Hey guys!
Long time no see. Sorry about that. I'd sit here and give you excuses, but I'm pretty sure that absolutely none of you want to hear it. But, hopefully this chapter will make up for it! :D
Disclaimer: Ha. Like I actually own any of this. YOU'RE FUNNY.
Enjoy!
Chapter 29
"So, who's gonna break it to Malik?" Ron asked the group in his usual tactful way as they made their way to the hospital wing to quickly visit Malik before class. After their meeting with Dumbledore the group had returned to their dorms to get properly dressed and had sat down for breakfast, but none of them had really eaten much.
"You are not telling Malik!" Hermione snapped. She wasn't the only one who had been extremely irritable all morning. "He's got enough to cope with as is!"
"He has a right to know," Ron continued. "Ellie is his friend as well."
Ryou frowned. He disagreed. They shouldn't tell Malik about her just yet. None of them still had any idea of where Ellie had disappeared to. And judging from Malik's unstable state the night before, he was certainly in no mind to have to deal with the worry the entire group was experiencing.
"You know that he is going to find out eventually, Hermione," Ron said. "And when he does, he's going to be pissed that we didn't tell him."
That was a good point, and they all knew it. Ryou wanted to say something in Hermione's defense, but Bakura laughed inside his head. Don't worry, Ryou. I believe that Hermione has got it covered.
"So let him!" Hermione continued to argue, proving Bakura's point. "I really couldn't care less if he gets mad. It's for his own good, so we're not telling him."
"But, Hermione -" Ron continued to whine.
"I said no!" Hermione snapped angrily, and Ron instantly backed down. Bakura laughed and phased out in the empty corridor.
"Ronald I assure you that if you do not heed Hermione's warning, then you will have more to worry about than just her wrath." Bakura said, and Ron paled. Ryou knew that Bakura was only being a fraction of how intimidating he could really be, but it seemed to be effective nonetheless.
"Fine," Ron mumbled. "But when he finds out and wants to bludgeon you lot, I want nothing to do with it."
"Malik will not bludgeon anybody, Ron," Yami said, phasing out as well. "Ryou still has the Rod, remember?"
"Let's just hope that he doesn't ask for it back," Harry said gravely as they reached the doors to the hospital wing. "And for Merlin's sakes, Ryou, at least try to look happy."
Ryou nodded, and tried to arrange his features into a somewhat neutral expression. But as they walked through the doors Ryou wondered if it would be enough. They were all very pale that morning. He just hoped that Malik wouldn't notice.
The hospital wing was still vacant except for Malik, who was fully dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He was sitting cross legged on his bed reading a motorcycle magazine.
"You look great!" Yugi gushed when the group him.
"Yeah, mate," Ron added. "You must be feeling better."
He did looked a lot better that morning. He was by no means the picture of health, but it was a great improvement over the night before. The color had returned to his face, the bags under his eyes had shrunk considerably, and the wild glint in his eyes had dulled so that he at least looked sane. The cut on his face, however, hadn't improved much. But Ryou was just incredibly glad to see his friend looking so much better that he felt a small smile creep onto his face as he approached the bed.
"And you guys look awful," Malik replied, instantly wiping Ryou's grin away. His hopes that Malik wouldn't notice their haggard appearances were instantly shot down.
"Well we were just worried about you," Hermione lied nervously. Bakura rolled his eyes at her terrible lie. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. Where's Ellie?"
"She's not feeling well," Yugi lied smoothly.
"She didn't want to come see me?" Malik asked, sounding quite dejected.
"Of course she did, Malik!" Hermione squeaked. "She wanted to be here, but she couldn't. But she sends her love."
Ryou noticed Ron rolling his eyes. Luckily, Malik didn't. He just made a face. "Must be that time of month, I suppose."
"Malik!" Ryou hissed, a blush creeping onto his face. Bakura just burst out laughing again.
