I don't own Yugioh.
Chapter 31
"How long?" Yugi whispered, standing up weakly.
"Apparently," Honda responded, "I've had these dark powers for a while. This group only helped to enhance my ability. But I'd never expect to find you guys in a place like this…"
Jou coughed, then cracked his eyes open, "Bastard…so you know who Yug is…?"
"No," Honda shook his head, "All I know is that the group is after a boy named Tenko, and that Yugi is this Tenko. They made me from a bully to a guard."
"About that…," Anzu glowered at him.
"Hey, I've stopped bullying people…," Honda started.
"But in a sense, you still do," Yami interrupted, "You oppress people who are just trying to live their lives out in peace. You continually send people at us to defeat us or cast out souls away…"
"What are you talking about?" Honda blinked, "We would never try to take your souls! Or kill you! The last thing we want is you and Yugi dead!"
They exchanged looks.
"Then what about the Bakemono brothers?" Anzu asked Yami.
"Bakemono brothers?!" Sugoroku exclaimed, "They got mixed up in this…!?"
"Yugi defeated all three of them," Yami stated.
"Then what do you want?" Seto glared at Honda, "You'd better have a good answer before I kick your ass…"
Honda backed up a bit from the older boy, gulping.
Just then, laughter filled the room.
They all looked around.
Honda paled, "Shit…that's not the boss…who is that…?"
"Not the boss…?" Yugi blinked. Suddenly, he felt a dark power.
Ryou shivered.
"Are you alright?" Anzu asked.
Ryou wrapped his arms around himself, "I f-feel c-cold…"
Yugi was shaking as well, "It's terrible…"
Clapping was heard, and a figure stepped out of the shadows. "I'm afraid your boss met with an…accident."
Honda clenched a hand onto a fist, "Teme! What have you done…!?"
The shadowed figure laughed, "Your boss is enjoying time in our dungeons. Did you really think your boss would order for these people to be tortured? What a joke. You are such a simpleton."
"Who are you?" Yami growled.
"Me?" the shadowed man stepped forward. White hair fell to his shoulders, and he wore some sort or red suit. He smiles evilly, but the strangest thing about him was the strange golden left eye of his.
"The Millennium Eye! Impossible!" Sugoroku exclaimed.
"The what?" Seto glanced at the old man.
"Long ago," Sugoroku whispered, "To help seal the darkness in Gaia, some items were created. They were later used, with others created, to stop passage from Gaia to Earth and vice versa."
The man nodded, "Precisely. And I will use my Millennium Eye to get back there."
"Who are you?!" Anzu demanded with courage she didn't feel.
"I…am Pegasus J. Crawford."
Sugoroku shook his head, "Now that is a name…I have not heard in a long time…"
"You know him, jiichan?" Yugi turned questioning eyes to his grandfather.
Sugoroku nodded, "A long time ago, yes. Though, he doesn't know me that well. He was exiled from Gaia because of his extreme desire for power. He wanted to rule everything."
Pegasus chuckled, "Well, my goals are slightly different, now. But I still require the ability to get into Gaia. And for that…I need the Holy Spellcaster." He was looking right at Yugi.
"Yugi! Don't look at his Millennium Eye!" Sugoroku warned, "Or he'll take your soul!"
Yugi gulped.
"I know you became one," Pegasus sneered, "Against Saigoru Bakemono. Oh, yes. Remember that battle?"
Yugi narrowed his eyes despite his fear.
"You are a Holy Spellcaster…and I shall have you," Pegasus grinned. In the blink of an eye, a large, dark monster grabbed Yugi harshly in a clawed hand.
Yugi yelped in pain as he was lifted up.
"Yugi!" Yami shouted, then glared at Pegasus, "You won't have him!" He held out his hand, and they were all transported to a dark realm.
Pegasus looked around, "Ah…the Shadow Realm. You are one of darkness, too, aren't you?"
"Shut up!" Yami growled, "Now you listen to me. You don't have a choice. Play the game or the Shadow Realm will claim your soul by default."
Pegasus showed a slightly miffed air for a change.
Seto, Sugoroku, and Jou were all seated, watching tiredly. Jou coughed a few times.
Seto placed a hand to Jou's forehead, then turned to Yami, "Hurry, Yami. Jou needs to see a doctor."
Anzu and Ryou watched, slightly frightened. They were all paralyzed, suddenly. Including the monster that held the unconscious Yugi.
