Daricio: All right! New chapter of Where's Yugi!!!!
Roo: *monotone* Yay....
Bakura: ^_^ This should be fun.
Roo: -_- No it won't. I was reading in her little notebook that she uses to write down ideas for this story while she's at school. She has the entire rest of the story planned out in here, and in this chapter, you and I-
Daricio: *duct tape* No giving the story away, Grab Rauber! I thought I warned you about that LAST chapter...
Roo: -_-U
Malik: ^^ Ha ha, Roo got duct taped. Again.
Roo: *muffled* Don't call me that.
Malik: ^^
Bakura: Let me see that notebook...
Malik: Yeah, me too... Maybe she has the ending of Millennium Magic in there somewhere...
Roo: *Hands it over*
Bakura: *realizes that Daricio started writing this notebook while she was typing the chapter with Radley totruring him with the past* -_-' *skips that part*... ^_^ *opens to the page where Daricio has scribbled notes for this chappie*
Daricio: ^_^U Anyways, just a few notes before we begin...
First off, this is the chappie where things start to get interesting... It starts to veer off from Battle City just a tad bit more... Also, this chappie is going to be rather short, as I'm going to end it right before the finals start... You all saw how short my last chappie was, and that was almost a whole day there... This might be a tad longer than last chappie, but not much longer...
Next, in this chappie, is the overusation of the word "Grin." ... Do me a favor. Ignore it. ^.^ I'm braindead, be thankful I'm writing at all.
Also, I know I said I dislike the name Slifer the Sky dragon, and that Winged Dragon, God of Osirus was a better name, but I'm gunna use the name Slifer, just 'acause if I don't I'll end up forgetting to not use it. ^^' Been watching the dub too long. ^^'
Aaand, one last thing. I got somewhat annoyed with trying to figure out what Marik was going to say, because again, this is a bunch of episodes that got recorded over, so I basically just totally made up everything he and almost everyone else is saying here. It may have some tendancies to go into what they actually do say, but mostly it's just me making it up as I go... ^^'
Bakura: *reading notebook* o.O I'm gunna have WHAT happen to me?? And I'm gunna do WHAT in the last chapter?!
Roo: Now you know how I feel...
Bakura: ...??...Ado-
Daricio: *AHEM* Stop giving away the story to the readers.
Bakura: ^_^'
Daricio: All right, ANYWAYS, with all that out of the way, on to the ficcie!
Malik: ^^
Bakura: ^_^
Roo: -_-
***************************************************************
{Daricio}
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The alarm was going off....
Daricio didn't care. She reached up and hit the snooze button, then rolled over. Sleeeeep...
//Oh, that's how you do that.// Yami said suddenly.
Daricio jumped, then blinked. //Yami, what are you doing in here?// she asked.
//Trying to figure out how in the world you manage to sleep through that thing almost every morning...// He answered good naturedly.
Daricio rolled her eyes and lay back down, trying to go back to sleep.
//Uh, Daricio? Shouldn't you get up?//
//No, it's too early.//
//Then why did you set your alarm to this time?//
//To allow snoozing time. See, I already know that I'm inevitably going to hit the snooze button at least twice before I actually get up, so I set my alarm earlier than the time that I want to get up at.// She explained. //But now, I'm obviously not going to be able to get back to sleep, so I might as well get up.//
Yami grinned at her as she did so.
//And it's not funny. You woke me up.//
He just continued to grin and went silently back into Yugi's soul room.
Daricio sighed, then actually bothered to look at the time. She blinked. 7:30????
"Whoa, I am WAY late... What happened?" She muttered to herself. She hurriedly put her shoes on and ran down the stairs as fast as she could go without falling down them. She rounded the downstairs corner, almost tripped over the cat, instead jumped over the cat, and then quickly came to a halt in the entryway of the dark, empty livingroom.
//Wait... Dark and empty? Where is everyone?// Daricio wondered. Then she remembered. It was Wednesday.
Every Wednesday, her school had a one hour late start. Meaning that ofter the route, they could go back to bed for an hour before school started...
Daricio went over and checked the log book for the route. Just as she thought, DVD had done her part for her that morning...
She sighed. //All right... So I've got a bit of time before I have to be at school...//
She used this time to grab a bowl and pour herself some cereal.
"Morning, Daricio."
//Morning, Daricio.//
Yugi and DVD said this both at the exact same time, and Daricio grinned. "Hey DVD."
//So, Yami wake you up, too?// She asked.
//Yyyyyyup...//
//He's obviously very excited about the tournament... He's been getting up early for about.. how long, a couple days now?//
//Something like that.// Yugi agreed, returning to his own soul room just enough so that he could get himself his own breakfast.
"So, what's up in your world, Daricio?" DVD asked after what he took as a moment of silence. He grabbed his own bowl and started towards the table.
"MY world?"
"Yeah. You spend more time talking with your Yu-Gi-Oh friends than you do talking to some of your real friends... You know, like the ones at schoooool?" DVD said slowly. He sat down and began to eat.
Daricio waved him off. "Yeah, yeah... So what if I do? The people at school are all twits... My friends in the Real World are the only people who really understand me."
DVD grinned. "Yeah, yeah." he said, mimiking her. "You didn't answer my question. What's up over there with Yugi and them?"
Daricio shrugged. "Nothing yet today... Not too many people have woken up to start dueling, yet. Yugi's getting breakfast, same as us..."
DVD nodded. "Think Marik's gunna come back today?"
"Duh. Finals are tonight, and there's no way he's gunna let an entire day go by without showing up."
"Guess you're right. Hey, you missed yesterday's episode helping Yugi out with that Arkana freak. Wanna watch it now? I mean, we can because of late start."
Daricio grinned. "Good idea. What's it of?"
"Oh, it basically showed up till about the end of the duel with that first Rare hunter duel... The commercials said that today it would show Joey's duel against that Espa Roba guy, along with the first bit of what they're calling the Master of Magicians duel." DVD grinned too.
Daricio considered that. "Master of Magicians... It fits..."
"Yup." DVD popped in the tape that it had been recorded on.
Quickly fastforwarding through the commercials, he stopped at the beginning of the theme song.
"And we have a new theme song finally, too!" He commented. "Battle City themed. Don't ask where they get some of these pictures, though..."
Daricio shrugged. "Whatever. Let's watch!"
//I'm watching too. Might as well see just how that Rare Hunter was cheating...// Yami put in.
Daricio nodded slightly.
//Hey, Daricio?// Yugi asked as the theme song continued.
//What?//
//Didn't you say something yesterday about having a better fashion sense than me?// Yugi smirked. //So, what did you finally decide to wear?//
//If you'll remember, I was a bit rushed going out the door.// Daricio said, closing her eyes. This raised complaints from Yami, so she let him take over while she talked with Yugi.
"So what are you wearing?" Yugi asked again.
"Just this." Daricio said, showing him her black shirt and jeans. "Nothing special, just my..."
Yugi blinked, then grinned. "Daricio, why are you wearing a Seto Kaiba shirt with a Blue Eyes on it?"
Daricio shrugged. "Would you have preferred I got a random Yami t-shirt in which he's half deformed and striking a strange pose, like some of them do?"
Yugi blinked. "Noooo..."
Daricio grinned again. "Well, they didn't have any Yugi ones, only the deformed Yami ones. This one was at least half decent, so I got it.."
"Uh huh... and none with Joey, Tea, or Bakura on them?'
"Nope... Well, some of Joey, but he's usually standing next to a deformed Yami..."
Yugi snickered. "I see."
There was silence as the theme song ended and the two of them sat and watched the show.
When it was over, Daricio glanced up at the clock. "I'd better get ready for school. And you two better get outside so you can start dueling people."
Yugi and Yami both nodded and returned to Yugi's soul room.
