the vindictive old man. Slowly the old man lowered himself to face Mokuba staring him in the eyes. "What a charming little girl you are... and with such beautiful eyes."
"Excuse me?" Mokuba said, remembering to heighten his voice.
"Your eyes... I always notice the eyes of everyone I meet. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. That you can learn everything there is to know about a man, by looking in his eyes."
"Your... your point?" Mokuba asked, not really liking where this was going, but unable to break the magician's gaze.
"I wonder, what would I learn of you were I to look into your eyes long enough." The old man's gaze was interrupted by a hand as Seto moved to fully block his "sister" from view.
"If all you're here to do is frighten little girls then we have no business to discuss. I am a scholar, not a fighter," the birdman said. "I bid you good day." With that Aza began to lead his friends up the stairs, following the two orcs to their rooms, ignoring the old man's sour glare.
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After their things had been unloaded for the night and placed in the room, night found the group sitting at a table in the inn's bar. Most of them, anyway, as Yugi and Ryou, per Aza's instructions, were quietly standing on either side of Seto, prepared to serve him. Mokuba was a little embarrassed for Yugi, having to play slave-boy to his brother had to be humiliating. And the way Seto was acting reminded him way too much of the way the teen had behaved when they'd first met Yugi, and the boy wasn't comfortable with it.
"Yuri, it would appear our food has been prepared," Seto said to Yugi. "Go and retrieve it for me."
"As you command, Master," Yugi said as he and Ryou left to gather the food. Yugi was stopped as Aza's hand grabbed his arm.
"Please be careful, Yugi," the crow goblin whispered. "You are no longer on Earth and no longer exclusively at the top of the food chain. There are a great deal of creatures here who wouldn't mind killing you or Ryou and then tossing Seto a few gold coins for the trouble. Simply get the food and return as quickly as possible with the least amount of attention."
"Katsuya, will you please go and help these fine lads bring our things to us," Aza said aloud.
"Yes sir," Joey said smiling. The three left only to return less than ten minutes later with two trays of food each and setting the plates before their respective owners. Every so often, one got up to get some more drink, though Seto only sent Yugi or Ryou for appearance's sake. During the dinner, Aza began talking to Tea, asking her questions about earth and everything in it. Tea had to work hard to keep the aged scholar's voice down as he got more excited.
"Yuri, my goblet is empty, fill it at once," Seto commanded of his diminutive rival. Yugi took the cup, trying his best to keep from blowing his cover by giving the young "lord" a dirty look.
"As you wish sir." As Yugi made his way towards the bar, he became increasingly aware that he was being watched. He turned his head slowly, looking around to find the Vindictive Old Man and his Battle Ox had taken up residence in one of the booths. Mentally the teen made a point telling Aza this when he returned to the table. Unfortunately, Yugi had not stopped walking as he split his attention, and this caused him to smack right into the back of a very big Hitotsume Giant, spilling the drink the Cyclops held and sending himself to the ground with Seto's drink. Angrily, the scaly green monster turned around to look at his sprawled out assailant.
"Filthy, puny rat, you spill Grod's drink," the giant growled as he grabbed Yugi, lifting the much smaller boy off the ground. "Grod really want drink!"
"S... sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," Yugi said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Look, my master is right... right over there... give me one... two seconds and I'm sure he'll be happy to buy you something new to drink."
"Grod no want beer, Grod thinking he want slave boy's blood!" The not-so-jolly green giant pulled back his arm and threw Yugi hard into the wall, an action that didn't even get a rise out of most of the other patrons.
"Ow ow ow ow," Yugi whimpered as he felt the lump on the back of his head where he had landed on the floor upside down. Suddenly, he felt a scaly hand grab his ankle lifting back up. Another hand grabbed Yugi's arm. Immediately the boy felt his limbs begin to strain as the Hitotsume Giant began to pull.
"Grod tear slave apart!"
"Get your filthy hands off him!" Seto yelled as his fist smashed into the Giant's jaw. The attack possessed enough shock value to surprise the Hitotsume into letting Yugi go, though the boy still crashed through a table, sending the food set upon it flying. The two patrons sitting at the table brushed the food that had splattered onto their black cloaks as Yugi struggled to get to his feet and out of the mess.
"Sorry," Yugi said as he staggered out of the wrecked table.
"Not too agile are you, little one," one of the figures said in a distinctly feminine voice. "You would do well to avoid dealing with the more bestial monsters until you have become strong enough to defend yourself." Meanwhile, the now very angry Grod had drawn his club as he looked down at Seto.
"You hurt Grod, human. Now I make you dead." The Giant's massive arms lifted the huge club over his head as he prepared to crush the offending teen. Before he could bring the club down, though, the feathery hand of Aza appeared before his face, snapping it's fingers once to create a small cloud of sparkling dust. Within seconds, the Hitotsume Giant began to sway back and forth as his eyelid began to droop. Finally he fell to the ground, completely asleep.
"What was that?" Seto asked his feathered savior.
"Nightshade berries, acorn powder... just your basic sleeping powder really." Aza then looked around, making sure Yugi was all right before pulling Seto's head close to his beak. "I think it would be in our distinct best interest to retire for the evening. Especially given what's happening to... hmmm." Aza's eyes darted over to where the rest of the group was sitting, and Seto realized what he was talking about. Mokuba was glaring at the Hitotsume, his eyes glowing a dim red and several strands of his hair now floating in the air. Seto could even swear he saw a thin aura of purple energy surrounding him.
*He must be remembering when the Hitotsume Giants attacked his cave family,* Seto thought to himself. *We need to get him out of here before someone else notices him.*
"I'll grab Yugi, you get everyone else up to the room." Seto then noticed the orcish innkeeper coming up to him.
