TCG: Bonjour! Hello my loyal readers/reviewers!
Yugi: Bonjour? Since when do you speak French?
TCG: Since I went to 7th grade! Comment tala vous? (I don't know how to spell these…but the translation is "How are you?")
Yugi: Um…oui?
TCG: Et toi tres bien, comme ci, comme ca…mal…? (And you're very well, so-so, bad…?)
Yugi: Oui? (translation: yes? This is the funky word pronounced "we")
TCG: C'est tres bien… (He's very well…)
Yugi: What are you saying?
TCG: Tu es faim ou soif? (Are you hungry or thirsty?)
Yugi: --;;; Oui? Heck, I don't know…
TCG: Tu vuex un soda, un chocolat, ou un soda?
Yugi: Um…wait I got it! (runs and grabs a French teacher) AHA!!! (listens to what French teacher says.) Je voudrais un chocolat, sil te plait.
TCG: O.o;; Tu et faim, aussi? (Are you hungry also?)
Yugi: (listens again) Sil te plait donne moi une glace au chocolat. (Please give me chocolate ice cream. This is considered polite, and not the "give me!" associated with the American way.)
TCG: Voyons, une glace et un chocolat…ca fait 10 euros. (Let's see, ice cream and hot chocolate…that's 10 euros. Euros are French's currency.)
TCG: Grace a dien c'est vendredi! (Thank God it's Friday!)
Yugi: (listens to French teacher, and then frowns.) I give up. She's only memorized the first French book….
TCG: Poor Yugi! Oh well, it might not be Friday yet, but Grace a dien c'est time for my story! (Thank God its time for my story!)
Yugi: What does that mean anyway….and what's a euro? And why doesn't a French teacher know French?!
Teacher: Sorry. I'm fluent in Spanish.
Yugi: (Bumps head continuously on table)
TCG: Hehe…hey, at least you still get hot chocolate and ice cream, right?
Yugi: (glares)
TCG: Well, au revoir! (Good bye)
Yugi: No more French! Please!
Morning came quickly, and to Alexa, the first to awaken, it seemed as if no time had passed at all. However, she was feeling very much refreshed. She looked at the two boys sleeping on either side of her.
Yugi was much more at ease then his other self. His head tilt lazily to the side, and he breathed sort of heavily; it was enough to notice, but nothing more. What suddenly startled her was when she saw that he leaned gently on her; obviously he had fallen asleep suddenly.
On the other side of her, not leaning on her, but still close, was Yami. The Pharaoh had his arms crossed in front of him, and it seemed as if he had his eyes closed more than sleeping. The thought of him just suddenly opening his eyes seemed a little scary: that's how little it looked like he was sleeping.
Now when Yami woke up, his eyes would open, and he'd be awake, however, since Yugi was the one at this moment now waking, he took the more popular wake up routine: He stretched and yawned, and even after it all, was still a little drowsy. Yami would just be up, as if he hadn't a choice. Another reason that convinced Alexa that he just sat there with his eyes closed.
"Good morning, Yugi." Alexa whispered, not wanting to disturb Yami.
"Good morning, Alexa!" Yugi said, in a whisper, but with much more enthusiasm. "I can't get over how happy I am that your back!" He said.
"I'm just glad we all got out of that one alive: I mean, from what was given, I was certain one of us wouldn't be waking up this morning." Alexa answered.
Yugi unexpectedly gave Alexa a hug. Now, Alexa didn't know it, but he'd wanted to do that since forever, not just a good "thank you" one, but a hug with a meaning. Alexa, after realizing what was going on, happily returned the favor. Yugi didn't know this, but Alexa had wanted a good reason to hug him, too.
After a moment, Alexa picked up there bag, took out a piece of its contents, and offered Yugi some of the food. "Jerky?"
Yugi took some, and gave some to Alexa. He had grown tired of the taste of the meat in his mouth, but Alexa didn't seem to mind very much. "You like jerky, don't you?"
Alexa nodded while she finished chewing. "I love it! I could live off this stuff…"
"Well, good: because that's all the food we'll have for a while."
