OH. MY. GAWD. I'm sooooo sorry! I haven't updated in forever! –cries-. I blame finals. And the stupid tests/reports/projects aren't over yet! Blargh!

Wow… actual story development. That's good for me.

Disclaimer: In a perfect world, fans could own anything they wanted. Alas, this world is not perfect. Damned politicians.

Refer to chapter one for all speech keys because I'm to lazy to write them out.

Enjoy the show!

Nightmares are Immortal

"So where is this person we're going to meet?" Ryou thought to himself and his counterpart as he dragged his heavy bag to the entranceway of the airport. He had just finished telling Bakura about his decision to travel to America. Bakura had simply shrugged and said it was a strange choice of destination.

"Perhaps near the person who is holding up the sign with 'Ryou Bakura' on it?" Bakura replied sarcastically. He had never really thought about how much that Ryou had meant to him before, but as he himself had said once, he was rather attached to his host.

"Oh. Right." Thought Ryou meekly as he approached the young woman who was waving the cardboard plaque.

"Idiot."

"I love you too."

"Hey!" The young woman yelled, finally approaching our two arguing stars "Are you Ryou Bakura?"

It took a second for Ryou to snap out of it, but he finally came to himself and answered 'Yes, I am." But he was surprised that she had managed to pronounce his name right.

"Great! I've been waiting here forever!" The girl said, throwing her sign fifteen feet and into the nearest trashcan. "My name is Cassidy Beth, I don't care if you call me by my first or last, but call me Cassandra or Bethany and you won't like me very much." She said, finishing in a tone that pressed Ryou not to argue.

This girl was short, about an inch shorter than him, and of such a wiry build that she couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds. But she didn't look anorexic, so he guessed she was simply a very slight person. She wore all black, and her pants had chains on them. Ryou was reminded of Yugi for a second. Her hair was a light, sandy brown and her hazel eyes were very peculiar. They had outer rings of a greenish color, but on the inside they were a deep bronze. She smiled at them and picked up Ryou's bag. "Allow me." Cassidy said cheerfully as she hoisted it over her shoulder.

"Ok." He muttered weakly as he followed her outside to where the taxis were. She waved her hand out, but the cars just kept racing by, paying her no heed. Ryou didn't blame the drivers. She was short enough to be 12, even though Ryou was sure she was 16. Her sunny disposition fell away and her eyes narrowed, lips turning up in a scowl that made her look like she was going to spontaneously combust

"I don't care who taxis me, I need a ride! NOW!" she yelled, her voice layered with frustration. Almost immediately, one of the drivers stopped, rolled down the window and nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

She fixed her face and smiled again. "Thanks!" she giggled as she loaded the suitcase into the trunk, helped Ryou in and instructed the driver. Soon they were off. Ryou looked at Cassidy.

"Where is your house?"

"Oh, It's not MY house. It belongs to my friend and her sister. I just hang there most of the time because my parents hate having me home."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. The bastards don't deserve the pity. The house isn't that far from the airport, but it's in a suburb. It's weird how close it is, yet it isn't in the city, but that's all right. Where do you live?"

"I live in an apartment in a town in Japan called Domino. It's kind of nice."

"Holdup. DOMINO! Isn't that where Battle City was held?" Cass's eyes widened a bit as it clicked "THE RYOU BAKURA! You placed, what… Fifth or something in Battle city! You got to the semifinals!"

"Well… it's not really…" Ryou stumbled. It was his Yami that won him the shadow game and imprisoned Bonz and his cronies to get that far.

"I can't believe it! Kamika will be out of her mind!" Cassidy continued, ignoring the mumblings of Ryou.

"I beg your pardon? Who?" Ryou asked as he had no Idea what she was saying.

"Sorry. Kamika is the younger sister of my friend who owns the house. She's a HUGE fan of yours. She'd go a-wall if she knew you were coming."

"I have fans? I'm flattered."

"I'd like to see Kamika. Anyone creepy enough to be YOUR fan needs to get a medal"

"Is my hikari acting CHEEKY? I need to praise whatever happened to you after I left for finding your long-lost backbone."

"Hello? Earth to Ryou, come in Ryou!" Cassandra said forcefully, waving a finger back and forth, effectively snapping Ryou out of it.

'OH! I'm sorry, I was just spacing out there for a moment." Ryou mumbled, and then added another topic to subject matter. "Do you duel?"

"Oh sure! Everyone watched Battle City and the Kaibacorp Grand Prix on TV, with subtitles, of course. EVERYONE around duels, but very few can actually stand alone. I'm alright, myself, but nowhere near tournament material."