DVD smiled as he shut off the television. "I wonder what's going to happen today..."
"I know what'll happen." Jrj said suddenly, coming into the room. He had been standing in the doorway, watching the show with us. "Yami will win the duel versus Arkana, and then Marik's gunna do some blabbing about random junk, then they'll wander around for a while trying to find somebody else to duel. It's what always happens..."
Daricio grinned at the irony of the fact that this was, indeed, what had happened. "And what if Yami loses?" She asked him, just for the sake of trying to act like she didn't already know.
"He won't. Yami never loses. It's part of the show." Jrj said confidently.
Daricio shook her head, then turned to DVD. "Should we tell him?"
"Might as well. He'd have figured it out eventually..." DVD said, shrugging.
Jrj cocked his head to one side questioningly. "Figured what out?"
//Hey, Yami. You dueling anyone yet?//
//No, there still doesn't seem to be anybody awake yet...//
//Good. Come over here a moment...//
"Daricio?" Jrj looked puzzled at her sudden blank look.
She blinked. "Jrj, I'd like you to meet somebody."
Jrj looked around. "Right now?"
She nodded. "Yup. His name... Is Yami."
Yami chose that moment to come out in a temporary physical form standing next to Daricio. "Hello." He said to Jrj.
Jrj blinked. "Yami? Whoa..." He grinned. "This is beyond cool."
***********************************************************************
{Strings}
I stood there, my hands up in the air like a mime. I was hiding. He would never find me. In plain sight, and He would never find me.
No matter what, I could not move a muscle. If I did, it would destroy the hiding place I had found. He would find me again.
He would hurt me. He would yell at me for hiding from him. He would hurt me and yell at me even if I didn't do anything. His own personal punching bag when his plans went wrong.
//Keep your mind off that, Strings.// I thought to myself. //Even a single misdirected thought could summon him...//
My eyes moved slowly around me, carefully checking my surroundings to make sure He hadn't heard my sudden thoughts. To make sure He hadn't found me.
He hadn't. He was nowhere in sight. Only a few random people walking about the park.
I let out a slow breath in relief.
He could hear me when I thought. He could hear when I was thinking incorrectly. I know he can.
Because he never spoke to me to my face. Only to my mind. He laughed at me when I ran away. Because he can hear where I am, by listening to my thoughts.
So now I don't run. Running is bad. Running brings punishment.
Now I simply hide. Because now he can't see me. He can't hear me. If I don't think, if I don't move, He cannot know where I am. He cannot find me.
He's not here now, and He won't be for a long time. Peace washes over me at this thought.
Involuntarily, one arm sinks about a centimeter. Quickly I jerk it back up into position. Stupid arm...
//It's time, my mind slave.// Suddenly, He spoke. //Let us go destroy that so-called pharaoh!//
I shuddered, refusing to move. He found me. I don't know how, but He found me! //Go away, go away, go away, go away...// I chanted to myself.
He mentally rolled his eyes, and I felt him take direct control.
//NO!//
I pulled a duel disk onto my arm, locked it securely into Battle Position, tensed up, and lept off the park bench, scaring a few of the nearby people out of their minds. I ran.
"Was it something I said?" I heard one of them ask as I ran off. Funny, they took the words right out of my mouth... er... Mind...
//GO AWAY!!!//
//Oh, shut up and duel.//
************************************************************************
{Yami: Later}
This was a tough spot. An Egyptian God Card on his opponant's field, and no way to get out any powerful monsters, or to reduce the amount of cards in his opponant's hand. Even if he did do both of these, there was still that Revival Jam...
Wait... That was it!
"I activate Monster Reborn, bringing back Buster Blader to the field!"
The strange rare hunter, under the control of Marik, just laughed at this. "You've forgotten Slifer the Sky Dragon's special ability, haven't you? Instant attack!"
Yami just watched in silence as the attack came closer, not quite wiping out his newly summoned monster, but just nearly doing so.
"Buster Blader! Attack Slifer, now!" He commanded.
Marik laughed again. "You fool! If that attack went through, you would be finished right now. As it is... Revival Jam! Take the hit!"
Buster Blader went forward and sliced at the Jam, scattering it into several pieces that floated around for a while. It was about to come back together. Yami acted quickly.
"Activate the magic card: Brain Control!"
"You cannot control the power of an Egyptian God monster using simple Magic and Trap cards! They won't work!" Marik laughed. "You're more foolish than I thought!"
Yami smirked. "Who says I was after your dragon, Marik?"
"What? What else could you be getting at?" He looked over the field. "The only other monster I have is my Revival Jam..."
"Exactly." Yami said triumphantly. "And because it's just now forming, it appears on my side of the field, meaning Slifer's special ability is activated. Revival Jam is destroyed, and then it reforms, still under my control. You draw, because of your card."
Marik's eyes widened. "No! It's an endless cycle! Each time Slifer attacks, Revival Jam just keeps coming back, and I draw more cards. Slifer gets stronger, but it's totally useless, because he has to attack the Revival Jam again! Attack, reform, draw! Attack, reform, draw! Until..." The blank faced rare hunter attempted to draw more cards, but there were none left for him to draw. "No!"
"You're out of cards, Marik. That means I win." Yami smirked.
"Yeah!" Mokuba cheered for Yami for a moment before getting silenced by a look from his brother. It didn't matter, though, as Yugi and Daricio kept up the cheering from inside his mind. The holograms of the monsters faded away.
Marik fell to his knees, his face going completely blank as he contemplated his loss. His hand, which consisted of his entire deck at the moment, dropped out of his hands and onto the pavement below him, scattering everywhere.
Yami sighed to himself, and watched as Mokuba carefully picked his way down the slope and headed over to where the Rare Hunter was kneeling. He spread the cards out on the ground until he found the Egyptian God Card.
"Wow... The second Egyptian God Card." He murmured. "I wish Seto could have this..." He looked up at Yami. "But this is rightfully yours, according to Battle City rules."
Yami walked over to Mokuba's side and took the card that he was now holding out to him. He looked at it slowly. "I must be very careful with this..."
Marik chose that moment to quickly stand up again, glaring at the former pharaoh. The rare hunter's normally blank face was filled with anger. "You may have won against my rare hunter once again, Pharaoh, but you won't win once you know what's truly at stake here."
Mokuba backed away, his eyes wide. "Whoa... Hey, mister, it's only a game..."
Marik turned his fury on the youngster. "Shut up, you. You don't know who you're dealing with." He turned back to Yami. "And neither do you."
Yami narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about, Marik?"
Marik laughed. "I'm talking about the fact that I'm superior to you, Yami. I can see all! I see a puzzle that should have been mine! I see a defenseless city, waiting to be destroyed. And everywhere, I see potential mind-slaves! Who do you think I will take next? Tea? Joey maybe?"
"You keep away from my friends!" Yami shouted.
"Ooh, looks like I've found your weak point." Marik laughed yet again. "A weak point in your friends. Well, maybe I should take over them, then, just to... raise the stakes a bit."
Yami growled. "You wouldn't dare."
"I would, and I will." Marik returned. " And just like last time, Yami, we will meet again. And this time, I WILL defeat you!"
The rare hunter collapsed onto his face.
"No! Marik!" Yami felt a strange urge to kick the inert Rare Hunter, but resisted, knowing it wouldn't really accomplish anything. He growled to himself. "I've got to find Joey and the others and warn them!"
He turned and began to run.
"Yugi, wait!" Kaiba called out.
Yami stopped.
"I challange you to a duel, Yugi." Kaiba announced.
"Kaiba..." Yami said without turning around, closing his eyes in slight annoyance. "Finding my friends is a bit more important at the moment." He began running again.
//I've got to find them, before it's too late!// he thought to himself.
