LE: Hey, hey, hey. Who says you get to go free?
Bakura: You did! You promised I could go free if people reviewed the story! They have and now you must let me go! YOU SWORE IT!
LE: I never said how many reviews I had to get before you were freed. So I think I'll keep you around for another chapter.
Bakura: NOOOOOOOOOO! I DEMAND THAT YOU RELEASE ME, YOU BITCH OF A MORTAL!
LE: Oh, so I'm a bitch? If it's just me that's a bitch, does that mean you've met mortal women that you've liked? Hmmm?
Bakura: (Face turns a violent shade of red) NO WAY! NEVER!
LE: All right fine, don't admit it. But I think you'll be happy about this next little turn of events. I've caught you some company.
Bakura: What? Who?
(Yami tumbles out of the closet. His hands are tied behind his back.)
Yami: What's going on? Where am I? Why have you brought me here?
Bakura: You brought him here?
LE: What? I thought you might like to see him suffer.
Bakura: I may want to control the entire world and kill Yami. But even I wouldn't wish such torture on him as being stuck here with you.
Yami: (Glaring at Bakura) Tomb robber! Such a trick is worthy of you, Bakura!
Bakura: What are you looking at me for? I had absolutely nothing to do with this. I'm her prisoner too.
Yami: This is insane! Can't we just break out of here?
LE: You could, but you and I both know that you won't leave without these. (Holds up the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Puzzle.)
Yami: No! It can't be! How did you get that? Yugi had it with him when……oh no! What have you done with him?
(The audience sees Yugi, tied up and hanging out of the author's window, dangling above a pool of water. The water is churning as sea creatures swim around in it.)
Yugi: YAMI! HELP ME!
Yami: YUGI! NO!
LE: Not a sound out of you, Yami! Or Yugi gets it.
Yami: You wouldn't.
Bakura: Oh, she would.
Yami: What are those creatures?
LE: Sharks. And if you'll look closely you'll see that all of them have laser beams attached to there heads. I think it's important for every creature to have a warm meal.
(Author's Beta Sister rushes into the room.)
BetaSister: Um…about the sharks, Luthien. I went out to get some while you were out capturing Yami, just like you told me to. But the people at the aquarium said I couldn't buy any because I'm underage.
LE: I have one simple request. And that is to have SHARKS WITH FRICKIN LASER BEAMS ATTATCHED TO THEIR HEADS! What do you think I pay you for?
BS: Uh…you don't pay me.
LE: Irrelevant! What do we have then?
BS: Sea Bass.
LE: -.- Sea bass?
BS: They are mutated sea bass.
LE: Are they ill-tempered?
BS: Very.
LE: All right, fine.
(One of the sea bass fires it's laser and narrowly misses Yugi's head. )
Yugi: AAAAAAAAAARRRGGH!
LE: Begin the unnecessarily slow dipping mechanism!
(The chain that Yugi is tied to begins to descend to the pool. Veeeeeeeery sloooooowly.)
Yami: I demand that you release him this instant!
LE: Hell, it's like everyone's demanding something of me during this intro. If you two keep quiet then I might let Yugi go. And if I don't change my mind then he has until the beginning of the next chapter. I might even let you three leave.
Bakura: LIAR!
LE: Was someone TALKING?
(Yami clamps his hand down over Bakura's mouth and shakes his head no.)
LE: Good.
Mirror of the Soul
Chapter 2: He Has Come
Lotaru was awoken from her sleep by the sound of a car pulling up to the game shop. When she saw that it was a limo, she crawled further into the shadows of the alleyway, fearing that it was Pegasus. But then she saw the logo for Kaiba Corporation on it. Kaiba had returned for the Blue Eyes card.
Lotaru had slept in the alley, wrapped in her traveler's cloak and a flimsy blanket. She had kept watch almost all night. Tristan, Tea, and Joey had eventually left the shop. But Yugi and his grandfather had never come out, so Lotaru assumed that they lived in the game shop as well as working in it. She had been asleep when Yugi left for school.
A few minutes later, three KaibaCorp officials came out of the shop with Yugi's grandpa in tow. They shoved him into the limo and drove off.
"This can't be good," Lotaru said as she removed the Mirror from her cloak and removed her disguise. She then went into the game shop to wait for Yugi to return from school.
She'd been waiting for quite awhile when Yugi and his three friends walked through the door.
"Grandpa, I'm home!" Yugi called out.
