Kitty: (crying)
Yugi: Pretty Kitty, what's wrong?
Kitty: I have to delete some of my fics, and there are going to be so many people who will get mad at me because of it… WAH!!!!!
Yugi: Aw, Kitty, it'll be okay…
Kitty: (sniff) I d-don't want people to (sniff) get mad at me… (sniff)
Yugi: If they do and they hurt your feelings, I'll be after their blood.
Kitty: (smiles a little) Thanks, Yugi.
Lina: (sighs) R&R!
Chapter Nineteen:
The Power of Five
"Quirrel-sensei?" Atem said in disbelief.
Quirrel turned around to look at them. A smile was on his face, and, for once, he wasn't twitching at all.
"I was wondering whether or not I'd meet Potter or Randall here," Quirrel whispered, looking from Harry to Diana, "But I did not expect such a large audience…particularly with a Pharaoh, a Priest and a Thief."
"B-b-but…Snape…" Bakura could barely string together a sentence.
"Severus?" Quirrel laughed; it wasn't quivering or weak like he usually laughed, but instead cold and sharp, "Yes, he does seem the type, doesn't he? Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor st-stuttering Professor Quirrel?"
Diana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Quirrel…?
"But Snape tried to kill Harry!" Seth argued, "He tried to buck Harry off his Nimbus, he-"
"No, no," Quirrel interrupted, "I tried to kill him. The Man Eater Bug that your friend the Tomb Robber let out forced Severus to knock me over when he was trying to get rid of it. That insect broke my eye contact with Potter…another second and I would've thrown him off that broom, even with Severus muttering his little counter-curse…"
Bakura's eyes widened. "Snape was…trying to save Harry?"
"Of course," Quirrel whispered, "Why do you think he wanted to referee Gryffindor's next Quidditch match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really…he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to keep Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself rather unpopular… and what a waste, when after all that, I'm going to kill all of you tonight."
Quirrel snapped his fingers, and ropes sprang out of thin air and tied itself around the five of them, forcing them back-to-back.
"You all are too nosy to live," Quirrel muttered as the Yamis, Harry and Diana struggled against their bindings, "Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that…for all I knew, you could've seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone…"
Diana froze.
"So you let the troll in," she snarled, "And Snape already suspected you of foul play…so when the other teachers were running after the troll, he went down to the third floor to corner you!"
"You always were one of the most clever, Randall," Quirrel said with a cruel smile, "It's just too bad my troll didn't beat you to death…then your friends might've never gotten involved…instead, you'll see them die in front of your very eyes."
Diana suddenly found herself out of the circle of rope where her friends were still tied up.
"Come here, Randall," Quirrel snapped.
Diana didn't move, but instead looked to the challenge Quirrel was faced with…Dumbledore's challenge.
Her eyes widened.
The Mirror of Erised.
"Come here!" Quirrel snapped.
Diana looked at Quirrel, trying to imitate the way Dumbledore would look at someone: very pensively and innocently skeptical.
"If you're after the Stone…" she whispered, "Then why were you sobbing after Snape threatened you?"
And for the first time, Diana saw a flicker of fear in Quirrel's eyes.
"He suspected me all along," Quirrel muttered, "And sometimes…I find it hard to follow my master's orders…he is a great wizard and I am weak."
"He was there with you?" Diana gasped.
"He is always with me, no matter where I go," Quirrel said quietly, "I met him while traveling around the world…I was young and foolish, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil…but Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I really was…you see, there is no good and evil. There's only power…and those too weak to seek it."
Diana's jaw clenched.
"Voldemort will get you nowhere," she whispered, "He is nothing but a murderer and a liar."
"Think what you like," Quirrel replied.
He paused, and then whispered, "I thought I told you to come here?"
Diana looked at Quirrel very coldly, but took two steps forward, so that she was almost next to him.
"Be careful, Dare-kun!" she heard Bakura say.
But Diana did not look away from Quirrel as he looked at the Mirror of Erised in frustration.
"This mirror shows what I desire," Quirrel muttered, "I see the Stone, and I'm presenting it to my master…but how do I get it?"
Diana ignored his muttering, and began to think wildly.
