Once again, Yugi found himself losing his footing. His arms failed wildly as the scorched ground came up to embrace him. Right before he hit the floor, he felt the now familiar levitation magic of Silent Magician. His was slowly lifted back into the air and set down on his feet.
"Thanks, Silent. I'm still getting used to this armor." Yugi chuckled as he shifted his metal plating. The little blue and white mage looked back with an understanding smile. She nodded and continued on through what used to be woods. Not slowing down for her human companion.
The mission Dark Magician Girl had given the two was to check on a magical wishing well. It apparently had the power to grant one wish to any monster that found it. Because of this, it was protected by many riddles, traps, and the one 7-star dragon allowed in the Dominion of the Beasts. Dark Magician Girl wanted to know if this dragon knew why the Gandora were attacking and if he would help.
Yugi thought it was a little odd Dark Magician Girl just wanted to talk to the well guardian instead of making a wish. Still, this wishing well did only grant one wish in an entire creature's lifetime. Maybe Dark Magician Girl was trying to let Yugi save his wish? While Yugi thought that was nice of her, he planned to use his wish to bring the Knights back. He hoped that would end this problem then and there.
When Yugi first received the request, he was nervous, but his fear lessened when Silent volunteered to go with him, once she healed enough to use her magic. Dark Magician Girl remained behind to continue healing and help the newly displaced monsters.
Yugi was about to take another step in the heavy armor, but then his visor fell over his eyes. He groaned and pushed it back up his helmet with a frustrated clank. Dark Magician Girl refused to let him leave the castle without a little protection. Of course, the only thing around was this medieval armor set, complete with sword and bag. Yugi almost didn't want to wear the outfit, but then he remembered he was going up against real dragons without his deck.
'Why couldn't the magic light take my cards too?' Yugi thought to himself as he attempted to hop over a blackened log. When he landed on the other side, his sword clanked painfully on his side. Yugi yelped in discomfort.
"Hey, Silent? Do you mind levitating this sword for a bit while I reposition my armor?" Yugi asked. Silent, with an understanding sigh, turned around and ran back to him. She didn't use magic and instead took the sword in her little hands. While the weapon was a few inches taller than she was, she seemed to lift it fine. In fact, she wielded it better than even Yugi could.
"You monsters are always stronger than you look." Yugi smiled as he collapsed on a blackened rock. Silent smiled proudly and snapped her fingers. Behind her, blue, sparkling words appeared in midair.
"Even though I'm a mage, my childhood friend had training as a swordsman. I worked with him before I found magic to be my calling." The words were only in the air long enough for Yugi to quickly glance through them, then they disintegrated into azure glitter. These words were badly spelled and barely had any grammar. Thankfully, Yugi was used to this as he was the one to edit both Tristan's and Joey's English essays.
"That's really cool. Where is your friend, by the way?" Yugi asked. Silent immediately went rigid and looked away from him. Her frown made him regret speaking. Was this friend dead? "I'm sorry." Was all Yugi said in return.
Silent shook her head and squared her shoulders. "That's not important now. We have to get to that wishing well before the dragons find it or us." She wrote. Yugi nodded and stood back up. He held his hand out for the sword, but Silent clutched it close to her chest.
"I can hold it for now. You have enough trouble with that armor. This is why I was never a warrior monster." She wrote as she started walking at her usual brisk pace. Yugi grimaced as he started his fight with gravity once again.
Yugi was glad he didn't have to play charades to understand Silent anymore, but reading her every word was a bit odd. Then again she was Silent Magician, what was he expecting?
"Do you know the dragon protecting the well? Is he friendly?" Yugi asked, barely keeping up with the little mage.
"No, I have never been to the well. Do not worry though, while all dragons are violent, they are also stupid. I'm sure if he's unruly, we can think of some way to control him." She wrote without even turning back to Yugi.