"Oh, now he talks," Malik said, shaking his head. "I bet that's where she ran off to last night then? Oh, don't look so embarrassed, Ryou. We're all friends here."
Yugi was blushing just as hard as Ryou was, and Hermione looked annoyed.
"Malik," Ryou scolded desperately, shaking his head and willing the blush to fade. This was certainly not something the he wanted to talk about.
"At least you're not so pale anymore," Malik shrugged. "And look on the bright side! At least you don't have to worry about her being knocked -"
"Malik!" This time it was Hermione that interjected.
The group's laughter died down considerably quicker than it would have under normal circumstances, and of course this didn't escape Malik's notice.
"Why are you all so down this morning?" He asked. "I mean, Marik being alive sucks and all but even I'm over it by now."
No one answered. Ryou knew that that was a big fat lie, but didn't call him out on it. Malik was thankfully coming to the wrong conclusions, so he didn't want to push their luck.
"Where did you get this magazine, Malik?" Yami asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He pointed at the motorcycle magazine lying on the bed.
"Yeah," Ron said. "It's muggle, isn't it?"
"Yep," Malik said happily. "Siri- I mean, Snuffles sent it through Dumbledore. Did you know that he has a flying motorcycle?"
Harry nodded, and Ryou watched as the two of them actually engaged in a civilized conversation. It was nice to see the two of them actually enjoying each others company for once, but Ryou couldn't bring himself to listen or join in. He knew that he was being very quiet, and that fact had certainly not escaped the other's notice. They were all worried for Ellie, but Ryou thought that Dumbledore's less than extreme reaction gave the rest of the group a false sense of security. Ryou knew that Dumbledore was an incredibly wise man, and that he would know if something went wrong in his castle. Yugi and Yami on the other hand didn't trust Dumbledore's judgment as much as their friends, but they were very good at hiding their emotions and were playing the part of having nothing amiss very well.
Ryou knew that he was an open book when it came to his emotions, but he couldn't help it. He was certainly the most worried, it seemed. Regardless of what Dumbledore said, Ryou would not settle down until he was able to see that Ellie was perfectly okay.
Ryou realized suddenly that Bakura was listening in on his thoughts, and looked up to meet his eyes. He looked annoyed.
Elizabeth will be fine, Ryou.
How do you know? Ryou snapped back irritably.
Bakura shrugged. Because the old man said so. And I want you to stop worrying over it. He didn't say it, but Ryou could tell by the tone of Bakura's voice that he had to refrain from tacking on a 'because it's pissing me off' at the end.
Ryou instantly snapped the mind link shut so Bakura could no longer hear his thoughts, and seethed in silence. He was grateful that Bakura was nice to him most of the time now, but every once and a while his mood would completely flip and it would be like the old days where Bakura tormented him mercilessly. Ryou no longer feared his yami, but he hated when he was mean to him. He knew that it wasn't Bakura's fault, but Ryou was in no mood to deal with him right then.
Ryou knew that Bakura was equally as worried as himself deep down, but would never admit it. He figured that hearing Ryou's worries about Ellie had triggered his sudden bad mood, and Ryou once again kicked himself for not closing off the mind link when he was having private thoughts. It seemed that that was one of the main things that made Bakura mad lately.
The group stayed with Malik until they had to leave for History of Magic about twenty minutes later. Tensions were high because Malik and Harry's conversation had ended with an argument that Ryou had been too preoccupied to know what was about, and he was glad when they left. Malik seemed pretty pleased as well, partially because Harry was leaving, but mostly because he did not have to attend classes until he was well.
"And be sure to tell Umbridge I say hello!" He called sarcastically as they walked away. Ryou barely wondered how she was doing this morning, considering her quick trip to the Shadow Realm the night before.
He sighed. Ryou knew that he was going to have a very long day ahead of him.
XXX
YUGI POV
"Has Dark Magician found anything yet?" Ryou anxiously asked Yugi as soon as the bell rang dismissing them from History of Magic.