Ryou was curious. "Can I see your deck?"

"Sure!" Cass laughed and pulled out her cards and handed them to Bakura.

"Flame Cerberus, Flame Swordsman, Solar Flare Dragon…she seems to like fire a lot."

"A regular pyromaniac. She's carrying at least seven lighters in her purse. I can smell that stupid burning oil."

"Gasoline?"

"Whatever."

Cassidy noticed the looks that Ryou was giving her as he thumbed through her deck. "Yeah, I have a pyromaniac deck. I like fire a lot. Kamika uses a demon and dragon deck, and her sister… I don't even want to think about her deck. Just thinking about it freaks me out. Kamika's sister is one of the best duelists in town. She could give you and your deck a run for your money, in creepiness and in skill."

"I'll have to meet her. She sounds nice." Ryou stumbled, not really meaning what he said. Anyone who could give his Yami a run for his money had to be trouble.

Cassidy snorted and started to laugh. "Nice! That'd be the day!"

"Excuse me miss, we're at the destination." The driver said as he rolled down the window.

"Oh. Right." Cassidy finished off, took Ryou's bag and started to the house.

Ryou walked into a kitchen. The house was big, but a little empty. There was ivy on outside walls, and a few trellises on which climbing flowers bloomed.

The kitchen was spacious. There were pots of something on the stove. Someone was stirring one of them, but stopped, noticing Ryou. She walked over and gave a smile that made her look like she was going to eat someone.

"Hello, Ryou Bakura. I am Amber Dallon, and I will be your landlord for this year." The woman said in a voice that sounded a little more like a boy than a girl, but it was obvious that the person was a she, and was about his own age.

Ryou had taken to looking at people's eyes to assess them ever since he had discovered his Yami. But no amount of experience could have prepared him to look at her. Her eyes were a forlorn, overcast gray that had an oddly metallic shine to them. They were narrow and cunning, with a sparkle of pleasure that comes with freedom. But they were also the scarred eyes of one who has fought a thousand battles and has lived to tell the tale.

Ryou shook his head and turned away from her eyes. Her dark brown hair was sort-of wavy, and seemed to listen to no one. It fell to her shoulders in a mane that screamed 'I will not obey, so screw you!' Although she was wearing an apron, Ryou could tell she was wearing a fuzzy green shirt and jeans that revealed nothing about her figure. She smirked a smirk that made Ryou gulp a little bit and she whispered 'What would you like for dinner, little Ryou?"

But a crashing interrupted her, and in a blur of confusion a little girl was suddenly sitting on the back of Amber, who was crushed to the floor. Amber let out a series of curses that were illegible to everyone around her and glared at her ambusher.

Her huge ink-black eyes sparkled, and her dirty-blonde hair was put up in a high ponytail. She was exceedingly short, but probably because she was at least three years younger than Ryou. She was wearing jeans, as well as a camouflage shirt that said 'Ha! Now you can't see me!' on it in white letters. She coughed a bit and then spoke in a high tone.

"Heya! Sorry for my sister, but she just likes scaring people shitless." The little girl laughed, and then took a double take. "Wait a sec… You're Ryou Bakura! Ohmigosh! Why didn't you tell me he was our transfer student!" The kid yelled at Amber who gave a sound of annoyance like a growl.

"I didn't know. How many people named Ryou can a world have, Kamika? A thousand? A million?"

"Oh shove it. Anyhoo…" Kamika turned to Ryou again "So glad you made it! Please forgive my sister, but as I said, she likes scarring people shitless."

"It's alright. I'm used to it." Sighed Ryou as he sized the little girl up. How could SHE be a fan of his Yami? Or even have a demon card in her deck? She was just so impossibly cute!

The older girl glowered even more potently at her sister. "Get off or I will remove you."

"Oh. Sorry sis." Kamika giggled and got off. Amber straightened herself up and it became known that she was at least three inches taller than Ryou. She looked him in the eye and brandished the wooden spoon she was carrying at Ryou.

"Tell me anything about food with you now, or I can't promise I won't make something that will kill you." Amber said in such a way that Ryou got a mental image of his counterpart in an apron, brandishing a wooden spoon at him. Bakura quickly wiped the thought out of his Hikari's mind.

"Um… Nothing really."

"Good. Now take your things up to your room. First one on the left. You can explore any room in this house except my room. Enter without my consent, and if I find out, you die."