"Your slave caused a lot o' trouble, yer lordship," the innkeeper said. "Mind explainin' how you intend to pay me for it?" Seto reached into his pocket and pulled out two of the copper coins Aza had given him to go with his costume.
"When he wakes up, give him the same drink Yuri spilled on him."
"And the tables and walls he went through?"
"The way I see it, had he accepted Yuri's apology and come to me, it would not have happened. I suggest you seek restitution from him, or keep a tighter leash on some of your less... civilized clientele." With that, Seto grabbed Yugi's arm and all but drug him back towards the stairs.
****************************************
Once they were in the safety of their rooms, Seto's voice quickly lost much of it's former cool as he rounded on Yugi.
"You little nitwit, what did you think you were doing?!" Seto yelled. "I expected Wheeler to be the one to come up with all the bonehead moves, but you had to go try to trash the whole inn by getting into a fight with a creature more than ten times your size!"
"It wasn't my fault. I saw that creepy old man and his Battle Ox in the dining room. I didn't like the way he was looking around..."
"So you got sidetracked and because of that you endangered my little brother."
"Now wait a minute Kaiba, that Cyclops wasn't exactly someone he could reason with. Ya can't expect Yugi to be able to handle a situation like that all by himself."
"Gee, thanks Joey," Yugi said under his breath. Over by one of the beds, Yugi saw that Mokuba had lost his dark glow and his eyes had returned to normal.
"You saw the Vindictive Old Man in the dining room," Aza said as he walked up to the boy.
"Yeah, I think he was trying to spy on us."
"This could be a problem," Aza stated. "There's very little doubt that he knows we are not what we seem."
"It would seem this calls for an acceleration of our plans," Marik said. "I say we leave tonight, right now if at all possible."
"Yug's tussle with that one-eyed creep can give us a good enough reason ta hit the road."
"Unfortunately, though I have managed to procure us a set of oxen, they will not be ready until tomorrow, so we are kinda stuck here."
"So what do you suggest?" Yugi walked over to Joey.
"May I please have my puzzle back?" Yugi asked. "I think we should let Yami in on what's been happening."
"Here Yug," Joey said as he handed his short friend the gold pendent. Yugi put it on and immediately felt the same warm feeling as always when Yami took control. Of course it did not take the former Pharaoh long to look into Yugi's memories and find out the facts.
"It seems we've gotten into a bit of a pickle," Yami said.
"An understatement, as always."
"The Vindictive Old Man knows something, but he may not know what he knows," Ryou pointed out. "Perhaps we can use that to our advantage, make him think he's locked onto something else."
"The idea is to get him to leave us alone, not give him an excuse to investigate us further," Seto said. "And we can no longer trust the innkeeper to keep quiet."
"We're looking at this the wrong way," Yami said in the same clear and controlled voice he used when he was deeply in thought.
"Remarkable, the change is indeed staggering," Aza commented as he looked at the reincarnated Pharaoh.
"You are worried for your brother's safety Kaiba, and that is understandable," the once king began to explain. "Unfortunately, that may be what our enemy is counting on."
"You mean the old man is waiting to see us leave to prove that Mokuba's worth watching."
"I have only assumptions to go on for now, but I believe that if we just disappear, we will be hounded by Zoa's forces the entire way. Instead, we must act as would be expected of the characters we play now. Aza, how would a Floren Lord on a simple pilgrimage respond to being among dangerous surroundings?"
"He wouldn't. As a typical rule, the members of the royal court of Floren tend to be superior fighters and well aware of that fact. Very few will even acknowledge anything less than an a group of ten as a threat to their safety."
"In other words, egomaniacs."
"Prideful to a fault is better. I will not lie, it is a belief that has gotten them killed on more than one occasion, but they have proven quite adept at dealing with multiple opponents. I would say that, since the direct threat seems to be more on Yugi than on any member of 'Lord Azuro's' family, it would make more sense for us to stay through the night," Aza said. "I will also point out that even if we do stay here, that is no guarantee of safety."
"But is it safe to do what your enemies expect?" Tea asked.
"Only when you know it," Kaiba pointed out. He then turned away from everyone and towards the door. "So we have two choices, run or stay."
"Me, I'd rather stand and fight that have some horn get stuck up my butt as I'm running," Joey said.
"Crude and vulgar, but it echoes my sentiments," came Marik. "Even without my Millennium Rod working, I am far from help..." Suddenly, Mokuba stood up from the chair he was sitting in, his eyes once more glowing.
"Something's coming... I can feel it," the boy said. "DUCK!!" The younger Kaiba leapt at his brother, knocking him aside as the door was reduced to splinters by a mighty blow. Standing in the settling dust and debris was the massive form of the Battle Ox, his mighty ax in hand and steamy breath coming out of his nose. Next to him, his fingers steepled before him, stood the Vindictive Old Man, a cruel gleam in his jet black eyes.
"Room service..."
To be continued....
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Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I wish I did 'cause then I'd be rich. Since I'm not, suing me would be pointless. Thanks bunches for all the reviews. I can't wait to see the reviews for this chapter. I should say this, I have never seen Gozabura, so if my description of him seems a little off, I'll just chalk it up to the same thing that happened to Princess Sally over the course of the Sonic Comic. Also, I don't know the names of the Egyptian Gods' attacks, so I figured I'd use a few of my own.
Summary: The group prepares to make their way to the Dark Citadel with the help of the Spirit of the Books. Danger and peril litter the journey... as well as a pretty pink bow for Mokuba?
*_* - Personal Thoughts /_/ - Yugi to Yami \_\ - Yami to Yugi Telepathic communication
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Aza moved quietly through his tower as he lead his eight human guests down back down to the second floor. Soon they found themselves standing in front of a door that seemed to be covered in about a foot of dust. This was further evidenced when Aza blew on the door's keyhole and kicked up a huge cloud of dust that quickly had everyone coughing and sneezing.
