Troubles of Chibi Proportion

By Hwoarang Girl

/Summary/ When a spell goes wrong, Dark Magician is transformed into a chibi; but whilst the other duel monsters attempt to find a cure and keep the truth from Yugi and Yami, the knee-high mage is determined on making it far from easy for them...

/Disclaimer/ I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

/Hwoarang Girl's Notes/ I am actually alive... I'm so sorry for my absence! I'll be happy if ANYONE is actually going to read this, it's as much as I deserve for abandoning you all for so long! I can at least say it wasn't intentional. But, that is in the past! On to the writing, and the future! :grins:

EDIT: I'm clarfiying things that confised people. Sorry folks, I have been out of the game for over a year... ; I've also changed the structure, to allow better flow. Heehee.

This chapter dedicated to everyone who has waited so patiently for updates

And finally, to the wonderful people who sent me e-mails, if there is anything I can do for you, or write for you or whatnot just drop me a line! You know who you are!

Chapter 5

Yugi cautiously walked along, venturing deeper and deeper into Yami's dark and complex soul room, making sure he didn't activate any of the numerous booby-traps hidden within its confines. The teen was fuelled with determination and he continued on, his reasons for venturing into such a mysterious, potentially dangerous place deemed important to him. 'I wish to know...more about Yami.'

He aimed to either prompt the pharaoh to speak more or to find a certain someone who possibly could share a few words of the past with him. He had no other activities to preoccupy himself with, and an upcoming duel to prepare for, and this was something he had needed to do sooner or later. 'Yami is such a mystery... and as long as he remains that way... our bond will always stay weaker than it could be.' He respected, and cared for the ancient spirit dearly, but still felt as if there was a huge schism yet to be jumped. 'I hope...he can understand that.´ Of course, he wouldn't force anything out, but being curious and acting upon that, within reason, would do no harm, right?

Yugi paused on the spot thoughtfully, before blinking his large violet eyes and continuing on. 'Now, if I recall from the time Shadi came in here... I should find the tablets...this way!'

The Magician of Black Chaos was surprised, to say the least, when the peace was broken by a frantic Celtic Guardian bursting in. Securing his mask of calm, the spellcaster turned round, his gaze fixating on the elf swordsman. By the look of despair that was plastered across Celtic's face Chaos instantly decided he wouldn't like what he was going to hear, but pressed on regardless. "Was there any particular reason for such an entrance?" he questioned smoothly.

Celtic stopped on the spot, and meeting Chaos' gaze he answered worriedly, "Dark...! He's...he's...gone..." he trailed off, his tone having grown more desperate as he spoke.

One moment, they had been walking, just outside of the Chaos' place, and suddenly, in a flash, the petit spellcaster has just...vanished. The elf, knowing only two instances in which this would happen, and knowing one of them was not possible paniced, and headed straight to his current location.

At this revelation, a peculiar, indefinable expression passed over Chaos' face, and the corners of his tightly drawn lips twitched. Backing away cautiously, the elf swordsman held his breath, expecting some kind of eruption to follow. After a few moments passed, and still the uncomfortable silence lingered, Celtic found his hand moving towards the hilt of his weapon, waiting for his imminent doom.

Instead, in a disturbingly neutral tone, Chaos spoke out again. "By 'gone', what exactly are you getting at? Gone as in missing, or gone as in..." trailing off, Chaos directed the full force of his eerie pink glare at the elf.

Celtic winced and hesitated, and before he could find his voice, Chaos' face had darkened with anger, and dark magic sparked angrily as it coursed through the now clenched fists. "Why," Chaos snarled through gritted teeth, "didn't anyone think of telling me his powers weren't affected by his transformation?"

The dark spellcaster had caught on quickly, and knew this could only mean trouble. They had made a temporary solution in battle summoning, but hadn't, and were unable to, make a temporary solution to another important kind of summoning.

"We...we didn't think he had any control over them... Mystic and Soul Release came to the conclusion that it was of no concern...Dark only showed signs of being able to turn magic into a little, destructive blast, and not consciously or with enough power to be a danger... and said that there was no need to bother you whilst you were busy looking for a cure..." Celtic spoke, waiting apprehensively for Chaos to respond.

Chaos, however, said nothing for a moment, his anger dissipating - at least it appeared to have on the surface. After taking a deep breath, the mage made a gesture of dismissal at the elf. "Go," he said, his voice laced with authority, "and speak with Luster. Find out how much progress he has made, and return to me with news. There's nothing more we can do for now."

