Author's Note: Okay, so maybe that last chapter wasn't so bad…I guess…sigh. Well, at least I'm over my stupid writer's block. THAT'S THE ONLY GOOD THAT CAME OUT OF THAT—err…sorry. I've got a really scary idea that I'm saving for a little later in the story…or at least I thought it was scary when I thought of it. Expect to see it around chapter 25-ish, if the story advances enough. Anywho, before I begin this chapter, I owe a huge "THANK YOU!" to all of my reviewers. Without your support and input, I don't think I would have gotten this far in the story. I have a few words to say to some of you!
Ice-Spirit Phoenix~ I know isn't he?!? Dark Yami even scares me! And I made him up! That's sad…but then again, this whole STORY scares me! Truthfully, I don't know if Yami will regain control…I don't even know what's going to happen with Osiris and Yugi. Yeah, I'm pathetic. But I have something planned for Leticia…hey, it's not anything bad, so don't worry. It's kind of funny, actually.
YumeTakato~ I'm so mean, I'm sorry! I originally hadn't planned for this stuff to happen to Yugi, but…but…oh, I feel bad. I really do feel sorry for Yugi…I'll try to make it up to him somehow…
Lotus re-incarnate~ ::blush:: I feel so special now…merci, mon amie!
Death's Gift~ Yes, I try to update as often as possible…sometimes I post two to three chapters a day. Talk about a creative streak…I've been waiting for an update on "Songs of Agony"! I did review it; mine was the long one at the top…I think you already knew that…Keep going, keep going, keep going!
Moonclaw~ Hee hee, that's the point! I'm trying to scare everybody who reads this, but I don't know if it's working. I'm glad you like it! I's happy! That thing about Joey being a vampire…it was meant to be a surprise! I wanted the third one to be someone completely unobvious, someone who would keep people thinking…I guess it worked! ^_^
LadyDeathStrike1~ I did write more, see?
BlackScarab~ Eee! Put those evil torture thingies away! I wrote more, I swear it! There's some blood and gore, just don't torture me! I'm just glad you like it…I'm afraid of what you'd do to me if you didn't like it…
Painful Life~ Eh heh heh…I'm kind of a fan of fictional violence…sometimes I go into a little too much detail, though…sorry if I grossed you out…
Alley Drendo~ I continued! ::proud grin:: It just got creepier from chapter 14 up…
Lisa Ryou~ Well, you were right about Kaiba! By the by, thanks for giving my story ten out of ten…I feel loved!
Red*~ I LUV anime smilies! ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ I write a little everyday, if it makes you feel any better, and sometimes I think I overwhelm my readers with the amount of reading I give them…^_^ ^_^ ^_^
Key~ I wroted mores! ^_^
Yami Sade~ Stoppit, you're embarrassing me…::blush::
Prexistence~ Well, I'm hooked on writing it!
Ann Onymous~ I'm glad you're enjoying it! That's why I'm writing it!
Yami's Tenshi~ Hopefully it's not too gross for you…that would make me feel bad…I definitely agree with you about Miss Leticia Faye. We have Ice-Spirit Phoenix to thank for her! Oh…::holds up her own Yugi plushie:: Yugi is SO TOTALLY cute! ^_________________________^
Ryuujin Dragon King~ That was the entire point of the bleeding eyes. It's a horror story after all. ^_^
Deranged black kitten of doom~ Yep, I loves stuff that scares the living ::censored:: out of you!
Kyuketsuki~ O_o Don't hurt yourself trying to figure it out! If it isn't obvious by now, then I haven't done my job…otherwise, I suggest rereading the last couple chapters to see if you can pinpoint the solution. To answer your questions: 1: It wasn't a wall, it was Runihura's chest. 2: The wall is still wall, Runihura's just standing in front of it. 3: The room is cursed…
REBMD~ Grr…spelling and grammar mistakes drive me crazy!
SoulDreamer~ The whole story is full of "Uh-oh!"s. That's what makes it fun, right?
Uniswift87~ Yep, Bakura AND his insane yami are in this story. The culprit(s) are people we both know, and don't know. ^_^_^_^_^_^_^
Cool~ Well, Tristan and Tea don't exactly know that Yugi's missing…they play a minor role in this story, though they are coming into the story this chapter. Joey couldn't care less about Yugi at this point in time. REMEMBER, THERE'S A REASON BEHIND THAT!
Melinda The Digimon Poet~ About that…I just got back from taking my little brother to a card shop, so that's the reason behind my stupid mistake…
Ah, but I'm rambling…that took longer than I thought it would…I'm probably boring you all to death…tell me to shut up.
Audience: SHUT UP AND GET ON WITH THE STORY!
………………………..okay.
