Bakura laughs and shuts the book. He puts the book back on the cobweb-ridden shelf before he makes his way back to his armchair. Lightning flashes in the window outside and thunder eerily booms in the sky, shaking the castle. The candles flicker as if terrified and the fire keeps cracking in the fireplace. He takes a sip of scotch and sits back comfortably in his chair.

"That poor fool. Never disturb the dead. Yes, that's my job, but I'm a professional, ladies and gentlemen. Do not try it at home. Our last story is by far the darkest one, this night. Have you ever had those times when people look at you and say: "Stop acting like a child." It would seem that most of the time when we think of children, we see them as harmless, innocent little angels, who are too inexperienced to know right from wrong. And oftentimes, some view them as a representation of immaturity. But that is not always so. Throughout history, a great deal many of these little 'angels' can grow to become...little monsters. Monsters who can whisk you away into the darkest side of the abyss. Our next character, a young lady fresh out of Duel Academy, learned that the hard way when she was chosen to babysit a certain prodigy one warm, summer evening."


That's All Folks!


Jasmine hated the idea of sitting for that Mickey kid (Duel Links). The little boy was a snotnosed know it all, and he stared at her all night in a way that gave her the creeps. She blamed herself for that. She was clad in a white tank top and short denim cutoffs. Why? Well, she should have been at the beach in the Red Dragon Club dancing with her friends, but nope. She had to cancel her plans, and things happened so fast, she didn't have time to get back home and change.

She was forced to take the job by her mother. Jasmine's mother was a good friend of Mickey's mom, so she couldn't turn the request down. She was just home from Duel Academy for the summer holidays and was looking to relax and spend the season with her friends, not babysit some brat.

The pay was good; that was the only reason why she even submitted to her mother's nagging and accepted the job. She would get $500 for watching over the kid just for a few hours. It was a steal. Or perhaps even Mickey's mom was so desperate to get away from the little brat that she'd pay anything to get away from him for a few hours.

Mickey's mom gladly greeted her at the door; she was all dressed up for a night of drinking and dancing with her girlfriends and had a long evening ahead of her. That just made Jasmine even madder. She had to sacrifice her night so the little bastard's mom could have hers. But she forced a smile. After all, it was 500 bucks for a few hours, and she remembered her friend, Alexis, talking about a road trip that would last a few months. $500 could easily cover most of the expenses she needed for the trip.

"Thank you so much, Jasmine," said the mother. "Mickey's so glad you can sit for him tonight."

Jasmine shrugged. "Yeah, I know. I was going to hang out with my friends tonight, but if you need me that bad…"

"I understand. Thank you so much for sticking your neck out for me tonight. I would have gotten someone else, really. But every babysitter that's ever watched him refuses to come back. I try to get a hold of them, but I can't. It's like they just vanished or something."

"I don't blame 'em," Jasmine thought to herself.

"Oh, but you won't have to worry about my boy. He's so tied up with those Fortnite video games these days, it should be an easy night for you; just get him to bed by eleven."

Jasmine forced a smile. "Yes, ma'am, nothing to worry about," she said as the lady hustled out the door.

Jasmine sighed and settled in for the evening; she'd brought her binder to fix it up her dragon deck with beasts from the new Battles of Legend set.

She was a tall, bubbly girl; well-built and perky. She looked around; there was no sign of Mickey, but she heard the sound of guns firing and grenades exploding, telling her he was playing a round of battle royale games with his friends. It was all the rage these days.

Jasmine plopped down on the couch, kicked off her sandals, and reached for the remote. One of those silly cartoons that Mickey loved was on. A hungry wolf wearing a bowler hat and red overalls was chasing the Funny Bunny, a cartoon character highly endorsed by Maximillion Pegasus.

The wolf had a white napkin around his neck and chased Funny Bunny with a fork and knife. They went on for two minutes in an endless chase around the forest until, finally, the wolf captured Funny Bunny.

The wolf took Funny Bunny back to his cave. He tied him up and put an apple in its mouth, under a casserole dish. He closed the lid and rubbed his paws together. He searched the pantry for spices and stuff. When he came back to season Funny Bunny with salt and pepper, he lifted the top again, the rabbit was gone, replaced by a stick of dynamite.

BOOM!

Jasmine rolled her eyes and started to change the channel. "I can't believe kids find these things so funny."

"Do you like that show?" Mickey had snuck down the stairs; his high-pitched voice startled her. She gathered herself.

"Oh, Mickey!" she smiled. "You scared me. Meh, it's okay. But I loved the hell out of it when I was a kid. So what have you been up to?"

Mickey's eyes shone eagerly in the light of the TV. "I've been working on something new with the computer," he announced. "An interactive game. Would you like to play?"

"No thanks. I'm not into that kid stuff."

Mickey frowned. "It's not kid stuff! It's really cool, I promise."

"No, thank you. I'm not interested."

Mickey grinned and stood in front of the TV and crossed his arms. "I bet you think kid stuff is stupid, huh? I bet you believe I can be easily amused by anything."

"Uh, you watch this show for goodness sake."