"Sorry about that, I haven't used this room in about five or six years," the crow goblin said as he inserted a bronze key into the door's lock and opened it. Inside the room was filled with desks, chairs, graphs, globes and even a chalkboard.
"What is dis, a classroom?" Joey asked.
"It's part classroom, part storage space, Mr. Wheeler," Aza answered. "In times when the Plains were considerably calmer than they are today, Lords, Ladies, and Mayors sent their children to me to advance their education's beyond that of their own homes abilities. Ah, for a return to those beautiful times."
"You were a teacher? Then this tower was some sort of... school?" Tea asked as she started looking around the room.
"Of course," the Spirit of Books replied. "And it is a good thing too, since that is precisely how I'm gonna be able to help you get to Cormick. Now I just have to find something..." While Aza looked around the room, Tea spotted something sitting on one of the desks. It was a blue book with two gloves sitting beside it while at it bottom sat two boots. What peeked Tea's curiosity the most, however was the fact that the book possessed no title and no author's name appeared on the cover.
"Aza, what is this?" Tea asked.
"Hmm," the feathered monster said as he walked over to the teenaged girl. A smile came to the goblin's beaky features as he saw what Tea was pointing at. "Oh you marvelous girl, you found it for me."
"Huh?" Tea watched as her bird-like host began smacking the book on it's cover.
"Come on, wake up. Nap time is over and it's time to get to work."
"What are you...?" Everyone was surprised as the two gloves suddenly lifted into the air before grabbing the edge of the desk Amazingly, the book started to lift off the table as the two boots moved neatly under the book. Aza continued to call, banging on desks as he called out instructions to wake up. Suddenly, the group found themselves surrounded by several more of the book-like creatures.
"Bookum?!" Yugi said, a very amused smile coming over the short boy's face.
"What?" Seto queried.
"These are all Bookum monsters," Yugi explained. "Small, book-shaped magicians. I think they're level two monsters."
"Do they have any special powers we should know about?" Joey asked backing away from the monster.
"No, they're pretty harmless," Yugi replied.
"Don't let their lack of power fool you my dear boy. Bookum are tireless workers and very intelligent, ideal helpers in keeping this place clean and organized. Though with the lack of students, I'm afraid you're not seeing them at their best. They've gotten lazy and begun to neglect their duties." All around Aza the book monsters all seemed to bend over in sadness and Yugi could swear he could see a stream of tears coming down their covers. "Oh yes I'm afraid it's been a long time since my Bookum have had a task worthy of their exceptional skill. Until now." At the Spirit of Book's words the Bookum immediately perked up, some even beginning to jump in joy at the prospect. "Now then, I am going to be taking these nice people on a trip, incognito of course. We require food, money and other supplies." Immediately the Bookum began to scatter, running around to collect everything their master would need. Before all could go, Aza snatched to of the Bookum but their spines . "Not you two, I have a special task for you."
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Once more, Aza had led his guests to another door, this one considerably less filthy than the last, but with a rusted door knob and lock. The two Bookum, standing on one another's non-existent shoulders as they opened the door.
"How are they doing that?" Marik asked.
"I've found some questions have no answers, at least none make sense," Aza replied as he silently passed his feathery hand through the space between book and glove. Soon the two monsters had the door open and were quickly pulling out a rather large trunk. Inside the trunk were several all sets of clothes. "Ah excellent."
"What's dis for?" Joey asked.
"As you may guess playing host to children of various ages, I tend to collect a great deal of spare clothes, forgotten, or unwanted for one reason or another," Aza said as he removed a small armored breastplate from the trunk along with several more clothes of varying materials, colors and sizes. "And it's a good thing too, since now they will provide an excellent source of costumes to hide you." The Spirit of Books pulled out a rather large sheet of purple velvet. "Excellent, I was hoping I still had this."
"Hmph, a whole trunk full of clothes and this featherbrain pulls out a tablecloth for us to wear," Bakura snidely said.
"Actually this is going to be part of Ms. Tea's costume."
"Excuse me?"
"In addition to providing new clothes, these costumes must also function to make people hesitant to approach us, particularly those people under Zoa's employ. To that end, I have decided that you, my dear, will take on the role of one of the few creatures that can still wander the world with little harassment; a Magician of Faith."
"A Magician of Faith?"
"Yes, the Sisterhood of the Faith in Luchym is one of the few organizations whose wrath Zoa's forces still fear. It is my hope that with a convincing story, as well as a Magician of Faith, we can pass relatively unmolested."
"A 'convincing story'?" Marik asked as one of the Bookum began to measure him, something the young Egyptian was patiently accepting, for now. "What story do you have in mind?"
"Time for that later, I think. For now, allow the Bookum to finish their job, please and then we can have lunch. I expect a good meal would go a very long way towards making this a bit more tolerable."
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In a little under five hours, plenty of time for Yugi and company to eat and refresh themselves, the garments for the roles Aza had chosen for them were completed. Tea looked at herself in the mirror, trying to look at the same time dignified and completely caring as the Spirit of Books had coached her to do. It turned out that the velvet sheet had instead been a thick curtain, and the brown haired teen could already feel a small film of sweat forming on her. The Bookum had used a gold colored cord with tassels as a makeshift belt, while a former coat stand became her staff. All in all, the small creatures had done a pretty good job.
"It will not stand a close inspection I'm afraid, but for our purpose, I believe this will prove more than adequate," Aza said, turning back to a curtained door where the older boys were, supposedly, busy changing into the outfits they'd been provided. From the curtain came Joey smiling a little as he emerged wearing a dark green robe and a big pointy hat.
"Joey, what's so funny."
"You should see Kaiba Tea... I don't know what he's supposed ta be, but if we do get stopped I'm bettin' tha enemy's gonna bust a gut laughin' at him."
