Disclaimer: Don't own anything, I don't even have a job, how could I?!
Inwe: Thank you reviewers! I love you all!! :D I didn't update for ages (three months... was it?) so I came prepared with a list of reasons why I have a slow update.
1. My computer broke down and we had to get it fixed
2. I lost my thumb drive where all my stuff was saved
3. I had homework I broke my leg... All better now!
4. I'm bored of this story
5. I write too slowly :P
6. My muse ran away! He's back now though...
All very good reasons. Yeah. ON WITH THE STORY!! ::CHEERS!!::
Chapter 8: Shadows
"This is happening fast enough!" Craine shouted furiously as he watched the gang curl up to sleep, "They're not scared... they're not panicking... unless..."
Craine's mouth stretched into a twisted grin at what he was thinking. "I could call upon the shadows. They are already leaking in. I would hurt to..."
He pressed a button, "...speed up the process..."
Craine's possessed laughter filled the empty room again.
"Noooo..." Craine's eyes had flickered into the soft eyes of his other personality.
"Sorry, but this must be done!!" his eyes losing all traces of the softness it had possessed a moment before.
Téa shivered and brought her knees closer to her chest. It was night again, and somehow, everyone had managed to fall asleep on the cold, hard ground. Except for Téa. The virtual world spooked her and she had started to notice something about the place. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see creeping shadows, swirling, spiralling around. But when she looked directly at them, they were gone.
It was freezing, the fire had long since burnt out, and she could find absolutely no position on the ground that was comfortable. No matter what way she lay rocks stuck into her back, or twigs felt like they were drilling into the back of her skull. It didn't make sense when she thought about how perfect and even the ground was last night. The virtual world seemed to be getting to all of them. She couldn't even comprehend how the rest of them had dozed off so peacefully.
Finally admitting defeat, she sat up. Absentmindedly prodding the dead coals of the fire with one of the twigs she had been lying on, she reminisced on what had happened at the cave.
flashback
"I hate to admit it, but the knucklehead is right," Mai said, still staring at the parchment that had caused so much annoyance.
"Of course I'm right. Dat's what I've been tryin' to tell you all!" Joey exclaimed.
"Either half of us are hallucinating, or there's something going on here..." Téa said, looking at the parchment over Mai's shoulder.
"Bakura, what do you see?" Serenity asked.
Bakura came closer and looked at the parchment. "I see writing, all over the page," he said softly and retreated back into his corner.
Yugi spoke up for the first time, "Look, guys, I can see it... and Yami can't, so there's an equal number on each side. We'll never resolve this. So, what does the parchment say? Has anyone bothered to read it?"
Tristan grabbed the parchment from Mai.
"No, I don't dink Tristan should read it, dat would be like getting' a kindergarten kid to read a novel," Joey said, the smug grin returning to his face.
"JOEY! Can you not fight with Tristan for one moment?" Mai practically yelled at Joey.
"I had to make a comment. He needs to watch his manners," Joey replied, a light blush crossing his face.
"Joseph Wheeler, caring about manners?" laughed Mai, throwing her hands in the air for added effect, "what is the world coming to?"
"I do care if it's someone I care about..." Joey muttered, just loud enough for Mai to hear. Needless to say, the blush had flared up considerably by this point. (A/N: I love moments!)
Mai stopped laughing and looked at Joey in surprise. "W-what?"
"I- um... I care about my friends," he gushed, now looking at the floor.
Tristan cleared his throat loudly, obviously irritated that he wasn't the centre of attention anymore, everyone was staring eagerly at Joey and Mai.
"If you two are finished, would you like to know what this says or not?"
end flashback
Téa was jerked out of her memories by someone tapping her lightly on the shoulder. (A/N: Take a wild guess who it is! Go on!)
"Téa? You can't sleep either?"
Téa couldn't properly see the person who had spoken but she'd know that voice anywhere. Yami. She was grateful for the cover of darkness, it wouldn't matter if she blushed, no one would see her.
"No. I didn't know you were still awake..." she said as Yami thudded himself down beside her.
"I was... but there's something wrong with this place..." Yami mused, leaning forward on his elbows and staring into space.
Téa shivered. She wanted to say something about the shadows dancing in the corners of her eyes. But she would sound paranoid, or sound like an attention seeker trying to stir up more trouble than was needed.
"Really...?" she muttered.
"Yes... a bad vibe. I don't trust Craine. I think he wants something from us all. And remember the prophecy that neither of us could see? That's not a coincidence. And it's not innocent either. There's something in here, but I can't quite understand what it is..." Yami continued, almost talking to himself now.
Téa shivered again. There was something unnerving about how Yami's calm voice voiced what she was thinking. And it wasn't particularly warm either.