Kaiba sniffed indignantly. "It's against Battle City rules to decline a challenge." He stated to nobody in particular, even though he himself hadn't gone by this rule when challenged by Joey earlier. He followed Yami.
********************************************************************
{Mr. Gice}
Mr. Gice watched as the results from his just recently returned camera streamed into his main computer.
The moment it had entered the Freaky World, it had automatically targeted a random person and had immedietly begun recording, giving Mr. Gice information on that person.
Height, weight, gender, and other physical things were the easy parts. The subject was a girl, and she was about 4'9, and about 105 lbs.
She had one sister, and two brothers. Parents normal. Very interested in a TV Show called Yu-Gi-Oh, which actually had his old friend Seto Kaiba in it, just as he had thought it would.
He still hadn't quite mastered all the controls, so he wasn't sure how the FWC's were able to get inside people's minds yet, but he was sure he'd figure it out eventually...
All he needed was a little bit more time...
For now, though, he could publicly display his findings. Finally, his colleges would see that he wasn't crazy, that another world really DID exist!
He already had a TV brodcasting channel that had agreed to let him talk for a while on the air. Now all he needed was to actually go and do it.
Once the information was all done loading, he grabbed his stuff and headed out the door.
****************************************************************************
{Yami again}
Yami slammed the telephone down in frustration and came out of the phone booth, coming to stand next to Kaiba, who was waiting for him.
"No answer?" Kaiba asked lazily, almost as if he had been half-expecting this to happen.
"None." Yami said worriedly. "Any other suggestions, Kaiba?"
"Possibly. There are a few places I can think of that this Marik guy might want to go, so we can check some of those places out." Kaiba turned and began walking down the street. Yami followed, still looking worried, but glad that Kaiba was at least attempting to help.
They hadn't gone far, when something in a shop window cauht Yami's attention. It was a television screen. On the TV, a man was talking, although Yami couldn't quite hear what was being said, and in the corner was a panel that said FWC. The strip on the bottom informed him that the man speaking was Mr. Thomas Gice, FWC Specialist.
Yami stopped and leaned in closer to listen. Kaiba didn't really have any particular idea where Joey, Tea, and Tristan were, and although at least trying to look for them would help, anything he could learn about FWC's was useful.
"...managed to send in my own version of the FWC into the Freaky World itself to randomly select a target and record information on them." Mr. Gice was saying.
Kaiba walked back over. "What are you looking at?" he asked. Then he saw who was on the screen and rolled his eyes. "Oh. Him."
"You know him?" Yami asked, looking up.
"Met him once breifly." Kaiba said, snorting a little in disgust. "Nutcase extrordinaire. Come on, let's go." He walked off again.
Yami was about to do so as well, but he glanced down at the screen where Mr. Gice was now showing his results. Yami's eyes opened wide. On the screen, there was a front view, side view, and a back view computer generated picture of the subject walking.
It was Daricio.
"Come on!" Kaiba snapped from up ahead. "We don't have all day, and whatever that idiot Gice had to say over there, it's not anything important!"
Yami hurried on, lost deep in thought. What was going on?
***********************************************************************
{Radley}
Bakura paced slowly across his soul room, looking down at a small clip board that he held in his hands. His yami sat silently on the bed watching him as he paced, and looking rather bored.
"Ok..." Bakura said after a while. "we've completed reinforcing the link, doing some reaserch, and every other preperation I could think of,-"
"Which was slightly stupid, but whatever. I'll deal with it, I suppose."
Bakura ignored him and continued. "We even went to go see that Egyptian Exhibit down at the museum to see if they had any more clues as to where the other items may be."
Radley nodded. "And to check out the energe signal I sensed from there."
"Right. But anyway, now we're ready to go."
Radley stood and stretched. "Finally. So, what are we waiting for?"
He suddenly vanished from the soul room, apparently taking a temporary physical form. Bakura sighed and took control of his body, then quickly went down the stairs of his house, following after his yami and trying not to get left behind.
As it was, it was fairly simple to catch up to the spirit, because he stopped and waited for him at the front door, which was something he usually didn't do.
Bakura smiled and walked outside. "You just waited up for me because you have no idea where we're going, right?" he said, making a joke.
Radley simply shrugged and followed him, closing the door behind him.
After the two of them had gone a few blocks or so, Radley looked around them. "So..." He said slowly. "Where ARE we going, anyway?"
Bakura chuckled. "We're headed in the general direction of Domino Pier, keeping mostly to the back alleys."
"Ah... Why? Because of those rare hunters we overheard yesterday talking about some Marik guy?"
Bakura nodded. "Yes, that's exactly why. I got on the internet last night and did a google search for him, and for the Millennium Items. There were several things talking about a certain Marik Ishtar who holds a mysterious item that is called the Millennium Rod. It has the power to mind control people."
Radley nodded slowly, thinking this over. He began to grin. "If we had internet back in Ancient Egypt, my job would have been so much easier." He commented. He looked at Bakura. "And then, you'd make a pretty good theif yourself."
"I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not, but thanks." Bakura said somewhat dryly. "Now lets go. Use the Ring to track down the Millennium Rod so we can try and intercept him in one of the alleyways."
Radley nodded. "Right." He closed his eyes and disappeared into the ring, taking control of Bakura's body so that he could use the Ring's powers more efficiently without having to consentrate on keeping up his physical form.
//You could have asked, you know.// Bakura said somewhat grumpily. //What if I wanted to be the one to actually track him down?//
//Sorry.// Radley said, rolling his eyes and activating the Ring. //I just figured it'd go faster this way, since I'm more adapt at using the Ring's tracking powers.//
Radley began to follow the Ring's pointers.
//And what's that supposed to mean?//
//What do you mean, what's it supposed to mean? You just let the thing drag you around whenever you try to use it, that's what I mean!//
Bakura grumbled slightly, but made no further comment.
The two travelled for a while before coming to a sudden stop in an alleyway. It wasn't all that different from any of the other alleys, and Bakura wasn't sure quite why his yami had decided to stop in that particular spot, but then his question was answered.
A motercycle came racing around a corner up ahead and began heading toward them. The pointers on the Ring gave a small push forward to indicate that this was who they were searching for, then lay flat against Radley's chest.
The motercycle loomed closer until at the last second, it pulled to the side of the alleyway and came to a halt. The rider, a teen who couldn't have been more than a year onlder than Bakura, took off his helmet, hopped off the bike, and glared at Radley. "You're in my way." he announced somewhat needlessly.
Radley just smirked. "I'm aware of that. You have something that I'm looking for."
"And what would that be?"
"Your Millennium Item. If you don't hand it over right away, I'll have to take it away by force, as I have done with many others in the past."
Marik seemed unfazed by the threat, but Bakura sounded annoyed.
//Radley, be nice.//
//Quiet, and let me do this. I won't hurt anyone unless I need to.//
"My name is Marik." Marik said, looking the tomb robber up and down. He said this as if Radley, knowing his name, would think twice about trying to steal from him.
"I don't care." Radley said, countering this assumption completely.
Now it was Marik who sounded and looked annoyed. "And," he continued. "I can make a deal with you. Can you duel?"
Radley turned sideways to the motercyclist, showing that he wasn't scared of him. "I'm an expert." he said somewhat pridefully. "I've beaten master duelists, sometimes even playing games in the Shadow Realm."
He turned back to face Marik. "Surprised?"
"Not really."
It was obvious to see that the two were trying to impress each other, and it was just as obvious that neither was about to allow himself to be intimidated.
//Radley, you should quit showing off and just ask him outright what he wants.// Bakura said, sounding a little impatient, annoyed, and slightly nervous all at the same time.
