I don't own Yugioh.
For those who were wondering why Kodai's name sounded familiar, it was because he was first introduced in chapter 25, in one of Yugi's flashbacks when the prophecy of the Holy Spellcaster was first revealed.
About the chapters, too…each one is focusing on certain groups…the past few chapters is what the groups have been doing. In other words, all of this is occurring at relatively the same time.
Chapter 55
Jade gulped as she followed Mokuba through a small tunnel on her hands and knees while the ground shook a bit, "Did you feel that, Mokuba?"
"Yea," Mokuba nodded, though she couldn't see it in the darkness of the small tunnel.
They had snuck away from the remaining civilians and soldiers that were in the temporary shelter/base/hide-out underground. At first, it was because they wanted to see if they could sneak past them to test the security of the place. Apparently, a couple of sneaky children would have no trouble getting past the defenses.
But now, they were on their hands and knees, crawling through a tunnel that even Jade didn't know existed. They had fallen into it when crawling through another tunnel.
It was dark with no light at all. It was so small that they had to proceed on their hands and knees.
And the reason for it?
Because Mokuba heard something.
Not just something.
A song.
Not just any song.
The song that had saved everyone except for Ryou and Honda from being captured by the Kurayami group.
"It's getting louder," Mokuba commented.
"I can hear something, too," Jade admitted after a moment of silence when she caught a snippet of the song, "Kind of a melancholy tune…"
"And we hafta find out who's singing it," Mokuba said determinedly, "I want to help my brother and Yugi fight. And I have a feeling that this is a very important key to helping them!"
Jade nodded, "I get that feeling, too. I've been feeling a powerful tug of magic that's been getting stronger since we entered this tunnel." She listened for a moment as she continued to crawl behind Mokuba, "It's definitely a woman singing…such a beautiful voice…"
"How's a girl gonna help fight?" Mokuba groaned.
Jade scowled and gave Mokuba's foot a tug.
"Ow! Hey…!"
"I'm a girl," Jade grunted.
"You don't count."
"Oh? Why not?"
"Cause you act like a boy!"
A slap echoed through the cavern.
"OW!"
Jade grunted, "You are such a typical boy."
"And you've got a powerful arm," Mokuba pouted, then resumed crawling.
Jade giggled.
Mokuba couldn't help but join in the childish giggling for a few moments before they once again headed towards the source of the mysterious voice.
* * *
"Did you feel that rumbling?" Ielmi looked around.
"I was nearly crushed by a piece of falling debris from the earthquake, of course I felt it, Ielmi!" Yunti exclaimed.
"Pipe down!" Zeyl grunted, a monocular looking thing in his hand and pressed to one of his eyes as he scoped around the corner, looking at the readings he was getting, "A life form is detected about a hundred feet from here…and it has the DNA color of a monster, not a human or demon." He lowered the scope and put it back in a pouch that was on his belt.
"Okay," Anzu nodded, "I never came in from this angle…just the lower labyrinth…and that was completely dark…"
"If Tenko and Shinbu put so much faith in you…," Ielmi smiled, "Then I'm sure you can do it."
Anzu took a deep breath, then let it out and stood up, "Okay! Let's go to the next point!"
They peered around the corner, looked left, looked right, and then darted to the next wall, which was near a turn. Around the bend were pillars with a slight space between them and the wall, and a door on the other side.
"What do you see?" Anzu asked Zeyl.
Zeyl angled his scope to see around the corner, "There's another door across from the pillars…and one that's past them. There's a monster there."
"Which is it?" Anzu asked.
"I don't know," Zeyl shook his head, "To be honest, I don't know much about the monsters…my field is pure technicalities."
"Can I see the scope?" Anzu asked, "I've learned a lot about Duel Monsters from traveling and being friends with Yugi. Maybe I'll know what it is."
Zeyl nodded and handed it over.
"This is stupid…who cares what it is?" Yunti grunted, "Let's just have Anzu summon a monster, beat the stupid creature, and check out the doors."
"We're trying to do this quietly," Zeyl reminded the boy, "There's so much noise outside that it's drawn just about all their forces out…"
"Which is something I don't understand," Anzu frowned, handing Zeyl the scope back as she looked at them, "If they are all out there fighting, why would they still leave some monsters back here?"