Yami looked at Pegasus, "Well?"
Pegasus smiled, "I am ready."
Yami snapped his fingers, and the Millennium Puzzle appeared next to him. He placed it on the ground, "Here are the stakes. If you win, you get Yugi and the Puzzle. But if I win, you have to give Yugi back. And I may take that eye of yours."
Pegasus laughed, "Fine. You know, as long as I can read minds with this Eye, you have on hope of winning."
"Really?" Yami smirked, "Well, then, what about luck?"
Pegasus laughed.
"Random luck," Yami stated, and touched the ground.
A wheel appeared, like a game show wheel. On it were different markings with different hieroglyphic symbols on it.
Pegasus frowned, "I can not read your silly device…"
"Simple," Yami stated, "We take turns spinning it. Whoever lands on this symbol wins the game." He pointed to the symbol meaning 'life'.
"Easy enough," Pegasus stated.
Yami shook his head, "However, whoever lands on the 'death' symbol is instantly the loser. There is no way to predict this game with your Millennium Eye. Likewise, I can not use the puzzle to help me in any way."
Pegasus frowned, then straitened, "Very well. Go."
Yami took the handle and spun the wheel.
Anzu, Ryou, Jou, Sugoroku, Honda, and Seto watched anxiously as it slowed to a stop on a symbol.
Suddenly, something exploded from the ground and latched onto Yami's leg. It was a restraining cuff that was on so tight it drew blood.
Pegasus blinked.
Yami winced, but smirked, "I forgot to mention that the symbols hold different meanings in here. If you land on one, you can be hurt by different traps."
Pegasus growled and spun the wheel. When it stopped, it had landed on a strange symbol. Pegasus didn't have time to question it, because a rope suddenly tied his arm to a wall that had appeared. On the wall was spikes, and the rope was shortening little by little.
Yami spun the wheel, and gritted his teeth when it landed on another symbol.
A knife came flying out, and pierced Yami in his right shoulder. It wasn't very deep, but it still oozed blood and was painful. Yami placed a hand over the wound, wincing.
The others watched, shocked. Yami was hurting himself to get Yugi back. He fought for no other reason.
Pegasus spun the wheel, and it nearly landed on the 'life' symbol, then clicked one symbol past it.
A claw reached up from the ground and grabbed Pegasus's leg, holding him in place as it pulled him to his knees and held him there, drawing blood where the claws pierced in to the skin.
Yami winced, breathing hard as he gripped the wheel shakily. The wound hurt, and he knew that if he didn't win now, it was all over. He closed his eyes, and spun the wheel.
The wheel turned, and started to land on 'death'.
Yami held his breath, and the wheel went past it and landed a few symbols down…on the 'life' symbol.
Yami blew out his breath as the restraints on him vanished. Vines lashed out and held Pegasus, then the darkness seemed to pull at him, and the man was knocked unconscious and the Millennium Eye was removed. The creature holding Yugi vanished, and the boy dropped, unconscious, to the floor.
The shadows vanished from around them, and they were free to move.
Yami put the puzzle around his neck and picked up the Eye and pocketed it, then winced and placed a hand over the wound. He went over to Yugi, where everyone was gathered.
"Yugi?" Sugoroku held his grandson.
Yugi winced and opened his eyes, then gasped when he saw the blood on Yami. He stumbled to his feet and hugged his 'brother'. "Yami! You're hurt!" Tears ran down his face.
"I'll be fine," Yami whispered, then grunted and sunk to his knees, wincing the entire time.
"Hang on," Ryou pulled off his pack and got out the first-aid supplies, then bandaged and secured the wound, "There."
They nodded, and with one last glance at the unconscious man, looked back at Honda.
"I don't understand any of this," Honda whispered, "They kidnapped the boss…?"
"I think," Seto glared at the younger boy, "You're going to have to explain things."
Jou coughed and shakily stood up, "Can we…get out of here, first?" He wavered, and Seto carried him on his back again.
"Honda, do you know the way out?" Anzu asked.
Honda nodded.
"How can we…trust him?" Yami winced.
Yugi helped Yami and shook his head, "Let's trust him."
Yami glanced at the smaller boy.
Yugi nodded in encouragement. "But…Yami…why'd you want the eye…?"
"A man like this is too dangerous with such a thing," Yami said solemnly.