Radley rolled his eyes. "Now, what is this deal of yours?" he asked Marik, sounding only half interested in the whole thing, as if there was no way he'd agree, but that he might as well hear it anyway. This, Radley knew, was the only way to get the better end of a deal.
"You join up with me and win me the Egyptian God Cards from certain individuals that are in Battle City, and I'll give you the Millennium Rod." He held it up and began looking it over, pretending to ignore Radley. "It's of no use to me anyway."
"Why should I accept a deal like that when I can simply take it from you myself?" Radley asked, still sounding bored.
//Radley!//
//I said quiet!// He was having enough trouble trying to consentrate on his conversation with Marik, much less having to put up with goody-goody remarks from his Hikari every two seconds. Bakura was beginning to bug him. More than usual, that is.
"You'll accept because I also know the location of yet another Millennium Item, the Millennium Necklace belonging to my sister, and I will also give you that."
Radley smirked. Now he was getting somewhere. Two Millennium Items at one time. Just enough he'd need to get away from his stupid host and get the rest of the items without the annoying too-innocent voice in his head. "I think we can make a deal..."
//Radley, what a moment. This is obviously a trap. You can't just stop and make deals with every random person we come across, especially not ones that have as many cronies as this guy has! Besides, you need to discuss things with me before deciding stuff anyway!// Bakrua said with concern.
Radley broke off the mind link instead of answering. Marik was starting to outline some of his plans, and he needed to pay attention.
"Fine. First thing I need you to do is to help me get my victim's friends to think that I am also a friend, so that I can get closer to him." Marik said.
"I see. Who's your victim, and what do you plan to have me do about it?" Radley asked.
"Victim is Yugi Moto."
It was all Radley could do to keep from laughing. No wonder the punk thought he needed help. The only person that kid couldn't beat was him!
"My Hikari is a friend of his, and I've met him several times."
"Excellent. Who and where is this "Light" of yours?"
//Nice going, Radley.// Bakura said sarcastically, opening the mind link again.
//I did that on purpose, Ryou.// With that, Radley shoved him into control of the body, while he himself stepped out into a temporary physical form. Bakura, not expecting the sudden gainage of the use of his legs, stumbled forward, and ended up on his hands and knees on the ground.
"This is my light." Radley said, gesturing to Bakura.
Marik looked only slightly startled at the appearance, but then grinned. "Perfect." he turned to face Radley again. "I believe you've figured out what it is I'm needed to have done in order to get close to Yugi's friends by now, right?"
"Indeed." Radley flipped out his pocket knife. Bakura stared at him.
//You wouldn't...// Bakura said shakily across the mind link.
//Would, and am going to.// he returned.
Marik and Radley both advanced on Bakura. Two seconds later, screams of pain rang out.
*********************************************************************
{Daricio}
//This is both beyond weird and beyond cool at the same time.// Daricio said, referring to the fact that Yami d Kaiba were working together and actually winning.
//You said it.// Yugi said, watching as Kaiba began shouting.
"Obelisk, attack! Fist of Fate!" Kaiba commanded. The huge God Monster did so, completely wiping out one of the two rare hunters' life points.
"Umbra! Are you ok?" The shorter one called out. Before he could answer, Kaiba did so for him.
"Physically, he's fine. It's his life points you need to be worrying about, though."
Both rare hunters figured out what he was indicating and began to panic, watching as Umbra's life point count went down to zero. When it did so, the glass beneath him shattered, and he fell with a startled cry.
"Umbra! Come back!" Lumas whined. He dropped to his hands and knees, peering down towards his friend. "Umbra..." He fell silent.
Yami stepped up to him. "Where are my friends being held?"
Lumas slowly stood and looked up on the two, a smirk on his face. His eyes were blank.
"Marik." Yami growled. Daricio scowled.
//Figures he'd show up now that the duel's over.// she said. Yugi nodded.
"You'll see your friends soon enough, pharaoh, but I don't think they'll be as glad to see you as you are to see them." Marik said, his voice blending with the rare hunter's already strange accent to form something that sounded freaky.
Kaiba strode forward and took the small rare hunter by the collar, lifting him up to face level. "Where's my little brother?" he asked, sounding very dangerous.
Marik just laughed softly.
"I don't think he's going to tell us anything, Kaiba." Yami observed.
"Very perceptive." Marik grinned.
Kaiba dropped him, disgusted. He really shouldn't be one to be calling anybody crazy, but it was obvious to Daricio at least that this was what the CEO was thinking.
A low rumbling sound pierced the air, and Marik laughed again, turning to Yami. "Looks like once again it's time for me to go. I'll see you soon. Depend on it."
Lumas dropped to the floor.
Yami frowned. "He's gone."
Kaiba growled in frustration, muttering under his breath as he tried to figure out where the rumbling sound was coming from. His question was answered when a helicopter suddenly flew upwards into view from below them.
Yami blinked. "Isn't that one of your helicopters, Kaiba?"
Kaiba nodded and stepped forward to investigate. As he did so, the side door opened and Mokuba hopped out. "Big Brother!"
"Mokuba!" Kaiba ran forward and gave his brother a hug. "What happened?"
"A bunch of those goons snuck up on me and kidnapped me. They locked me in this warehouse with Tea. She helped me get out, but they caught her before she was able to get away as well."
"What about Joey and Tristan?" Yami asked.
Mokuba shook his head. "I don't know, I didn't see them. Maybe if I lead you guys to the warehouse where Tea's at, we can find them."
Kaiba nodded. "It appears your friend helped my little brother. For this, I'll help you find your friends, Yugi. But that's the ONLY reason I'm helping you. Now come on, get in."
He and Mokuba climbed into the copter.
Once again, Yami was about to follow them, when he heard a voice behind him.
"Pharaoh... Yami..."
He turned around to see the rare hunter struggling to raise his head, having managed to maintain control of his body for a few seconds before going to the Shadow Realm, Yami guessed.
He knelt down next to him. "What?"
"I'm sorry... Marik's Horrid.... I should have seen that from the beginning... Umbra and I... Tell Daricio.... Be careful.... She's in as much danger as Joey and Tea are..." The rare hunter collapsed again.
Yami's eyes widened. How was it that so many people knew about her???
Even if Marik had somehow managed to see that program as well, there was no way he'd have been able to know that he was friends with her!
"Yugi, hurry up or we won't take you after all!"
Yami stood and ran to the copter.
//This is definitely very strange.// Daricio commented nervously.
********************************************************************
X-x Done with that chapter....
And before B/k kills me, *bows* GOMEN NASAI FOR BEING MEAN TO BAKURA!!!
^^
Bakura: .... I didn't like that chapter so much...
Roo: I can see why...
Malik: I didn't like it either... Daricio made me too sarcastic, competetive, and stupid sounding. Repetetive, too. "we shall meet again, pharaoh." then later, "We shall meet again, pharaoh!" *rolls eyes* Yeesh!
Roo: .... Well, that IS what you did, tomb keeper.
Malik: V_V Shut up, Grab Rauber...
Bakura: What does that MEAN, anyway?
Malik: -_- Spending too much time around Daricio... Sorry, Bakura, that was German for Tomb Robber.
Bakura: Ah, I see. ^^;
Roo: -_-
Daricio: ^^' ANYWAYS... I was going to have this chapter include the Yugi/Joey duel, but it took all my strength just to get in the bits that I do have in there! I now have writer's block, writer's cramp, and writer's everything else! Although, that is including compliments! I was talking to some people in my english class, and they said that it was cool the way I could write!
Malik: Uh huh....
Daricio: ^__^
Roo: *inches away* Too much sugar...
Malik: *nods*
Bakura: ^^' Well, seeing as if these three keep going at it like this, the chapter will never end, I'll go ahead and say it. Hope you enjoyed the chappie! Review! See you next time!