The crescent, silver moon shone down on the city from above. Nothing stirred. The city had grown much more cautious over the past few days. Night raves, bars, and nightclubs had all been strictly prohibited until the number of murders died down. More of the city had fallen victim to destruction and death as well. No one left their homes at night, and no store stayed open past seven thirty. Well, almost no one left their home at night.
Tristan, Tea, and Leticia all wandered through the barren streets, flashlights in hand. After Leticia had discovered that both Bakura and Yugi were missing, she had called Tea right away, and Tea called Tristan. All three were worried. They hadn't told Yugi's Grandpa yet, and they weren't planning on telling him either. They didn't want the elderly man to "worry himself into a coma," as Leticia had so bluntly put it.
Tea shivered as they entered the part of the city that the vampires had taken over. "I don't think we should have come here," she said nervously.
Leticia shined her flashlight on everything possible; the spotlight didn't stay in one place for more than a second before it darted away to another spot. "We just gotta find Yugi!" Her pretty face suddenly turned sour. "I bet Bakura had something to do with it! I never liked him, a bad egg that one. Why I remember the time when—"
"You used to have a crush on him," Tristan said. Tea laughed.
"Yeah, well…that was a long time ago…"
"It was three weeks ago."
"It was not!"
"Yes it was."
"Was not! Not not not not not!"
"Sure. And cows quack."
"What…?" Leticia stopped walking and stared pensively up at the sky. She heard Tristan and Tea laughing up ahead. It was a moment before she started walking again. She called up to Tristan, "Cows don't quack!"
Then…
"Oh my--! Tristan!" Tea screamed.
Dropping her flashlight, Leticia ran as fast as she could to where Tea and Tristan were. Her heart racing, she turned the corner and saw beams of light from Tristan's fallen flashlight. She was surprised that it hadn't broken when he dropped it. She could see light from Tea's flashlight jumping here and there, as if its holder was shaking. Finally, she reached Tea's side and snatched the flashlight just as it was about to hit the cement.
"What's the matter, Tea? What happened?" Leticia demanded gently of her friend. By the light of the flashlight, Leticia saw Tea point to a spot a few feet in front of her. Leticia, with a glance backward at Tea (who was following her at a slower pace), approached the spot she had indicated. The first thing that fell into her line of sight was one of Tristan's hands, fingers twitching every now and then. Slowly, she raised the flashlight and saw a white-haired figure drinking from his throat.
"Bakura?" Leticia said nervously.
Bakura looked up at her, lips covered in blood, and hissed at the two girls before taking Tristan's limp (but alive) body in his arms, standing, and fleeing into an alleyway. Leticia grabbed Tea's hand and began foolishly pursuing their "friend". "Come on, Tea!"
"What's going on?"
"Dunno, but I plan to find out."
They turned to enter the same alley Bakura had run in, only to find numerous corpses from former victims lining the ground. Leticia shone Tea's flashlight over the trashcans and the walls, but to no avail.
"Funny, I thought he came this way…"
Tea covered her nose to block out the horrendous stench emanating from the dead bodies. "Let's just get out of this alley. The smell is awful!"
"Yeah, okay."
The girls turned around and began to walk out of the alley, only to run into someone who had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Hello, ladies," a familiar voice said.
Of course, Leticia recognized the voice's owner immediately. "Joey?" she asked, shining the light up at his face. Golden eyes stared down at them hungrily. "Since when did you have yellow eyes?"
Joey didn't answer. He forced them back into the alley by stepping toward them, and they, in turn, stepped backward and right into Kaiba's deadly grasp.
"Looks like we're having a second course," he growled.
Leticia's temper flared. "I don't know what the heck's goin' on here, but you are not allowed to grab us like that!" As hard as she possibly could, Leticia smacked Kaiba in the face with the flashlight, landing a fierce blow to his left eye. With an enraged howl, he released the two of them, and the girls rushed out of the alley and back into the street, Joey and Kaiba hot on their trail. As they turned onto Maple Street, Bakura appeared from nowhere. They collided head-on with him and toppled to the cement, groaning. Joey and Kaiba walked into view, followed by a two other figures. The first stepped into the faint light of a broken streetlamp. Leticia and Tea stared at him, heads throbbing and limbs aching.
"Good evening," he said, red eyes glinting malevolently.
Kaiba hissed angrily at Leticia. "You'll pay for what you did!"
"Stand down, Anubis," the red-eyed one said. "It seems there is someone here who knows these three…"
They heard Tristan's limp form fall to the ground next to them with a thump. Leticia spared a glance to see if he was still breathing, which he was, then turned angrily to the man with the red eyes. "What did you do to him?"
Her only answer was Bakura's wicked chuckling.
The red-eyed man beckoned for the fifth man to come forward. "Do you recognize him?"
Both girls stared in disbelief at the man who stepped into the light next to the red-eyed one.
"Yugi?" Leticia said softly.
"No, Yami," Tea said.
Yami smirked, which wasn't a comfort to the girls at all. "The Yami you know is gone."