"Can it Chihuahua!" Seto Kaiba said as he walked out from behind the curtain. The young CEO was wearing the same iron breastplate Aza had first pulled from the trunk, trying his best to pretend it wasn't the least bit uncomfortable. Under the chestplate, it could be seen that he was also wearing a pink silk shirt complete with a ruffled collar and puffed up sleeves. He was also wearing a red pair of shorts that stood just over a pair of what looked like yellow pantyhose. Sitting on top of his brown hair was a green cap holding peacock's feather in it's rim. On the breastplate, which had been polished by the Bookum, it could be seen that there was a symbol of a peacock attacking what appeared to be some sort of generically drawn monster.
"Wow, that looks straight out of Sleeping Beauty."
"There had better be a very good reason why I'm wearing this ridiculous getup."
"There is," Aza said, pointing towards the symbol on his chest. "That is the symbol of the royal court of Florin. The costume is modeled after what the young lords of that realm are wearing, since that is the role you are going to be playing. All you need to do is act obnoxious and spoiled, and behave like everyone around you is slime."
"Wow, da transformation's unbelievable," Joey said.
"And you, Mr. Wheeler, are going to be playing the part of my apprentice."
"Your wha...?"
"My apprentice. A scholar-in-training who is going out on his first road study with his master as he guides Lord Azaro Florin and Sister Anzu of the Faith on their trek back to Luchym."
"Luchym? I thought we were going to some place called Cormick?" Yugi said as he stepped out from behind the curtain. It was Tea's turn to giggle at what she saw Yugi was wearing. The normally shy boy was wearing a loose gray vest and a matching pair of shorts that only came halfway down to his knees. A pair of sandals were on the boy's feet, complete with leather straps that wrapped around his ankles and shins up to his knees. His tri-colored hair no longer stood up in it's normal crown formation but was instead slicked down, actually coming down to hide his ears and the back of his neck. The vest was in fact too big for the small boy and in fact hung down low on Yugi, allowing the top of the Millennium Puzzle graze against his chest. All in all, Tea had to admit to herself that he looked pretty cute, even if she couldn't quite guess what he was supposed to be. To her surprise, Ryou came out wearing a similar outfit to Yugi's, save for the fact that it fit his larger body better.
"Cormick is our ultimate destination, but if we were let that information go willy-nilly, it's almost guaranteed that Zoa's forces would take an interest in us. Luchym is in the same general direction as Cormick, so it's safe to claim that as our destination, at least for the time being."
"So, if Kaiba is a Lord, Tea's a Magician of Faith, and Joey is playing your apprentice, then... uh what are Yugi and I supposed to be?" Ryou asked. At his question, Aza seemed fidget nervously.
"Well... uh... you see... With Mr. Kaiba being a Florin Lord and all... we needed something in the way of... servants."
"Servants?"
"Well actually, due to Florin's customs and culture, the correct term would actually be... slaves."
"SLAVE!!" Bakura yelled in what had to be the quickest possession the ancient Tomb Robber had ever performed as he jumped at the Spirit of Books. "I didn't spend my life becoming the greatest thief the world has ever known to be relegated to playing the part of a slave to some twentieth century RICH BRAT!!"
"How dare you talk to me like that you slimy little..."
"ENOUGH!" Yami said as he came between Seto and Bakura. "We do not have the luxury of fighting amongst ourselves now."
"Just because you fit the role of a slave so perfectly doesn't mean I do!"
"Watch your mouth you mothballed pickpocket," Joey said.
"In truth, neither Pharaoh Yami nor Mr. Bakura are able to play the part of slaves. It's Yugi and Ryou who were built for that part."
"What?" Yugi asked, a little put out that he was being called a slave.
"I'm sorry but it is the truth. You both slouch, you stutter, you're overly quiet... I mean this as no insult, merely as observations. And a Florin Lord would not travel anywhere without bound servants to see to his every need, hence the need for them to play slaves. And the costumes were designed for Yugi and Ryou, not Yami and Bakura."
"Which leads me to the next part. I'm afraid you'll have to remove your Millennium Items."
"What?!" was the reply of both yamis.
"Solid gold jewelry, particularly jewelry so easily recognizable, can only be detrimental to us in the long run."
"But if Yugi isn't wearing the Puzzle, I can't help him, I can barely communicate with him," Yami said in a clearly distressed voice.
"It's all right, Yami," Yugi said as he began to remove the Millennium Puzzle. "I think I'll be able to handle anything that comes our way without too much trouble." Yugi handed the golden item over to Joey. "Joey, please keep this safe for me."
"Don't worry Yug, dey'll have ta pry dis offa my cold body," Joey said, tucking the puzzle into the folds of his robe. "What about you?"
"My item is flat, so I believe I'll hang on to it under my vest."
"It's safer if you don't keep it," Seto said as he walked over to the tomb robber. "And since the safety we're talking about is my little brother's..." Seto Kaiba's arm was a blur as he snatched the Millennium Ring from Bakura, yanking the item so hard that the string securing it to him snapped loudly. "A pity, had you invested in a chain like Yugi did, I bet things like this wouldn't happen." Ryou's body swayed a little bit as his spirit resumed it's rightful control of his form. Slowly, the white- haired boy rubbed his now sore neck.
"Did you have to pull so hard?" Ryou asked quietly.
"Be thankful I chose to remove the ring from your neck and not the other way around," Seto said. "But now I have a question, where IS my little brother?"
"He's the other half of your disguise," replied Aza. "Admittedly, a Lord of Florin would not leave Florin without good reason. Your reason is to escort the Lady Anzu back to Luchym along with the two new disciples she is inducting into the sisterhood, who also happen to be your siblings."
"SIBLINGS? I wasn't aware I had more than one."
