Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing! Deal with it!
This chapter will feature the battle between Yugi and Schwarzvald (sp?), so stay tuned. This also features the first appearance of any other Big O characters, the first implications of the Duel Monsters Tournament I've been hinting at for the past few chapters, and a surprise guest appearance later in the fic by Inuyasha! I do not own it!
. If you are wondering why Schwarzvald allied with Hiei in the first place, then that will clarify itself in due time.
Oh, one more thing. This chapter will also clarify how Hiei managed to control Tea's mind.
Let it begin!
Chap. 8: Enter the Negotiator
Dark Palace; Master Bedroom No. 2
Schwarzvald had entered his master bedroom in time to here Hiei's demands of him on the intercom system.
With a sigh, the former Paradigm investigative reporter sank into his favorite armchair: an elaborately carved recliner with the finest down cushions that money could buy. It was the only thing left from his past life as a subservient flunky to Alex Rosewater and his corrupt regime. At times, he would often wonder why he kept this old thing, this sturdy chair that remained to bind him to the ignorant bliss of his pre-terrorist days. As he sat in the chair, he got to thinking.
It's somewhat ironic how this situation is like a chair in many ways. As long as every component of the chair stays in place, that seat will stand strong no matter how much you beat it. Yet remove even one component, place in even one faulty portion, and the seat comes crashing down with the first blow.
Ever since Yugi Mouto came into play, our entire plan has been degenerating by the second. Apparently, my superior thinks that by removing Mouto from the picture, he will remove any and all flaws in the plan. Yet I cannot help thinking that the Paradigm lapdog might come into play.
It seems I must strike whilst the iron is hot.
Turning towards the hidden two-way walkie-talkie in his bandages, the terrorist turned confidant sent a message to the hidden bunker near the palace where he took board.
"Bunker One? This is Schwarzvald. Put Big Duo back online!"
Yugi and Yami had been walking for about an hour through the forests of Spirit World. Once they had left the ironmongery fields behind, the general population had continued to increase as they moved forward. Seemingly, these fields were avoided whenever possible, for obvious reasons: supposedly, any civilians that were caught wandering near the dreaded fields were to be immediately captured and enslaved, doomed to work in the smithies for the rest of their lives.
Yugi had been thinking about the state of affairs that had commenced since his first meeting with Hiei: how twisted and warped he had seemed in comparison to Yusuke's tales of him, the psychosis that had seemed to envelop him, and the horrible land that he had created.
I don't get it! If Hiei already has several Millennium Items AND the power of his Jagen Eye, why does he continue to stand against me and Yami? It's like he's not really after all seven Items as much as my Puzzle; the other Items are simply tools to gain a greater force! And there's also the fact that he can even wield one Millennium Item, let alone four!
Maybe it's just paranoia, but I think Hiei might have a greater motive than simply collecting the Millennium Items! But what is it?
Yugi's attention was derailed as he stepped out of the forest onto a great plain near the edge of the mountains. The scenery spanned many miles in almost every direction. Thousands of flora and fauna seemed to make their home here, and the sun was shining as if it was noon every hour.
Yet despite the beauty and splendor of the place, Yugi couldn't shake a feeling of great dread. It was as though a black cloud was strangling his very soul.
*Yami, something is here that's giving off a dark aura. It almost seems like we're being watched!*
*I felt something, too. Whatever it is, it seems to be coming from that lake, on an island in the center of it.*
Yugi, however, could not see an island, nor could he see the mysterious figure lunging at him...until it was too late.
*YUGI!*
The Pharaoh's warning came a second after it happened.
The diminutive youth felt a spin kick connect with the back of his head. Normally, such a blow would have killed him, but his Millennium Puzzle gave a temporary protection against such a sneak attack.
Still, the kick was jarring enough to send Yugi reeling. For a split second, he was completely stunned, yet his attacker did not strike again.
Yugi did the only thing reasonable: he fused with Yami.
Yami, now back in control, began looking for his assailant in the grassland. It did not take too long: he was standing atop a pinnacle of rock at the lake's edge. He was a terrible sight to behold.