"Maybe the others are losing…?" Yunti asked.
Airi looked concerned.
"Can't be…we just saw one of the walls collapse," Zeyl shook his head. "Anyway…do you know what kind of monster it is, Anzu?"
Anzu shook her head, "No…I haven't seen it before. It looks like a female warrior…like an amazon."
"Let's find out," Zeyl pulled a device out and handed it to Airi, "You're the smallest…you need to get within range of the creature so that can get the reading. You up for it, Airi?"
The young girl nodded, and was almost gone from sight in an instant.
"She's fast…," Anzu blinked.
Zeyl grinned, "Course. She may not say much, but she has speed unrivaled by any except maybe some monsters. That's why she was sent on this mission."
Airi soon returned, and handed the device back to Zeyl.
"Good job, Airi," Zeyl grinned and looked at it, "It's an Amazoness Fighter. Attack of 1300…defense of 1300."
"Who in their right mind would use female cards…?" Yunti grunted, but trailed off when he was glared at by more then half his group.
Airi glared.
Ielmi stared daggers.
Anzu slapped him.
"Ow…okay, okay!" Yunti whimpered.
Zeyl snickered, then turned to Anzu, "We have to get past it, and we can't make a lot of noise…"
"I have the perfect card, then," Anzu pulled one out and concentrated, "Garuda the Wind Spirit!"
The summoned monster looked like a cross between an eagle and a human, and hovered in the air.
"He's also got speed," Anzu stated, "And, has an attack of 1600 points. That should wipe out the Amazoness. Go, Garuda! Take out that Amazoness as quietly as you can!"
The monster spread its wings and dove.
"Well?" Anzu asked anxiously.
"Took it out in one blow…that Amazoness didn't even know what hit her," Zeyl was watching through his scope.
Garuda returned to them, then bowed and turned back to a card, floating into Anzu's hand.
"Not bad," Ielmi smiled, "You're better then I thought, to be honest."
"I'm not really that good," Anzu admitted, "Up until a little while ago, I thought I was just some helpless, cheerleading sidekick in this adventure. Now I'm summoning monsters."
"Fate works in funny ways," Ielmi stated.
"Coast is clear," Zeyl reported, using his scope.
Airi returned from scouting as well and nodded to them.
"Okay…just to be on the safe side, let's pass behind the pillars," Anzu pointed. She led them through the pillars, and they stopped in the small entranceway to a small door.
The door across from the pillars was a large one.
"Which way?" Yunti asked.
"I don't know…," Anzu shook her head, "All I know is that we need to get to the lower levels. I saw the hole that had been blasted open on the wall when Ryou and I escaped the tower when we were dropping in. We definitely need to go down."
"So…we open both doors and see which one contains a set of stairs," Ielmi suggested.
"Careful, though…they may have traps," Zeyl responded, "And we may not have time to react to the traps to get away from them…"
"I'll use the monsters, then," Anzu pulled out two cards and tossed them out.
A Dancing Elf appeared, then another one appeared.
"Open the doors," Anzu pointed.
One Elf took the small door, and the other went for the big door.
The group watched from behind the pillars as the two monsters gripped the doors.
"I just thought of something…," Zeyl spoke, "…what if both doors have traps behind them?"
"Come on," Yunti grunted, "What's the chances of…"
Before he could finish, the two doors were opened. The small door on the side had arrows that shot out of it, injuring the monster and making the Elf return to card form and go back to Anzu's hand. As the arrows finished hitting the wall, the other door was opened, and the group had to scatter to one side or the other to avoid being burnt to a crisp by the fire that had already taken the other Elf out.
When the dust cleared, they saw that the fire had scorched an area on the floor, making a trap door visible.
Anzu summoned two Petit Dragons to close the doors, and they returned to her as cards when that was accomplished.
The group cautiously stepped out from their corners they were in behind the pillars.
"…Zeyl?"
"Yea?" the boy turned to face the older boy.
"Next time you get an idea, tell us before we open the doors," Yunti stared at the arrows embedded on one wall and the burnt blocks of the pillar.