"Well, if Mokuba and Marik would please come out!"
"I'M NOT COMING OUT!" Mokuba yelled from behind the curtain obscuring himself and Marik.
"THE SAME GOES FOR ME!"
"Come on guys it can't be that bad," Tea said.
"Says you Gardner, your not looking at what we're looking at," Marik said.
"What do you have them wearing?" Yugi asked, curious as to what the groups two youngest members could be wearing that was more embarrassing than what he had on.
"Well, you must understand. If Zoa is looking for Mokuba, then he will be looking for a twelve year old boy with long black hair. With that in mind, I had the Bookum create something unique for him and Marik. And Since only girls are admitted into the Sisterhood of the Faith..." With those words, Aza pulled back the two boys' curtain revealing the source of their reluctance to exit. Mokuba was wearing a purple and royal blue dress with three flowers printed on it. The shoulders of the blouse were puffed up similar to the way Seto's shirt sleeves were, while his hands and forearms were covered in long white gloves. The skirt was royal blue and flowed with the very slightest breeze as it dove to his shins clad in light blue socks. It was Mokuba's hair that had changed the most, however, having been changed from jet black to dark gray and then tied into two pigtails, each adorned with a pink ribbon. In his hands were a pair of black slippers.
"Lookit dat, it's the return of the Kaibaland Princess," Joey said as he burst out laughing. It was a short laugh as the two slippers came sailing through the air strike the annoying blonde in the face. "Hey, what was that for?!"
"Thought it might improve your vision!" Mokuba said as he turned towards the Spirit of Books. "You can't seriously expect me to go out in public looking like this?"
"Actually, it does make sense," Seto said.
"What!?" Mokuba exclaimed. "Look, Seto, I didn't mind dressing up to model for that princess you put in your VR game, but I'm not about to let some demon find me wearing this... this... girly stuff."
"Zoa's looking for a boy, so it's safe to say he won't be paying too much attention to girls," Seto said. "Not a bad idea actually, though next time you have an idea like this, it would be in your sincere best interest to tell me first Aza."
"Yes, yes, I understand."
"So I'm taking Mokuba..." Tea began.
"The Lady Marlena," Aza corrected.
"Right the Lady Marlena to Luchym as a new disciple for the Sisterhood. I guess Marik's the second sibling?"
"You tell me," came Marik's flat voice as he walked out of the changing room, clad in a dress similar to Mokuba's, save that it was done in shades of green. His hair had been died a darker shade of gray to match Mokuba's and had been tried up into a ponytail. "I'm warning you, though, Wheeler, laugh at me and not even the Pharaoh will be able to find your soul where I'll send it."
"Now that we're all set up, I believe we should prepare to leave," Aza said. "The Bookum should have my trailer loaded with the supplies I have. With any luck we should make it to Rimulder before dark where we can collect the rest of the things we'll need for our journey."
"Rimulder?"
"It's where I went today and about the only place around here where we can get a set of oxen."
"Oxen? I thought we were using that car of yours?"
"My studebaker is an excellent vehicle, that is true young man, but it requires gasoline, something that is not overly abundant in the Shadow Realm. Oxen on the other hand, can feed on grass from the side of the road," Aza said as he turned to leave. "Now if you would please follow me. Oh and Mr. Mokuba if you would please put on your shoes."
********************************************
A few minutes later found the group of eight inside what passed for Aza's garage where the Bookum were very busy packing things into the car and trailer. Seto stood nearby his arms crossed as he looked at each and everything being packed. Nearby, Yugi had once more donned the Millennium Puzzle so that Yami could look over the maps Aza planned to use to guide them to Cormick along with Ryou and Marik. Elsewhere Joey was helping the Bookum load up the car while Mokuba and Tea were receiving last minute instruction from Aza on how they should act and what they should expect along with one final bit of advice for Mokuba himself.
"I've noticed that like Bakura, Marik, and Yugi, you too carry a millennium item," Aza said pointing to Mokuba's golden left eye.
"Yeah, Raven had me put this on to duel Yami," Mokuba answered. I guess in all the excitement, I kinda forgot about it."
"Well, we'll have to come up with some way to hid it. It doesn't exactly go with your new identity."
"That's not a problem," Mokuba said. "Raven told me how to take it out. It's supposed to be really simple. I just..." Mokuba reached for the Millennium Eye, his fingers catching onto iris etched into the Eye's golden surface as he pulled it. A few tugs and the golden sphere left both Mokuba's socket and his living eye free. "There."
"That was the single most disgusting thing I think I've ever seen," Tea said.
"Fascinating," exclaimed Aza. "I would love to have a chance to study such an item."
"Is there anything else you wanted to tell us?" Mokuba asked the birdman as he continued to peer at the golden sphere in the boy's hands.
"Ah yes. Mokuba, as a soon to be member of the Sisterhood of Faith, people may approach you and give you some stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Oh nothing fancy, mainly bits of string and paper, maybe a few polished stones."
"Why would they do that?" Tea asked.
"Well, being inducted as one of the Sisters of the Faith is supposed to be an intensely spiritual thing to do. The items given to both you and Marik are believed to be charged with the bad luck and misfortune of the people's lives. By giving them to you, it is believed that when you become purified as 'Sisters' they will receive good luck."
"Oh."
"Above that, you are also a Florin Lady, which means there will be certain limitations to what you can and cannot do. At all times you have to keep yourself prim and proper, even to a fault." Aza went on to explain more. Soon the task of the Bookum was complete and the supplies were loaded up. Once more, albeit reluctantly, Yami handed his Millennium Puzzle to Joey as the group took up comfortable positions on the car and the group set off.
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The sun was setting in the village of Rimulder as the studebaker pulled into town slowly, careful to avoid the crowd of people still milling about on the streets.
