YUGIOH

Eternal Darkness

narr: I don't own Yugioh, or have anything to do with it. I also do not own Gackt or any of it's music. No verses of his music was showed in the making of this chapter, and is merely mentioned in the ending notes. There may be possible minor spoilers on the final series of the show.

Chapter 8.

Ishizu began to speak, saying, "This took place shortly after your time, my Pharaoh. Though the magic of the Shadow Realm was locked up and sealed away, the original book was still in the possession of the priests."

"Book? What book?" Tristan asked.

Ishizu turned to him, saying, "Why of course, the book on how the Millenium Items were created."

Everyone gasped at that. Yami asked, "Where is this book, now?"

"It was hidden away long ago. Even I do not know the whereabouts of the book at this present age." Ishizu then continued her story, directing her attention on Yami for the moment. "One of those priests, who was related to both yourself and the high priest Seto, was working very hard to try and decipher the language of the book....a language in which only Seto's father had been able to successfully do."

"Did this priest succeed?" Yami asked.

"No. But he came close. The power did not grant him the ability to make other Millennium Items....but they did grant him the ability to summon forth real monsters, somehow breaking through the seal. He managed to summon forth the Vampire Lord, and Pitch-Black Warwolf. As the summoner of these monsters, he held power and control over them. But because his summoning required him to break through a very powerful seal made by the Pharaoh, every time he summoned them, it required a small piece of himself." Ishizu continued.

"Uh....so what did that do to him?" Joey asked.

"Over time, it weakened the priest. What he didn't realize was as he became more weakened, his hold over these monsters weakened, as well. One day, when Pitch-Black Warwolf was summoned, it lunged at someone....wounding that person, and the man-wolf escaped. The priest did not understand the reason at the time, so he summoned the Vampire Lord to retrieve his other servant for him. But instead of the Vampire Lord obeying and seeking out the other monster to stop him, this monster attacked the priest." Ishizu paused her story at that part, turning away in despair.

"So, what happened?" Yami asked.

"The other priests had found out, and was able to cast the monsters away with their combined efforts. The priest responsible was banished from the priesthood, and the book was then locked away....never to be looked upon again."

There was a long pause of silence, after that. Finally, Joey blurted out, "So, what does that have anything to do with what's going on? You said Duel Monsters couldn't come over here. What, was the book found and used again or something?"

Ishizu shook her head. "No....the damage had already been done. Duel Monsters had an unusual effects on the humans that were bitten. In time, the priest began to change and he too became a vampire. But he was also from this world, and thus he could not be cast into a world he didn't truly belong to. He had become a vampire that in fact belonged to both worlds and could travel there and back at his will....but could not bring any other back to his world but himself."

"But, don't you need to drink the vampire's blood or something to become one?" Tea asked, confused.

Ishizu looked over saying, "A Duel Monster vampire isn't entirely the same as the vampires you know now. A bite given to a human from anything in the monster world could cause major repercussions in this world."

"And so vampires can also travel to the dimension where Duel Monsters are? Does that means the vampire that bit Kaiba can....??" Tristan began to say.

"No." Ishizu said, cutting off Tristan's words. "Only the first vampire had ever been able to travel to the other world. He was the most powerful of all the vampires, because he was not only the blood of the true priesthood, but the blood of the pharaoh....since they were related. All the other vampires that were ever made from him never had that ability. Infact, he soon found out that a vampire made from him became his slave. Until its creator was killed, those other vampires were bound to the first, unable to resist its command."

"So, then....that means Kaiba is a slave to that other vampire, doesn't it?" Tea asked.

"Wait a minute!" Yami blurted out. "If this first vampire was able to travel to the various worlds....was he forced to obey the vampire that created him? After all, the Vampire Lord still existed."

Ishizu smiled, as if knowing her pharaoh would be the one to ask such a question. "That was the interesting part. It is said although he felt the pull of the Vampire Lord, he had the will and power to resist it, due to his unique bloodline. It is also said that the first vampire from this world was not killed by a human. He and the vampire had a battle against each other, and they both died, destroying themselves."