/Artemis,/ she said, /If you want me to live, I suggest you help me out here./
At first, there was no reply. Then Diana heard a quiet, bored reply.
-If you look in the mirror, you see your deepest desire, right? And if you wanted to find the Stone more than anything right then, what would you see?-
/I'd see myself finding the Stone…so I'd see where it's hidden!/
Diana tried to look around Quirrel and into the mirror without him noticing, but Quirrel's turban was in the way.
"What should I do?" Quirrel continued his muttering, "Help me, master!"
And to Diana's horror, a cold, high voice replied to his muttering, coming almost from Quirrel himself…
"Use the girl…"Quirrel looked at Diana. "Look in the mirror! Tell me what you see!"
Diana tried to appear calm as she looked into the Mirror of Erised, but inside, she was terrified.
/I'll lie,/ she decided, /I'll look into the mirror and lie./
Diana saw her reflection, paler than usual and the look in her eyes the only real sign of her fear, before her reflection smiled at her. It put its hand in its pocket and pulled out a shiny, blood red stone.
Diana stared, as her reflection winked at her and put the Sorcerer's Stone back in her pocket…and as it did, Diana felt something drop into her real pocket.
Her eyes widened.
She'd gotten the Stone.
"Well?" Quirrel snapped, "What do you see?"
Diana had almost forgotten the teacher was next to her, but right then, she put a desire-filled look on her face as she lied.
"I…I see my aunt proud of me…I see myself as Quidditch Captain of the Holyhead Harpies…"
Quirrel cursed under his breath, before pushing Diana out of the way and looking into the mirror.
The others' bindings vanished, obviously from the lack of attention from Quirrel, and she went over to them.
"What does this mean, Master?" Quirrel muttered, "Why did she see that?"
Diana turned so that her back was to her friends and that she was in front of Harry. She kept an eye on Quirrel as he continued to mutter distractedly, and slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out the Sorcerer's Stone.
"She lies…she lies…"She reached her hand back behind her until she found Harry's jean pocket, and slowly tucked the Stone into it.
Quirrel turned around right then and shouted, "Come back here, Randall! What did you see?"
Diana looked at Quirrel expressionlessly.
"I already told you," she said coldly as she shot a quick, significant look at Bakura that translated as, "Get out of here."
But the Tomb Robber didn't move.
Diana groaned inwardly. He thought she still had the Stone!
"Let me speak to her."
The high, cold voice spoke again, and Diana felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
"But Master, you're not strong enough…" Quirrel protested.
"I have strength enough for this, Quirrel…"
Diana looked again at Bakura, this time frantic.
"Get out of here!" she hissed.
"No way, Dare-kun," the Tomb Robber replied, "I'm not leaving you here alone with this loony."
"Bakura's right, Dare-kun," Atem said quietly, "Friends don't abandon each other in times of danger."
Diana looked at Quirrel. He was unwrapping his turban slowly, his hands on the verge of trembling. She then looked at her friends.
"I can handle him!" Diana said, her eyes wide with both fury and fear, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing! He won't get the Stone, I swear!"
She looked at Harry significantly as if to say, "Don't make me a liar."
Diana turned back to face Quirrel, and stepped forward as Quirrel's turban finally fell completely away, to reveal what he had been hiding for so long behind that cloth.
A face was on the back of Quirrel's head…the most terrible face Diana had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slit-like snake nostrils.
"Diana Randall…" it whispered in that same high, cold voice, "So we finally meet face-to-face…"
Diana stepped in front of Harry and the others, and glared at the face.
"Voldemort," she growled, "I knew it."
"How intelligent you are, then," Voldemort replied softly, "Do you see what I've become now, after all this time? Shadow and vapor, only possessing a form when I share another's body…much like your dear friends from Egypt."
"Well, at least their hikaris fight with their Yamis because of friendship!" Diana snapped, "All you and Quirrel want is power, but I assure you, you'll never get it!"
Voldemort laughed. "So spunky…but of course you are…unlike me, you have a body, and you share it with Dark Artemis. But you know…I won't be so different when I get that Stone in your pocket!"
"You mean 'if!'" Diana yelled, as she started running to the exit. Her friends took her example and started running ahead of her.
