...Annnnnd - we're back! Read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Authoress does not claim ownership of Yugioh or Black&White
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This new island was a total mess. Clearly, a massive godly war between extremely powerful rivals - and a pair of extremely powerful creatures too - had occurred here recently. There were even the remnants of a destroyed village near where the Vortex had lead them.
"…Doesn't this place look awfully familiar?" Lupine suddenly asked in the middle of organizing the villagers and supplies that Yuugioh had taken through the Vortex with them, "I have this strange sensation that we've been here before…"
"I would definitely remember anyplace with great scenery like dis," Luster argued, "We've never been here before!"
"Yes we have," Yuugioh stated, his voice eerily calm, "Because right here is where my first Temple used to be."
Sure enough, there was a massive scorch mark just the right size and shape for a Temple on the ground just below them. Laurel, when she wasn't helping the villagers, would take long sniffs of the air and then sigh. They weren't very happy sighs either.
"Oh yes, I recognize it now," Lupine said, "Look, and over there are those huge gates. Remember them?"
"Yeah, now dat I think about it," Luster agreed, hovering by the fire-ruined gates, "I guess dose two gods really trashed da place fightin'. I wonder - do you think they're still here somewhere?"
"Someone must be - this is where that fog came from," Lupine pointed out.((Master?))
Yuugioh blinked, then floated down to where Laurel was trying to get his attention. The normally rather calm Creature was looking especially agitated and upset.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
She blinked, then ducked her head in embarrassment.
((I…have been a little disturbed by coming back here,)) Laurel admitted, ((But that's not what's bothering me now. Can't you hear it, Master?))
"Hear what?"
((Just listen - the wind's blowing the right way again.))
Yuugioh listened. All he heard was the wind whistling and moaning. Sure it sounded rather disturbing, but what about it could possibly…
…Was that the wind moaning?
"That moaning…" Yuugioh thought aloud, "That's not…that isn't the wind that's moaning…"
((I don't know who, but somewhere on this island is another Creature. And it sounds like something awful is happening to them,)) Laurel whimpered, her ears going flat against her head.
"Focus on getting the village built," Yuugioh told her as he stroked her in a reassuring fashion, "I'll figure out what's going on here."
And with that, Yuugioh zipped off, staying low to the ground to avoid attracting unwanted attention. The first place he was going to check out was the land ruled by his 'neighbor' Alastor.
There were only two small villages left in this direction - out of the large five that had been here originally - and none of them bore the symbol for Alastor. And where the evil god's Temple had previously been, there was nothing but an open patch of ground. Of the fate of Alastor's Creature Tap-Tap, there was no sign.
"He musta lost dat fight…looks like his Temple got totally vaporized," Luster said, "Personally, I think he had it coming ta him. Da guy was a real jerk."
"What about Dekos?" Lupine wondered, "Did he go back to his own island?"
"Maybe…dey killed each other!" Luster suggested, grinning.
Instead of joining in on Luster and Lupine's speculations, Yuugioh simply turned around and headed for the one area of the island that he had never been to, not even during his first time living here. The island was larger than he had ever thought it had been.
It was in this area that the faint moans became easily discernible cries of distress. Located on one very prominent seaside cliff was a tall Temple. The only evil Temple Yuugioh had seen before was Alastor's, but this one was such a deep red that it was almost black in color and the spikes were much more prominent and a lot more vicious-looking.
So it was very confusing to see a bright pink beam of light pulsing out of the top of it.
The closest village to the Temple bore three different symbols: the dominant symbol of a pink circle, a flickering acid yellow thunderbolt, and an even fainter green crescent moon.
"Well, the moon symbol belongs to Alastor, so the thunderbolt symbol must be Dekos' symbol," Lupine mentioned, "And I suppose the…pink circle symbol is the symbol of whoever lives here."
"Dis ain't right," Luster was complaining to himself, "Dat Temple has da best color skeme I've eva seen - but how can a really really evil god be PINK!"
"If Dekos and Alastor are both still here," Lupine suddenly asked, "Then where are their Temples? I can't see any signs of another Temple anywhere else on the entire island!"
"Hey, I see one!" Luster cried.
"Really? Where?" Lupine demanded.
"Over dere, can't you see it - oh. Neva mind, dat's ours."
Yuugioh chuckled as Lupine started making extremely frustrated noises, floating up a little higher to get a better view of the area. This land seemed to be a very pleasant place to reside - untouched by any godly wars whatsoever - and despite the sinister presence of the Temple, otherwise appeared to be generally very nice.
"Why, what ever do we have here?" wondered a light, extremely feminine-sounding voice.
A bright pink ball of light was now hovering behind him. Belatedly realizing that he'd floated up and out of concealment, Yuugioh faced the goddess. She seemed surprised to see him, but delighted to have company all the same, and it took the crimson god another few moments to realize that this was the owner of the spectacularly evil Temple just ahead of them.
"Hello there," she said, with the slight dip that passed for a bow/curtsy between gods and goddesses, "I'm very sorry, but I didn't realize that I'd be having a visitor here today…oh, how terribly rude of me not to have prepared anything for you!"
"I…um…"
For some reason, Yuugioh couldn't remember why he'd even come to this place at all. And now this charming little goddess was becoming upset, which made him start to feel upset too.
…Perhaps he had come this way to visit? Or at least, since he couldn't remember why he was here, he could visit her until he remembered? That ought to cheer her up!
"It's quite all right," he told her, "It's my fault…I should have let you know I was coming…please don't be upset, Miss…?"
"Oh, dear me! I haven't introduced myself yet either," the goddess said, "That won't do, dear me no, that won't do at all…I am Cassaka. And you are?"
"Yuugioh," Yuugioh answered.
"I am SO pleased to meet you, Yuugioh!" Cassaka said in her odd, crooning sort of voice.
The shrillness of her voice made his ears ring…but Cassaka sounded so happy that within seconds Yuugioh forgot all about the pain. In fact, in the next few seconds that had passed when she wasn't talking, his head really started to hurt…what was he supposed to be doing now?
"I know! Let's do something fun together," Cassaka suggested, instantly drowning out all doubts in Yuugioh's mind, "Why don't we all go feed the animals together?"
"Is there someone else here?" he asked as he floated along behind her.
"Some other guests…they'll be so delighted to meet you, my darling!"
Up ahead, there was a crowd of villagers standing by what appeared to be a large hole in the ground. Floating above the humans were two orbs of light - one green and the other acid yellow. Other gods.
When they got close, Yuugioh abruptly halted. There was something about one of them…the green one…but what was it? He couldn't remember but there was something important about the green one that he was supposed to be -
"Now, now, let's all relax and enjoy ourselves here!" Cassaka laughed, interrupting his confusion, "We're all friends here, aren't we?"
"…Yeah," Yuugioh agreed after another second, "Yeah, we are. Right?"
"Sure," said the yellow god, floating a little erratically.
"Of course we are," the green god added, watching Cassaka float past with a happy sigh.
Cassaka floated over the hole, the three gods following meekly after her, and at first they watched as she reached towards the group of villagers.
"Pick me, Your Lady Goddess-ship! Oh please, please pick me!" they were yelling, all of them wearing big happy faces.
The one that Cassaka lifted started weeping with uncontainable joy. Everyone else watched as she held the villager over the hole and threw him in. In the hole were some really big animals, who lashed out at the falling human, all the while bellowing.
One of them was a really big black sheep, and another one was a huge black wolf.