Zeyl sweatdropped.
"Hey, boys," Anzu put her hands on her hips, "Instead of talking, how about lifting the trap door?"
"You crazy?!" Yunti exclaimed, "What if it's another trap?!"
"Let me remind you of the physics of a trap door in the floor," Anzu put a hand to her head in frustration, "You open it by pulling up on it…it opens up towards you. Whatever comes up can't hurt you…"
"Unless there's acid or something like that," Zeyl supplied.
Ielmi shook her head and Airi slapped a hand to her forehead.
"Okay…," Anzu pointed to the pillars, "Stand back, and I'll get another monster to open it for us."
The group quickly retreated.
Anzu muttered under her breath, then summoned the Sonic Bird, giving it directions.
The Bird grabbed onto the handle of the trapdoor with its feet, and flapped its wings, pulling up on the door. The door opened…and nothing happened. Anzu thanked the creature, which returned to a card.
Anzu raised an eyebrow at the boys.
"Um…it coulda happened…," Zeyl laughed nervously.
"Let's just go down there," Anzu shook her head, leading the way as she clicked on a flashlight, descending the steps in the darkness. This still doesn't make any sense…sure, it was a 'weak' monster, but if all their summoners are on the front lines, why would there be a monster still in the castle? All we've seen since we've entered are demons and humans of their group…
They reached the bottom, and cautiously walked down the long, dark hallway.
"It stinks down here," Yunti grunted.
"Shh!" Ielmi hissed at the boy.
"Well, it does!" Yunti protested, but in a quieter voice.
Anzu wrinkled her nose. It smelled almost as bad as the prisons did when she was captured along with Sugoroku and Isis. "We must be close to the prisons. They smell a lot worse then this."
"Joy," Yunti pinched his nose.
"There's a light up ahead," Anzu stated, and they ran for it.
They squinted as they came into a large room…what looked like an arena. There was a dirt/sand ground surrounded with walls in a circle, with a couple openings leading in for the fighters. Benches were going around, and at the top was a booth for the guests of honor, or the leader, or whomever was in charge.
"…the hell…?" Yunti looked around, a hand on the sword at his belt.
"Stop that…you're making me nervous," Ielmi glanced at the boy's sword arm.
Airi looked around, but stayed close to Ielmi, showing that she was intimidated by the arena, too.
"At least there aren't any traps here…," Zeyl muttered as they walked into the arena itself.
"If there's an entrance leading in, there must be one leading to the other side," Anzu stated, "I bet the prisons are connected to this so that they can watch the prisoners fight…"
A new, booming (though, it could have been the echoes in the empty room magnifying it) voice spoke, coming from the high booths. "BINGO!"
They looked up. Yunti had his sword drawn, Ielmi had a bow nocked with an arrow and ready to fire, Airi had twin kodachi out, Zeyl had something between a crossbow and a gun pointed up, and Anzu had her hand on her deck ready to draw a monster.
A tall figure wearing a cloak leapt down from the booths, and landed perfectly on the ground in a crouch, then stood up.
"Who are you…a guard?" Anzu asked.
"Don't compare me with those lowlifes," came the reply.
"That sounds like a woman's voice," Yunti stated.
"Okay…who are you?!" Anzu demanded, "Let us pass…!"
"Don't be so hasty," the woman smirked, "Or I may trip the alarm. It was getting a little boring with everyone fighting…and they didn't think my skills were worthy enough to go to the front lines since I can only summon low level monsters. Maybe we can have a little battle. A duel. We don't get touched, of course, but once five of a player's monsters are defeated, that person loses. Do you agree?"
"Fine," Anzu nodded.
"What are you doing? We can easily take her out!" Zeyl asked nervously.
The others of the group were nodding.
"If we try to do that," Anzu pulled her deck out, "Then she may still trip the alarm. We don't know what the alarm is…it could be a noise or a signal. The others are fighting out there very hard…three of the groups are fighting just to draw out the group so that we can get the hostages out. We can't afford to mess up."
"Well said," Ielmi smiled, "Now I know why Tenko trusted you with leading this mission."