"Okay." He said quietly and took his bags up to the room that Amber had specified. It was painted a cream color, and had a small closet and a decently large bed. He flopped the suitcase on the bed, closed the door, and finally his Yami appeared behind him.

"Now, aren't we the lucky ones? A whole house full of women!"

'No, Bakura. No. But I am wondering why none of them are fangirls of mine, yet. Well, besides That Kamika girl. But she's your fangirl and not in the creepy sense. I just think she likes watching you."

"She seems much to soft to even consider LOOKING at me. There's no way that she can like me."

"You got me there." Ryou hesitated for as second but continued. "Amber is creeping me out."

"Weakling."

"You two are a match made in heaven." Ryou giggled, and then corrected himself "Or hell, more likely."

"Forget praising the thing that found your backbone, I'm going to kill it."

"It's the truth and you know it."

"Shutup."

"Merow?" a mewling was heard on the floor by Ryou's foot. Bakura instantly vanished. Ryou looked down.

It was a little black cat, with exceptionally short hair and large ears. Yellow eyes looked up at the boy without emotion.

"Oh! Hello!" Ryou said at the feline, and bent down to scratch it's ears. The cat started to purr fondly, and Kamika stepped into the door.

'I see you've found Krys, Ryou." She said brightly. The cat immediately bounded away from Ryou and onto Kamika's shoulder. "The cat belongs to me."

"She's a nice cat."

"It's a He."

"Sorry."

"It's OK. Why don't you come down to supper?"

"alright."

"So, what's for dinner?" Ryou quietly asked Cassidy, who was already handing out napkins.

"Chili. But don't be turned off. Amber makes some of the best chili around."

"Ok. I've never had it before." Ryou said honestly. He had spent most of his life in Japan, and had never even tasted it.

"Heads, Ryou!" Kamika giggled as she threw him a can of coke, even though her target had his back turned. The can contacted with the back of Ryou's head, and bounced off, leaving Ryou with a little bump and a sore spot.

"OW!" he yelped as the sudden impact of the can startled him. Cassidy just laughed.

"Hah, don't worry. Her throwing things at you just means she likes you. When she met me, she almost killed me by throwing a bowling ball at me. Don't ask me why she had a bowling ball on her at the time, though." Beth said, forcing the words through snickers. Amber gave the left pot of chili a final stir and looked at all three of them.

"I'm not a servant. Serve yourself." She spat crossly, took some from the smaller left pot she had been stirring and sat down. She looked at Ryou and that started to eat in a way that was neither messy nor polite. Ryou took this as a sign to get up and takes some food.

He took his bowl and walked over to the pots on the stove. He looked at both of them. Neither seemed to be the tomato-based kind of chili, but the left one was a shade of ginger. By Ryou's logic, it seemed that since Amber was eating out of the left pot that was orange, it was better. He stuck a pinky in and tasted it.

For a second nothing happened, but after a moment Ryou felt the effects. Ryou's eyes opened in sheer shock and surprise. His ears turned red and his eyes started to water violently. The boy coughed, and clutched his throat as steam poured out his nose.

"FIRE!" Ryou screamed as he ran to the bathroom and drank four glasses of water to get rid of the spice. He entered the dining room again, looking very embarrassed. At first, everyone just blinked, and then they burst into gales of laughter. By far the person who was laughing the hardest was Amber.

"How… can you eat that stuff! Any more and I'd have burned my mouth to cinders!" Ryou looked in amazement as Amber took another heaping spoonful of the atomic chili. Beth adopted an apologetic look and explained.

"You see, always take food from the right pot in this household. The pot on the left is always Ambers. She likes food that can be legally labeled as a chemical weapon of mass destruction. If you took the one on the right, you would have been fine. That one's very mild."

"Ok…" Ryou spluttered, "I'll remember that."

Kamika served him a plate of the browner looking chili and Ryou found he liked it. Ryou decided to ask burning question that was on his mind.

"Um, Amber?"

"That's my name."

"Why do you cook? No offense or anything, but you don't seem the type." Ryou squeaked, expecting a lecture or something of the sort, accompanied by physical pain. Amber just laughed a laugh that most would have considered creepy, and looked our white-haired hero in the eye.

"Because my sister can't reach the top shelves and Beth manages to reduce anything uncooked and food-related to a powder that is either white or black, depending on her mood."

"I beg your pardon?"

"She doesn't cook food, Ryou, she carbonizes it."

"Oh." Ryou said, feeling kind of stupid. He had finished his chili. He wiped his face on his napkin and stood up. "I think I'll go unpack."

Amber didn't look up from her almost-empty bowl of chili. "Do as you please. I'm not stopping you."

