hmm...anyway. for once, i'm actually getting a chapter out only a week after the last one... ;

well anyway - for people who probably won't notice, i've been working on this story going on three years now this past week...dunno whether that'sa good thing or a bad thing, but it's kinda crazy either way.

in honor of the moment anyway, here's a little something special i've prepared anyway:
www. deviantart. com/view/18063138/ (take out the spaces)
a picture of Unmei and Saishu for everybody wanting a better idea of what they look like
(and a good experiment for me with a slightly different coloring style, but anyway...)

Part 3 (Chapter 8) – Dark Wonderland

"Uhhh…" Bakura threw out his arms in an effort to keep his balance as the shadow ground beneath him broke out with violent convulsions. He struggled forward a couple steps, and then finally fell to his hands and knees as a particularly large heave shoved him completely off his feet. "By all the gods…" Angry, Bakura slammed a fist into the ground, though it didn't really compete with all the activity around him. "What's happening here?" He pressed hard against the ground. "This is supposed to be an illusion. Just like everything else in this place. Shadows are easy enough to manipulate into whatever I want. But this…solid. It's something I can't reach..."

The tomb robber looked around him. In every direction, the shadows were twisting and writhing, darkening from all shades of grey into a steadily increasing amount of empty blackness.

It's dangerous to stay, Ryou warned him.

"I know," Bakura muttered and forced himself to stand. The tremors had lessened some, but he couldn't wait for them to completely subside. "I never expected the day I'd have to run from my own darkness though…" He grimaced and took off in the direction of the most light. The writhing black emptiness continued to swallow the shadows, staying just behind Bakura's heels.

"Yugi? Yugi, wake up! You're going to be late!"

"Mph…" Yugi groaned, struggling to open his eyes. "Late for what?"

"What do you mean, 'late for what?'?" Yugi's grandfather burst in the door. "School of course! Tea's already downstairs waiting for you."

"Tea is?" Yugi sat straight up in bed then bounced out, frantically looking for his uniform. Yugi's grandfather walked out, chuckling to himself. Yugi was almost dressed and had an arm half-way through his jacket sleeve before he stopped to think. "Wait a minute…what's going on here? Wasn't…" He slowly finished dressing, a thoughtful frown crossing his face. "…wasn't I somewhere else?" He blinked as he gathered his school books and shoved them in his book bag. "Why can't I remember?"

"Yugi!" Tea almost ran into him on her way up the stairs. "Oh, good. You're coming." She smiled warmly. "I was afraid you might have passed out again."

"Again?" Yugi asked in surprise.

"Yeah…" Tea's voice softened. "You don't know what happened?" Yugi shook his head. Tea sighed. "I wish I could help you, but I'm still a little confused myself. Mai and I found you unconscious in the park last night. You woke up, but you were really dazed, so she helped me take you home, and your grandfather put you to bed…" she trailed off. "You really don't remember anything?"

"I…" Yugi put a hand to his head and winced a little. "It's all kind of hazy yet. Maybe it'll come back to me later." He moved around Tea to lead her back downstairs and on their way to school.

Tea hesitated before following him. "I don't know…" she said softly. "Maybe it's better this way."

Without uttering a sound, Saishu drew his shadowy form inward, away from the other darkness that was slowly encroaching. The tremors, growing more and more frequent, still couldn't reach this sheltered place that he had cleared for himself; but unless something soon moved to shift the balance, even Saishu would no longer be safe from the wild chaos consuming the realm. All of the familiar grays around were beginning to dim…

"Looking for this?" Saishu gave a start at the playful voice behind him. Almost immediately his entire surroundings had brightened – returning to their more familiar appearance.

Saishu turned his head as if he was gazing over his shoulder. "It's about time. I wondered what was keeping you."

"Oh, you know…" Unmei floated down next to him in her child-like form. "The usual." She smiled sweetly up at him, holding out the orb she had borrowed. Reds and golds and other colors still swirled around inside the sphere, kept in place by the golden eye emblazoned on the front. Saishu reached forward, shadowing tendrils like fingers stretching to wrap around the orb and reclaim it. Still smiling, Unmei let him lift it out of her hands, then moved them forward to catch the orb again when he dropped it suddenly.

A quick brush with the orb was all it took for the dark being to sense that something was wrong – something was missing. Shadows contorted inward, then stretched out again to wrap firmly around the orb, consuming it. After another moment, the golden light faded back to its proper position atop Saishu's staff.

"Destiny…" Saishu spoke completely astounded. "What…what have you done?"

"Yugi!"

The moment the shorter boy stepped into the classroom with Tea, he was greeted with a shout. A few of the other students looked up curiously as a taller blond boy practically tackled the new arrival. Yugi tensed and his eyes widened for a moment before returning to their normal size. "Uff…let go, Joey. Can't…breathe."

