Me: umm...hello there friends....

Readers: (an angry mob of squirming flesh) Raaaaaaaaaaaaa! You haven't updated for over a month! A MONTH!!!

Me: O.O eep! (runs away and hides under her bed, were the pet dustbunnies live)

'Leanne: (rolls her eyes) here we go again... (engages in a bloody battle, just barely coming out the winner, much less alive, beating the rest off with her faithful katana) sigh... (pulls her hikari out from under the bed) You do realize that you need to come out to type? (glares) I refuse to do most of the work, like you've recently been forcing onto me! Arg! Do you know how hard it is to type with a hikari snoring in your right ear?

Me: umm...

'Leanne: thought so.

Me: I'm sorry! I had to finish the last chapter of Wake Up, and I wanted it to be good! (it is, after all, my first /completed/ story on fanfiction...)

Warning: zzz.. Wait...I dun wanna wake up...zzz...

Disclaimer: (kicks Warning in the head) Wake up, baka. (glares at audience) No own. Muah ha ha!!


Tepemkau had reached just under a kilometer altitude above New York. His master, Malik, cast a slight illusion spell, only cloaking themselves to mortal eyes. He wasn't stupid; he knew that any more stealth would drain precious energy. Energy that wasn't quite as replenish-happy as it would have been in Heaven. They would need to save some for later.

Swooping down, Honda glanced from over the left wing to survey the surrounding area, and grimaced. Smog, high-rises, and hardly any green whatsoever. It was almost the opposite of their celestial terrain. Still, he could easily see why there were so many vampires here. Tonnes of dark alleyways, enough crime in the downtown areas to keep nosey people from discovering their victims' corpses, if there was one. There were probably more reasons, but the thought depressed Honda, so he changed his vision from the buildings to the early sunset.

"Well, for what it lacks in greenery, New York does have a pretty fine sunset..." Yuugi mentioned.

Jonouchi nodded. Though he did hate demons, he wasn't sure how closely related the vampires were. Shrugging, he decided that they would probably be either the same, or only a bit different. After all, vampires are created through both the lust of everlasting life, and undergoing a combination of cultural rituals, perverted to vampiric needs.

Now in close proximity to the ground, Tepemkau stopped, and flattened his wings to create ramps down. Once all the riders were off, he reverted to his smaller form. Malik had carved a miniscule rune onto Tepemkau's nape, and it allowed him to shrink to only a mere four foot-tall, winged metallic lizard.

"Good job, friend." Malik whispered to his ka. "Stay in this area, I don't know how long we will take."

Even if it meant waiting for years, Tepemkau was too blindly loyal to his master to disobey him. He bobbed his head up and down, then lumbered off, going to find some food. After all, he had been flying for over two, three days now.

Once he was gone, Malik faced the rest of his companions. "I'm going to cast another illusion spell. It'll disguise us as slightly vampiric humans."

Jou grunted his dissatisfaction with this form.

"Look, we don't have much choice. We need to get by as humans for the humans, and vampires if we run into them."

"And we can't look too old, either. All vampire elders are very well known throughout the worldwide communities. Younglings, though, are everywhere these days, because of the mass corruption that's now considered normal." Honda nearly sneered.

They all stared at him blankly.

Seeing their response, Honda grinned sheepishly. "Hey, I like that part of schooling! And anyway, as a crusader, I have to know something about what I might fight in the future, in Heaven's armies..."

"That is, if we're not expelled..." Yuugi mumbled.

They all fell silent then, deciding that they should probably be moving along if they ever wanted to attain progress in their search.

Malik began to chant, deciding the quality and length of time his enchantment would be in effect.

Soon, their appearances began to change. Skin became more gauntish, though not white, teeth were sharper, if not larger, and the robes they had on from when they left changed into different variations of the gothic style. For example; Yuugi had low-riding leather pants that had mesh inserted randomly, covering cut-out holes. His shirt came just below his ribcage, and was also black, with slitted arms. Of course, there were a lot of intricate details, but they were all along, and just spiced up the ensemble. Maybe the most noticeable change was the fact that Yuugi was also wearing makeup. Black makeup, but makeup nonetheless.

Jonouchi's hair appeared to shrink, bemusing Honda, and was also black, though if it was real, one could have easily told that it was dyed. The rest of the Angels were all different, but similar in the basic respects of the style.