All: *turn and wave goodbye, then return to what they were doing*
Roo: *monotone* Yay....
Bakura: ^_^ This should be fun.
Roo: -_- No it won't. I was reading in her little notebook that she uses to write down ideas for this story while she's at school. She has the entire rest of the story planned out in here, and in this chapter, you and I-
Daricio: *duct tape* No giving the story away, Grab Rauber! I thought I warned you about that LAST chapter...
Roo: -_-U
Malik: ^^ Ha ha, Roo got duct taped. Again.
Roo: *muffled* Don't call me that.
Malik: ^^
Bakura: Let me see that notebook...
Malik: Yeah, me too... Maybe she has the ending of Millennium Magic in there somewhere...
Roo: *Hands it over*
Bakura: *realizes that Daricio started writing this notebook while she was typing the chapter with Radley totruring him with the past* -_-' *skips that part*... ^_^ *opens to the page where Daricio has scribbled notes for this chappie*
Daricio: ^_^U Anyways, just a few notes before we begin...
First off, this is the chappie where things start to get interesting... It starts to veer off from Battle City just a tad bit more... Also, this chappie is going to be rather short, as I'm going to end it right before the finals start... You all saw how short my last chappie was, and that was almost a whole day there... This might be a tad longer than last chappie, but not much longer...
Next, in this chappie, is the overusation of the word "Grin." ... Do me a favor. Ignore it. ^.^ I'm braindead, be thankful I'm writing at all.
Also, I know I said I dislike the name Slifer the Sky dragon, and that Winged Dragon, God of Osirus was a better name, but I'm gunna use the name Slifer, just 'acause if I don't I'll end up forgetting to not use it. ^^' Been watching the dub too long. ^^'
Aaand, one last thing. I got somewhat annoyed with trying to figure out what Marik was going to say, because again, this is a bunch of episodes that got recorded over, so I basically just totally made up everything he and almost everyone else is saying here. It may have some tendancies to go into what they actually do say, but mostly it's just me making it up as I go... ^^'
Bakura: *reading notebook* o.O I'm gunna have WHAT happen to me?? And I'm gunna do WHAT in the last chapter?!
Roo: Now you know how I feel...
Bakura: ...??...Ado-
Daricio: *AHEM* Stop giving away the story to the readers.
Bakura: ^_^'
Daricio: All right, ANYWAYS, with all that out of the way, on to the ficcie!
Malik: ^^
Bakura: ^_^
Roo: -_-
***************************************************************
{Daricio}
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The alarm was going off....
Daricio didn't care. She reached up and hit the snooze button, then rolled over. Sleeeeep...
//Oh, that's how you do that.// Yami said suddenly.
Daricio jumped, then blinked. //Yami, what are you doing in here?// she asked.
//Trying to figure out how in the world you manage to sleep through that thing almost every morning...// He answered good naturedly.
Daricio rolled her eyes and lay back down, trying to go back to sleep.
//Uh, Daricio? Shouldn't you get up?//
//No, it's too early.//
//Then why did you set your alarm to this time?//
//To allow snoozing time. See, I already know that I'm inevitably going to hit the snooze button at least twice before I actually get up, so I set my alarm earlier than the time that I want to get up at.// She explained. //But now, I'm obviously not going to be able to get back to sleep, so I might as well get up.//
Yami grinned at her as she did so.
//And it's not funny. You woke me up.//
He just continued to grin and went silently back into Yugi's soul room.
Daricio sighed, then actually bothered to look at the time. She blinked. 7:30????
"Whoa, I am WAY late... What happened?" She muttered to herself. She hurriedly put her shoes on and ran down the stairs as fast as she could go without falling down them. She rounded the downstairs corner, almost tripped over the cat, instead jumped over the cat, and then quickly came to a halt in the entryway of the dark, empty livingroom.
//Wait... Dark and empty? Where is everyone?// Daricio wondered. Then she remembered. It was Wednesday.
Every Wednesday, her school had a one hour late start. Meaning that ofter the route, they could go back to bed for an hour before school started...
Daricio went over and checked the log book for the route. Just as she thought, DVD had done her part for her that morning...
She sighed. //All right... So I've got a bit of time before I have to be at school...//
She used this time to grab a bowl and pour herself some cereal.
"Morning, Daricio."
//Morning, Daricio.//
Yugi and DVD said this both at the exact same time, and Daricio grinned. "Hey DVD."
//So, Yami wake you up, too?// She asked.
//Yyyyyyup...//
//He's obviously very excited about the tournament... He's been getting up early for about.. how long, a couple days now?//
//Something like that.// Yugi agreed, returning to his own soul room just enough so that he could get himself his own breakfast.
"So, what's up in your world, Daricio?" DVD asked after what he took as a moment of silence. He grabbed his own bowl and started towards the table.
"MY world?"
"Yeah. You spend more time talking with your Yu-Gi-Oh friends than you do talking to some of your real friends... You know, like the ones at schoooool?" DVD said slowly. He sat down and began to eat.
Daricio waved him off. "Yeah, yeah... So what if I do? The people at school are all twits... My friends in the Real World are the only people who really understand me."
DVD grinned. "Yeah, yeah." he said, mimiking her. "You didn't answer my question. What's up over there with Yugi and them?"
Daricio shrugged. "Nothing yet today... Not too many people have woken up to start dueling, yet. Yugi's getting breakfast, same as us..."
DVD nodded. "Think Marik's gunna come back today?"
"Duh. Finals are tonight, and there's no way he's gunna let an entire day go by without showing up."
"Guess you're right. Hey, you missed yesterday's episode helping Yugi out with that Arkana freak. Wanna watch it now? I mean, we can because of late start."
Daricio grinned. "Good idea. What's it of?"
"Oh, it basically showed up till about the end of the duel with that first Rare hunter duel... The commercials said that today it would show Joey's duel against that Espa Roba guy, along with the first bit of what they're calling the Master of Magicians duel." DVD grinned too.
Daricio considered that. "Master of Magicians... It fits..."
"Yup." DVD popped in the tape that it had been recorded on.
Quickly fastforwarding through the commercials, he stopped at the beginning of the theme song.
"And we have a new theme song finally, too!" He commented. "Battle City themed. Don't ask where they get some of these pictures, though..."
Daricio shrugged. "Whatever. Let's watch!"
//I'm watching too. Might as well see just how that Rare Hunter was cheating...// Yami put in.
Daricio nodded slightly.
//Hey, Daricio?// Yugi asked as the theme song continued.
//What?//
//Didn't you say something yesterday about having a better fashion sense than me?// Yugi smirked. //So, what did you finally decide to wear?//
//If you'll remember, I was a bit rushed going out the door.// Daricio said, closing her eyes. This raised complaints from Yami, so she let him take over while she talked with Yugi.
"So what are you wearing?" Yugi asked again.
"Just this." Daricio said, showing him her black shirt and jeans. "Nothing special, just my..."
Yugi blinked, then grinned. "Daricio, why are you wearing a Seto Kaiba shirt with a Blue Eyes on it?"
Daricio shrugged. "Would you have preferred I got a random Yami t-shirt in which he's half deformed and striking a strange pose, like some of them do?"
Yugi blinked. "Noooo..."
Daricio grinned again. "Well, they didn't have any Yugi ones, only the deformed Yami ones. This one was at least half decent, so I got it.."
"Uh huh... and none with Joey, Tea, or Bakura on them?'
"Nope... Well, some of Joey, but he's usually standing next to a deformed Yami..."
Yugi snickered. "I see."
There was silence as the theme song ended and the two of them sat and watched the show.
When it was over, Daricio glanced up at the clock. "I'd better get ready for school. And you two better get outside so you can start dueling people."
Yugi and Yami both nodded and returned to Yugi's soul room.