The edges of Yugi's mouth formed a straight line. He was about to ask more but thought better of it. He hadn't met many dragons personally, Joey's Red-Eyes and Seto's three Blue-Eyes being about the only ones, and even those were only in duels. The two male Blue-Eyes and Red-Eyes fell into Silent's description of dragons perfectly. However, the one female Blue-Eyes had a restrained grace about her that was the opposite of violent or stupid. Maybe she was the odd one out of dragons? Silent did live around these beasts, and Yugi didn't know any other dragons. When he was young, he occasionally saw his Grandpa's Blue-Eyes, but he never talked to her for fear of seeing things. Then when he was older and realized Duel Spirits were actually there, Blue-Eyes had its card ripped already.
Yugi shook his head. He had a mission to focus on.
…
The two had been traveling for a few hours. When they first set out, they had been prepared to sneak around the Gandora. Yugi even putting the Millennium Puzzle in his new bag to hide it from prying eyes. Yet, as they walked through the blackened forest, there was neither Gandora nor duel monster.
The Dragons of Destruction lived up to their name. The area could hardly be called a forest anymore. Only the rare, blackened stick was still around to hint that trees used to be there. The rest was crushed into ash. The only good Yugi could think about this situation was that he didn't feel that unnerving sensation anymore. In the new ash plain, everything wasn't perfect. He was more comfortable in destruction than in a perfect forest. Yugi didn't want to think about what that meant for his psyche.
When the two left behind the destroyed forest, they found themselves in much rockier terrain. In front of them was a looming mountain. The sun didn't move in this land, so it forever cast a shadow over them, the light just barely peeking over the mountain top. Silent wordlessly pointed to the mountain peak, then inaudibly snickered when Yugi grimaced.
"Hey, you duel monsters have natural defenses that humans can't even dream of. I have to lug this armor up!" Yugi complained. Silent patted Yugi's side and then started racing up the cliffs. Her little size allowing her to nimbly climb from rock to rock. "You just love outdoing me, don't you?" Yugi sighed as he started his climb.
The new rocky land regained the uncanny perfection that made Yugi's skin crawl. While this mountain did have "flaws" in its plants and cliff walls, each seemed too purposefully placed. It was like Yugi was about to start seeing the paintbrush strokes that made up everything. The creeping sensation only multiplied as Yugi looked out from his perch at the entire land. It was all the perfect picture, something that, he, the imperfect being he was, didn't belong in. Yugi did his best to ignored the feeling. This was a world of monsters, not humans. Of course, it would feel off to him, right?
"Are we close?" Yugi asked between gasps for air.
"Quarter way. I am simply surprised we have not met one of those Gandora yet. They were everywhere yesterday." Silent wrote as she looked around the corner of a large rock. Almost like the universe heard her and knew Yugi's luck for getting in these kinds of situations, the ground started to shake. Silent immediately looked back to Yugi with the most horrified expression.
Yugi nearly lost his footing in the trembling with his heavy armor but managed to hold on to the rock wall. Silent was not so fortunate and found herself falling backward, right off the edge. Yugi immediately grabbed for her, but his armor made him lose balance too. The two immediately began dropping.
Yugi held tightly to the little mage and curled around her so when they hit the ground, it would be him taking the brunt of the force. He then felt the air stop moving around him. It was that moment he remembered Silent had levitation powers. He was about to thank her when he saw beads of sweat start welling on her forehead, the blue light surrounding him flickering. While he was enclosed by blue light, she was not. It was only because he was under her that she floated.
A massive wave blocked the sun before the little mage could put them back on the rock outcropping. Yugi looked up in horror to see a swarm of Kuriboh leaping off a higher ledge. The amount of multicolored fluff darkened the sky, and when it fell on the two, it hit like a truck. Silent barely had the energy left to hold Yugi, add the weight of a Kuriboh mob, and Silent couldn't do it anymore. The two went plummeting. Yugi once again held her to his chest and closed his eyes.
When he hit the bottom, it was a lot softer than he was expecting. In fact, he felt nothing. It was as if the two had just stopped moving. They just laid there, both too scared to open their eyes. It was Yugi that was the bravest and opened one eye first. He found himself glowing in a rainbow of colors. Both he and Silent were safe at the base of the mountain. They were surrounded by the wave of Kuriboh, all happily milling about, oblivious to the human and mage.