"Come on. I bet you'll find my game to be really cool. Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I can't make something cool. Trust me. You're going to like this."

Jasmine hesitated a little; "Sure," she finally said, and followed him up the stairs.

The kid's bedroom was full of technical brick-a-brack, monitors, game consoles, and wires all over the place. It was so warm with all of that equipment crammed into a little room, Jasmine started to sweat. She blew nervously and fanned her face with her hand.

Hanging on the wall was a big flatscreen TV, which showed the same cartoon she saw earlier; the wolf and this time he had his coyote minion. They were chasing Funny Bunny through a resort town in a beach episode.

Mickey started to talk about techno stuff, which Jasmine wasn't interested in.

Then, he turned on one of the computers and pointed something at her that looked like a camera with a laser on the front. "This is how I do it," he said. "You can actually live what's in the program!"

"You mean virtual reality? Like Duel Links. That thing looks dangerous, Mickey. One wrong move and your mind can be erased. Seto Kaiba goes through months and months of testing and preparations before he releases this stuff. Does your mom know you've got it?"

"I built it myself with parts I ordered from the mail," he said proudly. "Duel Links is my biggest inspiration for this. I wanted to build my own virtual world to play in, so I looked up some engineering material on the internet."

"But doesn't this suck up a lot of juice?" Jasmine asked. "Where did you get the power for this thing?"

"Oh, see this power cable on the floor. I made it myself. With a few modifications, my cable can draw power from the main cable outside."

This was getting scary. This kid was smart — too smart. But not as smart as he thought he was. He was seriously going to burn the house down with all this junk.

"I don't think you should be using this thing, Mickey," she said, patting his back. "Why don't we just go back downstairs? We can play Dungeon Dice Monsters or something."

"Oh, this is a lot better than Dungeon Dice Monsters," Mickey said, grinning. "Besides, that game sucks. We're gonna play my game." He picked up a control from his bed. "Here we go!"

And he pressed a red button on the center of the control. Jasmine was drenched in a powerful beam of light. It felt like the light was going right through her. She was rigid, incapable of moving or speaking. As she stood helplessly, she suddenly realized she felt lighter — as if she were going to float away.

And then, she began to fade from view; she grew more and more transparent...until finally, she wasn't there anymore. Mickey switched off the strange machine, then looked up at the TV on the wall. And there she was.

"Mickey!" Jasmine shrieked. She was standing in front of the cartoon backdrop of the Funny Bunny Show. "Where am I? What did you do to me?"

Mickey grabbed the microphone next to his multi-colored computer. "Jasmine — it worked! You're part of the Funny Bunny Show!"

She looked around at the pastel blue sky, the poorly sketched desert with cartoony red mountains and cactuses — and then it dawned on her that he could see her. She covered herself and dropped to her knees. "Mickey! — get me out of here, right this minute!" she screamed.

Mickey thought for a moment. "I don't know if I can. All I've been working on is inserting the person into the program. I'll see if I can figure out how to reverse it."

Jasmine bowed her head and began sobbing. Suddenly, she felt a finger tap on her bare shoulder and heard a familiar voice say, "Eh, pahdon me."

She jumped; it was Funny Bunny. He looked at her with that freakish expression that made him famous; then, grinning, said, "You're new around here, aincha? I'm Funny Bunny. Pleased to meetcha." He offered her a handshake, extending a four-fingered, white-gloved hand.

Jasmine was so amazed by what was happening that she couldn't talk. The cartoon character narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin. "Hmmm-cat gotcher tongue, eh?"

He pulled a cat out of his own tongue. It hissed and ran away. Funny Bunny's eyes popped awkwardly and then colorful streamers and confetti burst out of his ears as he laughed at his own joke. Jasmine 's pounding heart was starting to slow; she caught her breath, swallowed, and said: "Help me — please! I'm trapped here!"

"Aw," chortled Funny Bunny, he patted the top of her head. "Things ain't so bad here. Just —" he looked around before drawing her close to him— "watch out for Mortimer Wolf. Hyuck, hyuck."

Funny Bunny abruptly looked to the right, and jumped six feet in the air; his legs started spinning like wheels, making the sound of someone banging conga drums, and he took off like a bullet into the forest.

Jasmine turned and saw who was coming for Funny Bunny. It was Mortimer Wolf and Carl Coyote. They were lumbering after him. Both of them still had napkins under their chins and carried a fork and knife in their paws.

Their long tongue reclined behind them, a huge smile on their cartoony faces.

They whipped past Jasmine, bounding after Funny Bunny...then, with a look of amazement, stuck both feet out and screetched to a halt like a car with bad brakes. The two villains turned back to look at Jasmine, who had stopped dead; a cold wave of fear surged down her body.

Carl started slavering; his eyes literally bulged out of their sockets, his tongue fell out of his mouth and hit the ground. "Hmm — a girl!" he exclaimed.

"Mmm, and they're more tender than rabbits," said Mortimer, licking his chops and flashing his teeth, dripping hungrily with saliva.