"Can't this buggy move any faster!" Seto said inside the cab of the car.
"It can, Lord Azaro," Aza said. "But if I'm not careful, I could serious injure anyone I was to hit."
"Foolish peasants," came Seto's reply. "They should learn to move out of the way of the important."
"One mustn't treat the poor with such contempt simply for being poor," Tea said.
"With all do respect Sister Anzu, it is my sisters Marlena and Michelle that will be your students, not myself." With those words, Seto stepped down from the automobile. The young "Lord" looked around, a look of disdain on his face. "I certainly hope you'll be able to find something a bit less... unruly for us to travel in, Master Aza. I hired you to find the smoothest course for us to Luchym, and I am paying you enough to ensure the ride is peaceful as well."
"Hey, kindly respect my master, your lordship. Your royal butt won't get bruised..."
"Katsuya!" Aza said. "I expect you to act with much less braziness, especially when you are representing me in public."
"I apologize, sir."
"Lord Azaro, I beg your pardon for my apprentice's lack of respect, however it will take time to find a suitable wagon to speed us on our way."
"So what are we supposed to do till then," Marik said in a snippy a feminine voice he could muster.
"Yeah, what?" Mokuba said, using an equally snippy voice. Both of the "girls" received a disapproving stare from Tea.
"In the mean time, my lord, it would be wise for us to find lodgings for the night," Aza continued. "I would suggest this inn here, the Swarthy Hog."
"Such a repugnant name." Marik said.
"Michelle, please. It is unbecoming of a future sister to look down her nose at others."
"Yes Mam," Marik said through grated teeth.
"Very well," Seto said. "I supposed this place looks serviceable, at the very least. Yuri, Ryme!" As Seto called, both Yugi and Ryou got out of the trailer, both looking disheveled from the rough ride.
"Yes Master?" the two boys said, doing their best to maintain a smile on both their faces as they stood before Seto.
"If the two of you can get your lazy bodies moving, unpack the trailer post-haste," Seto said. Yugi and Ryou had only just begun to move before Seto barked again. "I said MOVE IT!" Immediately both boys started moving in a panicked hurry.
"Hold on a minute," Joey said. "I'll help you two out. Dat is, if it's all right with you your lordship."
"If that's what it takes to make you happy," Seto said. "You... Yuri. Make sure he doesn't touch my sisters' things. If you dare let this... simpleton touch Michelle or Marlena's dresses, it's twelve lashes."
"Yes sir, yes sir," Yugi stammered out as he backed away from Seto.
"You don't really think Kaiba'd try to whip you, do you Yugi?" Ryou whispered to his shorter friend.
"Kaiba's just playing a part, he has to say things like that..." Yugi whispered back before looking cautiously back at his "master." "At least, I hope that's all there is to it."
"Don't worry Yug, if his royal pain-in-the-buttness tries to follow through, I'll introduce his face ta one of them walls," Joey said, a little louder than Yugi would have liked.
"Joey, please keep it down," Yugi said, his hand clamping down on the tall boy's mouth. "I would rather listen to Seto's threats than have some demon get to play my ribs like a xylophone."
"Sorry, sorry Yugi," Joey said in a much softer voice. "I kinda forgot where we were."
"Um, guys," Ryou began. "Did you two see where everyone else went?"
*************************
Just inside the Swarthy Hog, the rest of the group was busy getting themselves rooms at the inn, much to the chagrin of the owner.
"Awfully rude a' you, birdman, assuming this place is gonna have room for all these people," said the innkeeper, whom the earthlings were surprised to see was not human himself, but was instead a rather plump looking orc. The big monster seemed to be appraising the new arrivals as possible troublemakers, but stopped as his eyes fell upon Seto. "A Florenian, eh? Never seen one o' you before, whatcha up to, slummin' heh heh heh?"
"I will thank you to address me as your lordship... And stand straight when you are in my presence peasant!" Seto said, obscuring Mokuba from the innkeeper's sight.
"Ain't we full o' ourselves."
"Do you have rooms for us or not?" Seto demanded.
"Yeah, you're lucky, I got two rooms left. I figure the boys can bunk in one and the girls in the other, if'n that's okay with the sister there," the orc said, nodded towards Tea.
"I.. I have no problem with that," Tea answered.
"Excellent," Seto said just as Ryou walked in with Joey carrying a large trunk between them. "Ah, one of my servants. You can show Ryme here where our room is so he and my other slave can bring our things up."
"Dere's no need for dat, your 'worship,' we've got people to do that." Two more orcs, smaller and obviously related to the innkeeper appeared. One of the orcs effortlessly picked up the trunk Joey and Ryou had been struggling with while the other took several parcels from Yugi as he entered.
"Those better not be any of Marlena and Michelle's things Yuri!"
"N.. no master, I have not yet unpacked the ladies' things."
"Very well then. Unload the girls' things first so these... orcs don't go pawing through them," Seto said turning back to the innkeeper. "I assume this... 'establishment' has someplace to eat. I can't see myself paying so much for rooms that do not include food, and I have no wish to hob-nob with the locals."
"Well, we do have a bar and it does serve food, but it might be a bit rough for your tender palate," the orc said in a condescending voice. "And the crowd might get a bit rough for them girls." Suddenly, Seto grabbed the orc by his shirt and looked him square in his piggish eyes.
"Are you suggesting I am unable to defend my sisters from mere farmers and other filth?"
"Farmers will be the least of your worries, sir, should you continue using so obnoxious an attitude," came a voice behind Seto as he felt the cold steel of an ax come to rest on his shoulder. Seto turned to find himself staring at a rather intimidating and very familiar looking minotaur. The Battle Ox was obscuring the speaker, an old, stooped over man wearing a great deal of black robes and a hateful look on his face.