Yugi nodded and winced, pain throbbing through his shoulder from where the monster's claws had gone into him.
"You're hurt, too…," Yami pointed out.
Yugi shook his head, "It can wait…Jou needs medicine. Let's get out of here." The room seemed a little cold, and Yugi didn't want to stay. His own fears were also pushing at him about the place, and the unconscious man laying on the floor. If that wasn't really Honda's boss, then who was? And what was going on?
"Can you walk, sir?" Ryou questioned Sugoroku, helping him along.
Sugoroku nodded, "Thank you for the support."
"No problem," Ryou shook his head.
Honda pointed to a corridor, "This way. We have to hurry…I don't know what's going on here."
"Can you tell us what is going on?" Yami glared at him.
Honda nodded and led them down another stone-walled hallway, "Yes. To my knowledge. I just joined recently, so I don't know exactly what's going on. But that man…Pegasus…is not the one who asked me for help…"
"Asked you for help?" Seto interrupted.
Honda nodded, "I was approached by the boss about a week or two ago. The boss asked me to help, since I had this power laying within me. A dark power."
"Let me get to the point," Yami growled, "What is it you want?"
"Yami…be nice…," Yugi whispered, then shivered.
"The boss said…," Honda started, then shook his head and sighed, "…I suppose I have no choice but to tell you…"
"Take your time," Yugi stated.
"I wanna know," Seto growled, "Right now. What are you up to, and who's Pegasus?"
"I have no idea who Pegasus is," Honda shook his head and led them through another passageway, "But I do know that the boss is trying to get back to a place called Gaia. The boss was from Gaia, from what I heard."
"From Gaia?" Sugoroku spoke up.
"I'm confused," Jou groaned, then leaned his forehead against Seto's shoulder-blade area, letting out a low moan.
"Hang in there," Seto whispered. He glanced at Honda, "Are we almost out?"
Honda nodded and started to lead them up a precarious staircase. "I don't know what exactly it is the boss wants with Gaia, but I don't think it's world domination or anything like that. The boss isn't like that. From your point of view, this may sound crazy, but the boss wants everyone to be happy."
Yami snorted in disapproval, "Since when have the powers of darkness ever brought happiness? I was confined to the Millennium Puzzle trying to seal them away."
"You have the dark power," Honda stated, "I saw that when you transported us to the Shadow Realm."
"You know of it?" Yami looked at him sharply.
"I heard the boss mention it a couple of times," Honda stated, "And the boss warned us never to use it unless we're really powerful Spellcasters, or else we could kill ourselves."
"That is true," Yami nodded, "Incorrect usage of the Shadow Realm can teleport the user to another dimension where their soul will wander for eternity."
Yugi gulped and took Yami's hand, shivering again as they headed up the stairs.
"What's wrong, aibou?" Yami whispered.
"I don't know…," Yugi shifted, "I'm okay…"
Yami wasn't convinced. Even in the darkness, Yugi appeared pale and shaky, his eyes shining more then usual.
"This is getting so confusing," Anzu was complaining.
"You're not the only one," Honda sighed, then pulled open a trapdoor. They were assaulted by the sights, sounds, and smells of the rainforest at once. "Here. This leads out. But I have a request."
"You're asking us for a favor?" Yami glared at him.
"Take me with you, please," Honda begged, "Help me find my boss. Pegasus can't be up to any good."
"I think we should let him come, and help him out," Sugoroku stated, "If Pegasus is associated with the Bakemono brothers, that means that he is after souls. The fact that he had the Millennium Eye proves that."
"But what can he do with soulless husks?" Anzu blinked.
"He can manipulate them," Ryou answered, "Like Yami Bakura tried to do with the townspeople and my father. They'll just be animated puppets."
"Please," Honda whispered, "Help me find my boss."
"Sounds okay to me," Yugi nodded, then gripped Yami's hand, "Please?"
Yami paused.
"I'm for it," Anzu nodded, "If Yugi says it's okay, I trust him."
"And Yug's grandpa says it's fine," Jou coughed, then nodded.
Ryou agreed, and Seto reluctantly agreed.
"Fine," Yami gave in.
They went outside, and Honda closed the door. They were on a hill by the town.
"What's your boss's name?" Yami asked.
Honda looked up, "Oh. Her name! Isis-sama."
TO BE CONTINUED…
And…Isis is in the story! Isis and Honda! There will be other familiar characters in upcoming chapters.