Upon seeing his creation, Malik burst into fits of laughter. "First time I've ever seen Jou in makeup, and probably last time, too!" Jou glared at him, well aware of what he looked like. Malik just grinned. "Don't worry, we'll fit right in. I know the geography of this place, and believe me, there are people more gothic than we are at the moment."

Yuugi nodded. "Well, of course. This is nearly the convention center for vampires." He grinned.

Calmed down now, Malik grinned back. "And I know the perfect place to start our hunt. It's called 'Last Rebirth Nightclub. Vampires only, of course."

As the Egyptian-born Angel led the way, Yuugi sighed to himself. A vampire bar...

(Dream sequence)

Traveling trough a perpetual mist, young Nahkti feels like one would, had they just found home after searching forever. Not that he minded, it was all too cloudy anyway. He did not feel a thing.

Stopping after the fog began to disperse, the fledgling of a demon stood, and awaited the orders, expecting something to emerge from the cleared area any moment now. Whatever did would help him through this situation. Not that he was even aware of what it was, mind you.

And, true to his blind trust, a single glowing figure steps out of the swirling white. It stops in front of him, and reaches out its arms, as if to invite Nahkti into an embrace.

When its mouth opens, its voice seems like a single, beautiful, chime-like sound pouring out. It spoke words that Nahkti could, but could not, understand. Almost like the tempo of dance music; one feels the emotion, yet does not understand.

Suddenly, a leather-bound book appeared, cradled in the being's arms. It was untitled, and had such an aura that seemed to draw one in, saying 'Open me...read my secrets...all that I can tell you...'

Nahkti moves in slow motion, reaching for this intriguing object.

Before he can lay hands on it, the being smirks, and vanishes, along with the book.

(End Dream Sequence)

Bakura awoke in a cold sweat, shooting straight off his currant bed, and raised his wings defensively.

He relaxed after realizing that it was only the dream that woke him up.

Checking the one-way window next to his bed, he decides that it is approximately midnight, and time to rise.

Stepping into his borrowed silk robe and moving towards the door, Bakura feels an odd pang, like he had misplaced something important. Waving it off, he exits the room and flies towards the library for more research.

What he didn't see was the leather-bound book that had appeared by the foot of his bed.

The Demon King stood in the centre of a marble courtyard, studying any improvement made in his adopted brother's flight patterns.

"No, try to keep your wings suppressed at ALL times when diving! Like this..." Seto rises to the air about sixty feet, and nose-dives, skimming the floor, and then landing.

The black-haired demon nods apprehensively, trying to impress his older peer. Waiting until the next command to fly, Mokuba shoots up like he had learned week prior, and attempts the same sharp dive Seto had demonstrated.

Though he kept his wings stilled, his mind was on other things, and so he forgot to keep his arms slack.

"No, no! Arg!" Seto's demonic slits for pupils dilate, showing his frustration. Mokuba automatically lands, and apologizes. Seto just sighs. "Nevermind, you have improved greatly. We will be moving on tomorrow, okay?"

A relieved, yet excited grin graces the youngling's face. "Okay, big brother!" Mokuba bows his head, a standard custom, and flies off to explore more of the grounds.

"Perhaps I should return to my guest." Seto mutters under his breath. A wave of sudden tiredness washed over him, and so he decides to teleport. Losing a small mount of energy won't matter much, considering it will replenish quickly.

Seto finds Bakura awake, and sitting at the same reclining chair he was last night. "Hey, I thought I told you to get some rest, Bakura!"

"I did..." His usual cynical voice trailed off. Flipping the page he had just skimmed over, Bakura looked up. "...actually. But, I must admit, being in a different ring of Hell has given me some pretty interesting dreams." Bakura shrugged, and seemed to go back to researching.

Seto blinked. 'What...it should make no difference. Demons hardly dream regardless...' He was starting to get somewhat anxious. "Bakura...what did you dream of, exactly?" Seto was trying, and failing, to sound casual.

The albino looked up inquisitively. "I remember walking through lots of white as a fledgling. Someone appeared, showed me a book, and then I woke up." Seto frowned. "Don't worry about it. Really, it was nothing."

"Want to bet...?" Seto muttered under his breath. "Show me your room." Bakura sighed, put down his book, and began to lead the way back to his chambers.

"Don't know why it matters...I've had plenty of odd dreams since Kyokae sent me on all of these different tests."

