SILENT TALE: PART 2 – Ben Warren
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Dante sipped his tea and grimaced, it wasn't that it was hot, or that it was too sweet, but there was something fundamentally wrong with it. The taste was comparable to brown mud. Still it was the best he was going to get, and he was thankful for it. They were held up at Tanya's apartment, she'd bandaged his arm and put it into a sling, then prepared a sparse meal from what was left in the fridge for the three of them.
He figured it was best to lay as low as possible until they knew what to do next. It appeared that Dartz hadn't followed them, so for now they were safe.
Across from him Bakura sipped his own cup of tea and went through a series of facial motions that would have been considered funny on anyone else, but on him looked strangely menacing. The guy had rescued them from a monster, that much was certain, but Dante still wasn't sure about which side he was on. There was something . . . wrong about him.
"This tastes like crap." He commented and set the cup back down onto the little glass table between them. "How does she make it so badly? Is it some kind of skill."
Dante was inclined to agree with him on that one, but he didn't want to hurt Tanya's feelings by saying it. A sentiment that Bakura obviously didn't share. Out of pure spite he forced himself to take another deep swig of the brown liquid, as if to prove to himself that he wasn't like this other man.
"I found it!" A happy call from the bedroom was shortly followed by Tanya as she came bounding back through the doorway with a small chest-like box in her arms. She set it down on the table in front of Dante and then flopped down on the couch next to him. "I'm afraid that my selection's rather limited. I only kept the ones that I liked the artwork on."
Dante reached inside and drew out a handful of cards, quietly he started to shuffle through them. Bakura lent across from his side of the table and scooped out a few, inspecting them with a crude eye for a moment before tossing them back into the box and leaning back again.
"These are all useless." He stated simply.
"Like I said, limited selection." Tanya stuck her tongue out at Bakura, a childish gesture that made her face look cuter than normal.
He had to agree with the comment though, a lot of these cards were useless to him. Few were of any significant use in any deck, let alone one as specialised as his. Fewer still had either an effect or a value of over 1000 attack of defence.
After rescuing them the Japanese guy had explained that the only way to fight against the monsters sent after them by Dartz was to use the warriors stored within his own deck. Apparently Bakura was privy to the same kind of power this Dartz fellow had, and he seemed to think that Dante could do it too.
Trouble was that he'd left all his spare cards back at the hotel, and his deck was untested in this current format. True it was a variation on the same one he always carried but . . .
Bakura and the girl were bickering over something, like children he thought. He could make out a vaguely insulting reference to her tea and her retort about his hair cut before blocking it out as best he was able and continuing to rifle through the cards.
Not a warrior or a spellcaster in sight. He had to admit he was a little disappointed, but then he hadn't been expecting too much.
For a moment Dante wavered before shuffling back to a card he had seen earlier, it wasn't going to fit in with the theme of his deck but . . . it might some in handy. Quietly he shuffled the card into his deck and flicked through to Tius.
Don't use it. That was what Pegasus had told him. Don't even let anyone know you have it.
Well someone certainly did know, and Dartz was defiantly trying to take the card by any means available to him. If he had to kill them then so be it.
Dante didn't know why, but he wasn't going to wait around to find out.
Run and hide, that was the plan.
He'd always thought that Duel Monsters was just a game, but it appeared that there was something far more sinister and very real behind it all. Had he known the stakes he doubted that he would even have started to play, let alone turned professional.
Now he was stuck all of the way out in America, with a girl he had just met and a stranger who seemed to be undecided as to what to do with their company. So very far from home . . .
"Common guys cut it out." He broke it up as quickly as possible.
"He started it." Tanya commented, "I'm going to bed. Guess I'll let you two fight it out over the couch." She stood, twirled around and closed the door after her.
After a moment's awkward silence Bakura pulled his coat around himself and curled up as best he could in the seat he was in.
"You still haven't told us why." Dante prompted him.
"Why what?" the white haired boy asked.
"Why you rescued us, why you're even here."
Bakura sat up again and glanced around the room, looking everywhere but at Dante. After a good long time he obviously made a decision and started to speak, though the eye contact was still sorely lacking. "I was looking for someone with powerful cards very much like the one you keep. I followed the smell of power over here from Japan, and then lost it. When I sensed you I thought that I had picked up the trail again, but I guess I was mistaken. As for why I rescued you . . . I dunno. I just happened to feel like it."
The whole story was completely lacking in any detail, totally open to interpretation of any kind. But it sounded suspiciously like the truth to Dante, or at least as close as he was ever going to get to it.