"Welcome back," Lotaru said as she stepped out of the shadows.
"Hey, how was your-" Yugi started to ask, only to be cut short when he realized who was really speaking.
"Lotaru? What are you doing here? Where's Grandpa?"
"Your grandfather is in terrible danger, Yugi. I've been waiting for you to come back."
"Danger? What do you mean?"
Lotaru was about to answer when the phone rang. Yugi hesitated a moment before answering it but Lotaru nodded for him to go ahead.
"Hello, Kame Game Shop."
"Ah, Yugi. Perfect," the voice of Kaiba answered him.
"Kaiba!"
"Your grandfather's here visiting, but he's not feeling well. Maybe you should come by my office and pick him up," Kaiba said with a sinister laugh.
"Kaiba! What have you done, Kaiba?" Yugi shouted. But Kaiba had already hung up.
Yugi hung up the phone and turned to face Lotaru.
"How could you have known that?" he asked suspiciously.
"That doesn't matter now. You should go help your grandpa."
Yugi didn't ask questions. He simply raced out of the front door, his friends hot on his heels.
(Asinath?) Lotaru spoke to her dark through their mind link.
(Lotaru?)
(We need to get to the KaibaCorp headquarters. Do You know a spell that can get us there before Yugi and the others?)
(Mere child's play. But the spell is much to powerful for you to perform with your limited magic skills. You must let me take over.)
(All right.)
With that, Asinath emerged from the Mirror and took control of Lotaru's body. Then she knelt down and turned her face to the ceiling. She opened her mind to the magic energies that were hidden from humans by the veil of the mortal world. She tapped into that power with her hard-won mental control. Now all that remained was to direct the energies to her destination.
(KaibaCorp headquarters.)
Almost instantly, the game shop faded away and Asinath was surrounded by the swirling dark energies that she had summoned. Just as quickly, the warp spell passed back to the Shadow Realm and Asinath found herself standing in front of the KaibaCorp building.
She immediately hid herself in the growing shadows that the huge skyscraper cast. It wouldn't do for the boy and his friends to see her. If they saw that she had arrived before them they would start to ask questions. Questions that would only bring her and Lotaru trouble.
Asinath watched as Yugi, Joey, Tristan and Tea raced into the building. They'd be back before too long.
(Asinath, you've gotten us here. I'll take over now.)
For a moment, Asinath considered ignoring her hikari. But that wouldn't help anything. As much as she wanted to, Asinath knew that she couldn't commit murder in public. Unless Lotaru took over again, Asinath knew she wouldn't be able to control herself.
(All right.)
Just as Lotaru took control again an ambulance pulled up to the building and Joey, Tea, and Tristan came rushing out. Tristan was carrying Yugi's grandpa, who was unconscious. Lotaru raced over to them.
"What happened?" she asked the three as the paramedics took Yugi's grandpa.
"Gramps and Kaiba had a duel. Gramps lost and Kaiba took his Blue Eyes White Dragon card and ripped in half. Yugi's dueling with him now," Joey explained.
"Joey, Tristan and I will stay with Yugi's grandpa. You should stay here and cheer Yugi on," Tea suggested.
"Right," Joey said as he turned to go back into the building.
"I'll go with you," Lotaru offered, running after Joey.
"Thanks, Lotaru," Joey thanked her as he led Lotaru to the dueling arena where Yugi and Kaiba were battling.
When they entered the arena, Lotaru started to scan the scene. She saw that Kaiba had the Hitotsu-me Giant on the field and that Yugi had the Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress in play. Just as she and Joey came into the arena Yugi sent the Winged Dragon to attack the Hitotsu-me Giant. As Kaiba's life points were deducted a little boy with long black hair came running into the arena.
"Big brother! Are you all right?"
"So, Kaiba has a little brother, does he?" Lotaru wondered to herself.
The shock waves from the attack had knocked Kaiba off his feet. Lotaru was used to seeing the monsters come to life, having played on virtual fields countless times before. But apparently Joey was not.
"Monsters! Real monsters!" he said, clearly shocked.
"Yes, Joey. It's a holographic playing field. So technically the monsters aren't real in that sense. They're just virtual projections," Lotaru explained.
She turned her attention back to the field just in time to see Kaiba summon Saggi the Dark Clown to the field.
"Saggi? Why him? His attack points are almost nothing compared to the Winged Dragon," Lotaru wondered out loud.