Yugi shook his head. "No, not yet, Ryou." He stood up and began gathering his things, hating the distress his poor friend was feeling. Ryou hadn't said a word since he had chastised Malik in the hospital wing, and Yugi hated to tell him no.
He's going to worry himself sick, Yami.
Maybe we should send him to the hospital wing for a calming drought, Aibou.
Yugi frowned. He would never accept it. I guess that we're all just going to have to wait it out.
The rest of the morning went much like that. Ryou wouldn't say a word to anyone, unless he was asking Yugi if there was any news. The rest of the group's nerves were completely shot, both because of their own worries and the fact that the rest of the students were all asking after Ellie and Malik. None of them liked lying to their friends, so this made them constantly each other's throats. Yugi was about to rip his hair out in frustration by the time lunch came round.
"Ryou you have to eat something," Hermione coaxed gently. Yugi pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked over. None of them (except for Ron) had eaten much for breakfast, but the lack of food both that morning and the day before had taken it's toll, and they were all piling their plates high. But Ryou's dish remained empty.
"I'm not hungry," Ryou replied quietly, averting Hermione's eyes.
"Ryou, mate, you haven't eaten all day!" Ron said, pointing his fork accusingly at him.
"Really, it's fine. I'm not hungry."
Hermione frowned. "But -"
"Will you leave him alone?" Harry snapped. "He doesn't want to eat for Merlin's sake. It won't kill him."
Yugi was quite taken aback at Harry defending Ryou. Especially from Ron and Hermione. It was a big shock because Yugi was still not really sure where Harry stood with them: he seemed to trust them now, but he would still lash out every once and awhile.
Yugi was mentally preparing himself for the fight that was sure to ensue when he suddenly felt the Dark Magician call out for him. He set his fork down calmly.
"Guys," he said. Ryou's head swiveled swung around so fast that he must have gotten whiplash. "Dark Magician just called me."
"Kay," Ron mumbled through a mouth full of food. "Let's go!" He, grabbed as much food as he could carry, and with a few disgusted looked in his direction the group rushed out of the Great Hall.
"Where is he?" Ryou asked excitedly. "Did he find her?"
"I don't know," Yugi replied breathlessly. He was leading the way. He didn't quite know where he was going, but the Dark Magician's pull was definitely leading him in it's direction. "He just called out to me."
They all hurried up a flight of stairs, and down a long corridor. Yugi stopped in front of a girl's bathroom, feeling his face heat up.
"I can't go in -"
"You have got to be joking," Harry said flatly, before shoving past Yugi and into the bathroom. Ryou and Ron followed quickly behind, and Hermione turned to Yugi.
"It's alright, nobody uses this toilet."
"Why not?" Yugi asked quizzically.
"Oh, you'll see," Hermione said and walked through the door.
Yami gave Yugi a mental prod, and he reluctantly entered.
He was certainly shocked at what he saw. The Dark Magician was standing in front of a column of sinks, trying his best to remain dignified while the ghost of a young girl zoomed around the room in hysterics.
"Yugi and Ryou," Ron said dully. "Meet Myrtle."
"Is that Ellie's robe?" Ryou demanded the Dark Magician, ignoring the frantic ghost and running over to said garment. It was lying on the floor next to - "And her wand?!"
The Dark Magician nodded gravely, and Yugi likewise forgot about Myrtle and ran over to take a look at the articles lying on the floor.
Bakura phased out. "You can't be telling me that she disappeared in a bathroom," He said bluntly to the Dark Magician. He had to shout to be heard over Myrtle.
"This is where her trail ends," He said. Yami phased out, and the Dark Magician bowed to him. "My deepest apologies, master. I feel a great barrier preventing me from searching any further. I cannot be of any more assistance." He then disappeared.
"What?!" Ryou demanded. "You can't just leave!"