Yugi and Alexa looked at Yami, who had woken up and just said that to Alexa. As Alexa had thought, he had woken with out a stir.
Alexa quickly offered him some of the dried meat, and Yami accepted it.
After they'd all been eating for some time, Alexa said something completely random: "Hm…this tastes like teriyaki…" Yugi and Yami couldn't help but laugh at the statement.
Alexa looked at them. "What?"
Soon they were once again ready to get going. There load seemed a lot lighter now that Alexa wasn't part of the cargo. But before they could move on, they had to get across the river before them. Now, they weren't about to try the log that had been yesterdays adventure. But how were they to get across?
They all stared at the river, as if maybe staring would be the answer. Now, Yugi began to kick the sand around at his feet. Wait…sand that was it!
"Alexa!" Yugi said excitedly. "Use your millennium powers to heat up the sand!"
"Heat up the sand? What good would that do?" Alexa asked.
"If sand is heated up enough, it turns to glass…so if we have sand in the river and we heat it up, they'd be a bridge!"
"Good plan, Yuge, only how will we get enough sand into the river?"
Yugi thought for a moment. "Hmm…" then he got an idea. " We'll fill that log up with sand, put it across the river, then turn it into glass."
So, as strange as it seemed, they filled the log with sand (so obviously, it was a hallow log) That is, they filled it up until they realized it poured from the sides when it wasn't close to enough sand. But a quick fix to that were them making one of the sides sealed: they poured sand on the one end, and as it fell Alexa used her powers to heat it up; a glass seal. Now that Alexa was enjoying using her powers, she just "blew" the sand into the log, moved it with her powers, and then heated it up. As the sand expanded into glass, the log broke into bits and went down the river. But now they had a solid, sturdy, bridge to walk across. They crossed the river, and began on there way.
Alexa was full of energy. And who could blame her, after being stuck in the shadow realm for so long. She easily got ahead of both Yugi and Yami, who after walking for about three days were pretty bored with it. She skipped a little here, hopped a little there. But her most random moment was probably when she started singing.
"Ob li di, Ob la da! Life goes on, ah! La la la la, life goes on!" She said, then humming the words she couldn't remember. Then she repeated them again, and after a while, it got a little annoying. "Ob li di, Ob la da! Life goes on, ah! La la la la, life goes on!"
"What are you singing, Alexa?!" Yugi asked after the second repeat.
"Ob li di, Ob la da! Life goes on, Ah-ah!" She screeched as Yugi shook her to make her stop. "Oh come on!" She complained. "I'm hyper, it's not my fault. Come on, the song grows on you!" She added.
"Ob li di, Ob la da…" Yugi said flatly. "Don't get it."
"No, it's all happy-ful! Like this:" She sang the words a lot more peppy then Yugi did, but not so peppy that it sounded artificial.
"Ob li di, Ob la da…" Yugi sang low and monotone. "Actually, it is pretty catchy…" He admitted.
Yami, who had been trying to keep out of it, just sweat dropped. "Not you too!"
"Ob li di, Ob la da! Life goes on, ah! La la la la, life goes on!" The two younger ones sang.
Yami sighed and did several sweat drops and anime falls, but nothing seemed to make them shut up. "WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP IF I SANG ONE LINE????!!!!!" He yelled.
Everyone stopped, stared at each other, and blinked. Then Alexa answered. "Well, yeah…we were waiting for that!"
"I was being sarcastic!!!!" Yami corrected.
"No you weren't, Yami. I can see right through you!" Yugi said slyly. "Come on, one line won't kill you!"
"Yeah, it's not like we're in the 21st century and someone is going to video tape us and sell it on the black market for millions." Alexa said, nodding, not realizing the look both Yugi and Yami were giving her. It was a look that said. "Where the heck do you come up with this stuff?"
So, they sang it once more, the Pharaoh included. Now, although he was reluctant to sing, he even blushed to some degree, he did sing remarkably well. Not that it mattered, in the end they all ended up just laughing and having a good time with themselves. This was good, since it helped them forget about there aching feet and the distance they'd traveled, which was really far.