*The Vindictive Old Man?* Seto thought to himself. What really drew the KaibaCorp executive's attention, however, were the large blue Z symbols on both creature's chests.
"You are a long way from Floren, young man, so it would be advisable for you to still that insolent tongue... before it finds it's way onto someone's dinner plate."
"How dare...." Seto moved forward, only to find himself blocked by the Spirit of Books.
"You must forgive my young friend," Aza said.
"Ah, you would be Aza, the mythical Spirit of Books, eh?" the old man said. "How fortuitous, we were just journeying to your tower on orders from Master Zoa."
"Oh?"
"Yes, Master Zoa wishes for you help in locating some... strays for him. He would of course be willing to reward you most handsomely for your help."
"I doubt Zoa possesses anything that I would find rewarding..."
"Please, don't turn us away so quickly," the old man cautioned. "Zoa is not a fiend to be..." At that point, the aged sorcerer's eyes drifted down to notice Mokuba standing behind his elder brother, staring at the vindictive old man. Slowly the old man lowered himself to face Mokuba staring him in the eyes. "What a charming little girl you are... and with such beautiful eyes."
"Excuse me?" Mokuba said, remembering to heighten his voice.
"Your eyes... I always notice the eyes of everyone I meet. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. That you can learn everything there is to know about a man, by looking in his eyes."
"Your... your point?" Mokuba asked, not really liking where this was going, but unable to break the magician's gaze.
"I wonder, what would I learn of you were I to look into your eyes long enough." The old man's gaze was interrupted by a hand as Seto moved to fully block his "sister" from view.
"If all you're here to do is frighten little girls then we have no business to discuss. I am a scholar, not a fighter," the birdman said. "I bid you good day." With that Aza began to lead his friends up the stairs, following the two orcs to their rooms, ignoring the old man's sour glare.
**************************
After their things had been unloaded for the night and placed in the room, night found the group sitting at a table in the inn's bar. Most of them, anyway, as Yugi and Ryou, per Aza's instructions, were quietly standing on either side of Seto, prepared to serve him. Mokuba was a little embarrassed for Yugi, having to play slave-boy to his brother had to be humiliating. And the way Seto was acting reminded him way too much of the way the teen had behaved when they'd first met Yugi, and the boy wasn't comfortable with it.
"Yuri, it would appear our food has been prepared," Seto said to Yugi. "Go and retrieve it for me."
"As you command, Master," Yugi said as he and Ryou left to gather the food. Yugi was stopped as Aza's hand grabbed his arm.
"Please be careful, Yugi," the crow goblin whispered. "You are no longer on Earth and no longer exclusively at the top of the food chain. There are a great deal of creatures here who wouldn't mind killing you or Ryou and then tossing Seto a few gold coins for the trouble. Simply get the food and return as quickly as possible with the least amount of attention."
"Katsuya, will you please go and help these fine lads bring our things to us," Aza said aloud.
"Yes sir," Joey said smiling. The three left only to return less than ten minutes later with two trays of food each and setting the plates before their respective owners. Every so often, one got up to get some more drink, though Seto only sent Yugi or Ryou for appearance's sake. During the dinner, Aza began talking to Tea, asking her questions about earth and everything in it. Tea had to work hard to keep the aged scholar's voice down as he got more excited.
"Yuri, my goblet is empty, fill it at once," Seto commanded of his diminutive rival. Yugi took the cup, trying his best to keep from blowing his cover by giving the young "lord" a dirty look.
"As you wish sir." As Yugi made his way towards the bar, he became increasingly aware that he was being watched. He turned his head slowly, looking around to find the Vindictive Old Man and his Battle Ox had taken up residence in one of the booths. Mentally the teen made a point telling Aza this when he returned to the table. Unfortunately, Yugi had not stopped walking as he split his attention, and this caused him to smack right into the back of a very big Hitotsume Giant, spilling the drink the Cyclops held and sending himself to the ground with Seto's drink. Angrily, the scaly green monster turned around to look at his sprawled out assailant.
"Filthy, puny rat, you spill Grod's drink," the giant growled as he grabbed Yugi, lifting the much smaller boy off the ground. "Grod really want drink!"
"S... sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," Yugi said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Look, my master is right... right over there... give me one... two seconds and I'm sure he'll be happy to buy you something new to drink."
"Grod no want beer, Grod thinking he want slave boy's blood!" The not-so-jolly green giant pulled back his arm and threw Yugi hard into the wall, an action that didn't even get a rise out of most of the other patrons.
"Ow ow ow ow," Yugi whimpered as he felt the lump on the back of his head where he had landed on the floor upside down. Suddenly, he felt a scaly hand grab his ankle lifting back up. Another hand grabbed Yugi's arm. Immediately the boy felt his limbs begin to strain as the Hitotsume Giant began to pull.
"Grod tear slave apart!"
"Get your filthy hands off him!" Seto yelled as his fist smashed into the Giant's jaw. The attack possessed enough shock value to surprise the Hitotsume into letting Yugi go, though the boy still crashed through a table, sending the food set upon it flying. The two patrons sitting at the table brushed the food that had splattered onto their black cloaks as Yugi struggled to get to his feet and out of the mess.
"Sorry," Yugi said as he staggered out of the wrecked table.
"Not too agile are you, little one," one of the figures said in a distinctly feminine voice. "You would do well to avoid dealing with the more bestial monsters until you have become strong enough to defend yourself." Meanwhile, the now very angry Grod had drawn his club as he looked down at Seto.
"You hurt Grod, human. Now I make you dead." The Giant's massive arms lifted the huge club over his head as he prepared to crush the offending teen. Before he could bring the club down, though, the feathery hand of Aza appeared before his face, snapping it's fingers once to create a small cloud of sparkling dust. Within seconds, the Hitotsume Giant began to sway back and forth as his eyelid began to droop. Finally he fell to the ground, completely asleep.