The enigmatic warrior was wrapped mostly in grimy bandages that fluttered in the chill breeze of the plains. In addition to the gauze wrapping, he wore a dull beige suit and coat, both equally as filthy as the bandages he was encased in. One of his exposed eyes was behind a steel cover, and the other was wild and erratic, signaling this man was completely insane. In one hand was what appeared to be a remote control; the other held a silver assault rifle with the words "Bringer of Death" carved into the side in Hieratic.
Yami stared down this new menace with a degree of hatred and fear.
So, this is the evil force that Yugi felt earlier. What does he want?
Yami soon found out, when the source of fear spoke in an erratic, unstable voice.
"Well, well, well; Yugi Mouto, King of Games in the outside world, we meet at last. I had a feeling you would be coming about now."
Yami had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something didn't seem quite right about this strange assassin; he seemed to be taking a while to attack.
"You seem a little perturbed, Yugi. You apparently don't seem to understand why I am here, and I can change that, permanently!"
"Wait just one minute! Who the hell are you!?"
"I can be described as many things, Yugi. I can be a prophet, an anarchist, and in your case, an executioner!"
Lifting the assault rifle to his shoulder, the assassin began firing mercilessly at Yami.
Just great.
It is quite easy to say that Yami, as a young man in Northern Egypt, had to constantly dodge many a bolt and blast of necromancy as he traveled from city to city. And although these bullets were much faster than any arrow that he had once had to dodge, the basic structure of the assault rifle's ammunition was the same.
"HA! You are an even greater fool than I could have imagined! You see, even you can't dodge bullets forever; however, I can keep firing forever. For you see, this rifle was especially designed by Lord Hiei to never run out of ammunition! So therein, while I can keep shooting at you for all eternity, you can only keep running for so long!"
One of the bullets hit the ground right under Yami's feet, causing him to lose his footing.
"AHAHAHA! Once more, I prove superior to the corrupted fools that stood against my unstoppable might! Even you, the King of Games, could not stand a chance against me, the all-powerful Schwarzvald!"
"SCHWARZVALD?! So you're the terrorist that destroyed a quarter of Paradigm City!"
"Ha! Paradigm City deserved to take such a blow to it's omnipotent ego! What no one seems to realize is that Paradigm was built on nothing but LIES! Damnable lies! The fool Rosewater attempted to cover the catastrophic event that wiped Paradigm of it's memories by creating those accursed domes, and when I danced too close to the flame of the truth, I was the one to pay the price for that fool's blunder!"
"Really. If that's the case, then you can tell me what purpose you have here."
"Yugi, I am a servant of the almighty Lord Hiei, King of the Spirit World!"
"Well, in that case, I have one thing to say to you: MIND CRUSH!"
The blast from Yami's Shadow Power, although it did not kill the anarchist, did send him hurling into the sky. He then proceeded to crash land onto the pinnacle of rock that he had been standing on just a minute before.
Yami had just stood up when Schwarzvald leapt into the sky, holding a 12-guage shotgun. But this time, he bolted towards the tree cover near the lake.
*Yami, why did he go into the tree cover?*
*I have a bad feeling about this...*
Schwarzvald stepped into the opening carrying what appeared to be a hooded figure. He was pointing his shotgun at whoever was beneath the cloak.
"You see, Yugi, there are more ways to defeat a corrupt duelist. I wouldn't try anything dodgy, if I were you; take one step closer, and the hostage dies. And I have a feeling you won't want this person to die."
With that, the former reporter unveiled his captive, who turned out to be...
"TEA! What have you done to her?!"
"Oh, I did not do a thing. You see, Hiei has always had an ability to twist people to such a degree that they would do his every bidding. Thanks to his new Millennium Items, he can now channel that ability to make anyone his mindless chattels at will!
"Now, as for you; if you surrender without making a fuss, I might release Gardener without slaying her. Yet make one false move and the girl dies!"
*Yami, we have to do what he says. You can stop him from taking the Puzzle, but I won't put Tea's life on the line!*
*Listen, he obviously has no intention of releasing her; I don't know how, but I know that he's much more intelligent than we think. You see, if he releases his hostage, he'll have no way of keeping us here!*
"Well, Mouto, are you going to surrender, or do I have to add another casualty to my very long list?"
"We will not surrender to the likes of you!"
*YAMI!*
The Pharaoh ignored Yugi's plea, but attempted to console him.