After awhile, night had fallen. They had long since left the rivers edge. They were now all very exhausted, now no one knew this, but now that Alexa was better, they had traveled much further then when she was in the shadow realm. Now, even if they had known this factor, they would have argued over this: Was it because Alexa didn't have to be carried any longer, or had Alexa somehow helped them to go further? Did it matter? They would have decided it didn't.
Both Yugi and Yami knew they could easily walk further, but Alexa was obviously growing tired. She did a good job hiding though, she didn't complain at all. Realizing that he wasn't going to say anything, Yugi was the one of the two men who suggested they stopped for the night.
Alexa didn't dare turn down the offer. Almost as soon as they sat down Alexa was asleep again.
"Finally…" Yugi said. "She can sleep without having to struggle to stay alive!"
"Even if she did get consumed by the shadows…" Yami added thoughtfully. "She was doing a good job fighting them off."
In the silence Yugi realized that that was probably the first nice thing that Yami had ever said about Alexa.
"No…daddy…please…why…" Alexa tossed a little in her sleep, dreaming.
Both Yugi and Yami instinctively went to shake her awake, but as soon as they touched her something weird happened. You know how it was when Shadi looked into Yugi's mind with the millennium key? Well, this was kind of the same, minus the key and stuff.
From what the two saw, Alexa was sitting on a stair case indoors, looking at a clock. It said 7 pm, and almost right on time the garage door, obviously downstairs, opened. A few minutes later, a man, came up the door. He had two large bags with him, holding what seemed to be enough clothes to last for a few days.
"Dad!" Alexa shouted, running up and hugging her father.
"I wonder if she's homesick…" Yugi thought aloud.
Alexa and her dad were nice and happy.
Suddenly, the scene changed. Alexa was in a room, probably hers, and writing in a Diary. However, her thoughts were clear as she wrote the words in there.
"Dear Diary,
Today is Wednesday, one of the few days of the week my dad comes home. I miss him, all the kids always saying "My dad this…" or "My dad that…" Kinda depressing when you think about it. Anyway, I visited Yugi in CW the other day. It was fun, I got to make Teã be covered in mud! Speaking of which, it's weird. I mean, I know Yami hates me, and although I don't know why, but I know he won't be trying any time soon to apologize. Anyway, the weird part is, I think I know why I try so hard to earn his trust. Well, since my dad doesn't come home that often, I thought maybe it's some kind of psychological need to have a father figure in my life. Or something, I mean, what do I know about psychology? It's kinda scary when you think about…I mean, if half the people I know read this, I'd be put in the "Looney" bin. Of course, that's my luck. But even if I wanted to tell Yami, I know he'd know what I am talking about, he's intelligent in that kind of way. The problem is telling him. I can't put my finger on it, but something about him just makes me so frightened. Wow, I have a lot of things against me now, don't I? Well, as they say in French, Au Revoir!"
Then there was another scene change.
"Dad, why don't you take a day off? I mean, we're going to the pool later, don't you wanna come?" Alexa asked.
"Peanut, if I had the choice I'd stay home with you every day." Her dad smiled.
Alexa smiled, but not as genuinely.
As quick as it had happened, Yugi and Yami were back to the sand dunes, looking at Alexa, once again sleeping peacefully.
Soon it was morning, and after there "breakfast" they all went off again.
Yugi and Yami were arguing through there mind link about weather they should bring the dream up. Yugi said that they should, and that Yami should apologize. Yami argued that Alexa would feel uncomfortable if she found out they'd heard that dream, and she wouldn't care out of sheer embarrassment. Surprise, surprise, Yami won the argument.
"HA HA HA!!! So I see you fools have decided to lose you'll souls to me, eh?" A voice echoed from the distance.
"Bakura!" The three shouted in unison.
"So, you've managed to get your little girlfriends soul back, and you're still not satisfied I see…" Bakura asked slyly, coming into view. "You're after the millennium puzzle, I presume?"
"Give us that puzzle back, Bakura! You know you are incapable of wielding its powers!" Yami commanded.
"Why, if I can bet it on a duel, however, I'll know very well of its power…and the Pharaohs as well!"
"If it's a duel you want, it's a duel you'll get!" Yami shot back fiercely.