After pausing, a look of concern was shared between the pair before Celtic nodded and quickly exited, glad that the mage hadn't asked about his previous whereabouts when the chibi had first disappeared, and for a moment Chaos wondered where the elf's cape had gone, but brushed the thought aside, labeling it as pointless.

Turning his attention back to the task at hand, the Magician of Black Chaos silently prayed that Dark wasn't discovered by the pharaoh, or there would be havoc. 'We can only hope there's no repeat of...that incident.' The spellcaster shook his head and let out a depressed sigh before getting to work.

Now, the Black Luster Soldier had known that association with spellcasters meant a lot of odd sights – after all, he had seen practically everything whilst keeping company with the Magician of Black Chaos in the days before servitude underneath Yami– but he was not prepared for this one. He did a double take, before shaking his head and deciding it was better to not ask as he noticed the pearly canines and a rather familiar cape wrapped round the otherwise bare body. The redheaded warrior looked over to his two female companions. "Shall we continue then, current interruption put aside?"

The Mystical Elf giggled, before tearing her eyes away from the humanized Silver Fang and nodding. "As you wish," she chirruped.

"Well, as I was saying," Luster continued, only to pause again, furrowing his brow. "Wait...where is Summoned Skull?" he had sent the fiend monster to fetch the two women in his company, but had just realized he was no where in sight. "Ah well..." Shaking his head, he then resumed, dismissing the sudden thought spoken out loud. "I think I may be onto something..."

Celtic raced along, his good stamina allowing him to travel along at a swift pace with ease. 'I can't believe Dark did that... I hope he's alright...' the elf wondered if the small form and child's mentality would cause any problems for his friend; just how much control did Dark have over his magic currently? Was he able to cope with the backlash in such a state?

The situation had the elf so worried he hadn't even cared that his poor ears were free of the petit mage's death grip.

"Huh...?" Celtic suddenly came to halt and spun around, his amber orbs scanning the surrounding area meticulously. "I could have sworn..." he murmured, before turning to face the other way, letting out a sigh of relief as the Summoned Skull landed, shutting his wings before walking over.

"Have you seen Soul Release, or the Mystical Elf?" the fiend questioned gruffly.

"Not for a while, sorry." The elf swordsman replied, before narrowing his eyes. "Do you get the feeling we're being watched?" he asked quietly.

Summoned Skull seemed to consider just continuing on for a moment, but then decided against it. "What do you mean?" he asked none-too-gently.

Celtic would have advised him to remain quiet and alert, if it wasn't for Change of Heart deciding that she would make herself known before either could spot her first. "Ooh, lookie here!" she giggled brightly, each step she took practically a bounce. "You know," after a twirl she came to a stop, "that you've missed Mystical Elf and Soul Release? They seem to be way ahead of you," she gestured towards the Celtic Guardian, "oh, but... wherever is that adorable little mage? You seemed unwilling to let him out of your sight, so why now? Wait... need I ask? I think your expression says it all..." the woman smiled a sickeningly sweet smile.

Summoned Skull let out a growl, and Change of Heart tutted as a bolt of lightning narrowly missed her. "Well now, you could have just asked politely! I can see when I'm not wanted!" she huffed with a pout, before flying off, but not without meeting the elf's gaze and returning the look with a chilling one of her own.

It was time for her to move from merely observing and commenting here and there, to taking some real action, she thought.

Yugi, after recognizing the corridor he had been searching for, quickened his pace, his short legs carrying him to where the big stone tablets started lining the pathway to a large door. 'Now...how do I do this again?' Walking along, the teen scrutinized each ancient tablet with unconcealed interest, before stopping in front of one in particular: the Dark Magician.

Then teen would never forget seeing the Dark Magician there, his teal staff extended, poised for attack, or how the mage then responded to him, and lowered it - that was an obvious indicator of a consciousness beyond just following orders, and thusly, Yugi had come to the decision that it was worth trying to communicate with the spellcaster, to see if he could find out anything more about the enigma that was Yami.

Yugi then raised a slender hand and touched the cold stone, startling slightly at the light that suddenly flashed.

He then turned, expected to see one thing, only to find another. The teen face-faltered, looking adorably gormless, and was greeted with a childish squeal of delight followed by a bright giggle of amusement.

Yugi could only blink in bewilderment as, in a flurry of purple hair and tiny limbs, his legs were glomped mercilessly, to the point that his balance was lost and he tumbled to the ground, chibi mage still attached.

Sufficed to say, he had certainly not expected that.

End of Chapter 5

...To Be Continued...