DVD smiled as he shut off the television. "I wonder what's going to happen today..."
"I know what'll happen." Jrj said suddenly, coming into the room. He had been standing in the doorway, watching the show with us. "Yami will win the duel versus Arkana, and then Marik's gunna do some blabbing about random junk, then they'll wander around for a while trying to find somebody else to duel. It's what always happens..."
Daricio grinned at the irony of the fact that this was, indeed, what had happened. "And what if Yami loses?" She asked him, just for the sake of trying to act like she didn't already know.
"He won't. Yami never loses. It's part of the show." Jrj said confidently.
Daricio shook her head, then turned to DVD. "Should we tell him?"
"Might as well. He'd have figured it out eventually..." DVD said, shrugging.
Jrj cocked his head to one side questioningly. "Figured what out?"
//Hey, Yami. You dueling anyone yet?//
//No, there still doesn't seem to be anybody awake yet...//
//Good. Come over here a moment...//
"Daricio?" Jrj looked puzzled at her sudden blank look.
She blinked. "Jrj, I'd like you to meet somebody."
Jrj looked around. "Right now?"
She nodded. "Yup. His name... Is Yami."
Yami chose that moment to come out in a temporary physical form standing next to Daricio. "Hello." He said to Jrj.
Jrj blinked. "Yami? Whoa..." He grinned. "This is beyond cool."
***********************************************************************
{Strings}
I stood there, my hands up in the air like a mime. I was hiding. He would never find me. In plain sight, and He would never find me.
No matter what, I could not move a muscle. If I did, it would destroy the hiding place I had found. He would find me again.
He would hurt me. He would yell at me for hiding from him. He would hurt me and yell at me even if I didn't do anything. His own personal punching bag when his plans went wrong.
//Keep your mind off that, Strings.// I thought to myself. //Even a single misdirected thought could summon him...//
My eyes moved slowly around me, carefully checking my surroundings to make sure He hadn't heard my sudden thoughts. To make sure He hadn't found me.
He hadn't. He was nowhere in sight. Only a few random people walking about the park.
I let out a slow breath in relief.
He could hear me when I thought. He could hear when I was thinking incorrectly. I know he can.
Because he never spoke to me to my face. Only to my mind. He laughed at me when I ran away. Because he can hear where I am, by listening to my thoughts.
So now I don't run. Running is bad. Running brings punishment.
Now I simply hide. Because now he can't see me. He can't hear me. If I don't think, if I don't move, He cannot know where I am. He cannot find me.
He's not here now, and He won't be for a long time. Peace washes over me at this thought.
Involuntarily, one arm sinks about a centimeter. Quickly I jerk it back up into position. Stupid arm...
//It's time, my mind slave.// Suddenly, He spoke. //Let us go destroy that so-called pharaoh!//
I shuddered, refusing to move. He found me. I don't know how, but He found me! //Go away, go away, go away, go away...// I chanted to myself.
He mentally rolled his eyes, and I felt him take direct control.
//NO!//
I pulled a duel disk onto my arm, locked it securely into Battle Position, tensed up, and lept off the park bench, scaring a few of the nearby people out of their minds. I ran.
"Was it something I said?" I heard one of them ask as I ran off. Funny, they took the words right out of my mouth... er... Mind...
//GO AWAY!!!//
//Oh, shut up and duel.//
************************************************************************
{Yami: Later}
This was a tough spot. An Egyptian God Card on his opponant's field, and no way to get out any powerful monsters, or to reduce the amount of cards in his opponant's hand. Even if he did do both of these, there was still that Revival Jam...
Wait... That was it!
"I activate Monster Reborn, bringing back Buster Blader to the field!"
The strange rare hunter, under the control of Marik, just laughed at this. "You've forgotten Slifer the Sky Dragon's special ability, haven't you? Instant attack!"
Yami just watched in silence as the attack came closer, not quite wiping out his newly summoned monster, but just nearly doing so.
"Buster Blader! Attack Slifer, now!" He commanded.
Marik laughed again. "You fool! If that attack went through, you would be finished right now. As it is... Revival Jam! Take the hit!"
Buster Blader went forward and sliced at the Jam, scattering it into several pieces that floated around for a while. It was about to come back together. Yami acted quickly.
"Activate the magic card: Brain Control!"
"You cannot control the power of an Egyptian God monster using simple Magic and Trap cards! They won't work!" Marik laughed. "You're more foolish than I thought!"
Yami smirked. "Who says I was after your dragon, Marik?"
"What? What else could you be getting at?" He looked over the field. "The only other monster I have is my Revival Jam..."
"Exactly." Yami said triumphantly. "And because it's just now forming, it appears on my side of the field, meaning Slifer's special ability is activated. Revival Jam is destroyed, and then it reforms, still under my control. You draw, because of your card."
Marik's eyes widened. "No! It's an endless cycle! Each time Slifer attacks, Revival Jam just keeps coming back, and I draw more cards. Slifer gets stronger, but it's totally useless, because he has to attack the Revival Jam again! Attack, reform, draw! Attack, reform, draw! Until..." The blank faced rare hunter attempted to draw more cards, but there were none left for him to draw. "No!"
"You're out of cards, Marik. That means I win." Yami smirked.
"Yeah!" Mokuba cheered for Yami for a moment before getting silenced by a look from his brother. It didn't matter, though, as Yugi and Daricio kept up the cheering from inside his mind. The holograms of the monsters faded away.
Marik fell to his knees, his face going completely blank as he contemplated his loss. His hand, which consisted of his entire deck at the moment, dropped out of his hands and onto the pavement below him, scattering everywhere.
Yami sighed to himself, and watched as Mokuba carefully picked his way down the slope and headed over to where the Rare Hunter was kneeling. He spread the cards out on the ground until he found the Egyptian God Card.
"Wow... The second Egyptian God Card." He murmured. "I wish Seto could have this..." He looked up at Yami. "But this is rightfully yours, according to Battle City rules."
Yami walked over to Mokuba's side and took the card that he was now holding out to him. He looked at it slowly. "I must be very careful with this..."
Marik chose that moment to quickly stand up again, glaring at the former pharaoh. The rare hunter's normally blank face was filled with anger. "You may have won against my rare hunter once again, Pharaoh, but you won't win once you know what's truly at stake here."
Mokuba backed away, his eyes wide. "Whoa... Hey, mister, it's only a game..."
Marik turned his fury on the youngster. "Shut up, you. You don't know who you're dealing with." He turned back to Yami. "And neither do you."
Yami narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about, Marik?"
Marik laughed. "I'm talking about the fact that I'm superior to you, Yami. I can see all! I see a puzzle that should have been mine! I see a defenseless city, waiting to be destroyed. And everywhere, I see potential mind-slaves! Who do you think I will take next? Tea? Joey maybe?"
"You keep away from my friends!" Yami shouted.
"Ooh, looks like I've found your weak point." Marik laughed yet again. "A weak point in your friends. Well, maybe I should take over them, then, just to... raise the stakes a bit."
Yami growled. "You wouldn't dare."
"I would, and I will." Marik returned. " And just like last time, Yami, we will meet again. And this time, I WILL defeat you!"
The rare hunter collapsed onto his face.
"No! Marik!" Yami felt a strange urge to kick the inert Rare Hunter, but resisted, knowing it wouldn't really accomplish anything. He growled to himself. "I've got to find Joey and the others and warn them!"
He turned and began to run.
"Yugi, wait!" Kaiba called out.
Yami stopped.
"I challange you to a duel, Yugi." Kaiba announced.
"Kaiba..." Yami said without turning around, closing his eyes in slight annoyance. "Finding my friends is a bit more important at the moment." He began running again.
//I've got to find them, before it's too late!// he thought to himself.
