Zypher: And here's the next chapter with the next game for our favorite demons, their lover and his friends! Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter and as always, enjoy this one as well!
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Yami no Game: Death Awakening
Chapter 27
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"Patient is in respiratory distress following an acute bout of angina secondary to psychogenic shock!" One of the paramedics said.
"Patient's heart rate and blood pressure are elevated! He's in extremely critical condition!" Another said.
As the paramedics rushed him down to the ER, he was thinking about Yugi, hoping that he would win.
'Yugi...Yugi...'
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Back at the game, Yugi was gazing down at jii-chan's cards. 'Jii-chan...' he thought and placed the cards back into his pocket before cuddling close to Aqua. /I'm scared...scared that jii-chan won't make it. If he dies, I will never forgive Kaiba./ Yugi said to Yami. /We will save him, Yugi. His heartbeat is growing faster but we'll defeat Kaiba before it stops. Don't worry./ Yami told him. Yugi nodded just as Honda pointed out the entrance to the next game.
"We're getting closer to that jerk Kaiba! One step at a time!" Honda growled.
"Yeah!"
"C'mon! Let's hurry!" Jounouchi told them as they ran for the entrance. Kaiba watched them once more, thinking. "So, they made it to Death T-3...not outside the realm of chance but...looking over their progress, especially with the fact those demons didn't bother to use their true strength to help them get out of tight situation, I see some factors I underestimated..." he said. Ruby came up behind him and looked to the screen. "They make a good team. Powers or not. Their friendship is probably what keeps them together and helps them find a way to beat your games." Ruby murmured.
Kaiba thought about them and frowned. 'That's it...I need to break up that union. If one of Yugi's little friends is gone, then the demons will reveal themselves as their true forms. After all, friendship is an illusion...everyone cares the most about himself...when they find themselves in real trouble, they'll soon betray their friends to save their own hides! Demons are people of survival, feeding on others to quench their hunger. Yami ate every person that they went against to keep himself pleased, if it was only them, he wouldn't be able to hold back his instincts.' Kaiba thought with a smirk.
'That's where Death T-3 comes in. If I trap those demons, they'll be forced to eat their own limbs and they'll be dead and out of my hair forever, leaving Yugi and little friends alone and with the brawn of the group gone...' he thought, laughing to himself.
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"Here it is! The entrance to Death T-3!" Jounouchi called. Johji was now asleep in Zella's arms, giving them all relief to not hear more from him. "What could be after the Horror Zone?" Zella questioned. "Kaiba designed this theme park, you know it's gotta be something even more cheap and sadistic!" Jounouchi spoke. She nodded, agreeing with him. "Well, we don't have time to waste here! Let's go!" Aqua said and they nodded as they went inside and were surprised to see that it was nothing but a blank room.
"It's an empty room!"
"There's nothing at all in here!" The door slammed shut behind them and they turned to look behind them. "And like always, the doors slams shut behind us." Aqua sighed. "Well, we best start seeing what's up with this room then since there has to be some sort of trick associated with this room." he said and they started looking around.
"Let's see...square walls...square floors..." Jounouchi spoke and looked up. "The ceiling is pretty high...it's too dark ta tell, but maybe it's open at the top..." he continued before seeing something. "Wait...!"
"What is it?"
"Right there! There's a hole in the wall up there!"
"Yeah, I can see it. It's probably 10 meters above the floor!" Honda said. "He can't be expecting up to climb up there!"
"But I can fly us up there." Aqua suggested. "That won't work. See, flare out your wings." Yugi murmured and he did so, the ends of his wings brushing both ends of the wall. "Sooner or later while you're flapping your wings, you're going to trip up and fall." Yugi told him and he sighed. "Well, that rules that out." Aqua whispered and looked around. "It looks like we're trapped here...could this have been Kaiba's plan all along?"
"I hope it isn't. This is very bad on our part." Yami growled. "He's right." Yugi whispered. /I don't know how long it is before you both need another meal and if your instincts go out of control, my friends and possibly me will be your next meal./
/I won't need another for quite a while. Those mercenaries and Kaiba's butler will keep my instincts satisfied and keep me full for a good month or so./ Yami said. /And those punks that messed with Hanasaki are still keeping me alright. No need to worry about us, Yugi./ Aqua said and he nodded. "Yugi!" Jounouchi called and he looked to him. "Ya can't give up! Don't give up now when we're so far!" Yugi looked up into his eyes and saw the determination in his eyes. "Alright..." he whispered before sighing. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens..."
They sat down on the ground, staying silent. Zella looked down to Johji. "He's sound asleep now. He must be very exhausted after what he's been through..." she said. "This whole thing must be hard on a little, talking pervy kid like him." Aqua mumbled and Zella punched him lightly in the arm. "Shh, Aqua." He pouted and looked to Yugi who was very quiet. 'We've been in here for ages...nothing has changed at all. Maybe...maybe it does end here...' Yugi thought.