"We finished?" Bakura asked with a sneer, "I kind of want to get some sleep."
"Yeah," Dante mumbled to himself. "We're done for now."
Morning came around too quickly, and Tanya woke him early to change the bandages on his arm. Flicking through the early morning television, she offered him another cup of tea. To his relief there was also orange juice available in the fridge, and she poured him a glass whilst they sat and waited for Bakura to wake up.
"He looks . . . different when he's asleep." She commented with her head tilted to one side. "Like a whole different person."
And she was right, Bakura took on a much softer appearance in sleep, gaining a measure of vulnerability that was unexpected from the viscous and uncaring man he was when awake.
Whatever the reason, he must have been exhausted, because he didn't wake up as they pottered around him in a mixture of early morning ritual and the need to find something to do to take their minds off the current situation they found themselves in.
"Look, I'm . . . I'm sorry that I got you mixed up in all of this." Dante mumbled to her as they shared the washing up. "Thanks for saving my life yesterday."
She handed him a wet dish and he ran a cloth over it. "Don't be sorry, I helped you because I wanted to. I just don't quite get all of what's going on here."
"Me neither." He agreed, nodding in Bakura's direction, "I think he's the only one with any answers here, and he doesn't seem willing to share any of them."
There was a vague background sound, like the beating of wings outside of the window.
"Birds." Tanya commented in response to the wary look on his face. "They nest just outside of this window, it's nothing to worry about I . . ."
But at that moment the glass in front of them exploded into a thousand pieces of razor sharp shrapnel and through the window came a large blue monster with one huge eye sunken into the centre of it's plump round body with claws, a tail and bats wings attached.
Dante instantly recognised it as a Meda Bat, another card-born creature given life by Dartz.
The glass alone would have been enough to cripple them had Bakura not chosen that time to awaken. Seeing the danger through the window before it had struck he pulled a strange circular necklace out of thin air and summoned some kind of barrier, which encircled the two helpless targets and protected them from the worst of the damage.
"Back! Away from the window!" Bakura yelled, already pulling on his Duel-plate and reaching for a card. The amulet sparked again and this time the card he drew sprang to life, raining fire down upon the hapless Meda Bat and destroying it. The creature vanishing in the same way as the Infernos had the day before.
"Ookazi." He answered in response to the unspoken question. "We'd better leave here before he sends anything more dangerous after us!"
Dante agreed with the statement, stopping only long enough to grab his own deck of cards before running through the door with Tanya hot on his heels. Bakura stayed a moment longer before picking up his coat and heading out of the door after them.
"He must have looked up my address through the hotel roster-sheet." Tanya explained as they ran.
"He wanted us to feel safe before springing a trap!" Bakura chipped in, "we need to clear this area and get away from here. Any ideas?"
"The train station!" Tanya called out as if suddenly remembering its existence. "Follow me!"
Boarding the train was easy, much easier than they had expected it to be. Nothing had followed them from the flat, and it seemed that nobody was keeping watch on the local station either. Never the less Dante and Tanya's eyes never stopped scanning the sky the whole way there.
Paying for the fair out of Dante's winnings from a duel a few days ago, they booked passage out of state on the first express train to be coming through, and hopped onboard as quickly as humanly possible.
Once onboard they let out a collective sigh of relief. The full length of the journey would be three days, with sleeping compartments arranged for the trip. And as the train pulled away from the station and began to gather speed, the feeling of safety that came from putting as much distance between himself and Dartz as possible began to creep in.
They had lunch in the dining cart and Dante was pleased to discover the first 'real' cup of tea he'd had in days served up on proper china with a saucer.
Sipping deeply, he savoured the aroma and sat back.
Tanya excused herself and went off to the women's area to fix the makeup she hadn't had time to apply that morning before leaving home. When he was sure she was out of earshot, Bakura sparked up a conversation.
"Why didn't you summon a warrior to defend yourself?" he asked over his second slice of cake. He waited patiently for Dante to cut himself a slice before getting an answer.
"I didn't see it coming." He admitted, "and to be honest I'm not sure if I could even if I wanted to. I don't have anything like that necklace you carry around to help me."
"You saw that huh?" Bakura's tone took on a defensive tone.
"Yeah I did."
"It's not a necklace, it's a ring." Bakura commented. "It's the vessel through which I am able to be here talking to you right now and the source of my powers."