"What was that?" Seto asked his feathered savior.
"Nightshade berries, acorn powder... just your basic sleeping powder really." Aza then looked around, making sure Yugi was all right before pulling Seto's head close to his beak. "I think it would be in our distinct best interest to retire for the evening. Especially given what's happening to... hmmm." Aza's eyes darted over to where the rest of the group was sitting, and Seto realized what he was talking about. Mokuba was glaring at the Hitotsume, his eyes glowing a dim red and several strands of his hair now floating in the air. Seto could even swear he saw a thin aura of purple energy surrounding him.
*He must be remembering when the Hitotsume Giants attacked his cave family,* Seto thought to himself. *We need to get him out of here before someone else notices him.*
"I'll grab Yugi, you get everyone else up to the room." Seto then noticed the orcish innkeeper coming up to him.
"Your slave caused a lot o' trouble, yer lordship," the innkeeper said. "Mind explainin' how you intend to pay me for it?" Seto reached into his pocket and pulled out two of the copper coins Aza had given him to go with his costume.
"When he wakes up, give him the same drink Yuri spilled on him."
"And the tables and walls he went through?"
"The way I see it, had he accepted Yuri's apology and come to me, it would not have happened. I suggest you seek restitution from him, or keep a tighter leash on some of your less... civilized clientele." With that, Seto grabbed Yugi's arm and all but drug him back towards the stairs.
****************************************
Once they were in the safety of their rooms, Seto's voice quickly lost much of it's former cool as he rounded on Yugi.
"You little nitwit, what did you think you were doing?!" Seto yelled. "I expected Wheeler to be the one to come up with all the bonehead moves, but you had to go try to trash the whole inn by getting into a fight with a creature more than ten times your size!"
"It wasn't my fault. I saw that creepy old man and his Battle Ox in the dining room. I didn't like the way he was looking around..."
"So you got sidetracked and because of that you endangered my little brother."
"Now wait a minute Kaiba, that Cyclops wasn't exactly someone he could reason with. Ya can't expect Yugi to be able to handle a situation like that all by himself."
"Gee, thanks Joey," Yugi said under his breath. Over by one of the beds, Yugi saw that Mokuba had lost his dark glow and his eyes had returned to normal.
"You saw the Vindictive Old Man in the dining room," Aza said as he walked up to the boy.
"Yeah, I think he was trying to spy on us."
"This could be a problem," Aza stated. "There's very little doubt that he knows we are not what we seem."
"It would seem this calls for an acceleration of our plans," Marik said. "I say we leave tonight, right now if at all possible."
"Yug's tussle with that one-eyed creep can give us a good enough reason ta hit the road."
"Unfortunately, though I have managed to procure us a set of oxen, they will not be ready until tomorrow, so we are kinda stuck here."
"So what do you suggest?" Yugi walked over to Joey.
"May I please have my puzzle back?" Yugi asked. "I think we should let Yami in on what's been happening."
"Here Yug," Joey said as he handed his short friend the gold pendent. Yugi put it on and immediately felt the same warm feeling as always when Yami took control. Of course it did not take the former Pharaoh long to look into Yugi's memories and find out the facts.
"It seems we've gotten into a bit of a pickle," Yami said.
"An understatement, as always."
"The Vindictive Old Man knows something, but he may not know what he knows," Ryou pointed out. "Perhaps we can use that to our advantage, make him think he's locked onto something else."
"The idea is to get him to leave us alone, not give him an excuse to investigate us further," Seto said. "And we can no longer trust the innkeeper to keep quiet."
"We're looking at this the wrong way," Yami said in the same clear and controlled voice he used when he was deeply in thought.
"Remarkable, the change is indeed staggering," Aza commented as he looked at the reincarnated Pharaoh.
"You are worried for your brother's safety Kaiba, and that is understandable," the once king began to explain. "Unfortunately, that may be what our enemy is counting on."
"You mean the old man is waiting to see us leave to prove that Mokuba's worth watching."
"I have only assumptions to go on for now, but I believe that if we just disappear, we will be hounded by Zoa's forces the entire way. Instead, we must act as would be expected of the characters we play now. Aza, how would a Floren Lord on a simple pilgrimage respond to being among dangerous surroundings?"
"He wouldn't. As a typical rule, the members of the royal court of Floren tend to be superior fighters and well aware of that fact. Very few will even acknowledge anything less than an a group of ten as a threat to their safety."
"In other words, egomaniacs."
"Prideful to a fault is better. I will not lie, it is a belief that has gotten them killed on more than one occasion, but they have proven quite adept at dealing with multiple opponents. I would say that, since the direct threat seems to be more on Yugi than on any member of 'Lord Azuro's' family, it would make more sense for us to stay through the night," Aza said. "I will also point out that even if we do stay here, that is no guarantee of safety."
"But is it safe to do what your enemies expect?" Tea asked.
"Only when you know it," Kaiba pointed out. He then turned away from everyone and towards the door. "So we have two choices, run or stay."
"Me, I'd rather stand and fight that have some horn get stuck up my butt as I'm running," Joey said.
"Crude and vulgar, but it echoes my sentiments," came Marik. "Even without my Millennium Rod working, I am far from help..." Suddenly, Mokuba stood up from the chair he was sitting in, his eyes once more glowing.
"Something's coming... I can feel it," the boy said. "DUCK!!" The younger Kaiba leapt at his brother, knocking him aside as the door was reduced to splinters by a mighty blow. Standing in the settling dust and debris was the massive form of the Battle Ox, his mighty ax in hand and steamy breath coming out of his nose. Next to him, his fingers steepled before him, stood the Vindictive Old Man, a cruel gleam in his jet black eyes.
"Room service..."
To be continued....
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