Kaiba sniffed indignantly. "It's against Battle City rules to decline a challenge." He stated to nobody in particular, even though he himself hadn't gone by this rule when challenged by Joey earlier. He followed Yami.
********************************************************************
{Mr. Gice}
Mr. Gice watched as the results from his just recently returned camera streamed into his main computer.
The moment it had entered the Freaky World, it had automatically targeted a random person and had immedietly begun recording, giving Mr. Gice information on that person.
Height, weight, gender, and other physical things were the easy parts. The subject was a girl, and she was about 4'9, and about 105 lbs.
She had one sister, and two brothers. Parents normal. Very interested in a TV Show called Yu-Gi-Oh, which actually had his old friend Seto Kaiba in it, just as he had thought it would.
He still hadn't quite mastered all the controls, so he wasn't sure how the FWC's were able to get inside people's minds yet, but he was sure he'd figure it out eventually...
All he needed was a little bit more time...
For now, though, he could publicly display his findings. Finally, his colleges would see that he wasn't crazy, that another world really DID exist!
He already had a TV brodcasting channel that had agreed to let him talk for a while on the air. Now all he needed was to actually go and do it.
Once the information was all done loading, he grabbed his stuff and headed out the door.
****************************************************************************
{Yami again}
Yami slammed the telephone down in frustration and came out of the phone booth, coming to stand next to Kaiba, who was waiting for him.
"No answer?" Kaiba asked lazily, almost as if he had been half-expecting this to happen.
"None." Yami said worriedly. "Any other suggestions, Kaiba?"
"Possibly. There are a few places I can think of that this Marik guy might want to go, so we can check some of those places out." Kaiba turned and began walking down the street. Yami followed, still looking worried, but glad that Kaiba was at least attempting to help.
They hadn't gone far, when something in a shop window cauht Yami's attention. It was a television screen. On the TV, a man was talking, although Yami couldn't quite hear what was being said, and in the corner was a panel that said FWC. The strip on the bottom informed him that the man speaking was Mr. Thomas Gice, FWC Specialist.
Yami stopped and leaned in closer to listen. Kaiba didn't really have any particular idea where Joey, Tea, and Tristan were, and although at least trying to look for them would help, anything he could learn about FWC's was useful.
"...managed to send in my own version of the FWC into the Freaky World itself to randomly select a target and record information on them." Mr. Gice was saying.
Kaiba walked back over. "What are you looking at?" he asked. Then he saw who was on the screen and rolled his eyes. "Oh. Him."
"You know him?" Yami asked, looking up.
"Met him once breifly." Kaiba said, snorting a little in disgust. "Nutcase extrordinaire. Come on, let's go." He walked off again.
Yami was about to do so as well, but he glanced down at the screen where Mr. Gice was now showing his results. Yami's eyes opened wide. On the screen, there was a front view, side view, and a back view computer generated picture of the subject walking.
It was Daricio.
"Come on!" Kaiba snapped from up ahead. "We don't have all day, and whatever that idiot Gice had to say over there, it's not anything important!"
Yami hurried on, lost deep in thought. What was going on?
***********************************************************************
{Radley}
Bakura paced slowly across his soul room, looking down at a small clip board that he held in his hands. His yami sat silently on the bed watching him as he paced, and looking rather bored.
"Ok..." Bakura said after a while. "we've completed reinforcing the link, doing some reaserch, and every other preperation I could think of,-"
"Which was slightly stupid, but whatever. I'll deal with it, I suppose."
Bakura ignored him and continued. "We even went to go see that Egyptian Exhibit down at the museum to see if they had any more clues as to where the other items may be."
Radley nodded. "And to check out the energe signal I sensed from there."
"Right. But anyway, now we're ready to go."
Radley stood and stretched. "Finally. So, what are we waiting for?"
He suddenly vanished from the soul room, apparently taking a temporary physical form. Bakura sighed and took control of his body, then quickly went down the stairs of his house, following after his yami and trying not to get left behind.
As it was, it was fairly simple to catch up to the spirit, because he stopped and waited for him at the front door, which was something he usually didn't do.
Bakura smiled and walked outside. "You just waited up for me because you have no idea where we're going, right?" he said, making a joke.
Radley simply shrugged and followed him, closing the door behind him.
After the two of them had gone a few blocks or so, Radley looked around them. "So..." He said slowly. "Where ARE we going, anyway?"
Bakura chuckled. "We're headed in the general direction of Domino Pier, keeping mostly to the back alleys."
"Ah... Why? Because of those rare hunters we overheard yesterday talking about some Marik guy?"
Bakura nodded. "Yes, that's exactly why. I got on the internet last night and did a google search for him, and for the Millennium Items. There were several things talking about a certain Marik Ishtar who holds a mysterious item that is called the Millennium Rod. It has the power to mind control people."
Radley nodded slowly, thinking this over. He began to grin. "If we had internet back in Ancient Egypt, my job would have been so much easier." He commented. He looked at Bakura. "And then, you'd make a pretty good theif yourself."
"I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not, but thanks." Bakura said somewhat dryly. "Now lets go. Use the Ring to track down the Millennium Rod so we can try and intercept him in one of the alleyways."
Radley nodded. "Right." He closed his eyes and disappeared into the ring, taking control of Bakura's body so that he could use the Ring's powers more efficiently without having to consentrate on keeping up his physical form.
//You could have asked, you know.// Bakura said somewhat grumpily. //What if I wanted to be the one to actually track him down?//
//Sorry.// Radley said, rolling his eyes and activating the Ring. //I just figured it'd go faster this way, since I'm more adapt at using the Ring's tracking powers.//
Radley began to follow the Ring's pointers.
//And what's that supposed to mean?//
//What do you mean, what's it supposed to mean? You just let the thing drag you around whenever you try to use it, that's what I mean!//
Bakura grumbled slightly, but made no further comment.
The two travelled for a while before coming to a sudden stop in an alleyway. It wasn't all that different from any of the other alleys, and Bakura wasn't sure quite why his yami had decided to stop in that particular spot, but then his question was answered.
A motercycle came racing around a corner up ahead and began heading toward them. The pointers on the Ring gave a small push forward to indicate that this was who they were searching for, then lay flat against Radley's chest.
The motercycle loomed closer until at the last second, it pulled to the side of the alleyway and came to a halt. The rider, a teen who couldn't have been more than a year onlder than Bakura, took off his helmet, hopped off the bike, and glared at Radley. "You're in my way." he announced somewhat needlessly.
Radley just smirked. "I'm aware of that. You have something that I'm looking for."
"And what would that be?"
"Your Millennium Item. If you don't hand it over right away, I'll have to take it away by force, as I have done with many others in the past."
Marik seemed unfazed by the threat, but Bakura sounded annoyed.
//Radley, be nice.//
//Quiet, and let me do this. I won't hurt anyone unless I need to.//
"My name is Marik." Marik said, looking the tomb robber up and down. He said this as if Radley, knowing his name, would think twice about trying to steal from him.
"I don't care." Radley said, countering this assumption completely.
Now it was Marik who sounded and looked annoyed. "And," he continued. "I can make a deal with you. Can you duel?"
Radley turned sideways to the motercyclist, showing that he wasn't scared of him. "I'm an expert." he said somewhat pridefully. "I've beaten master duelists, sometimes even playing games in the Shadow Realm."
He turned back to face Marik. "Surprised?"
"Not really."
It was obvious to see that the two were trying to impress each other, and it was just as obvious that neither was about to allow himself to be intimidated.
//Radley, you should quit showing off and just ask him outright what he wants.// Bakura said, sounding a little impatient, annoyed, and slightly nervous all at the same time.
Radley rolled his eyes. "Now, what is this deal of yours?" he asked Marik, sounding only half interested in the whole thing, as if there was no way he'd agree, but that he might as well hear it anyway. This, Radley knew, was the only way to get the better end of a deal.