"And you can go to bed whenever as you want. It's not like any of us would care. But be sure to be ready to get up early tomorrow. It's Sunday tomorrow, and that means it's the day to hit the town." Beth said, taking her plate from the table.

Bakura cocked his head. "None of you go to church?"

Kamika grinned. "Nope. Beth and I are atheists, and whatever the heck Amber is, it doesn't involve Sunday prayers"

Amber made a slight sound like trying to suppress laughter. "Damn right it doesn't. There are many things I enjoy doing, and being on my knees all morning isn't on the list."

Ryou laughed pleasantly and walked up to his room, before the argument ensued. For a brief five seconds as he was walking up the stairs, Ryou heard crashing downstairs and some yelling. He chuckled and looked at the hallway at the top of the stairs again.

There were several rooms on it. To his immediate right, at the end closest to him was a bathroom with a shower and everything that was necessary. On the actual hallway, there were four doors, two on one side and two on the other. He knew the left one was his and had what looked to be a handle of bronze, but on closer inspection, it became known that it was really coated with a thin, antique layer of gold. The room next to his was probably a linen closet. On the right were two identical doors made out of oak. The first had a handle of blackened silver and was emblazoned with a sign clearly labeling it 'Kamika'. The second had a handle of brass and was marked with a plaque that said 'Cassidy'.

The last door, at the very end of the hallway was made out of cherrywood so old that it had darkened to a deep wine color (1). It hade a handle of crystal and a sign that announced 'Amber' in a flowing, calligraphic script.

Ryou decided not to unpack right away, but to look in the other rooms. Amber had said he could explore, anyways. What better time to do it?

He turned the blackish-silver handle and entered Kamikas room. It was painted a light green and was surprisingly plain. There was a desk in one corner with a computer, and a bed in the other. There was a small table set up in the middle that had rolls of felt, a sewing machine, bobbins and various buttons, accompanied by some half-finished projects that looked like dolls. A large pile of stuffed toys was in the corner. They were all dolls of people, and appeared to be handmade. He noticed one that looked like Amber, and shuddered, closing the door again.

He went into Cassidy's room. Or tried to. As soon as he opened the door, a loud noise erupted from the space in front of him, and he found himself staring into the eyes of a huge auburn snake. The gigantic serpent hissed warningly, and Ryou instantly slammed the door shut in a sweat.

"Last time I ever go into a woman's bedroom."

"But not mine."

"No, Bakura. No."

Later that night --

Ryou tossed in his bed, sweating slightly. His face had a restless expression, and his mouth was turned down in a frown.

The day had been a cluttered one for sure. In the morning, he had been lamenting about the loss of his other half. By afternoon, he had found his Yami again. By evening, he had been introduced to his roommates, and odd ones at that.

How could Kaimika be a fan of his Yami? She just seemed way to innocent for that. But the dolls in her room said otherwise, and were even a little freaky how much they resembled certain people. A few very ugly ones even had pins stuck in them. Even though he had seen them only for a second he could identify a few people and things.

There was an Amber doll, with a mane of bushy hair, a green shirt and gray button-eyes that seemed to be forever in a smirk.

There was a Cassidy doll, thinner than the others and dressed in black pants complete with miniature chains. A small camera dangled from a heavy chain around her neck and a gun was tucked into her belt.

A black cat with screaming yellow eyes stared out from the pile, which must have been Krys

The brownish, elongated form sticking out of the heap must have been the snake he had encountered earlier.

Huge black button-eyes and dirty-blonde hair must have been Kamika.

One of the half-finished projects on the table had long, snow-white hair. Ryou shuddered in his sleep.

His unconscious thinking turned from facts to dreamed fantasy. A circle of standing stones protruded from the floor of an ancient forest. In the center, a great column rose above the other boulders

An obscure figure stood tall on the top, image blurred by the unusually large, full moon overhead. All that could be seen was long hair blown by the wind and a pair of staring eyes.

Silver eyes.

The figure spoke in a tone so low, it was indistinguishable to be either male or female.

"Fear not what lurks in the shadows, but what lurks between them."

With that, Ryou woke with a sweat, but the vision was quickly dismissed, and the boy fell asleep once more.

The early hours of morning. Five-o-clock sharp. The best time to sleep in. Ryou snored softly as faint light filtered subtly in through his window. The door of his room creaked quietly, and someone shattered the silence like a sledgehammer striking a mirror.