"No," Harry said, frowning. "This is the entrance to -"
"Harry Potter!" The ghost suddenly shrieked happily, apparently just noticing his presence now that she was no longer distracted by the Dark Magician. She stopped crying immediately. "You came to see me!"
"Er, not exactly, Myrtle." Harry muttered to the ghost as he fingered a tap on one of the sinks. She sniffled and dove down into a toilet, creating a great splash. Bakura cursed at her as water droplets soared through his body.
"Is it this one, Harry?" Ron, who had by that point joined Harry, asked. They both ignored Myrtle's theatric antics.
"Yeah."
"The right what?" Yugi asked Hermione.
She sighed. "The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. It's in this bathroom."
Yugi gasped. He knew what the Chamber was, Neville had told all three of the transfers about it quite some time ago. But it didn't make sense: why would Ellie go down there? Especially alone?
Ryou quickly gathered up Ellie's things off of the floor and joined them. "She's down there?" He asked nervously.
"It would seem so," Yami replied.
"How do we open it?" Bakura asked.
"I would not go down there," Myrtle advised, suddenly appearing and hovering in front of Harry, pearly white tears glistening on her face. Her eyes were wide behind her glasses. "I was nearly attacked last night."
"Well that shouldn't matter anyway," Ron called over, snickering. "You are dead, you know."
"Oh, sure!" Myrtle shouted angrily, rounding on Ron. "Let's everybody pick on the dead girl, shall we?! She won't mind! SHE'S DEAD!" Yugi jumped when he realized exactly how loud Myrtle's voice amplified in the large bathroom.
"Myrtle," He said gently, afraid that the moody ghost would round on him next. "What attacked you last night?"
She sniffled, but seemed to be quite enjoying the chance to retell her story. Yugi had to take a step back when she hovered very close to him, batting her eyelashes. "A big, scary monster." She pouted. "It was a very close call, Yugi."
Yugi took another step back, trying to simultaneously get away from Myrtle and decipher what she was saying.
"A monster?" Harry asked. "But the basilisk is dead."
Myrtle thankfully shifted her attention from Yugi and onto Harry then. "It wasn't the basilisk," she said. "First a strange man with a turban went down."
Yugi felt himself pale, and he didn't dare look at Ryou to see his reaction. "Did he have a golden key around his neck?" He asked.
Myrtle giggled. "He did! And that's exactly what Ellie said!"
"You saw Ellie?" Ryou demanded. "Was she okay?"
Myrtle nodded. "Yes. But she was very angry." She scowled. "I wonder if she's alright?"
"What happened?!"
Myrtle frowned. "My, you're an impatient one aren't you?"
"Myrtle!" Bakura snapped. "Do not tempt me!"
"Fine," She muttered. "I think Ellie said that man's name was Shadi. He went down into the Chamber, and Ellie ran here a few minutes after."
"And you told her that Shadi went down there?" Yugi asked.
Myrtle nodded.
"And she still went down?" Ryou asked.
Myrtle frowned. "Not willingly. That's when the monster came up and grabbed her."
The group gasped. "What monster?!" Ron asked.
"I don't know!" Myrtle snapped. "I didn't stick around long enough to see!"
"How do we get down there?" Ryou asked Hermione.
"Harry can open the entrance." She said.
"Well, go on!" Ryou ordered. "Do it!"
"I'm trying!" Harry snapped back, crouching down in front of a sink and staring intently at the tap that Ron was examining earlier. His face took on a look of intense concentration.
"How does it work?" Yami whispered to Hermione. Yugi looked over to listen in.
"You have to be a parsletongue to open it," Hermione said. "They're pretty rare."
Yugi and Yami both nodded. Neville had also explained the concept of speaking to snakes to the transfers as well, and they were familiar with this concept and the fact that Harry was one of the very few with the ability.
Poor Ryou looked as though he were going to explode with the pressure of waiting. But even in his agitated state he understood that Harry needed to concentrate, so he kept quiet.