'Jii-chan...everyone...Yami and Aqua...' he whimpered and banged his fists on the ground, tears coming to his eyes. "I'm sorry everyone! I'm so sorry! If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't be here!" Yugi cried, sobbing. Jounouchi looked to him before grabbing onto him. "That's enough, Yugi! Don't ya dare say that 'gain!" Jounouchi shouted. "Jou, stop! What's the matter with you?!" Honda yelled. Yugi looked up into Jounouchi's eyes, seeing the determined look in his eyes. "Don't say things like that, Yugi...don't ya understand why we came here with ya? It's because we're friends!"
"Jounouchi, let go of his collar." Yami whispered and he did so. "Remember, Jounouchi, you are not the same person who beats up on weaker people anymore." Honda told him. Jounouchi sighed, looking down. "Honda...we've been such stupid punks in the past..." he murmured.
"Yeah...we were stupid punks all right..."
"Living in a stupid society...with stupid parents...and my stupid self...I never learned to like myself... until I met ya, Yugi..." he said, looking to him. 'Huh...?'
"You were just a nice, innocent kid but ya have been bullied so much at school until someone helped ya. I don't know who it could possibly be but every time somethin' happens, someone was there fer ya. The same still applies but now Yami and Aqua are there fer ya. But those days when I kept seein' ya take hits by Ushio...I was mad at myself...mad fer not tryin' ta help ya out when ya needed it...Honda saw as well but he was thinkin' the same lines as me those days and didn't come ta help ya out..." Jounouchi explained.
"Yeah...those days, I always wanted to pick a fight and didn't care who got hurt...some local punk...a wall...even a telephone pole...I'd it them with everything I had." Honda let out a sigh. "But then I'd realize...the person I should really be hitting is myself...I was no different to those that bullied you Yugi and worse since I'd only watch and not help..."
Jounouchi raised his head and looked to him. "But when ya solved that puzzle, Yugi, you've gained all of us as your friends and even Yami and Aqua as your lovers." he said before taking hold of Yugi's shoulders. "Listen ta me when I say this, Yugi! Friends are people ya like! And because of friends ya learn to like yourself. That's why I hang out with ya! Because ya help me to learn ta like myself and make me think of myself as more than a street punk! Whatever hurts you, I'll share that pain! That's what friends are for! Kaiba may have forced you, Yami and Aqua to come in here and I wasn't gonna let ya go in there alone. Honda came also and with his as well as my help, you three were able to get through these last two games. If we weren't here, you probably wouldn't have made it past the first game alive." he whispered. "We haven't given up on you so don't give up on us. Alright, Yugi?"
Yugi smiled and hugged Jounouchi tightly. "Ok. And thank you, Jou-kun." he whispered. Jounouchi smiled and wrapped his arms around him in a loose hug before letting go. Yami smiled and this and look to Aqua. Aqua nodded and they both whispered a quick spell and soon, shadows wrapped around their hands and there were seven crystal hearts, four in Yami's hand and three in Aqua's. They stood up and looked to them. "No one learns to like themselves alone. Yugi had taught us that well." Yami spoke, walking over to them. "And you all stick by his side even when facing death. That means a lot to us and to him. You truly are the greatest friends he as well as us can have. And to represent that, we can use these." Yami said, holding up the crystal hearts.
"Where did you get those?" Jounouchi asked. "It's our little secret but these will represent the friendship and love we hold for each other in our hearts." Yami said, giving one to Jou, Zella and Honda and placing the last over his head. "And no matter what happens, they will continue to glow with that friendship and love we have." Jounouchi looked down to the heart and saw it glowing with a golden-yellow light. Honda's was glowing a bronze color and Zella's a lavender color. Yami's was a dark cerise, Yugi's a deep amethyst and Aqua a dark aquamarine. Keara placed on the last one and it glowed with a mix of ruby and onyx. The color faded and they thanked them for the gift. Yami and Aqua smiled and nodded.
"Remember, no matter what happens, these crystal hearts will lead us and help us when we need them." Aqua said and they nodded. "Even if you lose them, the love we have for each other as friends will still burn brightly in our hearts."
"Yeah!" Jounouchi and Honda cheered. "Ok!" Zella said with a smile. They soon heard a sound and looked up to see and block falling. "Watch out!" Yami called and they moved out the way to avoid the block. "What the-?! A giant cube fell from above! This must be the next game!" Yugi cried. "Be careful! Another one's coming!" Zella said.
Yugi moved out the way of the cube as it dropped next to him and Yami ran over, picking him up and looked upwards for another cube. "It's impossible...you can't tell where the next cube going to fall!" Honda growled as he dodged another one. "All we can do is run around and dodge them!" Kaiba once again watched them. 'That's right, run...in this game, your numbers are a liability! Stop to worry about someone else and you'll be squashed by a cube! You can't win this game without sacrificing your friends!'