"I see...." Yami said, totally serious.

Joey cried out, "Well, I don't! How's that supposed to help us, now? Great, so vampires came from that Duel Monster dimension, and now there's vampires here. And one a dem ended up biting Kaiba, and now he's a slave. So, how do we stop that thing, and help Kaiba??"

"I believe you have all already been told of the weaknesses that vampires have. And though the Vampire Lord was not effected by light, the first vampire of this world was. Sunlight will kill a vampire. It is believed that the pull from the other dimension causes this weakness in all vampires. The wooden stake....this weakness was something that was inherited to them from the Vampire Lord. And finally the last weakness....powers from a true priest." Ishizu pointed out.

"Yeah, what's that about a priest?" Joey asked. "Don't you mean like 'holy symbols' or something?" Joey asked.

Ishizu smiled. "That would only work, if that item was blessed by a priest. Otherwise, it would have no more power over a vampire than any other metal object would."

"Well, what about silver?" Joey asked.

Ishizu answered, "That's the weakness of a wolf, not a vampire."

"You mean wolf men really exist??" , Tristan asked.

"Did you forget my story so soon?" Ishizu asked. "Perhaps you have forgotten that Pitch-Black Warwolf had also bitten someone, and as I have mentioned....a human being bit by any Duel Monster could have terrible repercussions. I'm afraid the man that was bitten also became the first werewolf. But since the victim did not have the bloodline of a true priest nor the Pharaoh, it wasn't nearly as powerful and lacked a great deal of control as well as intelligence, while in that form."

"Geez." Joey spat out. "I would have hated to see what would happen if dat priest was summoning a Blue Eyes and it bit him!"

"Indeed...." Ishizu said.

"So, what does it mean that the power of a true priest can harm a vampire?" Tea asked.

Ishizu replied, "Vampires are inherently evil and considered undead, which is why the blessings of a priest harm it so. When a true priest blesses an object, that object has some of the power from the priest within it. It can then be used as a weapon against the vampire....like holy water."

"All right! Now, that's a plan!" Joey said. "So, we can just find a church and filter out some holy water that was blessed....right?"

"Wrong." Ishizu explained. "Much of that water was simply put there straight from tap water, or the priest that blessed it does not have the power to bless an item, and nothing has happened to change it."

"Oh, well that's great!" Joey snapped, irritably. "So, how would we know if it worked or not?"

"Exactly. The only way to know, is to know that you have a true priest blessing an object. Otherwise, you shouldn't chance it...." Ishizu said.

"Ishizu." Yami called out. "The first priest that became a vampire, he had lost his priesthood from the others....banished. He had also become a vampire. Would 'he' have been able to bless an item to cause harm to a vampire, like a true priest?"

Ishizu looked sad at this point, as she stated, "When that priest became a vampire, the nature of what he was became twisted to evil. He did create an item with his new found power....but this item wreaked of dark magic's. It was a dark sword, that instead of killing the undead....did harm to the living. It is possible that if he did not change, he might have been able to bless an item....but that wasn't the case. He did not have the strength of will to keep his former nature."

Yami looked concerned about that. "So, changing into a vampire could change a person's nature?"

"If the priest isn't strong enough, he can easily succumb to the darkness within." Ishizu said sadly. "My pharaoh, I fear there's a good chance that the vampire you are seeking isn't the only one you might have to stop in the end. I am sorry...."

Everyone froze from the realization of Ishizu's words. Yami looked down, saying, "We don't know that, yet." There was another long pause, as Yami turned, saying, "We should go and prepare."

"We're with you, Yugi." Tea said.

As they were getting ready to go, Tea came up with a thought and suddenly turned, saying, "Hold on, guys." She looked to Ishizu, saying, "Mokuba told us this vampire has some kind of magic item, too. Could his item be stronger than Yugi's puzzle? Could it be a problem?"

Ishizu answered, "If the vampire has an item of magic, there's the possibility it is the dark sword that I have mentioned. Though it is powerful, the Pharaoh's puzzle is far greater in power."