(True, but from what you've told me, this Kaiba is the champion. I doubt he got that way by being a slouch. Could I have a look at him, Lotaru?)
(I don't know. Can I trust you to take over when we're this close to Yugi?)
(Yes, you have my word, hikari. I just want to see this Kaiba. And you know I cannot do that unless I have access to your senses.)
(All right, then. You can see him.)
Asinath took control once more and turned her gaze to Kaiba. When she saw his face she gave a small cry and fell backwards.
"Lotaru, are you all right?" Joey asked as he turned back to help her back to her feet.
"Of course I'm all right! Why wouldn't I be? I just tripped, that's all!" Asinath replied angrily, refusing his hand and pulling herself to her feet. She was angry with herself for letting her surprise show.
"Ok, sheesh. Sorry I asked," Joey said as he turned back to the match. Kaiba had armed Saggi with a magic card and destroyed the Winged Dragon.
Meanwhile, Lotaru was waiting in her soul room, trying to sense what was happening on the outside, when she felt a sudden jolt of emotion from her dark. A bolt of familiarity.
(Asinath, what's going on out there? What happened?)
(Kaiba. Seto Kaiba!) Asinath stuttered, still in shock.
(What about him?)
(He looks so much like Seth.)
(Seth? The Priest?)
(Yes, him. And the two aren't just similar. They look exactly alike. If it weren't for those modern clothes he could be Seth. And their names are so similar too. Seth and Seto.)
(So what do you make of it?)
(Seth was never bound to a Millennium Item. So it couldn't be that. He could be a reincarnation.)
(Seriously? My God!)
(Come on. Haven't you been with me long enough to know that such magic is very real? In a way you are my reincarnation. And you yourself have worked with magic with my help. Why does it surprise you so much?)
(I don't know. But hey, what's happening on the field now?)
(Yugi, or should I say, his yami, Atem, summoned Gaia, the Fierce Knight and destroyed Saggi. But Kaiba countered with two Blue Eyes White Dragons and destroyed Gaia.)
(Two Blue Eyes? So I was right.)
(Indeed, and I have a feeling that it's not stopping there. Atem has now played Swords of Revealing Light and Kaiba has countered with the Judge Man.)
(For the last time, Asinath, we don't know if Yugi's really hosting Atem. Can you please call him Yugi, or yami, at least?)
(No. Now that I have seen him, there is no doubt in my mind that this is Atem. The resemblance is unmistakable. Especially now that I see the card that he counters the Judge Man with. The Dark Magician. Atem's faithful servant, Mahado.)
(The Dark Magician, is it?)
(Yes, and he's taken out the Judge Man. Now Kaiba summons a third Blue Eyes White Dragon.)
(A third! What next?)
(Next is total annihilation. The Swords of Revealing Light card will wear off next turn and the Dragons will obliterate the Dark Magician and Atem's life points.)
(Asinath, let me take over. I want to see how this ends.)
(All right. I can't get to Atem now anyway.) Asinath said as she relinquished control of the vessel to Lotaru.
As Lotaru came to control her body once more Joey turned back to her.
"Lotaru, I don't know much about Duel Monsters, but even this isn't looking good. Is there any move that Yugi can make to turn the match around?"
"From where I'm standing, no, there isn't. Not unless Yugi has some miracle card in his deck that we don't know about."
But no sooner had the words left her mouth than Kaiba began to taunt Yugi again.
"Why don't you draw your last pathetic card so I can end this match."
"Kaiba, my grandfather's deck doesn't have any pathetic cards. But it does contain……the unstoppable Exodia!"
"Exodia? No way!" Lotaru said, shocked.
"I've managed to gather all five pieces of the puzzle. And now I summon Exodia!"
With that a great vortex appeared on the field and the Forbidden One emerged from it.
"Exodia! It's not possible! No one's ever been able to call him!" Kaiba shouted out, just as shocked as Lotaru.
"EXODIA! OBLITERATE!" Yami summoned the monster to attack and all three of the Blue Eyes White Dragons were destroyed, along with the remainder of Kaiba's life points.
"No. I Lost. But how?"
"You duel only for power, Kaiba. And that is why you lost. There is more to this game than power. You must believe in the heart of the cards."
"But how could a kid like you defeat me? ME!"
"Kaiba, if you truly want to know…open your MIND!" as Yami said this he threw his hands in the air and shock waves could be seen traveling across the field. As they hit Kaiba he collapsed to his knees. When Lotaru looked into his eyes she could see that something was gone from them. Or something was added. She couldn't tell, but she knew that Yami had just invoked the powers of the Millennium Puzzle and used them on Kaiba.