"No, it's not you I want as an opponent…" Bakura answered, smiling a sly smile. "I want to duel the girl…"
"Leave her out of this! She's just recovered from the shadow realm thanks to you!" Yugi added.
"Silence, fool!" Bakura warned, his millennium ring flashing brightly.
Yugi could have sworn he'd been sent to the shadow realm, but he wasn't. He was alright….for now.
"Now, girl, duel me! You're very souls and hope for survival depends on it!"
"I have a name you know! I'm Alexa! And of course I'll duel you! I want revenge!" Alexa shouted.
"But Alexa, are you sure you can beat him?" Yami asked.
"I know I can…" Alexa said bravely.
"We're here for you, Alexa." Yugi assured her.
"Mm!" Alexa agreed.
"Well then, since we've gotten that taken care of, why don't we go to the dueling site?" Bakura asked.
The same thought struck both Alexa and Yugi: Where was a dueling site?
He he he, those fools! What they don't realize is that they can't win, and there losing I'll gain the monopoly, I'll have the source of Alexa's powers, and the millennium puzzle! And even if she does win, it doesn't matter. I have an "alternate ending" that she's sure to lose at!
Soon, they were at the dueling site. It was obvious what it was, not that it looked a thing like a duel arena. It had a total of thirty-two large rectangular stone tablets, each duelist having 16 on there side. There was five in front, five behind them, and finally six behind them. A large box like thing was front and center of either side, where the duelers stood. There was also a medium box near on the right, and a small rectangular slate on the left, of both players.
Bakura climbed up on his side, and Alexa did the same. Alexa was nervous, she knew everything would be rigged against her, but she had no idea of what to do. So, she stood tall, (a total of 4' 11''), and waited to see what Bakura did.
"Now, Alexa, you'll see that much is required for duels. Much can be gained, but so much more can be lost…" Bakura toyed with her.
He's just playing with my thoughts. I have to stay focused. Alexa thought.
"Now, fool, put your ج 5;ع1 into the ا 4;س 6;د2 " He stated.
Alexa was already confused. What did he mean? But as she watched Bakura, she understood.
His millennium ring began to glow, and a stream of light hit the box that lay at the right of him. Soon, a bunch of duel monsters showed up all over the box.
Alexa, not wanting to look stupid, quickly did the same. It took all she took to remember her deck, but she did it. Soon her box was covered in duel monsters as well.
As soon as they were both finished, the area around them darkened. Everything was gone, except the field, the duelists, and Yugi and Yami. It was the shadow realm! But Bakura hadn't done anything, so how had it happened?
"It's alright Alexa! These duels always take place in the shadow realm, so you have to remain calm!" Yami shouted back to the panicking Alexa.
The sudden return to where she had just came back from put her on a verge of tears, but Alexa refused to show any fear. The small, thin slate to the left of both Bakura and Alexa also glowed, and had some strange symbols on them, hieroglyphs.
"Alright, Bakura, if I win this match, you'll give the Pharaoh back the millennium puzzle that you stole from them! Agreed?"
"Agreed. But of course, if you lose, you'll lose your soul, permanently!" Bakura cackled.
Eh, what else is new? Lose a match, lose you'll soul…seems pretty common with all this Egypt stuff…but still, what do those symbols on that slate mean? Alexa thought.
Hehehe…that mortal fool! She has no knowledge of this way of dueling. The game may be common sense to her, but I'm sensing that for some reason this is all new. And little does she know the surprises I have in store! And, just to make sure I can't lose, I have an alternate plan if she somehow wins by some fluke… Bakura thought.
"Let's dual!"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Life points: 4000
Field advantage: Bakura
Stakes: Millennium Puzzle, Alexa's soul
The stones directly in front of the two duelists suddenly stood up vertically. Some images appeared, with hieroglyphs on the bottom half, as well as some combination of dashes and the ancient writing in the lower right corner.
Hey, wait a minute…those images! There in my deck! Oh, I get it! This is my hand, but I'll be at a disadvantage if I can't decipher those hieroglyphs!
"Well, since you'll need all the help you can get, I guess I'll lend you the أ 8; 4;3" Bakura added.