"HELP!" Jasmine screamed. She turned the opposite direction and ran wildly, tears blinding her. She could hear the two villain's giant feet stamping on the ground behind her. Their hungry breathing. It was so close. They were gaining on her. Suddenly, — there in front of her — a hole in the ground. She jumped into it feet first, dropping a dozen feet and landing on her soft bottom on the earth. "Ooff!" she grunted.

This was no ordinary hole in the ground; it had a bed, a nightstand, and dresser-and one very angry-looking cartoon porcupine.

"Hey, what's the big idea, bitch?" Piper the Porcupine sputtered. "You ruined my bed!"

Poor Jasmine. The madness. It was starting to become normal for her. "Please!" she begged. "A wolf and a coyote are after me! They want to eat me!"

"Better you than me, sista!" responded Piper, who turned his tail toward the girl and began to shoot spines at her.

"NO!" Jasmine cried, running for the nearest exit. Several quills found their way into her butt as she escaped, crying in pain.

"And stay out!" the porcupine shouted.

The light behind Jasmine receded into the distance as she escaped down the tunnel; finally, it was pitch black, and she had to slow down and feel her way along. Her heart was pounding again; her breath came in gasps. "Mickey!" she shouted in the darkness. "Mickey, goddamn you — get me out of here!"

She heard nothing. Mickey couldn't hear her. She was all alone in cartoon land. And there was no escape.

Jasmine was damp with sweat as she worked her way along; then, she saw a faint light ahead. She ran desperately toward it. Then a huge, hairy paw grabbed her by the throat, lifted her out of the hole, and thrust her into a gunny sack, tying the top shut.

Frightened, she punched and kicked from inside the bag. She bounced up and down as the wolf, carrying the sack over his shoulder, jauntily strutted toward his cave.

Finally, he arrived and howled victoriously. He unceremoniously tossed the sack on the floor and set his bowler hat neatly onto a hat rack. He then opened the sack, dumping Jasmine out. Sprawled on her back, Jasmine looked up between her knees at the two looming characters; both of them were twice her size. Carl and Mortimer were looking down at her, mouths watering.

"Mickey!" Jasmine screamed, her voice cracking. "Help me! Somebody help me!"

There was nothing.

Mortimer and Carl laughed and then used their sharp claws to strip her naked. Jasmine was shouting at the top of her lungs; then, still holding her by the feet, Carl Coyote carried her to the table where Mortimer began to prepare her with vegetables, spices, and secret sauces.

"I want the funny bone! Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck!" Funny Bunny said coming into the den.

"Good work, Rabbit," said Carl. "We couldn't have caught her without you."

Funny Bunny let out a horrible laugh and stuffed an apple in Jasmine's mouth. She started sniffling, pools of tears in her eyes.

"Aww," said Carl. "Let's play you a song on the world's smallest violin." He took out a micro violin and played a catchy tune from the other show about a sponge living in a pineapple under the water. Then, he started laughing at her. Her tears were not going to stop them from eating her.

Then, the moment Jasmine dreaded came. Mortimer stuffed her in a big pot, put the lid over it, and shoved the poor girl into the oven. Jasmine had never been so hot in her life; she was boiling in her own sweat now.

This isn't fair! It shouldn't be ending. Not now! Now like this.

She should be at the beach, sitting in front of the fire with Alexis and the rest of the girls. She should be having an ice-cold soda and a hot dog as they walked the pier, singing along to their favorite songs. Her ankles should be in the surf right now being cooled by the waves. She would never know that feeling again. Damn it, this isn't fair!

Her body cried out in agony as the temperature rose. And she was left with a final wish — that it would all be over soon.

On Mickey's screen, the words GAME OVER flashed in big red letters over and over again...

Mickey's mom got back late; seeing no one downstairs, she tromped up to the bedroom, where Mickey was in bed flipping through a binder of cards that weren't his.

"Where's Jasmine?" his mother asked.

"Uh...she had to leave about an hour ago; she said she had to meet someone," lied the nervous little boy. "She said you don't need to pay her. I asked her for her phone number, but she didn't want to give it to me. I guess she doesn't want to babysit me anymore."

"Another one bites the dust, eh? Oh, well." His mother smiled. "Well, I see you're getting big enough to be able to care for yourself, aren't you? I'll have to thank Jasmine's mother for her daughter's services tonight, though."

She left; Mickey exhaled and wiped his brow. He looked at the TV; Mortimer, Carl, and Funny Bunny where on the screen together. They all had bibs around their necks and their stomachs appeared bloated from a very large meal. Carl Coyote had a very chewed up leg bone in his hand.

The three characters thanked him. Thanked him for bringing yet another delicious dinner tonight. And they were hungry for more.

Mickey sneered. "You're welcome, guys. Don't worry. I'll get another one, I promise."

He walked to the screen and winked as he gave a thumbs up.


Bakura closes the book and cackles cruelly for the poor girl's demise was something he found rather humorous.

"Moral of the story. Never underestimate anyone, no matter how young they are. Even the smallest of us are capable of wondrous things. Sometimes incredible, oftentimes, very sinister. That is all I have for you tonight my friends. See you next time on Tales from the Shadow Realm. Until then — goodbye."

Bakura turns his head and looks out the window as a clap of thunder booms in the sky.