"Are you cold?" Yami said suddenly, looking at Téa concernedly.
"I-I'm fine... well, I am a bit..." she admitted, her teeth chattering.
"Well, of course you are," he said, grinning, "You're not exactly wearing clothes for the weather are you?" (A/N: I'm trying to get him to loosen up a bit.)
Téa frowned. They were supposed to be in Australia after all. In summer.
"Look," he said, suddenly serious again, "Would y-y..." he stuttered.
Téa was astonished. She'd never heard him stutter before. It was quite a different thing to hear. There was a long pause. Then Téa felt a something land on her lap.
"Here..." Yami said swiftly and stood up, "I think I'll try and sleep now..."
He started walking away. Téa suddenly realised he had thrown her his jacket.
"Oh," she said abruptly.
There was another long pause, in which Téa felt her face heating up.
"Thank you..." she burbled at the retreating form of Yami.
It was morning again, and somehow the gang had managed to find themselves in a leafy grotto.
"Another cave!" Joey voiced what they were all thinking.
"How big is this virtual place...?" Mai asked rhetorically.
They were all sore, tired and starting to feel grubby. Mai had complained endlessly about the state of her clothes and hair. Trudging through mud and dirt didn't lighten any of their moods.
Out of the blue, everything went black. Rather, everything started dimming. Soon they were in total darkness.
"What...?" they all said together.
"I knew it," Yami said matter-of-factly.
He was staring at the blackness with a sense of cold dread.
"What...?" everyone said again.
"I'm not sure..." he said, avoiding the question. He couldn't risk freaking everyone out now, they were already on the brink of madness.
"You just said..." Joey said angrily. He was sick of this place. The smell, the sight, the sounds of the place (even though the gang's noises were the only ones there). For some reason this place had something different about it, that made him go crazy.
Craine yawned. This was far too boring to watch, the pathetic teens squabbling over who said what and the state of their clothes. Nothing surprising though, he hadn't suspected total fun... but maybe something a bit more interesting than what was going on now.
"Time I stirred things up a bit, I think... y'know, I've always... enjoyed... a bit of romance..." he said with a tone that would make anyone shudder.
Téa heard a scream. Suddenly alert she pricked her ears for another sound. The scream came again.
"Can you hear that?" she whispered.
"Hear what?" Joey said, confused.
"That scream!" Téa practically yelled, "We have to help them!"
She started running as she heard the scream yet again. She felt angry that no one cared enough about a poor, innocent person to even try to assist them.
"Téa! What are you doing?" Yami yelled after her, genuinely worried now. If Téa had gone mad...
Téa soon found herself in another cave. It was a huge cave system with an endless labyrinth of passageways. It was dark but she found her way. It felt like an unknown force was guiding her round each corner and twisting turn.
The lights turned back on.
Back in the first cave Yami and the others were still gathering their wits. Everything was illuminated suddenly. Everyone looked anxious.
"We have to go after her," Yami said decidedly and raced off after her.
Téa stopped and gasped for breath. Once her lungs had caught up with her she raced off again.
Finally Yami caught a glimpse of someone running ahead of him. He also became aware of a steady dripping sound. He caught a quick glimpse of his surroundings.
Stalactites hung from the ceiling, each one glistening with drops of milky white water. A faint green glow hung about the walls of the cave, from some obscure mineral embedded in the floor. It was light in the cave, and briefly Yami wondered about that, there really wasn't anywhere that the light could be coming from.
But there were more important matters at hand. Like saving Téa. Or whatever she needed. She wasn't exactly in danger at the moment.
Téa couldn't run anymore. She sank to her knees in defeat and anguish. She couldn't hear the screaming anymore. Whoever it was had probably been silenced now... She didn't want to think about what that could mean. She gasped slightly as she felt the solid ground open beneath her.
"So... familiar..." she muttered as she felt herself falling. She was so surprised that she didn't cry out. She just let herself continue on her way down.
Yami had just reached Téa when she had fallen. He had tried to grab her hand as she fell but he was far too late. A wild panic gripped him. He'd never felt a panic this strong before. He felt his chest tighten with pain and his breathing came in short bursts. He felt a tingling sensation behind his eyes and something wet gather in the corner of his eyes. And then he was suddenly filled with white hot rage. White hot rage for the person that had trapped them all here, tricked them into thinking everything was OK, and then snatching a person they all cared about away. And finally he was filled with despair.
"No..." he muttered, staring down the hole, "Téa..."
Inwe: So guys, how was that? Review! And if you are the 100th reviewer, whether it happens this chapter, next chapter or the chapter after that, you will get the following chapter dedicated to you. And that would be a great honour. :P