Tea looked happy at that, saying, "Well, that's good, then!"

"But....the Pharaoh has also lost his knowledge of the ancient past. Because of which, he cannot draw forth the full power of the puzzle, as he once could. So, their magic may be equal. Infact under those circumstances, the vampire's item may even stronger in comparison." Ishizu explained.

"That's bad...." Tea said, looking worried.

Yami took Tea's arm, saying, "Don't worry, Tea....this vampire will be stopped." Yami then glanced at Ishizu, remembering her warning about Kaiba, but said nothing on it as he turned and joined with the others, who were ready to leave.

As they began to walk away, Ishizu said, "My Pharaoh....there is one more thing."

Yami turned to face Ishizu once more as she added, "A vampire can also change into the form that their soul symbolizes. Over the years, the vampire's bloodline had become weakened and could only take form of simple creatures, such as bats, or dogs, spiders, or snakes. But the first vampire took on the form of a very powerful Duel Monster - The Red Eyes Black Dragon."

"Is that so?" Yami said, realizing this could be more trouble.

Ishizu nodded, saying, "It'll be interesting to know what Kaiba's form is...."

Joey swallowed, getting nervous just thinking about it.

The group then turned, and finally left.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It was later that evening, as they got together at the game shop. They waited until Yugi's grandfather was asleep before discussing what was going on, not wanting to worry him.

Tristan said, "Okay....so we got the stakes. We don't have anything else that can really help us, except maybe Yugi's Millennium puzzle."

"Well, I got the holy symbol." Joey said, showing them the cross around his neck. "Hey, ya never know. Maybe some priest blessed it before I got it. Can't hurt....right?"

Tea added, "Let's just hope Mokuba comes through with that light."

No one brought up the fact about what the light could do to Kaiba, after what Ishizu had said. Everyone understood the possibility of Kaiba being a threat was there, but no one wanted to say it.

Yugi replied, in response to Tea's last comment, "Yeah....what we'll do is try and contact Mokuba tomorrow morning, since it's the weekend and we don't have school. Maybe he'll let us in or something. Then we may not even need that light, because it'll already be daytime. Just keep in mind, this is not going to be easy, and we have to try to do harm to Cavnar without hurting...."

'....what was that?' Yami suddenly asked Yugi, sensing something....different.

Yugi thought he felt it too, and he abruptly gave up on the present subject. "Hey guys, did you just sense something weird?"

"No, I didn't notice anything....Tristan?" Tea asked.

Tristan shrugged, "Don't look at me."

"Well, I didn't hear nothing....didn't feel nutt'n, either." Joey said, then turned to the guy next to him. "What about you?"

"Not a thing...."

"See, we didn't...." Joey was beginning to say, then froze as everyone else had and were now staring at the figure next to Joey. Joey slowly turned, as did the person next to him, and found himself staring right in the face of Kaiba, himself.

"Yaaaahhh!!" Joey jumped back. Then grabbing his cross, he showed it in Kaiba's direction. "Back away....I mean it!!"

Kaiba glared coldly down at Joey, sending shivers down his spine. His glare was then re-directed to the cross he was trying to flash him. Kaiba's hand came up, and grabbed it....pulling it as it easily snapped off Joey's neck. He rubbed the smooth metal material until it became warm to the touch, looking at it with feigned interest before carelessly tossing away.

Joey immediately jumped back with the others, not sure what Kaiba was going to do.

Yugi was the only one who didn't seem to show any fear at the moment, saying, "Kaiba....we didn't expect to see you here. We thought you wouldn't be able to get away from Cavnar."

"Get away from him?" Kaiba sneered. "What makes you think I have any interest in getting away from him?"

Kaiba then approached, putting his hand against the wall, as he leaned down into Yugi's face, his eyes glowing an eerie dark violet. "Maybe you missed the conversation that had taken place with you a couple days ago. I became this way, willingly....and to be perfectly honest, I'm quite pleased with the results."

"What the hell's wrong with you, Kaiba??" Joey snapped, stepping away from the others. "How could you want to be a dead guy? I mean, we're busting hump trying to help you, and all you can do is brag about you being cursed? Don't you get it, you can't be helped! You're like this forever! That's gotta mean something to ya...."