None of this made any sense to Dante, but he nodded and listened to the story. Apparently the ring was one of several so-called 'Millennium Items' each with different powers and different uses, left over from a forgotten chapter in Egyptian history. Bakura admitted that he wasn't going to tell Dante everything, but he did explain enough to give him a general idea of the scope under which he found himself.
"How did you get the God-card?" he asked in return "What is its power in battle?"
"I don't know." Dante had to admit. "I have never used it in a duel before."
"Perhaps you should, then you would be able to tap its power."
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea" he admitted finally after some debate. "Pegasus told me to keep it hidden and not to touch it."
Bakura cocked his head onto one side "I thought you said Pegasus wasn't around anymore. Surely that means that it is worth giving it a try."
Before he could answer the question, or give it any further thought, Tanya arrived back with a new tray laden with goodies. She dropped it unceremonially onto the table along with a fresh batch of plastic forks and hinted for Dante to scoot up and make room for her.
There was every kind of sweet dish under the sun laid out before them. Apple pie, chocolate cake, brownies, to name but a few.
"Are you sure it's alright for us to be using your money like this?" She asked Dante.
"Sure." He nodded happily and scanned the spread. They'd only had a meagre meal of bread and cheese the night before, and in comparison this was a banquet. "I've got plenty of cash from winning competitions all over the world, and the pound is pretty strong against the dollar at the moment so I'm even richer over here."
"Wow, I always wanted a rich man at my beck and call!" She joked and nudged him playfully.
They laughed and ate until they were full, and then retired to their own personal sleeping quarters. 2 carriages had been available with the tickets, one for the men and an adjoining but separate carriage for Tanya. It was late afternoon by the time they had finished eating and talking in the lunch carriage, and Bakura promptly pulled himself up onto one of the bunks and drifted off to sleep, leaving the two of them alone again.
To pass the time Dante began to teach her the basics of Duel Monsters, but with only one deck it wasn't really practical, so he stuck to demonstrating the tricks and combos his own was able to perform. They shared stories and watched the sprawling countryside through the window as it passed them by.
"Oh, I almost forgot." He rummaged through his coat and pulled out a small art pad and a pencil. Both travel sized and obviously designed to be used on the move or sat on the lap of the artist. "I picked these up for you from the station."
Tanya reached out and gingerly took them from him, she smiled and thanked him.
"Now you can at least keep up with your drawing whilst we're on the move." He added with a smile.
The cart jolted, something must have been on the track.
"Any idea where we're going to go?" She asked him, hugging the gift to her chest.
Dante shrugged. "I'm not from around here. But the best thing I can think to do is get as far away from your old boss as possible and go into hiding for a while. Maybe make my way back to England." He paused, "You're welcome to join me if you like."
She smiled, and was about to say something when a scream pierced the gentle atmosphere of the carriage.
Dante and Bakura were up and standing by the door in a second. Opening it as far as they dared without being seen, they were unable to see anything in the corridors that would have caused such a reaction in a passenger.
"Umm . . . guys?" Tanya put in nervously. "I think maybe you're looking in the wrong place."
They followed her gaze out of the window and were shocked to see a swarm of Meda Bats attacking the train. Some of them had gotten a grip onto the carriages themselves, whilst others flapped around them clawing at the windows.
There was a crash of shattering glass and the small group knew that they were inside.
Filtering into the hall they made their way up along the inside of the train, trying to keep ahead of the sounds of shattering glass but with no such luck. A window shattered ahead of them and five of the monsters poured in through the gap, cutting off their escape. More filtered in from the back of the train, blocking them in between the two groups.
Bakura's hand hovered over the Millennium Ring, "There's too many." He commented grimly. "I can't fight them alone Dante, you have to summon a warrior."
As the monsters pressed closer one reached out to claw at Tanya, she squealed and kicked at it.
"I can't!" Dante shot back at him. "I don't have the power!"
"Yes you do!" Bakura insisted, but it was already too late. Drawing a card the Japanese boy tried to summon a monster to fight for them but one of the Bats swooped in and cut a deep gash along his back. Knocking the card from his grasp and sending it spinning away out of his reach.
Grabbing a fire extinguisher from the wall, Dante used it like a club to force one of them away from Tanya, but Bakura was in no such position, and another closed on him, this time slicing at his right shoulder.
Fumbling for another card he groaned and almost passed out. Dante, seeing his plight grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to keep him awake, but it was too late. Bakura collapsed, seeming to deflate as he did so into the softer image of a young boy again, loosing all illusion of power.
Tanya screamed as something grabbed her and Dante tried to pull her back towards him, but strong hands ripped her from his grasp and for the first time he saw the real danger that awaited them.