"I hope that means I'm going first…because this first move is mine!" Alexa answered. As she said it, a sixth "card" appeared on the last tablet.
"First, I'll put one ca- er, magic facedown on the field." Alexa said, holding her hand out over the tablets, making the "Trap hole" she had in her hand transfer to the second closest row on the field, giving that tablet a rather interesting shade of brown, symbolizing that there was a magic there. "Next, I'll summon one monster face down in defense mode!" Alexa said, getting the hang of it. "That ends my turn."
"Ah, taken a secretive approach I assume. Better for me! I activate the magic summon, Ookazi! For the price of 500 of my ا 4;حياة4 I can do 1000 damage to you!" Bakura laughed.
A flaming fireball came from the sky, and struck Alexa head on. The force promptly knocked her off of the stage she'd been standing on. As she fell to the ground, she noticed the symbols on the slate seem to shift, but even so, it was a struggle to get up again.
How could one attack hurt me so much? If that's the case, this'll be a lot harder than I thought!
She stood up, and leapt back onto the podium.
"Heh, that's a nice Wabaku you have in your hand, as well as your Malevolent Nuzzler…" Bakura said, looking at Alexa's hand, reading off her cards.
"Wha…how did you…uh-oh." Alexa managed, still in a state of confusion.
"Alexa, your cards! You can see them from the front!" Yugi said.
Alexa spared no time using her millennium powers to fix that, but now she had to physically do it, whereas in the beginning it would do so automatically. What was the deal?
I've got to do something, quick! Or I may not be able to do anything at all!
Okay, the Arabic text has been added in. I tried to figure out how to put it into English letters, but I couldn't figure it out. So anyway, here are the translations from a website I got. Note: These translations were done via machine, and since I have no way of knowing, they may not be correct.
1. Collection. Bakura's referring to Alexa's deck.
2. Holder. Meaning is self explanatory.
3. Initial. This is meaning the first move.
4. Life. Referring to his life points.
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! I worked pretty hard trying to find something to make the words in English, but it could not be done. Please review! I spent at least 3 attempts (meaning different sessions online…) trying to figure it out! Please don't let my useless work go to any more waste then it has!
Oh yeah, how did you like the French ness? Unlike the Arabic, that is real life French. Maybe not spelt correctly, but French non-the less! It took me 2 runs up and down 2 flights of stairs to get all the words, so tell me if you liked that or not!
Now, for what you all so eagerly want to hear, and what I so desperately want! Replies to the reviews I've received for last chapter!
DevilDo1169: Hehe…Yugi hasn't noticed yet. He was too busy this chapter keeping up with my French. (Holds up a brownie that was given to TCG to share.) Merry Friday! Or Thursday…as that's what today is…have a happy Thanksgiving Day! Please review again!
Tayla: Hey, a new reader! Thanks, I liked that chapter too. And thanks for reviewing! It means a lot to me. Hope you can do it again. (Offers another brownie) Here you go! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Wings Of A Phoenix: Hey, thanks for the brownies! As you can see, everyone's getting one. I thought the god thing was a nice touch, too. I was going to do a whole big research thing on an Egyptian god of trickery, but I couldn't find any and I was too lazy to look. -.-;;; Thanks for the luck! I need it. Review again! Oh yeah, did you want a brownie?
Yugis Lover Girl: Thanks for the compliment! As well for drawing Alexa, that's pretty cool. I attempted drawing her, but I have no way to show it. Anyway, here's a brownie and thanks for that (and possibly another) review!
LoneWolfPrincess: Hey, Plushie or not, it's still Yami! Ok, thanks for letting me use that phrase. It tends to get into my everyday vocabulary. Don't worry, I have a "Squirrel Disaster Kit" handy, and I've warned all people I know. Here's a brownie for the review, and please review again!
SonicYugiShadow: (sighs and takes a deep breath) Ok, thanks for the review, here's a brownie….I WILL NOT BE ADDING SONIC TO THIS FICTION!!!! I DIDN'T, AM NOT, AND NEVER WILL ADD SONIC!!!! (sigh of relief) Please review again!
Woot! 6 reviews! Go me! :p