"Idiot! You must have absolutely no brains in your head, after all! You never thought that maybe there was a /reason/ you started to dream after that??" Kaiba snorts. "A quick way to communicate, if you ask me. It's a good thing I never used it! You would have just waved it off!" He continued to rant, ignoring the peevish glares he was receiving, before remembering something. "Wait a sec...what did you say that thing looked like? The one that showed you the book..."

Bakura leered at him. /Now/ he remembers why he didn't visit Seto often. He was always ranting about something or other, then saying things as if nothing had happened. Never the less, Bakura gives him the description, mentioning that it kind of reminded him of an Angel, the way it shone.

They were in the same hall that housed Bakura's room. Approaching the door, Seto mulled it all over. An Angel...speaking to a Demon through their dreams? Highly unlikely. Demons were 'not worth lowering themselves to mingle with', or so the Angels thought. So one that communicates with both races...? No one but Lucifer, the fallen would...or is there? By the time Bakura swung open the door, Seto had a good estimate who this 'Angel' was.

Glancing in, Bakura finally noticed the book that was left behind when he had left for the library. "This is..what the Hell?!" He flew over, leaving Seto to follow him in. Picking up the book, he recognized the feel of it, the same as in the dream.

"It was Sariel. He was the one that gave you that book."

Bakura tore his eyes from the cover, and stared at Kaiba. "Sariel? The Demon?"

"No, Sariel the Angel." The brunette closed his weary eyes as he recalled history. "Sariel was a double agent between Heaven and Hell. You saw the Angelic Sariel in your dream... Which makes things interesting... Did he want you to realize who he was? Or...?" By now, Seto was talking more to himself than to Bakura. "Open the book, Bakura."

Dismissing the fact that it was an order, Bakura did so.

The cover flew open as soon as Bakura touched the heavy clasp. The pages inside fluttered violently, until it reached nearly the end of the book. It landed on a yellowed and worn page titled: The Shadow Plane.

Bakura gaped. "This is it! I'm sure of it!" Excited, Bakura felt his heart pounding faster and faster in anticipation.

"Wait! We don't even know why you have Sariel's book! It could be anything! Let us analyze this first, Bakura!" Seto grabs his friend's arm, and pulls him back.

"Let go of me, Kaiba." The tone was deadly serious. So much, that it caused Seto to instinctually back off, like getting out of the way of a Demon and their prey. "You said you understood. I think you may have miscalculated, if you believed yourself." Without waiting for a response, Bakura begins to read the page's contents out loud in Demonic.

Through the ensorcelled words, a white wind starts to grow from Bakura's feet. The runes drawn onto the page glow then disappear after they are read, until there were no more on the page. By then, the wind had grown to encase almost all of Bakura's body.

All Kaiba could do was stare in shock. His stony blue eyes locked with Bakura's own crimson, reminding him to keep on going. Pretending that nothing had happened, and someday, Seto might believe himself. Someday.

So was the power of the Shadow Realm.

Walking across the so-called ground, Yami wondered if it went on forever. Knowing his luck, it probably did. Damn it. Though, even if his body was left in the material world, and the shadows of this place of his creation did limit his powers immensely, he still had magick. Maybe not as much, but he had some.

That was hopefully all he needed.

But still, the vampire hadn't fed in over a month. That is, if time passed in the same manner as it did on Earth, but he doubted it. Still, it would drive him into berserk soon. Without any blood to sustain his diet-dependant undead soul, he would either go insane, or die. Whichever came first.

But when a vampire is driven into berserk, things start to happen. Things that might help Yami exit this Hellhole he'd dug himself into. Though he probably had created someway out, he might never remember in time.

It had been a while ago since Yami discovered Ryou's empty body. In desperation, he had tried to feed off of it, but discovered that not even the power of the Shadow Realm would allow contact between flesh and soul. He had left in frustration, and now had no idea where he was, and if he had even moved.

But he had experienced enough waiting in his life to be able to wait forever. He would last a bit longer.


Me: yes, I do realize that the length of that chapter was nothing in comparison to the amount of time I took to update, but please find it in your hearts to forgive me! ;-;

'Leanne: -.- get over it.

Ryou: hey! ;-; I didn't get a part in this chapter!

Bakura: nya ha! That's because mine was more important then your was. Nya... :P

Ryou: (eye twitches then gets into melee combat with Bakura, rendering them useless for the authoress to use as muses)

Me: gah! First that, and now this?? ;' ( I'm left to do the ending statement. Oh well

R/R, mina-sama! :D Ja!