Silent lifted her head from his chest to see the colors surrounding them. Her eyes widened for a second, then she smiled. She pointed to the Kuribohs still coming off the cliff. As they hit the ground, they also glowed.
"Is this the Kuriboh ability? To negate damage?" Yugi asked as he shakily got to his feet. Silent nodded and tried to summon words. There was a blue spark, but that was it. She puffed out her cheeks in a long exhale as she rested her hands on her hips.
"Don't worry about it. Rest your magic for now. It saved us back there. Without being able to float for those few seconds, we would have hit the ground before the Kuribohs." Yugi said. This made Silent grin a full-body smile. She then studied the moving fur mass that was the ground. She then clapped her hands. She reached into the Kuriboh mob and pulled out Yugi's sword.
"Thank you, I can carry that for now while you take a break," Yugi said as he took the weapon back. He then looked around for a way back up the cliffs. The Kuribohs were still calmly walking about. Whatever got them to jump must have left.
'Or maybe that's just how they travel around. I'd jump off cliffs too if I took no damage whatsoever.' Yugi thought as he searched. He then said out loud to Silent.
"You know, one of my most playful duel spirits is a Kuriboh, a little brown one. I wonder if they're here or with the Pharaoh right now." Yugi smiled as he watched the Kuribohs play and frolic.
Silent immediately perked up at the Pharaoh's mention. She went up to Yugi's side and knocked on his metal armor. Yugi turned back to her with a raised eyebrow. She then pointed to a sack with the Millennium Puzzle in it.
"The Pharaoh? He's my very best friend back in my world." Yugi explained as the two started for the cliffs again. "We share a body, and that allows him to fight evil in modern times… Or… I think that was the original purpose for us being put together. What really happened was that he became my guardian, and I became his lifeline. We kept each other sane through all the near-death experiences and villains. He's the whole reason I have my group of friends. Though, he can get a little overprotective." Yugi smiled, deciding to skip the fact the Pharaoh is also why he doesn't have any bullies anymore. Those people were all in a mental hospital.
Silent smiled as the two began climbing the mountain again. She seemed absolutely fascinated with what Yugi had to say. Even occasionally stopping in her hurried climb to listen.
"He's so strong and confident that I can't help but feel like I am too. In return, I remind him that he's human, not some dueling machine. We've been inseparable for a good four years now. So many adventures in so little time… We're even getting close to obtaining his memories. One of our first goals." Yugi suddenly felt that familiar dread claw into his chest. The same dread he felt whenever he thought of what would happen after the Pharaoh had his memories. "We were going to Egypt in two weeks." He paused. Silent stopped climbing the cliff for a few seconds to look back at him. Yugi's gaze had fallen to the ground. "I don't know what I'd do without him…."
Silent thought about climbing back down to the human. She felt his sudden negative energy and knew something was wrong. However, just as soon as the negativity came, it left. Yugi lifted his head with a big smile on his face.
"Well, I'm just doing fine now, aren't I? I'm sure he's fine too, probably having some fun with my family."
Silent's eyes stayed glued on Yugi. Her big, grey orbs boring into him. She wasn't buying it; true emotions don't swing that fast.
While she was distracted, a great clawed hand came from the outcropping above them and grabbed her. Her mouth opened, but no scream came out as the large claw dragged her away, pushing Yugi off the wall at the same time.
"Silent Magician!" Yugi screamed as he fell down the mountain. Again, he fell on his back with no injury, even if this fall was shorter than the last one. He looked to the Kuriboh swarm, but most had hopped away at that point. Yugi couldn't even find a Kuriboh close enough for him to use its ability. Yugi couldn't focus on that as he looked up the cliff to see two dragons roaring.
The dragons were about fifteen feet tall and covered in pitch black scales. All over their body were ruby orbs, half embedded in their scales. The dragons stood on two legs and had more muscles than Yugi had ever seen on a human bodybuilder. Their wings stretched out, once again blocking the sun. What Yugi thought was roaring turned out to be laughing as the Gandora threw the little mage between them like a ball.