Back in the room, they were still dodging cubes. "This is like dancing with death!" Yugi cried as Yami moved out the way of another cube. "There's no place left to run!" Yami hissed. Yugi looked to the cubes then back to the hole in the wall. "Wait! I think I've got it! We have to use these cubes to get to the top!" he said. "He's right! We dodge the falling ones and climb them ta get to the top!" Jounouchi said as he clambered onto one along with Zella, Keara and Aqua. The whole floor was soon covered with cubes and more were falling down.
"We have to avoid the edges or we will get boxed in!" Yami called, moving to the center of the cube he was on to avoid once that fell into the empty spot beside him. Jounouchi growled as he dodged another. "Crap...how are we going to get out of here without being flattened? At the rate it's going, we probably won't make it!"
"Zella! Throw Johji ta me!" Jounouchi called and she did so, the other grabbing hold of the still sleeping baby. "How can you sleep at a time like this?" he wondered. Zella then thought of something. "Wait, there's a rhythm to the timing of the cubes! Maybe there's some rule to where the fall as well." she said, closing her eyes in concentration. "That's right! I forgot Zella studies dance! She has a talent for reading rhythms!" She continued to concentrate, counting to three mentally before pointing to an area where a cube fell into place.
"That's awesome! You know where the next cube would fall!"
"Yeah! The falling cubes are the rhythm and the places they fall are the steps, just like in a dance! The cubes in a way are following a simple dance!" Zella explained. "I get it! The mechanism of this game is too big for the computer program controlling it to be too complex! They had to keep it simple!" Yugi said. "So the cubes only know easy steps!" he continued, Yami tossing him from his spot to Aqua who let him sit on his back as he started hopping from one cube to the next, making his way up the one leading to the exit. "We're almost there! Just hang in there a little more!" Honda called as Zella, Jounouchi and Keara reached the exit. Yami started making his way up there as well until he looked down to Honda. "Come on, Honda! You can make it!" he said.
Jounouchi passed Johji to Keara who was through the opening before climbing in. Zella looked up and realize the rhythm changed and one cube was falling straight for Aqua. "Aqua! Look out!" she cried. He gasped and moved Yugi off his back but the block was too quick for him to move as well. "I got you!" Honda said, moving him and Yugi both, just barely missing the cube as it hit. Aqua looked to him gratefully. "Thank you, Honda." he whispered. "Can't let you and Yugi get caught." Aqua passed Yugi to Yami and climbed up. He looked back down to Honda, wondering why he wasn't moving.
"Honda! Come on!" he called, making Yami and Yugi stop in their ascent. "This is as far as I go..." he said then Aqua saw his jacket got caught underneath the cube that fell. "His jacket's caught!" Yugi cried in shock. Aqua jumped down towards him. "I'm not leaving you here, Honda! You helped me and I'm returning the favor!"
"Aqua! No!" Yugi cried.
"Come on, Yugi." Yami whispered solemnly as he lifted him up to the exit where Jounouchi took as hold of him and he jumped into the exit as well. "We can't leave Aqua! We can't!" Yugi said, tears coming to his eyes again. "I don't want to either but when we try to drag him away, we might be caught in there to and that's what Kaiba wants." Honda looked to Aqua. "Aqua, just go. Yugi needs you." he murmured but he shook his head. "We're sticking together!"
"Aqua! Please! Let's get going! I can't lose you!" Yugi cried. "No, I can't. You have gained these friends Yugi and I'm going to make sure they are still with you, especially if something happens to us." Aqua whispered then looked up to Yugi. "Even if I'm trapped here, remember, I will always love you." he said with a smile. "Aqua!" he cried but a block fell, covering up the exit and Yugi pounded on the block, calling Aqua's name. Honda looked to Aqua. "You should've gone with him, Aqua. I probably would've been fine and Yugi needs you."
He shook his head. "I couldn't be sure that you wouldn't be harmed. Kaiba is targeting Yami and I and dragged you all into his twisted games. Because of us, we put you all into danger that could've meant your deaths." Aqua clenched his eyes tightly, claws leaving deep gashes in the cube holding Honda's jacket. "He'll pay for this! He'll pay!" he roared in anger which echoed throughout the room.
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Yugi heard him roar and thought he was hit by a cube. "Aqua!" he cried and closed his eyes, sobbing. "Why...why..." he whispered. Yami walked over to him and pulled him away from the exit, bringing him into his arms and he gripped his shirt, crying still while the others looked on sadly.
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Zypher: Yes, sad ending but don't worry! You all know, for those that already read the manga, that Honda will be alright and so will Aqua. Everyone knows I can't kill them off for good (except Anzu but who really cares about her). Anyways, hoped you all enjoyed and will be waiting for the next one and the upcoming Death T-4. See you later.