*Don't worry, Aibou. I have a feeling that help is about to arrive.*
Schwarzvald pushed the shotgun to Tea's forehead with an insane smile.
"Well, I see that your lives are much more important than that of your friends! Say goodbye, Gardener!"
"SPIRIT GUN!"
Without warning a blue stream of energy roared out of the forest and knocked the shotgun out of Schwarzvald's hand. At the same time, Yusuke Urameshi stepped into the clearing, followed by a much older man dressed in black, and what appeared to be a red-clothed human with long white hair and two wolf ears.
Yami and Yugi were very pleasantly surprised to see their recently acquired friend, but were not too sure about the other two.
"Hey, Yusuke! How did you get here?"
"Well, once I broke through the protective barrier, I heard about how you and Yugi were moving through the Spirit World Forest, so I tracked you down!"
"Who are those two?"
"I'll explain later. Let's take this fool down!"
Yet Schwarzvald was nowhere to be seen, until...
From behind the mountains, a gargantuan robot was slowly hovering over the scene. It was mostly red, with a face of half-black and half white.
Atop this monstrosity was Schwarzvald.
"AHAHAHAHA! You fools! You are all fools! Did you really think your mind games and beams of light could defeat me? Well, you were all sadly mistaken! Especially you, Roger Smith!"
The black haired man in the matching suit, now identified as Roger Smith, stepped forward.
"Schwarzvald! This is impossible; you're supposed to be dead! How could you have survived that explosion?!"
"Do not be so flippant with me, Paradigm lapdog! Did you really expect a mere explosion of my megadeuce could kill ME?! I have survived every torment known to man; a mere explosion could not possibly kill me!"
Yami was shocked that this complete stranger could know the psychotic terrorist that he had been fighting against for a half-hour.
*Yugi, how do you think this "Roger Smith" knows this man?*
*Well, if Schwarzvald knows this guy, then I think it would work both ways, wouldn't it?*
Schwarzvald, who had been ranting thus far, suddenly lifted Tea by the collar of her shirt.
"YUGI! You said you wanted Tea back in here right mind, am I correct? Well, I release her from the spell that binds her, but you'll have to catch her!"
And with that, he shoved Tea off the side of the Megadeuce, and himself jumped into the cockpit and soared off, with a curse of "We'll meet again, Yugi! And when we do, you will not be so lucky!"
"TEA! NO!"
Yami began running at his full speed towards the younger girl's soon-to-be crash site, yet it was painfully obvious he was not going to make it.
At this rate of speed, I'll never catch her! I need something to boost me so I can grab her in midair, but what?
Suddenly, Yami felt something ram into him from behind, shoving him forward at an alarming pace. However, the push was well worth the pain, as he was able to catch Tea before she hit the ground.
As Yami landed into the surprisingly warm water, a thought occurred to him: who did push me from behind? It couldn't have been Yusuke; even he couldn't push that hard. So who did it?
This was his last conscious thought before he blacked out.
*Yami? Yami, are you all right?*
The half-dead Pharaoh was back in Domino City, in Solomon Mouto's Game Shop. He had been out cold for the past five hours, and he could feel a sharp pain in his side.
Whoever gave me that helping push certainly did a number on me.
At this point, Yami remembered something very important.
*Yugi, where's Tea? Is she...*
Suddenly, the strange looking demon in the red garb spoke up. "Don't worry, your friend is perfectly safe. You, on the other hand, have a sprained rib and a minor concussion. For someone that was considered a god in Egypt, you certainly aren't that reasonable. Oh, for purposes of communication, I go by the name Inuyasha. You've already met Mr. Negotiator over there," motioning towards Roger Smith, "and I can only assume you owe me some kind of gratitude."
"You mean you were the person that rammed into me?!"
"That's right."
Yami stood up and walked towards the door. At the bottom of it was a letter. He opened it, and read its contents with reasonable shock.
"Well, what's it say, Yug?", quipped Joey, who had just woken up.
"It seems we have been invited to...a Duel Monsters Tournament."
To be continued
Well, it took me a while, but I finally finished this chapter. Tune in next time, when the Tournament details come to light, R. Dorothy comes into play, and Hiei contemplates his attack tactic.
And remember the three R's: REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!