"Oh, sorry," Joey grinned sheepishly. "It's only been a couple days, but it feels like forever. I'm glad you're feeling better."

Yugi returned the smile genuinely and made his way back to his desk. "Sorry to worry you all." He began pulling out school books and pencils. "What have I missed?"

"Aside from the absurd amounts of homework, not much." Joey made a face.

"They still haven't found out anything new about Ryou's disappearance either," Tristan added.

"Oh yeah," Joey tipped his head thoughtfully. "There's a rumor that they've started looking for a body now…though we're not supposed to know about that yet."

"Same with Kira I suppose," Yugi said a little miserably, pulling out the books he'd need for his first class.

Joey gave him a quizzical look. "Who?"

"Kira," Yugi repeated. "You know, she's—"

"What about me?"

Caught in mid-sentence, Yugi froze, then slowly turned to look at the owner of the voice standing behind him.

"Where…where are we?" Bakura finally slowed to rest a bit and took his first good look at his surroundings.

I have no idea.

"Figures," Bakura sighed. The shadows had finally drawn back from chasing him, though the reason why, Bakura couldn't really say. At a more relaxed pace, he continued to walk forward again. "Hey, uh…" Bakura paused a moment. "Uh…Ryou?"

Me?

Bakura could feel the surprise in his own mind and couldn't resist rolling his eyes just once. "Where are we going?"

Aren't you still looking for destiny?

"Yes, but…" Bakura looked from side to side, feeling his quelled frustration growing again.

What's that ahead?

"What's what?" Bakura looked in the direction that Ryou's thoughts had pointed him towards. A faint golden mist was beginning to settle over a twisting area of shadows, settling them to a more reasonable calm. Bakura turned to face it directly, then took a step forward. "I guess we'll find out."

"I don't like being lumped in the same group as Ryou," Kira stepped out from behind Yugi and moved to join the rest of the group. "Not that there was anything wrong with him, mind you. I just prefer being able to still walk and talk, thank you very much." She earned a grin from Joey and Tristan, though Tea still kept a somber expression. "Though," she nodded to Yugi, "I suppose I should be touched that you'd at least miss me if I was gone or something."

Yugi opened his mouth, then closed it again, unable to think of anything to say.

"Though speaking of Ryou," Kira looked back at the rest of the group, "I heard on the news this morning that they haven't even been able to contract his dad yet."

"How sad," Tea murmured softly.

"He was always quiet though," Tristan pointed out. "Never really gave anybody a chance to get to know him. Kept to himself mostly."

"I always thought he was a little strange," Joey murmured.

"I wonder if he was always so alone," Tea added in an equally soft voice.

"Huh?" Yugi looked up in surprise.

"Yeah," Kira nodded, speaking with a very deliberate undertone. Her eyes met Yugi's and locked as she spoke again. "Without his dad here, I doubt there's even anyone to cry for him."

Yugi could only stare wide-eyed at his friends as one by one, they nodded with an almost casual agreement.

Saishu was a calm person – collected and mysterious. As one of several guardians to other realms, he was full of strange experiences and an immense breadth of wisdom. And as one who watched over one of only six gates to the silent world of the dead, his very nature was dark – it kept him safe from the burdens of his job. Saishu never showed emotion, never raised his voice, and yet as Unmei stood before him, he was almost shouting.

"You know the rules. You of all people!"

Unmei frowned, not to be intimidated. "The only rules are ones we make ourselves. You're fooling yourself, Sai, if you think that I've ever let anyone tell me what to do."

"You brought her back from the dead!"

"You gave me the orb to do it."

"I did not think you had this in mind…" Saishu said, beginning to calm himself once again. His voice was growing more contained, but Unmei could tell he was still as angry as ever. "I thought we were trying to restore balance. I thought you refused to meddle. But look at all you've done."

"And what have I done?" Unmei met his anger evenly. "Even you can't tell what will come of it all."

"Perhaps not," Saishu replied. "But I can still see the danger in it."

"Don't bother with the reprimand." Unmei sighed and glided backwards. "No matter what you say, I'll play my game out to its end."

"Unmei…" Saishu reached out slightly.

"I'm going," Unmei smiled at him. "And you have a visitor." She vanished, and from that same place, Saishu saw the shadows begin to twist and darken. Someone was coming. Fingering his staff, Saishu drew back slightly and waited. The shadows deepened, taking on a fixed form, and a figure began to materialize. As if the figure was approaching Saishu, the sillouette became more defined, until finally, out into the open stumbled a irritable and slightly disoriented Bakura.