"Hey! Stop!" Yugi yelled. The Gandora hadn't even noticed him and pulled away from the cliff's edge.
Yugi immediately jumped into action. While he hated bringing it all the way here only to take it off, he couldn't climb the cliff fast enough with armor on. Yugi tore off the metal plating and grabbed his bag and sword. He attached both to his belt and started climbing again. The entire time ignoring the safer paths and simply racing to the top. One rock handhold gave out on Yugi and made half his body slip. This was enough for the sack to start sliding out of the belt loop. As it fell, the puzzle slid out of the bag. Yugi frantically grabbed for both bag and puzzle. He only barely caught the puzzle's chain with his free hand and then the bag itself with his foot. Yugi, with a grunt, pulled the necklace over his head and the empty bag over his shoulder. He found another handhold and continued racing up.
At the outcropping, Yugi felt like he could never again have enough oxygen. He flopped over the edge and gasped. He had to get moving, but his muscles refused. Adrenaline or not, he wasn't the fittest of teenagers. As he lay, he looked around to see he wasn't at the halfway point of the mountain yet. Beside him, there was a large clearing behind some newly destroyed boulders where raucous roaring could be heard. Yugi first slowly got to his knees, then he forced himself his feet and stumbled over. He had to get to his new friend.
Yugi hid behind one of the bigger rocks and peaked around. On top of this cliff was a city-block-sized flat area surrounded by tall rock walls. Whatever had been there before was completely decimated with a whole horde of Gandora in the center. They were all growling and laughing as they threw smaller duel monsters at each other. Most being Kuribohs, but a few were other small spirits. Anytime one Gandora missed a catch, the other dragons would all dogpile on that Gandora. Each time the dragon at the bottom of the pile's red orbs would glow a little more.
"Oh! This one's ready to pop!" The largest of the Gandora yelled. This Gandora was nearly twenty feet tall and had scars running all along his body. Yugi gasped as the large Gandora pointed to a smaller dragon whose orbs were shining a bright crimson. The little one roared and tried to fly away, but the others brutally pulled him down. Soon enough, the light from the orbs enveloped the little dragon, and he exploded. The wave was enough to level the remaining boulders and nearly blow Yugi off the cliff. It would have worked if it wasn't for the blue energy surrounding him.
Yugi looked up in surprise to see Silent Magician in the grasp of one of the Gandora; she was barely conscious. Still, she was holding her hand out, levitating him. In almost a second, the magic disappeared, and Yugi was dropped into the rubble. When Yugi blinked the dust out of his eyes, he saw that both Silent Magician and the small Gandora had fainted, he hoped.
"Who's ready for the next round!" The largest Gandora roared.
"Giga, Giga, Giga!" The horde shouted.
Yugi knew he had to do something. He couldn't sit around while his new friend was in danger, but what could he do with only a bag and sword? Just then, he heard a familiar kurri. He turned to see a Kuriboh had somehow climbed up the cliff with him and was hugging onto his leg.
"Kuriboh?" Yugi whispered. The monster looked up to him and shook their whole body in some form of a nod. "My Kuriboh?" He dared hoped. The monster crawled to his head and nuzzled into his cheek. Yugi smiled and pulled the monster into a hug. "I'm so glad you're here, buddy. You were probably the one that took my damage away when I fell earlier, weren't you?" The Kuriboh purred as they pushed more into Yugi. "I'm really going to need you now. Can you negate damage again?" Yugi asked under his breath. Kuriboh nodded, steadfastness in their yellow eyes. Yugi nodded back and looked around. Nearly everything had been flattened. The only thing not destroyed (that wasn't attached to the mountain) was a single rock wall that had been carved away into a half-moon shape. It wouldn't last one more attack.
"That's it!" Yugi accidentally said out loud. The Gandora all stopped their 'playing' and turned to the crouched form of Yugi. It was quiet for many more moments, the first time for the dragons all day. Finally, the largest Gandora strode forward, stretching his wings out.
"What're you doing here, little warrior?" He asked in a voice so deep it rattled Yugi's bones.