"RYOU! STIR YOUR STUMPS, LAZY LEGS! WE'RE HITTIN' THE TOWN IN AN HOUR!" Kamika yelled as she pounced on the sleeping Ryou and started to jump on his bed.

"YAH!" The object of her torture screamed, and the pulled the covers up higher, sitting straight up in bed. 'Whattah? Mnriphl?" He mumbled as he blinked his fuzzy eyes into focus, which was followed by 'WAH! KAMIKA!" When they finally did.

"Up, Up, up! Get ready! We're going shopping and then we're going to the arcade after lunch! And try to look good enough to walk around downtown!" she squealed and then bounced off the bed, ran across the hall and into Cassidy's room. Subsequently, much screaming and throwing of objects could be heard across the hall. Ryou closed his door again and decided to pick an outfit. He opened his suitcase and started rummaging.

"You're as fussy about your clothes as a girl!"

"Honestly! I'm just trying to not look like a total slob! If I'm going to be walking around with girls all day, then I had better look at least sort of nice"

"Sure, I understand. You want people to believe the women here are all yours."

"No! It's not like that at all!" He thought indignantly, and picked out his outfit. It was comprised of sneakers, a red shirt, jeans, and a short black jacket. He hesitated for a second and placed the Ring on the outside. It was just look weird if he had something that large under a t-shirt. And besides, these people wouldn't exactly be the ones to care what he wore, anyway. Bakura gave a remark from in his soul room that he finally was accepting he was an item holder. Ryou quieted him and headed downstairs.

Kamika greeted him with "What took ya so long!" Her dirty blonde hair gave a little fluff in the front, before being drawn back into a high ponytail in the back. The ponytail holder was what looked like solid engraved silver. She was wearing a black-and-pink tank top emblazoned with 'Fear the Cute' on the front and the image of a chibi bunny holding a knife behind it's back, giving something in between an evil smirk and an innocent grin. She wore red pants and black boots with a three-inch heel.

"Kamika, not everyone wakes up at two AM like I do. And not everyone bounces off the walls when they wake up like you do." Amber said, sipping a hot drink that even at a distance smelled nothing like tea, coffee, or chocolate. It smelled faintly spicy and alcoholic. Ryou decided not to comment.

Yesterday, Amber had been wearing baggy-around-the-house clothes that had said nothing about her body. But today she was wearing a midriff-showing, forest-green halter-top, black jeans and a spiked dog collar. Instead of licenses and tags, a silver bullet on a fine chain hung from it. Her hair still didn't behave. Ryou noticed that she had a lithe, athletic build with not one heavy spot on her, but she didn't have an exceptionally large chest. Ryou mentally slapped himself for thinking that and his eyes were drawn to something else.

Raking her in the stomach region there were four parallel scars, like some large animal had come up to her and slashed her with its paw. Around her left shoulder, there was an oval ring of pinpoint scars, like she'd been bitten by something. They were obviously old scars, but still very blatant. Bakura whistled in his soul room.

"Um…" Ryou murmured while staring at her midsection.

"Long story."

"But why the heck do you show them off?"

"Why shouldn't I display something I earned in honorable single combat?"

"Single combat? With a beast that large? Are you nuts!" Ryou squealed in a slightly high-pitched tone. Judging by the size of the rake marks, the animal had to be about the size of a lion.

"It's very likely that I'm psychotic. Does it really matter? No." softly retorted Amber, not really taking the implication that she was crazy too hard. She turned in the direction of the stairs and said harshly in a louder tone "Are you ready yet Beth, or do I have to wait a couple hundred more years?"

Cassidy ran down the stairs and scowled. "Alright, alright, keep your tail on." She was wearing a dark blue tube-top and short-shorts. She wore chain-belt and at least ten bracelets on each wrist. She wore tall boots as well.

Kamika looked really happy. "everyone ready? yes? then let's go!"

"You're right, Cassidy. The house is close to the city."

"I'm usually not wrong." Cass said back to Ryou.

Amber smirked. "What about the time when we ended up in the middle of a gang's hideout because of you, Beth?"

"Shutup."

"No." Amber smiled like she was eating her. They were standing outside an arcade. Earlier, The girls had bought some stuff, but they had made a stop back at home to drop it off. Ryou was amazed how close the house was to the city, but that really didn't matter

"hey…" Cassidy muttered and looked around. "Where's Kamika?'

"I don't know. Maybe she went inside?" Ryou suggested, and the two girls in is presence looked at him. Amber strode inside, followed by Cassidy. "Hey, wait for me!"