Anzu blushed, but then recovered at a chuckle from the mysterious woman.
"Okay," the woman pulled out a deck, "Are you ready, little girl?"
"My name is Mazaki Anzu…not 'little girl'!" Anzu stated angrily, stepping into the arena with her own deck at ready.
The woman pulled off her cloak to reveal long, blond hair and lavender-blue eyes, her face obviously had make-up applied to it. There were earrings on her ears, and she was wearing some sort of skimpy, tight-fitting outfit with white and lavender colors. She looked no older then 16. "Welcome to the arena, then, Anzu Mazaki."
"She's pretty…" Yunti whispered.
Airi elbowed him.
"Ow!" Yunti pouted.
"Stop swooning over the enemy," Zeyl growled, "Let's get to one of the benches so we can see."
The four nodded, and found the steps leading to the benches, then sat in the front row.
Anzu shuffled her deck as her opponent did likewise.
Two pedestals appeared from the ground for them to put their decks on.
Anzu placed her deck on the pedestal as the woman did the same. The two drew five cards.
The woman smirked, looking up, "What's the first letter of the bottom card of your deck?"
Anzu picked her deck up and looked, "It's 'L'."
The woman looked at her deck, "And I have an 'H'. I go first." She smirked, "I have to warn you…I am an excellent player. All rules apply…life points aren't necessary. So, now that we have that established…the shadow games require a set of outcomes here. I get to pick what I want to happen when I win, and you get to pick what gets to happen when you win. Got it, amateur?"
"Yea…and I'm not a rookie," Anzu glared back.
The woman chuckled, "I like that spark you have…okay. Here's my deal…if I win, I get to choose five cards from your deck and keep them…and you all have to turn around and try to get out."
"That's not fair…!" Yunti started.
"Quiet, boy," the woman glared at him, "She has no choice but to accept, since she already accepted the shadow games."
"And if she doesn't accept?!" Ielmi shouted down.
"It's an automatic loss," the woman smiled, "And I don't think you want that, now do you?"
"I'll be fine," Anzu smiled at her group, "Just believe in me, okay?"
Airi was the first to nod.
"We're behind you…you are our leader, after all," Zeyl gave a thumbs-up.
Ielmi, seeing Airi nodding, smiled, "Do your best, Anzu!"
"We're count'n on ya!" Yunti nodded.
Anzu smiled, "Thank you, everyone."
The woman rolled her eyes, "Please…who needs friends?"
Anzu turned back to the woman, "I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for my friends! The thing about friends is…if somebody falls, then everyone else is there to catch them and help them back up!"
"Hmph," the woman crossed her arms, "I'll believe it when I see it."
"You'll see it, alright!" Anzu huffed.
"And?"
"And what?" Anzu blinked.
"What do you want if you win?" the woman asked, bored.
"If I win, you let us take the prisoners," Anzu stated, "And don't try to stop our escape."
"Alright," the woman agreed, "Sounds like a fair trade. I see you don't want anyone killed, then…"
"Neither do you. You're not such a bad person," Anzu responded.
The woman huffed.
"So, let's get this duel started!" Anzu stated.
"Alright, then," the woman pulled out a coin and flipped it into the air, "Heads or tails?"
"Heads," Anzu stated.
The coin landed on heads.
"Looks like you go first, Anzu," the woman stated, picking her coin up.
"Fine with me…um…what's your name?" Anzu blinked.
The woman smiled, "You can just call me Mai."
"Okay, then, Mai! Let's Duel!" Anzu declared.
TO BE CONTINUED…
I just had to throw Mai into the mix…she does play a bit of a large role in season 2 when Yugi lost the duel to Kaiba and Mai battled Anzu to snap him out of it. And we see more of her feelings and such in season 3. I was watching some repeats on TV, and knew I had to throw her in. Since it was everyone's (except for Anzu, but she was on the run at the time) first time in the Kurayami base, I thought it'd be safe to throw her in there. Still not sure what I'm going to do with her, exactly…but I knew she had to appear.
I'll try to get the chapters out faster, since it's winding down to the final climax. Thank you for sticking with the story thus far.
::bows::
Domo arigatou gozaimasu!
^__^