It took a few minutes, and by that time even Yugi and Yami were near ready to hit their breaking points. But eventually Harry let out a series of hisses that caused Yugi to jump in alarm, and the Chamber began to open.
All of the sinks began to expand outwards, and one of the porcelain sinks slid down revealing an opening which led to a hole in the ground. A grate slid into place over the sunken sink, and Yugi, Ryou and Hermione gasped.
"That is," Hermione gulped, inching forwards and peering down. "A very long drop."
Harry shrugged. "It levels out into a slide."
"You mean to tell me that the three of you jumped down-"
"Merlin, no! We made Lockhart go first," Ron said with a slight snigger.
"Can we go now?" Ryou cut in. "Ellie could be hurt."
"I think that we should go get Dumbledore first," Hermione said nervously.
"There's no time!" Ryou exclaimed. "You can go and get him, but I'm going down there."
And with that, Ryou gathered Ellie's things to his chest protectively and stepped up to the entrance. He only hesitated long enough to pull out the Millennium Ring, and then he jumped. Yugi couldn't help but notice the very proud look on Bakura's face before he followed suit.
"Ryou?" Hermione called down the shaft anxiously. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" He replied. "I'm going to go ahead and -"
"Wait for us!" Yami called down. "Do not go ahead, it's too dangerous!"
Yugi knew that there was no time for him to hesitate as Ryou was unlikely to wait around long. So with a silent prod of encouragement from Yami, he stepped up and jumped.
Yugi resisted the urge to scream as he felt the air whoosh past his ears, and just prayed that the slope would level out like Harry had said.
It did quicker and less painfully than he expected, and soon Yugi found himself sliding down a cold and damp slide. The temperature dropped every second, and by the time the slide began to slow Yugi could see his own breath. When the slide unexpectedly ended and spat him out landed on his feet in a run to try to curb his momentum, and he somehow managed to stay upright.
The first thing that Yugi noticed about the small room was that he and Ryou both were standing on top of a small mountain of skeletons. They looked as though they were from small animals. He quickly skirted away to a section of the floor that wasn't covered, wincing as the bones crunched beneath his feet.
"Ugh!"
Bakura looked as though he were about to make a smart remark about Yugi's squeamishness, but thankfully he was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the group, who all came down in quick succession.
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione cried when she slid out of the slide. She quickly made her way over to the same bare patch of floor Yugi was on. He scooched over to give her room. "That's disgusting!"
"Then I suggest you close your eyes for the next bit," Harry said grimly, dusting the grime from the slide off of his robe. Yugi didn't particularly want to know what he meant by that, but followed nonetheless when Harry and Ron led the group around a bend and there they were met with the skin of the basilisk.
Yugi gasped again. It was huge. He figured that this monster could certainly rival the size of some of the biggest Duel Monsters. He quickly reached for his deck, keeping it ready in case he needed to defend his friends.
"Damn," Bakura said appreciatively. "And you defeated that, Potter?"
Harry scowled and nodded, not stopping. "Don't sound so surprised."
"This beast is huge," Yami said in equal amazement to Bakura as the group hurried by it. "I wonder how strong of an attack it could produce?"
"You don't have to worry about the attack," Ron said. "It's the eyes that kill you."
Hermione gulped nervously. "Are you sure it's dead, Harry?"
Harry nodded. "Positive."
They continued on, meeting a wall of debris that looked as though it had been tossed aside by a very large monster. And, on top of that the place was crawling with Shadow Magic. Yugi could practically smell it. Yami instantly took over. Yugi was glad. He always felt better when Yami was in control.
"Whoa," Ron said, looking at the path carved through the mountain of rocks. "That wasn't there last time."
"There is Shadow Magic everywhere," Yami said.
"Bloody hell," he heard Ron gasp. "Warn us next time you want to do that, won't you?"