Yugi found his words dying before they ever got to his throat. The dragon's sharp claws and razor teeth stopping any further discussion. Yugi then saw the limp form of Silent Magician in the claws of one of these monsters, and instead of words, he felt rage building up. He quickly pulled his bag off his back and put Kuriboh inside. Kuriboh was a bit confused but sat quietly as Yugi closed up the bag.
"I am here to stop you from hurting these monsters anymore!" Yugi declared, pointing right at the largest one.
"Only one little warrior monster? Really?" The largest laughed a foundation breaking rumble. The other Gandora did not join in. The big one realized this and looked back with a growl.
"Giga, look." One of the Gandora whispered as she pointed at Yugi. The largest Gandora called Giga turned back to Yugi, and his eyes narrowed. Yugi realized that all gazes were on the Millennium Puzzle around his neck.
"Not a warrior. A pharaoh." Giga said in a much quieter voice. He took a step back and looked over the human. Yugi remained standing tall, with fists clenched. He never lost eye contact with the brute.
Giga then spoke. "We aren't hurting anyone; these puffballs feel nothing." He said as he gestured to the Kuribohs with his clawed hand.
"I see some other monsters you have that do feel pain. Even then, the Kuribohs definitely don't feel good being thrown around like balls." Yugi said in a steady voice, trying to copy Yami's tone when he spoke to villains. "If you end this now, we can talk and stop this from escalating any further."
This made the entire horde bust out laughing. Then Giga lifted his clawed hand, and everyone immediately stopped. He kept studying Yugi, closely watching his every move. "Talk, huh? You're in the wrong place to talk, Pharaoh." Giga growled as he took a step towards Yugi with every sentence. "Don't you know who we are? We are Gandora, masters of mayhem, the deadly devastators, the dragons of DESTRUCTION!" Giga shot his head forward and snapped his jaw shut only a few inches from Yugi's face at the last word.
Yugi outwardly remained unfazed, though internally, it felt like all his internal organs headed south. He had a feeling that if he didn't keep a straight face, he would be joining the Kuribohs in the Gandoras' game. Thankfully, he had years of practice staying strong with school bullies and evil crooks. That didn't stop a nauseous feeling from replacing where his organs should have been.
"All I see right now are the dragons of deficiency," Yugi said, channeling every bit of the Pharaoh that he could. Saying those words felt wrong to him, but he had to prove he would not back down.
The other Gandora roared, and some even started to charge forward when Giga once again put his hand out.
"You think you're strong little Pharaoh? Let's see if you're Gandora strong." He then flicked his tail so quickly it made a whip-like crack. Two Gandora immediately dropped their monsters and ran off. One of the monsters dropped being Silent Magician. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around dazedly. Yugi quickly glanced at her, and she nodded. She put her head back down and closed her eyes.
The two dragons returned to the cliff top with another Gandora between their arms. This Gandora was just as humongous as Giga, but this one had no scars and was unconscious.
"Prove yourself to us Pharaoh, then we'll 'talk.'" Giga snarled. He then went to the new Gandora's side and used his tail to slap her across the face. The new Gandora slowly opened her eyes and looked up to Giga with an almost pleading look. This seemed to anger Giga as he reached down and violently pull the Gandora up, so they were face to face.
"This is your last chance, Hakairyuu. I can't keep sticking my neck out for you." He then threw the dragon toward Yugi.
The dragon fell to her knees. For a moment, she looked up at Yugi, and their gazes met. She didn't have the malice the other dragons had in their red eyes. This one looked exhausted.
"I don't fight anymore, Giga." The dragon said. Her voice was just as low as Giga's, but this one was more feminine.
"If you want to remain with us, you need your fighting spirit. This is how to get it back! Squish this warrior, and we can go back to how it used to be." Giga said as the other dragons started cheering. Yugi took a tentative step back as the dragon rose to her feet. She stretched out her wings and clenched her claws. She looked back to the cheering crowd, and for a few brief moments, a smile could be seen stretching across her face. Then she lunged at Yugi.