Ryou ran into the building, not wanting to be left behind. As soon as he stepped inside, he was marveling at how large it was compared to the one in domino. It was almost the size of a warehouse, simply filled with arcade games. But at the end, in the midst of some very bright strobe lights was the ultimate arcade game.

Dance Dance Revolution.

For those not in the know, it's a dancing game. On the (in this case huge) screen, arrows fly up to special spots at the top of the screen, and you have to step on the corresponding arrow on the dance pad. In other words, to play, you dance.

Which is why most people fail miserably at it.

But there Kaimika was, on one of the pads, about to start a game with a very tall, swarthy-looking Chinese man. Ryou ran in closer.

"You've got balls, takin' me on, squirt! Are you even out of diapers?" The man guffawed, clearly not taking her seriously.

Kamika glared back, bad suddenly Ryou didn't think she was so cute anymore. She smiled a wonderfully evil smile for someone who was usually as cute as a button. "In case you noticed, I'm female. I didn't come with balls. So shut your mouth and face me before I shut it for you."

Ryou finally found Cassidy and Amber, the latter was smiling like something was hilariously funny. Cassidy turned to her dryly. 'You're a bad influence."

Amber pointed her thumb at Ryou and turned back to Cassidy. "No, He's a bad influence. She didn't show a backbone until she saw the tournament."

"Holy cow, she IS your fan."

"First one I've had that isn't the kind that stalks you and captures you naked on camera."

"Let's not bring that incident up."

"yes. Let's not."

"You punk! For that wise-ass comment, I choose the challenge! This will be a death match, anything goes. I'll pick the first song, too! Short Trip into the Dark, Black Forest!" The man screeched, obviously irritated.

"If you wish. I'll massacre you either way."

The song started. Slowly at first, but it gradually picked up speed. Kamika simply floated along to the beat, mostly acing the song. The other man was doing much better than her.

"See! Ha! I eat shit like you for breakfast!"

Kamika was unphased and simply raised her eyebrow. 'You eat shit for breakfast? It can't be good for the digestion."

"Shut up you dirty underage whore!"

Kaimika's eyes narrowed in a look of sheer annoyance. "Twit. I'm not sexually active." Without skipping a beat, she performed a flying kick at the man and continued dancing. The man was thrown off for a little bit, costing him his near-perfect score. Kaimika was now in the lead.

"Why you little!"

"You said anything goes. There's no penalty for fighting dirty, so shove it."

The song ended, with Kamika in the lead.

"That's it! No more nice guy."

"If that's 'nice', than I'd love to see horrible."

"You got it! Then next song is… Love Love Sugar!"

"Alright."

The song started in a flurry of stepping, but calmed down after a second, with the occasional hard pattern of steps. The man looked enraged by Kaimika's level headedness and made a low kick to her abdomen. She jumped high in the air and dealt a crushing blow to the man's head.

"You miniature bitch! That hurt!"

"That's the point. But you're awfully slow, you old fart!"

With that, the man completely lost it. He abandoned his dancing and seemed to go after Kamika without a second thought. Kamika simply kept on dancing, avoiding his blows.

"I can see those a mile way. Not only slow, but predictable! You'd make a lousy fighter, too."

Kamika took the offensive, delivering a series of swift blows to his chest and legs. It was a hilarious sight; the machine going on with cutesy 'pink' song in Japanese, and the 'cutesy' girl to go along with it was beating the stuffing out of her 30-year-old opponent. His left leg collapsed from a failed attempt at a roundhouse kick and Kamika took the opportunity to nail him a hard kick to the face, spraying blood everywhere. The man flew back three feet and onto the railing.

"Championship… title… I lost it to a kid... no…" he moaned and then promptly fell unconscious. Kamika finished with a B average on the song and looked over at Amber with a deceptively innocent smile.

"He sucked, eh sis?"

"He did." Amber muttered and turned over to Ryou. "She just plays this game for the pleasure of beating people up without getting caught."

"That's just plain evil"

"You aren't one to talk."

"I'm um… prone to… personality switches."

"Schizophrenic, or just 'eye of the tiger'?"

"Schizophrenic."

"That's alright. I don't have anything against it. I've seen far weirder things."

"Thank goodness. I wouldn't know what to do if you said otherwise."

"What is your favorite game?" Amber asked abruptly, derailing the subject.

"What?"

"What is your favorite game?"

"Oh… I doubt you've heard of it. It's a table roleplaying game called 'Monster World.'"

"Sounds interesting. When I was a kid, I loved Dungeons and Dragons. But my thief character, Claravalle, got so high level no one could make up an adventure for her anymore. So I stopped.'