Yami bit back a smile, but otherwise ignored him. "It could be dangerous. You three should stay back while the Tomb Robber and I go first."
But when he looked over, Yugi noticed that Bakura had not taken over for Ryou. He thought that that was very strange, considering Bakura believed himself to be a much bigger threat to enemies than Ryou.
Ryou won't let Bakura take over, Yami. I think he wants to do this himself.
Yami nodded. It is truly a mark of how far the Tomb Robber has come, Aibou. Before he would have merely taken control without permission, but now he trusts Ryou to keep their body safe.
Yugi nodded mentally and watched as Yami somehow managed to actually climb the debris in a dignified way. Yugi was suddenly struck by how incredibly royal Yami acted. He had always been incredibly dignified, but that was just Yami. Yugi had never associated it with his past life. It was funny, Yami had no memory of his reign as a pharaoh whatsoever but his old mannerisms had stuck with him. Old habits really do die hard, Yugi guessed.
Ryou followed closely behind, and Yugi saw that the others did not heed Yami's warning and were directly behind Ryou. He sighed mentally, but he didn't expect anything less of them. He knew that he would never stay behind when his friends were in danger, and didn't blame them for doing the same.
When they got through the rock debris, Yugi gasped at the sheer size of the cavern that they were in. It was massive. It was long, dark and narrow. Both Yugi and Yami couldn't help but think that it would be the perfect location for a good duel. Well, maybe it would be if it didn't small so bad. Yugi wrinkled his nose, and looked around for the source of the smell. He nearly gagged when he saw the massive carcass of the basilisk out of the corner of his eye. He quickly averted his attention to the rest of the Chamber. At the end there was a huge statue of a man whose face he couldn't make out, but Yugi guessed was Salazar Slytherin, and lying at his feet was -
"Ellie!" Ryou cried, bolting forwards.
"Ellie!" Harry said, and Hermione let out a strangled gasp.
Yugi felt an incredible sense of dread wash over him. There was a small figure laying at the foot of the statue. Her back was to them, but there was no mistaking the curly hair. Yami ran after Ryou, and the only thing that both he and Yugi could think was that their friend was hurt.
Ryou reached her first, and Yugi watched as he rolled her onto her back and put an ear to her chest. He looked relieved when he sat up, then his relieved expression turned to one of horror.
Ron, Harry and Hermione reached her next. Their expressions mirrored Ryou's. Yugi was once again cursing the short Muto legs that he had been cursed with, because neither he or Yami knew what was going on.
When Yami finally reached Ellie, the first thing that they saw was that the poor girl was as pale as a ghost. She really did look dead, but her chest was rising and falling very slowly with her breathing. Yugi let out an enormous sigh of relief.
Her glasses had fallen off of her face and lay on the ground next to her. Yugi was worried about the cold. Even though it was freezing down here, she was clad in only her uniform skirt and blouse. She had been down here for hours.
"Are those what I think they are?" Hermione frantically asked Yami, pointing at something gold in Ellie's arms.
Yugi felt the body seize up with shock. "The Scales!"
And is that the Feather of Ma'at? Yugi mentally pointed to a long, beautiful blue feather resting in Ellie's hand. Yami nodded grimly, and began trying to piece together exactly what had happened here.
"Ellie?" Ryou asked gently, prying the Scales out of her arms. He lifted her up by the shoulders and shook her, but her body was limp.
Hermione placed her hand on Ellie's forehead. "She's so cold."
Ryou placed his ear to Ellie's chest again, and listened for a moment. "Her heartbeat is really slow." He said anxiously, thrusting the Scales in Yami's arms before quickly unraveling Ellie's bunched up robe and draping it over her.
"Here," Harry said, pulling out his wand. "Rennervate," He waved it over Ellie. She moaned and stirred a bit, but did not wake up. Harry frowned. "She won't wake." He said needlessly.
Ryou gently lifted her up off of the ground so she wasn't laying on the cold stone anymore, and adjusted the robe so it was covering her better. "I can carry her back up. She's really light."