"Stop her!" Voldemort shouted.
Quirrel snapped his fingers again, and flames appeared around the steps leading out. The flames separated the students: the Yamis on one side next to the door, and Diana and Harry on the other with Voldemort and Quirrel.
"DARE-KUN!" Bakura yelled.
"HARRY-KUN!" Atem yelled.
Harry moaned in pain, holding his forehead, as Voldemort laughed evilly. "Wonderful…I trapped the two students I most wanted to see…"
"Harry, are you okay?" Diana asked him, running over to him.
"My scar…" he whispered.
/If Harry gets hurt and/or Voldemort gets the Stone, it'll be all my fault,/ Diana thought, /I should've forced the others out of here…then Harry wouldn't be next to me with Voldemort…/
Diana hugged him protectively, stroking his messy black hair. "It'll be okay, Harry. It'll be okay. I'll get us out of this."
"Don't be a fool, Randall," Voldemort whispered, "Why suffer a horrific death with Potter beside you…when you can join me and live?"
Quirrel extended his hand for Diana to take it, but the girl did no such thing.
"NEVER!" Diana shouted, not leaving Harry's side, "YOU KILLED MY MOTHER! YOU KILLED HARRY'S PARENTS! YOU'RE A MURDERER!"
"How touching…" Voldemort hissed, an evil smile gracing his features, "Bravery and loyalty… and yet your mother has so over-shadowed you…when you are ten times greater than she was!"
"My mother was a great witch!" Diana snapped.
"But you have Dark Artemis with you," Voldemort whispered, "Artemis could help you rule the world, if you only let her…"
"I'll never do that!" Diana yelled, "Never! I won't let her help you! You'd make her kill people, and in turn, I'd be killing people!"
"And yet you seek to kill some…" Voldemort said quietly, "I can always help you with that…"
Diana growled, trying to think of someway to combat that. Even she had to admit it was true…
"Don't listen to him, Dare-kun!"
Diana turned to look at a newly appeared Yugi, who looked at her through the flames, his violet eyes determined and his jaw clenched.
"Don't give in!" Yugi yelled, "Voldemort is a liar! He'd just steal the power for himself!"
"Silence, you fool boy," Voldemort hissed at Yugi.
"I'll decide when I'm ready to be quiet," Yugi snapped back, "You can't command me to do anything!"
"Really?" Voldemort laughed, "Do you really think a little runt like you can stop me? I am Lord Voldemort!"
"As long as you try to hurt people for your own gain, I will and can defeat you!" Yugi said, "You may call yourself a Lord, but let me give you some advice: don't ever call yourself the ruler of anything unless the crown fits!"
Voldemort had heard enough. Red magic zoomed toward Yugi, and slammed him back into the marble wall. His head hit it sharply, before he collapsed onto the floor.
"YUGI!" Diana and Harry yelled together.
Seth ran over to Yugi, his eyes wide and his face lit up with concern.
"Yugi-chibi!" he tried to wake him up, "C'mon, wake-up…"
Seth's eyes filled with fury as he looked at Voldemort.
"YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING SON OF A BITCH!" the High Priest roared, "He did nothing to you!"
Voldemort smiled evilly at Seth. "Family really does cloud the mind…even if the person you're caring for is only a reincarnation…"
The Dark Lord turned back to Diana.
"For the last time, Randall, Potter," Voldemort hissed, "Give me the Sorcerer's Stone!"
Diana looked at Yugi, then Voldemort, and then Harry.
The two Brits looked into each others' eyes, and then silently made their decision. They nodded together, their eyes determined, before glaring at Voldemort.
"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Harry and Diana shouted together.
"KILL THEM!" Voldemort screamed.
Quirrel glided over in less than a second and pinned Diana to the floor.
Diana tried to struggle against his hands as he tried to strangle her. She choked, trying to breath…
"GET OFF HER!"
Harry latched himself onto Quirrel, trying to pull him off of Diana, but Diana knew it was no use…Quirrel was too strong for Harry to pull off…
/But what's this?/
Quirrel let go of Diana's throat, and tried to move away from Harry as his hands began blister before his very eyes.