(What just happened, Asinath?)
(Atem has used the Puzzle.)
(Tell me something I don't know. What did he do?)
(He has removed all of the negative energy from Kaiba's soul.)
(What does that mean exactly?)
(All of the bad influences that guided Seto Kaiba's actions have been removed. He is free of all negativity. He might be considered a pure spirit now but Kaiba may find it difficult to exist without all of those negative energies. Negativity may not be the best guide in a duel, or in life, but it is a powerful guide none-the-less. And by the way, Lotaru, I believe now would be a good time to take your leave.)
"Oh yeah, that's right," Lotaru said as she went to join Yugi and Joey.
"What's right, Lotaru?" Joey asked.
"Oh, nothing. Congratulations, Yugi. You'll be famous for this, you know."
"I don't care about that. All I wanted to do was teach Kaiba a lesson about the heart of the cards."
"Well, whether or not you want it, you'll be famous for beating the world champion."
"Ya know, Yug, she's got a point. Even if the match was unofficial," Joey told him.
"See you around, guys. I've got places to be," Lotaru said as she turned to leave.
"Wait! Don't go yet! I have a lot of questions for you!" Yugi tried to call her back.
"I'm sure you do. But you'll have to save them for another time. You're not ready yet."
"Not ready yet? What's that supposed to mean?" Yugi asked her.
"Not now, Yugi. You'll understand sooner or later. But for now I have to leave you. We'll meet again, Yugi. Make no mistake," Lotaru said as she left the dueling arena.
"Lotaru, wait! LOTARU!" Yugi called after her. But she was already gone.
Pegasus will come to him soon after that display. Of that I have no doubt. This match will become famous in the dueling world, as will Yugi. You don't realize it, Yugi, but you've set the wheels in motion.
"It's begun," Lotaru said to herself as she strode out of the KaibaCorp building.
XxX
Lotaru spent nearly a week camping out in the alley behind the game shop without anyone discovering her. She was only waiting for the right time to make herself known. That time came nearly a week after Yugi's duel with Kaiba when a package arrived for him from Industrial Illusions. Lotaru didn't need the Mirror to tell her that it was an invitation to the Duelist Kingdom from Pegasus.
She immediately took out the Mirror and placed it against the back wall of the game shop.
"Reveal the truth to me," she whispered to the Mirror.
Then she pulled the Mirror away from the wall and looked into it. Easily seeing what was happening in the living room.
Yugi and his friends were watching the Duel Monsters Regional Tournament. Weevil Underwood against Rex Raptor. Lotaru felt a small twinge of jealousy. It should have been her up there. She had defeated Rex Raptor. If Pegasus hadn't stepped in she would still be in the tournament competing for the title and the prize money that she and Atrus had always so desperately needed. She had also heard that Kaiba had dropped out of the competition after his defeat at Yugi's hands. Maybe now he would understand her reasons a little bit better.
The match ended with Weevil as the victor. He won the title and an invite to the Duelist Kingdom Tournament.
But once the tournament had ended and Yugi had opened the package, that was when the hell fire started.
The package contained a dueling glove, two star chips, and a video tape. They popped the tape into the T.V. set and it opened with a greeting from Pegasus. And, just as Lotaru expected, Pegasus challenged Yugi to a duel then and there……in the Shadow Realm.
Lotaru used the Mirror to penetrate the confines of the Shadow Realm and continued to watch the duel. There was a time limit of fifteen minutes and Pegasus had already taken out Yugi's Curse of Dragon. It was here that Yugi came face to face with another Millennium Item for the very first time. The Millennium Eye of Pegasus. Yugi could no longer hide anything from Pegasus.
Yugi summoned the Dark Magician but Pegasus countered with the Faceless Mage and Eye of Illusion, using them to turn Yugi's own attacks against him.
But just as time was running out Yugi called forth the Summoned Skull. He would have indeed won the match if time hadn't run out before the Summoned Skull could attack. But the clock ran out and Pegasus won. And, as he released Yugi from the Shadow Realm, he used the power of the Millennium Eye to steal the soul of Yugi's grandpa.
"Grandpa!"
"We will duel again, Yugi Mutou. Only next time the stakes will be much higher!" Pegasus warned Yugi as the T.V fizzled out and Pegasus took his leave. He left Yugi desperately beating his fists against the unyielding T.V. screen.