"Ryou, wait," Bakura said. "We need to figure out what happened first. Why does she have those?" He pointed at the Scales in Yami's hands.
"Shadi," He said simply. Yugi had felt the gears grinding in Yami's head, and was not surprised when he instantly offered up an explanation. "He must have lured her down here and given them to her."
"It explains her dreams," Hermione added.
"Then why isn't she waking up?" Harry demanded, stepping closer to Ryou and examining Ellie. "What did he do to her?"
"He must have drained her energy," Yami explained. "Shadi usually puts new wielders through trials to be sure that they are suitable for the Items. They can be demanding." He didn't go into details. Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't know what these trials were like, and he didn't want them to worry any more than they already were.
"Then what was the monster that Myrtle kept raving about?" Harry asked.
Yami shook his head. "I am sorry, Harry. I do not know. We will have to wait for Ellie to wake to get the whole story."
"We should get her to the hospital wing," Hermione said anxiously. "She doesn't look too well, and keeping her here in this cold could make it worse."
Yami nodded his agreement, and was about to suggest Ryou let him summon a duel monster to carry Ellie for him when he was interrupted by Ron.
"Bloody hell! Guys, did you see that?" He gasped, pointing up at the statue.
"Oh, my," Hermione said, covering her mouth in shock.
Yami quickly averted his gaze to where Ron's finger was pointing, and he couldn't help but let out a gasp of his own. The statue of Salazar Slytherin that he had ignored moments ago was looming high above them, and imprinted onto his forehead was the Eye of Horus.
"Voldemort is Slytherin's descendent," Harry said, without missing a beat. "That means -"
"He will be able to wield a Millennium Item." Yami interrupted.
"And control the Shadows," Bakura added in angrily.
"It all fits, though!" Hermione said excitedly. "This must have been where Ellie saw the Eye of Horus before! She and Harry were in here in Second Year to save Ginny, and she must have seen it while Harry was fighting the basilisk! And-" She took her first breath since she began talking. "The sorting hat's song! It said that Slytherin departed for the Shadows!"
"How do you remember that?" Ron asked incredulously.
"We need to go see Dumbledore," Harry said. "He should know that Voldemort will be able to wield the Items."
Yugi agreed. They had all been hoping and praying that Voldemort would not have the ability to use the Millennium Items that he had acquired, but this news ruined their last shred of hope. Their best bet now was to tell Dumbledore as soon as possible, because the Order would need to be trained.
It seems that Ellie will need to be trained as well, Yugi.
Yeah, she will. I just hope that she'll be up for it when she wakes up.
As much as Yugi hated to say it, Ellie was in great danger now. It seemed that she was the new owner of the Scales, and she would certainly be in danger because of it. Both Voldemort and Marik would want what she has, and she would have to deal with all the other things that came with being an Item Wielder. They would have to teach her how to use the Scales, and how to control the Shadows without letting them control her, and how to duel. Yugi made a mental note to ask Grampa to send an assortment of cards over so that Ellie could build a deck.
Yugi looked over at Ryou. He was still holding Ellie, but her weight was obviously taking it's toll on him. She wasn't very heavy, but Ryou wasn't built for carrying unconscious girls around all day. He didn't look as though he could hold her much longer. But in spite of all that, he was staring down at Ellie's pale face sadly. Yugi knew that he must be devastated over this new development. Ryou was so determined to shelter Ellie from everything, and now that she had been dragged into their mess there really was no turning back.
He wondered what trial Shadi had put her through. He was proud to say that she must have passed it, considering that she had the Scales. But Yugi remembered his own trial with a shudder, and just hoped that he hadn't put his friend through a similar ordeal.
"Yami, could you summon up a couple of monsters to get us out of here?" Hermione asked, breaking Yugi out of his thoughts.