"Oh, but it does....it means quite a lot, in fact." Kaiba muttered, answering Joey though he still looked at Yugi almost....hungrily. "But you should understand what this is about, more than anyone here....don't you, Yugi? It's all about power. And in this game, I am now the most powerful."

The expression on Yugi's face became more serious as Kaiba spoke to him. Despite Kaiba's expression towards him, Yugi was more concerned about what he was saying to him. "What do you want, Kaiba?"

"I have a new challenge for you. We'll see how good you are at this game. It starts tomorrow at midnight, at my house. I expect you and your little club to attend."

Yugi gave a determined glare back at him, asking, "And what if I don't? I thought it would be better off to start this a few hours earlier."

Kaiba smirked evilly, saying, "That wouldn't be wise, Yugi. People could get hurt if you don't play by my rules. Starting now....Mokuba's life is in your hands."

His words made everyone gasp, and Yugi froze....unable to comprehend or believe that Kaiba would threaten his own brother. "You....you can't be serious...."

"Oh, but I am. What I might have felt for that little brat means absolutely nothing, now. Mokuba's human. As far as I'm concerned, he's food....just another piece of meat to be consumed and tossed away." Kaiba hissed.

"Stop it!" Yugi cried out. "I don't believe you! I don't believe you could be that way! The Kaiba I knew would never do anything to harm his brother! I don't know why you're saying this Kaiba, but I know you're lying!"

"Oh, am I?" Kaiba asked coldly. "It's not wise to demand proof from me, Yugi. Someone else might get hurt, and it would be your fault...." With that said, Kaiba dissipated, becoming one with the air around him.

"What? Where did he go?" Tea asked, the others looking just as confused, as they spread apart trying to figure out where he was, now.

Kaiba appeared right behind Joey, grabbing him with the speed and strength of something beyond human. Without hesitation, he had Joey pinned yanking his head to the side and sunk his teeth into Joey's throat, as Joey cried out in pain....yet unable to do anything about it.

Yugi cried out, "Joey!" Turning instantly into Yami. Yami demanded, "Kaiba, let him go NOW! Don't make me have to tell you again!" Immediately, the third eye appeared on Yami's head, preparing to use the power of the Millennium Puzzle against Kaiba if he had to.

Kaiba released him, tossing him across the room at Yami. Joey was literally launched in the air, and landed in a heap on top of the surprised and unsuspecting Yami. "Don't blame me for this, Yugi....you're the one who made the demands. Now, Wheeler's suffering rests on your shoulders. If you're friend is hurt, it's your own damn fault. But while we're on the subject, anyway....I thought you should know that since you were always preaching to me about making friends all the time, I decided to give it a try. So expect to see Cavnar there as well, who will also be playing a hand in this little challenge I have set up for you."

The others began to peal Joey off of Yami, as Yami helped to push him off, then glared at Kaiba. "Friend? Cavnar's no friend....he's a monster!"

"So....he's not your type?" Kaiba mused. "That's rather judgmental of you, don't you think? Well then, that's just too bad. Like it or not, I will be expecting him to help with this new game. We'll just have to see who comes out of it in one piece. 12 midnight, tomorrow evening....don't be too early. If you do, Mokuba will be killed. If you and your friends don't show up, Mokuba will also be killed....understand?"

Kaiba disappeared again, and this time he did not return.

Yami pealed himself up, and checked out Joey, shaking him. "Joey....are you okay?"

"Ow, no! That hurt like a bitch!" Joey said, rubbing at his neck.

Tea rushed over, handing him a rag, as she said, "Here....it's bleeding pretty bad."

"Thanks." Joey said, sitting down as he pressed it against his neck.

"I'll get some ice." Tea said and rushed out.

Tristan came over, asking, "How much did he take out of you?"

"Really, I'd be surprise if he took a drop. I didn't feel him sucking on me or nothing." Joey said.

Yami stated, "I don't think he did it to kill, Joey....he did it as a warning."