"Cool."

"Tell you what, Ryou. We can play that later if you agree to play one of MY favorite games."

"OK. What is it?"

Amber stated to walk over to the fest wall, but looked over her shoulder, smirking like a maniac. "Battle Simulator. C'mon you three. We're going for a round in the combat rooms."

"All right! We're gonna teach you the moves, greenie!" Kamika screamed with laughter and dragged Beth and Ryou over to the west wall with Amber. There were sets of doors into small rooms, like closets. Kamika and Amber shoved Beth and Ryou into it, the latter a little more unwilling. Then, they too stepped inside and shut the door. The room was featureless, dark and larger than expected.

"Um, Amber, what is this game?"

"You'll like it. It's a combat simulator. Basically, you get to beat the heck out of monsters and things the computer sends at you. Not that different from a roleplay, actually. You have a character and stats and such."

"O...Okay."

"We'll give you a demo round." Amber wheezed and commenced sequencing. "Initiate combat simulation, enemy level, two."

"Confirmed. Generating playing field, ancient ruins of Daaskan."

Suddenly a landscape of tortured ruins and ancient statues flickered into view. Ambers steadily growing smirk was now visible.

"Commence character upload, generate character for player 4." She said deliciously, looking at him like one would inspect a horse.

"Confirmed. Player one: Amber Dallon. Character: Legendary Assassin Fai-Rune Nasbard. Player two: Cassidy Beth. Character: Firearms Master Nesgai Fanrath. Player Three: Kamika Dallon. Character: Shadowdancer Dathica Nasbard"

"What about me?" Ryou whispered. He was currently thinking about the strange names that the computer had just read off.

"Player four: state name." The computer drawled in its monotone way.

"R...Ryou Bakura."

"Player four: Ryou Bakura. Generating character. Please hold still." The computer said unworriedly. There was a flash of blackness, which startled Ryou and his other half.

"The frig? That was shadow magic!"

"Character generated. Player four: Ryou Bakura. Character: Thief King Bak-u-Ra."

Amber looked slightly intrigued. Cassidy squinted at him and Kamika gave a gasp of surprise. Amber cocked an eyebrow.

"I never would have thought it of you from your actions thus far, but it fits- an a very strange way."

"Thought what?" Ryou said, still disoriented form the strange flare of shadow magic.

"The King of Thieves. You. But this thing reads personalities and generates a character that fits based on the subconscious, so it must be right."

"And how does it do it?"

"How should I know? Ask Pegasus; he owns the company that made it."

"Industrial Illusions?"

"Yeah. It seems to have branched off from duel monsters lately." Beth sighed and turned to Amber. "You'll do the honors?"

"Of course. Initiate round of combat. Player one, two and three will fight against level 17 monsters. Player four will fight against leve1 one monsters. Game start!" Amber barked to no one in particular, and suddenly a few weapons appeared in the air, which everyone grabbed at. Cassidy swiped the duo of elaborate-looking pistols, while Amber took a strange polearm weapon composed of a long shaft and a wide, bladed end. It vaguely reminded Ryou of a naginata, but had a heavier, broader blade. From the other end, a silver charm shaped like an oak leaf dangled form a fine chain. Amber made a pass or two with it and then was at rest. Kamika smiled and picked up a pair of delicate baselards with gold handles, blades made out of a metal that gave them an eerie purple sheen.

"Um…" Ryou mumbled as he picked up the long dagger and claw the game had produced for him. He felt very awkward with them, even though eh had seen Bakura enough to know how to use them, he shivered at the thought, because he had mostly been the object of his yamis' attack.

Kamika smiled at him "don't worry. Level one doesn't hurt much at all, I promise. And you'll do ok. You seem the type that would."

Kamika's gentle words calmed ryou down a little. The computer droned out another message.

"fight one. Cassandra versus winged marauders. Fight, set, go!" the machine announced and seven harpies swooped into vision, screeching and brandishing talons. They flapped humongous wings, sending scythes of air at Beth.

Beth laughed and did not dodge. The scythes hit, but did relatively little damage, but Cassandra was noticeably in pain. "You wind fans my flames!" she hissed and aimed her two pistols at the farthest harpies.

Bang Blast

They fired, both hitting their targets straight in the chest. For a second nothing happened.

Thwaboom!

The impact sites exploded into a fiery inferno, engulfing all the harpies. When the flames subsided, all there was left were charred bones and Cassandra striking a dramatic pose, blowing smoke off her gun. The enemies faded and the computer spoke again.