There beyond the bats was a Guardian Baou, a large demon with deep blue skin and clad in black leather armour. Gripped in one clawed hand was a sword twice the size of Dante, and tucked under his arm was Tanya.
"Lord Dartz sends his regards." The demon rumbled.
"Dante . . . run . . ." Tanya tried to speak but was smothered by one giant hand.
"You will give the card to me." It continued unabated.
"Never!" Dante spat before he could reason why.
"Then this girl dies." The demon shrugged, "The choice is yours."
Bakura was awake, his eyes weren't open but Dante could see the difference in him. The Japanese boy was lying still, but one hand was sneaking up towards his Duel-plate. He had to keep the monster talking long enough for him to do whatever it was he had planned.
"What promise do I have that you won't harm her if I give you the card?" Dante called, desperately stalling. The demon grinned slowly from ear to ear and laughed in a deep booming voice, obviously it did not plan on giving an answer.
In that instant it spied Bakura as he drew a card from his plate and stepped back, leaping out of the window with Tanya still held captive.
"Raigeki!" Bakura tossed the card into the air as series of powerful lightening bolts struck each of the monsters around them in turn and turned them into ash. He lay there panting, desperately gasping for breath. "What are you waiting for?" he moaned, "get after her!"
"But I . . ."
"Here catch!" He pulled his own deck from the Duel-plate and tossed it over to Dante, who caught it with both hands and hugged it to his chest. "You have to fight him, it's the only way!" Bakura spat and groaned.
Dante nodded once and headed for the nearest exit. There was only one place the demon could be – the roof.
Dante pulled himself up on top of the moving train and struggled onto his feet, the Duel-plate strapped to his hand contained his own deck now, but he still wasn't sure if he had the power to use it.
There before him stood the Baou. In the half-light of the evening it looked even more imposing, it's dark skin seeming to swallow up the last rays of sunlight like a black hole.
Tanya was lying behind him, bait for him to take.
"Here I am," he commented, stepping across the distance between them.
"Indeed." The demon smiled. "You are more of a fool than I thought."
"We'll see." Dante replied with more bravery than he felt.
Without warning the monster swung it's massive sword around in a wide arc that would have decapitated him had he not thrown himself backwards in time. Rolling along the carriage top he came to a halt worryingly close to the edge of the roof, mere inches from a nasty death.
Struggling back to his feet he dodged the second attack with a little more grace, but was caught in the chin by the beast's fist and sent sprawling once again.
This thing was stronger and faster than he was, he couldn't beat it alone. He needed help.
The Guardian Baou attacked again, this time swing it's blade around in a series of small swipes designed to push him backwards and away from the girl. The last blow would have sliced his hand open if the Duel-plate hadn't deflected the attack.
His arm, still in its sling, was burning with pain.
A kick to the chest sent the wind from his lungs and knocked him clear away from the beast. This was his one chance to do it – he hoped that he had the power.
Drawing a card from his deck he slammed it into place on the Duel-plate and screamed in lungs that burnt like fire "Black Luster!"
For a second there was nothing, then the plate erupted in a burst of white light and the card vanished. But there, appearing out of the thin air between himself and the Guardian Baou was his Black Luster Soldier. The card that people always associated with him, his winning hand.
The two monsters faced off for a moment before the Baou made to cleave the head from Black Luster's body, but the smaller knight was far quicker, it blocked the blow and parried instantly, sweeping it's razor-sharp sword up and across the monster's chest.
Rewarded with a spill of blood, he attacked again and severed the arm holding the Baou's sword. The demon screamed in rage for a moment before shattering and disappearing.
Black Luster stood there for a moment, then rippled and vanished. The card reappearing on Dante's Duel-plate.
"I did it!" He gasped, panting from the effort of the fight. "I did it."
Tanya struggled to her feet and helped him to stand. They had won themselves a respite from Dartz, better still they had shown that they could fight back.
"Are you alright?" she asked him.
"Everything hurts." He laughed, "I should be asking you that question."
The two of them made their way back inside, where Bakura was waiting. Dante made to return the Duel-plate but the Japanese boy shook his head a firm no. "Keep it." He commented, "You'll need it if you're thinking what I think you're thinking."
"What?" Tanya asked.
Bakura looked over at Dante with a blank expression, as if waiting for confirmation.
Dante nodded. "I'm going to fight them." He stated simply. "I'm going to get to the bottom of all of this and find out what is so important about Duel Monsters."
TO BE CONTINUED . . .