"Hey, uh....Ishizu said getting bit turned dat one guy into a vampire. So, since Kaiba bit me, does that mean....?" Joey stammered out, now nervous. "I mean, you know....I'm not going to end up like him, am I?"

"No, Joey. You needed to drink some of 'his' blood to get it. Being bitten can merely kill you, if he totally drains you." Yami said.

"Oh....is that all?" Joey said, offering a smirk.

Tea rushed in, immediately giving him the ice she brought in, explaining, "Use direct pressure, Joey. If he bit into the vain, you could bleed to death from this."

"I'll keep that in mind." Joey said, doing as Tea said.

Tristan shook his head, sputtering out, "Well, I guess now we know what side he's on. How the hell are we going to explain to Mokuba that Kaiba cares as little about his life, as Cavnar does about him? He's not going to believe us."

Yami said nothing, as he continued to watch Joey. Yet, thoughts about Kaiba were running through his mind....especially what Ishizu had to say about what would probably happen to Kaiba.

narr: There's a particular song that I feel it's music reminds me of Kaiba as a vampire when I hear it, and feel it fits the mood so perfectly. It's a Gackt song from Crescent, and the song is coincidentally called 'Lust for Blood'. Since I don't understand Japanese, I don't actually understand the words. But the mood from the melody seems....so him.

xXXkIkOkEnxXx: I'm glad you liked the flashlight thing. I thought it fit well for Joey.

Jasmine Reinier: Well, yeah......I suppose I wasn't really 'late', persay. But when I make a promise to do something, I don't like not doing it.....even if it wasn't my fault. And you'll be hearing a lot more from Cavnar towards the end....and probably hating him a lot more too. And Mokuba's not quite done yet, either. ;)

cantdueldontaskme: Well, since Ishizu and ancient Egypt was coming up, I only found it fitting that the ancient Egyptian text would also come up, somehow. And in the series Yugi always suspected that Kaiba could read it, but could never prove it. For some reason that bothered me enough that I wanted to add alittle closer to that, and give him the proof he needed. And what better than from Mokuba's own mouth? (woops, Mokuba gotta be more careful about what he says.....;p). But yes, it's very interesting how Mokuba acted during the Jap. series. And I see that series as just as much of a part of Yugioh as the rest of the series.

Doma Yuset: I'm glad to see you like my fic. I have tried not to make this a typical vampire fic, and still focus on the fact that this is Yugioh. That would mean that vampires being here would also need a more 'Yugioh' reason as to why they're here, which is what I did.....especially in this chapter. But maybe this chapter better explains to you as to 'why' Seto is giving in as you have been seeing him do. Heh....I knew that line with Cavnar claiming Kaiba's house is his would piss someone off. But that's okay, that's good cuz you're supposed to hate him.

Yeah, in the older horror stories, I recall that being a way to not only kill the vampire but keep him dead. But I don't know if that would help save Kaiba. And besides, I am trying to base the vampire monsters on Yugioh, not the typical horror movies. So in this case, it probably wouldn't apply. But thanks for the offer. ;)

Nenya85: I believe the term you used in your own stories was the 'ignorance of a murderer', and I feel that describes Kaiba so well. I was also particularly proud of that line in chapter 2, claiming that what Yami is sensing is because he's normally evil. And I had contemplated in maybe having Yami succeed in saving Kaiba, but I decided that's not the type of story I wanted to do. I wanted to have a vampire fic where Kaiba actually was a vampire, and the only way to do that was for Yami to be too late to save him, just as Bakura predicted he would.

But yes, basically that's exactly what Kaiba was doing. Kaiba giving into Cavnar isn't really surrendering to him, it's simply a more destructive way of buying time and gaining trust, to more further his own personal goals. Perhaps I didn't explain that well enough when I wrote the chapters with the scenes on Kaiba and Cavnar. But anyway, I'm glad to get a compliment on it....thanks. But those little things you caught.....yes, those are more subtle hints to things coming. I'll probably be leaving even more of them around until the very ending, when everything comes together.