"You join up with me and win me the Egyptian God Cards from certain individuals that are in Battle City, and I'll give you the Millennium Rod." He held it up and began looking it over, pretending to ignore Radley. "It's of no use to me anyway."
"Why should I accept a deal like that when I can simply take it from you myself?" Radley asked, still sounding bored.
//Radley!//
//I said quiet!// He was having enough trouble trying to consentrate on his conversation with Marik, much less having to put up with goody-goody remarks from his Hikari every two seconds. Bakura was beginning to bug him. More than usual, that is.
"You'll accept because I also know the location of yet another Millennium Item, the Millennium Necklace belonging to my sister, and I will also give you that."
Radley smirked. Now he was getting somewhere. Two Millennium Items at one time. Just enough he'd need to get away from his stupid host and get the rest of the items without the annoying too-innocent voice in his head. "I think we can make a deal..."
//Radley, what a moment. This is obviously a trap. You can't just stop and make deals with every random person we come across, especially not ones that have as many cronies as this guy has! Besides, you need to discuss things with me before deciding stuff anyway!// Bakrua said with concern.
Radley broke off the mind link instead of answering. Marik was starting to outline some of his plans, and he needed to pay attention.
"Fine. First thing I need you to do is to help me get my victim's friends to think that I am also a friend, so that I can get closer to him." Marik said.
"I see. Who's your victim, and what do you plan to have me do about it?" Radley asked.
"Victim is Yugi Moto."
It was all Radley could do to keep from laughing. No wonder the punk thought he needed help. The only person that kid couldn't beat was him!
"My Hikari is a friend of his, and I've met him several times."
"Excellent. Who and where is this "Light" of yours?"
//Nice going, Radley.// Bakura said sarcastically, opening the mind link again.
//I did that on purpose, Ryou.// With that, Radley shoved him into control of the body, while he himself stepped out into a temporary physical form. Bakura, not expecting the sudden gainage of the use of his legs, stumbled forward, and ended up on his hands and knees on the ground.
"This is my light." Radley said, gesturing to Bakura.
Marik looked only slightly startled at the appearance, but then grinned. "Perfect." he turned to face Radley again. "I believe you've figured out what it is I'm needed to have done in order to get close to Yugi's friends by now, right?"
"Indeed." Radley flipped out his pocket knife. Bakura stared at him.
//You wouldn't...// Bakura said shakily across the mind link.
//Would, and am going to.// he returned.
Marik and Radley both advanced on Bakura. Two seconds later, screams of pain rang out.
*********************************************************************
{Daricio}
//This is both beyond weird and beyond cool at the same time.// Daricio said, referring to the fact that Yami d Kaiba were working together and actually winning.
//You said it.// Yugi said, watching as Kaiba began shouting.
"Obelisk, attack! Fist of Fate!" Kaiba commanded. The huge God Monster did so, completely wiping out one of the two rare hunters' life points.
"Umbra! Are you ok?" The shorter one called out. Before he could answer, Kaiba did so for him.
"Physically, he's fine. It's his life points you need to be worrying about, though."
Both rare hunters figured out what he was indicating and began to panic, watching as Umbra's life point count went down to zero. When it did so, the glass beneath him shattered, and he fell with a startled cry.
"Umbra! Come back!" Lumas whined. He dropped to his hands and knees, peering down towards his friend. "Umbra..." He fell silent.
Yami stepped up to him. "Where are my friends being held?"
Lumas slowly stood and looked up on the two, a smirk on his face. His eyes were blank.
"Marik." Yami growled. Daricio scowled.
//Figures he'd show up now that the duel's over.// she said. Yugi nodded.
"You'll see your friends soon enough, pharaoh, but I don't think they'll be as glad to see you as you are to see them." Marik said, his voice blending with the rare hunter's already strange accent to form something that sounded freaky.
Kaiba strode forward and took the small rare hunter by the collar, lifting him up to face level. "Where's my little brother?" he asked, sounding very dangerous.
Marik just laughed softly.
"I don't think he's going to tell us anything, Kaiba." Yami observed.
"Very perceptive." Marik grinned.
Kaiba dropped him, disgusted. He really shouldn't be one to be calling anybody crazy, but it was obvious to Daricio at least that this was what the CEO was thinking.
A low rumbling sound pierced the air, and Marik laughed again, turning to Yami. "Looks like once again it's time for me to go. I'll see you soon. Depend on it."
Lumas dropped to the floor.
Yami frowned. "He's gone."
Kaiba growled in frustration, muttering under his breath as he tried to figure out where the rumbling sound was coming from. His question was answered when a helicopter suddenly flew upwards into view from below them.
Yami blinked. "Isn't that one of your helicopters, Kaiba?"
Kaiba nodded and stepped forward to investigate. As he did so, the side door opened and Mokuba hopped out. "Big Brother!"
"Mokuba!" Kaiba ran forward and gave his brother a hug. "What happened?"
"A bunch of those goons snuck up on me and kidnapped me. They locked me in this warehouse with Tea. She helped me get out, but they caught her before she was able to get away as well."
"What about Joey and Tristan?" Yami asked.
Mokuba shook his head. "I don't know, I didn't see them. Maybe if I lead you guys to the warehouse where Tea's at, we can find them."
Kaiba nodded. "It appears your friend helped my little brother. For this, I'll help you find your friends, Yugi. But that's the ONLY reason I'm helping you. Now come on, get in."
He and Mokuba climbed into the copter.
Once again, Yami was about to follow them, when he heard a voice behind him.
"Pharaoh... Yami..."
He turned around to see the rare hunter struggling to raise his head, having managed to maintain control of his body for a few seconds before going to the Shadow Realm, Yami guessed.
He knelt down next to him. "What?"
"I'm sorry... Marik's Horrid.... I should have seen that from the beginning... Umbra and I... Tell Daricio.... Be careful.... She's in as much danger as Joey and Tea are..." The rare hunter collapsed again.
Yami's eyes widened. How was it that so many people knew about her???
Even if Marik had somehow managed to see that program as well, there was no way he'd have been able to know that he was friends with her!
"Yugi, hurry up or we won't take you after all!"
Yami stood and ran to the copter.
//This is definitely very strange.// Daricio commented nervously.
********************************************************************
X-x Done with that chapter....
And before B/k kills me, *bows* GOMEN NASAI FOR BEING MEAN TO BAKURA!!!
^^
Bakura: .... I didn't like that chapter so much...
Roo: I can see why...
Malik: I didn't like it either... Daricio made me too sarcastic, competetive, and stupid sounding. Repetetive, too. "we shall meet again, pharaoh." then later, "We shall meet again, pharaoh!" *rolls eyes* Yeesh!
Roo: .... Well, that IS what you did, tomb keeper.
Malik: V_V Shut up, Grab Rauber...
Bakura: What does that MEAN, anyway?
Malik: -_- Spending too much time around Daricio... Sorry, Bakura, that was German for Tomb Robber.
Bakura: Ah, I see. ^^;
Roo: -_-
Daricio: ^^' ANYWAYS... I was going to have this chapter include the Yugi/Joey duel, but it took all my strength just to get in the bits that I do have in there! I now have writer's block, writer's cramp, and writer's everything else! Although, that is including compliments! I was talking to some people in my english class, and they said that it was cool the way I could write!
Malik: Uh huh....
Daricio: ^__^
Roo: *inches away* Too much sugar...
Malik: *nods*
Bakura: ^^' Well, seeing as if these three keep going at it like this, the chapter will never end, I'll go ahead and say it. Hope you enjoyed the chappie! Review! See you next time!
All: *turn and wave goodbye, then return to what they were doing*