"Grandpa! GRANDPA!" Yugi screamed at the television until he had completely worn himself out.
XxX
Later that night, after the other three had gone home, Lotaru called on Asinath to disable the locks on the game shop. Then she made her way to the back of the shop. Where, beyond that, Yugi and his grandpa had their home. She went to the second floor and searched the rooms until she found Yugi, alone in his room.
"Yugi?"
The young teen looked up in shock.
"Lotaru? But…how did you get in here? The door was locked."
"Locks cannot hinder me. But never mind that now. We have a lot to talk about. He's come to you, hasn't he?"
"Who?"
"Pegasus. You've dueled with him in the Shadow Realm."
"How could you possibly know about that?" Yugi demanded of her, fire burning in his eyes.
"I have my ways, Yugi Mutou. Pegasus isn't the only one with connections to the Shadow Realm."
"Lotaru, how do you know about all of this? You're on his side, aren't you!" Yugi accused furiously.
"Yugi, listen to me. I could never be on Pegasus' side. Clear your mind. Your anger is blinding you."
"HE HAS MY GRANDFATHER'S SOUL!" Yugi cried out, slamming his fist down into his bed mattress.
"I know that," Lotaru said, remaining calm in the face of Yugi's anger and fear.
"But how-"
"Never mind that. But know this. Never let Pegasus or anyone else get their hands on your Millennium Puzzle. That item has more power than you know."
"What do you know about my Puzzle? How do you know about it? Do you have one of those Millennium Items that Pegasus was talking about?"
"Tell no one that we have spoken. I will see you again before too long," Lotaru said as she walked to the door, staunchly refusing to answer his questions.
"Wait, Lotaru! Why do you keep coming and going like this? Can't you tell me anything?"
Lotaru paused on her way down the stairs. She clutched at her head in pain. Asinath was trying to get free.
"Yugi, please... don't ask questions. I'd stay and explain but I don't know how much longer I can stay in control, and if I lose control……it will be all over for you," Lotaru explained, trying to stay in control, despite the mental strain that Asinath was putting on her.
"What do you mean by-" Yugi started to ask. But before he could finish speaking Lotaru had fled down the stairs and out of the game shop. She could feel her own hands twitching with Asinath's readiness to strangle the boy.
She collapsed back inside the alleyway, breathing hard and sweating profusely from the pain of Asinath's magic.
"I can't let you hurt Yugi, Asinath……no matter what you do to me. I can't let you take an innocent life," Lotaru swore as she passed out cold on the pavement.
XxX
LE: Go me! Another chapter.
(Yami and Bakura remain silent)
LE: What? No sarcastic comments, Bakura? Oooooooh, right. Yugi's still dangling out there with the sea bass.
(Audience sees Yugi hanging over the sea bass pool. Only now he's much closer to the surface.)
LE: This is getting boring. I think I'll add a little twist.
(Ryou suddenly appears, dangling from a chain next to Yugi.)
Yugi: Ryou?
Ryou: Yugi?
Bakura: Ryou?
Ryou: Bakura?
Yami: Ryou?
Ryou: Yami?
Bakura: Yugi?
Yugi: Bakura?
Yami: Yugi?
Yugi: Yami?
Yami: Bakura?
Bakura: Yami?
LE: Crabcakes!
Yami & Bakura: Whaaaaaaat?
Ryou: Hey, Yugi. What's going on?
Yugi: Well basically we've been kidnapped by Luthien Eowyn and we are currently dangling over a churning pit of doom filled with blood thirsty sharks.
Yami: Sea bass.
Bakura: Mutated sea bass.
Yugi: Whatever. So now you know.
Ryou: All righty then. So, any escape plans underway?
Yugi: Nope.
Ryou: Oh, ok.
Bakura: What are you two? Crazy? You're not chatting over a cup of tea. This is life and death here!
LE: Hey, you! Shut your trap. If you and Yami don't keep quiet then next chapter, Yugi and Ryou bite the big one.
Bakura: That could be so dirty if you thought about it.
LE: Then don't think about it. Now shut up so I can write chapter three. It's bad enough that I have to look at you without having to listen to you.
Bakura: How that crushes me.
Yami: (To the audience) Please. Your reviews are the only things that can save our hikaris. You don't want to see them brutally ripped apart by rabid sea bass do you? SAVE THEM!