"Enemies eliminated. Player record, 1:0 starting fight 2. Kaimika versus Dust Dwellers"

On cue, Kamika stepped up, an insane smirk plastered over her cherubic face. Seven lizardmen flickered into view and hissed. They sprang like demons. Kaimika only smirked more.

In a flash of agility, she jumped up and rolled out of the way. Swiping one baselard, she dismembered one lizardman crumpled to the floor, virtual blood spraying.

"Can't catch me!" she laughed and performed another flurry of swipes with aerobic agility. One by one, heads, limbs and weapons dropped to the floor, hitting with dull thuds and splats. There was blood everywhere, even on Kamika

Soon, there were no more enemies. Kamika's blades stopped flashing and she gave a grin that might be deemed innocent if she wasn't plastered with gore.

"Ya-Ha! Nothing like lizard-on-a-stick to get you in gear!" Kamika laughed and jumped for joy. The blood and corpses disappeared and the computer droned on once again.

"Targets terminated. Victor, Kamika. Record 1:0. Preparing next fight…"

"Hurry up, you chunk of circuitry!" Amber snapped. The voice drawled on, but much more high-pitched and malevolent.

"Surprise! Random boss battle! Opponent: Royal Gaurdmaster Masicarre!"

Cass and Kamika gasped. Cass started t stutter to Ryou, who looked confused.

"After you… fight enough battles, a boss may deem you worthy to challenge. These are controlled by the Bossmasters, people employed by Pegasus to weed out the weak that happen to advance to the top. Amber holds… the record for the most enemies slaughtered in one bout… she can take on armies by herself and… win. Masicarre is considered the third-most powerful boss in the entire game, besides War Sorcerer Saneen and Lord of All Things Panseru. It's Amber's goal to squish Panseru back to the hole he crawled out from."

"Ohh…"

"This is starting to sound very familiar."

"Yes. It is."

"Special boss field, Ancient Labyrinth of the Lord!" The computer squealed and the ruins melted way, replaced by moldering tunnel illuminated by flickering torchlight.

A man was roughly fifty paces away, carrying a plain wooden staff of wood carved intricately, he wore plain clothes, but he wore delicate glasses and was very, very tall.

Cassandra continued to whisper to Ryou. "Cassandra's character is trying t assassinate the lord. She has to go through her to get to the castle. This is why you have a character, and you must role-play the part to perfection, lest you fall out of character, which is a big no- no."

The man looked at Amber crossly, as if she was an unruly child. "You may not, pass, assassin! I shall protect the lord at all costs!"

Amber gave an unimpressed smirk. "Stand aside, or I might have to fulfill that little part of your job description."

"Your banter is useless, assassin! You die, here, now!"

Amber laughed coldly. 'I'd like to see you try. Can you kill the unkillable? Fear doesn't die, weakling, and neither do I."

"Don't test me!" He barked and made a lunge. Amber easily avoided.

"You won't catch me in a thousand years and you know it. You're just bound to get slower in time."

"For the lord!" the boss yelled, and made another pass. Amber caught it with her polearm. She chuckled as the blade caught effortlessly through it, hewing it in two. In a flash the blade pressed to the Royal Gaurdmaster's throat.

"Tell you what, maggot. I'll let you live if you promise to eat the lord's heart." Massicarre growled in disapproval. "No? Then more for me, I guess. Farwell fool, and good riddance."

With a fluid motion, the opposing player's head was decapitated and rolled somewhere to the left. Amber picked up the head by the hair and slung it over her shoulder. Walking down the hall, she turned over her shoulder.

"Like I said, 'old friend'. Nightmares are immortal." With that, she walked to the end of the tunnel and the simulation ended. A voice that was not the recording came on.

"Congratulations, Amber Dallon. You have triumphed over Massicarre. And set the record for the most bloodthirsty, vengeful, cynical role-play scene in battle simulation history. Congratulations.

Amber looked up to the ceiling. "Shut up or I'll add your head to my collection. Continue the game, admin so my accomplice the Thief King can have his first bout."

"Eep! Shutting up!"

The computer came on again.

"Commencing simulation, first battle of Ryou Bakura. Good luck, newbie!"

A troll shimmered into view and bellowed. Kamika gave him a thumbs-up.

"Good luck Ryou!"

End Chapter
wow! that's over the average 10 pages! I'm so proud!

Um... If you want this story to continue after I get a new plot bunny, then please review. I post my stories for others to read them ad give me feedback. if you don't review, then there's no point. so PLEASE review. flames are accepted, but not encouraged.

and make a poor freshie happy today :)