"KILL THEM! SEIZE THEM!" Voldemort screamed.
"What is this magic…?" Quirrel screamed, "I can't hold him! My hands! My hands!"
Harry breathed ruggedly, holding his scar as he was getting branded like cattle would.
Diana stood, and this time she was ready.
/Artemis?/
-Hmm?-
/Will you help me handle this pest-control problem?/
-With pleasure, Randall. With pleasure.-
Artemis took over, and purple magic again flew around her fingers.
But before she could attack, Quirrel shot a spell at her, and slammed her back into the wall.
Diana appeared in Artemis's place as she tried to stand, but Quirrel pointed his wand at her heart. He started to chant a deadly curse, when…
"ARGHHH!"
Harry had run over to Quirrel and grabbed his face. Quirrel's face began blistering and burning, and slowly, the professor collapsed, Voldemort still screaming, "KILL THEM! KILL THEM!"
Harry panted softly, before falling to the floor in a dead faint.
"HARRY-KUN!" Seth and Bakura's voices came from behind the flames.
"Harry…" Diana limped over to her friend, "Harry…"
Diana fought to stay conscious, but it was too much of an effort. She fell on top of Harry's limp body, her hand on her friend's left pocket, where the Stone still was, safe and sound…
Kitty: There we go.
Yugi: (wide eyes) You made Voldemort knock me out?
Kitty: You stood up to him! You were so BRAVE! (glomps her bishie)
Yugi: (blushes) Aw…shucks…
Lina: Reviews?
Kitty: Hmm… (checks) 6, and the first is from Meanae the Thorn with her two reviews! (smiles) I had to do something like that, I swear…and Seth and Seto look really similar, so I guess you could always choose both! (grins)
Lina: Next is…Kani! (smiles) You bet. We're doing all the years at Hogwarts!
Kitty: I can't wait until we do Prisoner of Azkaban and we can save the gracious name of that wonderful novel!
Lina: (blinks) What are you talking about?
Kitty: (glares) We'll make it better than Cuaron's stupid take on it.
Lina: Oh… (rolls her eyes) Should've known you meant that.
Kitty: (glares again) Anyway… (smiles) Next is Claire, who reviewed twice also. (pouts) Pop-up blockers are crappy…luckily, the new one I got is almost like a half pop-up blocker.
Yugi: Huh?
Kitty: It blocks stuff only you want to block instead of blocking everything like normal pop-up blockers do.
Yugi: Oh. (smiles) That's cool.
Kitty: (grins) Glad to know you like Seth. Seth's going to be really tight with Atem, thick as thieves.
Atem: WHAT?!
Seth: You're going to make my cousin and I Tomb Robbers?!
Bakura: These idiots have to work with me?!?!
Kitty: (sweatdrop) It's an expression! You're not going to be like Bakura!
Bakura, Atem, and Seth: (whew)
Lina: And we're all upset Kitty will have to delete fics…who wouldn't?
Kitty: I hate getting rid of my ideas…I luv them all! (tears form in her eyes and hugs all her blueprints of fanfictions)
Lina: And we're all right here to help you with your fic! (grins)
Diana: Next is aAa. (grins) Nice to know you like my fic that much and thank you for voting.
Kitty: I just hope Ready to Run is one of the ones I'm able to keep.
Lina: Last, but certainly not least, is Rainbow Guardian Angel.
Kitty: YAY! Another Nightmare Before Christmas fan!
Yugi: HOORAY!
Lina and Bakura: (start singing "This is Halloween")
Atem: (blushes) Nice to meet you, Mizumi. Nice to know your Hikari and you like Yugi and me so much.
Kitty: (eats her candy) Yum. (hands Rainbow Guardian Angel candy too) Here's some for you and your Yami too!
Lina: (throws candy to the other reviewers!) HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN, ALL!
Kitty: AND BUSH IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER ASSHOLE, EVEN IF HE WAS RE-ELECTED!
Lina: (steals Kitty's Whack-A-Mole mallet and whacks her Hikari with it) You political idiot.
Kitty: (snatches her mallet back and whacks Lina) You non-political idiot.
Yugi: (sweatdrop) R&R, guys…