Yami nodded, and in a flash both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl were flanking the group. He quickly asked them to take them back to the surface, and picked up the remainder of Ellie's things. Dark Magician scooped up Ryou, Ellie and Harry while Dark Magician Girl grabbed Hermione, Ron and Yami. Bakura looked horrified at the idea of being carried by Yami's favorite monsters, so he instantly disappeared.
Ron, on the other hand, looked very pleased with the arrangements. He did not seem to mind being carried by Dark Magician Girl one bit. In fact, Yugi noticed that he seemed a bit red. He bit back a laugh.
The two Duel Monsters had them to the surface in no time, and when they got back to Myrtle's bathroom they were all relieved to see that she had left. Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both bowed to Yami after they had set down their cargo, and disappeared in a flash. Now that they were out of danger, Yugi retook control of the body.
The group hurried to make it to the hospital wing before class let out for dinner. They reckoned that explaining Ellie's unconsciousness might raise some suspicions, so they were anxious to get there in time. Ron offered to carry Ellie for poor Ryou, and he reluctantly handed her over. It was obvious that Ryou didn't want to let her go, but the poor boy couldn't carry her for much longer.
"So," Ron said, slightly breathlessly as he carried Ellie up some stairs. "What are we gonna tell Malik?"
Yugi shrugged. "The truth, I guess. He'll be happy to know that the Scales are in good hands, at least." He adjusted the straps of his book bag, which currently held both the Scales and the Feather of Ma'at.
"No," Ryou cut in for the first time in awhile. "She won't keep them. He can have them back."
"I don't think so, Ryou," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I think that Ellie just might want to keep-"
"She's not keeping them," Ryou said firmly. He sounded all the world like an overprotective father. "They're too dangerous."
"Oi!" Harry said angrily. "You can't just dictate -"
"It's for her own good." Ryou said firmly, shocking Yugi. He actually defended himself in an argument, and he didn't even bat an eyelash against Harry, who was growing steadily angrier.
"Why don't we worry about it when she wakes up?" Yugi cut in before Harry could argue. They were about to enter the hospital wing, and he didn't want Malik to have to deal with them arguing. He may have appeared to be on the mend, but Yugi wasn't fooled: Malik still had a long ways to go before he was completely well again. He was worried enough about how what they were about to tell him would affect him
Ryou opened the door for Ron, who was still carrying Ellie, to pass through. The hospital wing was still empty, and the curtains were drawn around Malik's bed. Ron placed Ellie down on a bed and ran off to go and retrieve Madame Pomfrey, and Yugi hurried over to break the news to Malik. Ryou, Hermione and Harry remained by Ellie's side.
"Malik?" Yugi called through the curtains, before slowly drawing them aside. He yelped in shock at what he saw.
It was very disturbing: the small space dedicated to Malik was completely destroyed. Blankets were ripped to shreds, feathers from the pillow floated all around, glass potion vials were shattered all over the place, and all of the furniture was out of place. It looked like a miniature tornado had run through the place.
Malik was sitting right in the middle of it. His knees were pulled up to his chest, and he had his arms wrapped around his legs protectively. His hair was covered in feathers from the pillow, and his face was nearly as pale as it was the night before.
Yugi instantly ran to his friend's side. "What's wrong?" He demanded. Yami phased out next to him.
Malik looked at Yugi with wide eyes. They were red, as though he had been crying. But Malik's eyes were dry, and there was no other evidence that he had shed a single tear.
"They got them," Malik whispered. "Marik captured Isis and Rishid."
XXX
Woohoo! This chapter's finally done! It took me sooo much longer than usual, and I feel like the weight of the world has just been lifted off of my shoulders.
I have been DYING to reveal the tweaks I made in the Sorting Hat's song. I totally could have done it last chapter, but Ellie isn't so much the type to remember exact lyrics months later. More of Hermione's thing.
So, what didya think? Hit me up with a little review-skies please. I promise I don't bite. : )