Yugi barely had time to process anything that followed after Silent Paladin stumbled into the clearing. He knew she must have been desperate to use her summoning ability like that. Yugi had been closest to her, so he was grabbed with her when Marshmallon and Silent Spy jumped for cover.
The four scarcely got their bearings when they witnessed Grandma Blue-Eyes get hacked across her scar. Yugi hoped it was just the storm tricking his eyes, but Grandma Blue-Eyes became almost translucent for a moment. She seemed unable to do more than roar as her whole body fizzled. Zara then grabbed her, and the half-spirit's touch seemed to solidify her once again. Zara had to heft Grandma Blue-Eyes and dodge Silent Swordsman's successive slices. Zara defended her friend the best she could as she too ran behind the tree line.
Zara let Grandma Blue-Eyes drop, her fall creating a muddy splash. It was clear Zara wanted to do more, but Silent Swordsman was her priority. She looked at Marshmallon and Silent Spy, using her wing to gesture towards the attacking Silent. The miniature monsters nodded and joined her in striking.
"Wait! We need a plan!" Yugi tried to stop them, but they had already joined the others surrounding Silent Swordsman.
Yugi watched in horror as Silent Swordsman managed to deal with everyone in seconds. Yugi had never seen him like this. He was taller than most men, with silver energy flowing through cracks along his skin. His eyes seemed to radiate that same silver flames as he fought. This was a far cry from the monster that, at most, had only been about Yugi's height before. Was LV 5 not his max level?
Yugi's heart sank as he watched Silent Swordman's power grow. Had he just been playing with them every other time they met? No, Silent Swordsman didn't seem the type to go easy against an opponent for the fun of it. Yugi then saw Silent Magician's warning, and it all made sense to him. If Silent Swordsman and Silent Magician had been dueling for a while, who knows how many times Silent Swordsman had a chance to raise his ATK.
Yugi scrambled to Silent Paladin, who was laid out against the tree trunk beside him. He shook her until she wearily opened her eyes.
"What happened?" Yugi practically begged.
"I… We… I ended up on the mountain top." Silent Paladin spoke to Yugi with no magic lettering. "I used my ability to… once I found Magician… he came… he wouldn't back down… I ran for help, hours I searched… The entire time they must have been dueling…."
Silent Paladin then slumped forward, and Yugi caught her. He leaned her against the tree, realizing she would be in no state to explain more, let alone use her healing abilities.
Yugi heard the attack that threw Silent Swordsman across the grove, right to his allies. As each stood with their soul items held out, Yugi found the rest of his organs following his sunk heart. These three were desperate, and that scared Yugi more than any ATK increase. The Silents had nothing left to lose. Each side knew this. The next attack would decide this, and the attack would have to be a killing blow.
Yugi looked to his spirit friends, fear being pumped into his veins by every beat of his heart. Then he saw Dad and Mom, still trying to get to safety.
Yugi's legs moved before he thought, before even Silent Swordsman slashed. Yugi didn't care if he only had his gem to defend him. He didn't care about much as he jumped in front of his parents with his crystal outstretched. And to Yugi's relief, he wasn't alone. Yami was mirroring Yugi to his right. They both stood to protect their parents as Silent Swordsman's attack hit their combined stored energy.
Then everything went red.
Yugi might have honestly thought he died if he didn't hear Hakairyuu's bellow.
"Yugi! Silent Magician! Everyone! You will not be taken from me again!"
Yugi managed to see a black blur towering over him. He, at first, thought it was a Gandora, thanks to its glowing red eyes. But he realized it was too short. Then many more figures came into view. They were all hulking silhouettes soon obscured from him thanks to a flash of lightning. Yugi felt himself lifted from the ground. He recognized the gentle touch, especially when he was squished into her chest.
"Hakairyuu." Yugi managed to whimper.
"Don't talk, not yet," Hakairyuu said as she cradled him, slightly rocking him in her arms. "I can't give you the healing fruit again. But I can give you..ah... something. As my spirit partner, I share my energy with you. Let's just hope I don't get knocked out, or else you're following me."
Yugi began coming back to himself much faster than before. In fact, it felt almost like the energy he got from Yami but multiplied. Yugi soon was able to look around the storming mountain to find other Gandora, Giga included. The monsters below were just as shocked as Yugi.
"About time you got here." Grandma Blue-Eyes groaned as she forced herself to roll onto her stomach. "You'll tell me how, in the many stars, you got here later."
Yugi saw that the Gandora were gathering the injured and dropping them off with Grandma Blue-Eyes and Zara. Yugi then noticed the three Silents were gone.
"Silent Swordsman and the other two are escaping." Yugi wheezed.
"They won't get far." Hakairyuu snarled.
With a whip of her tail, the Gandora scattered to go on the hunt. A few monsters like Zara and Dark Magician tried to follow, but Hakairyuu stopped them.
"No, you guys have done enough. The whole reason the Silents are here is because of our destructive habits. Let us deal with them." Hakairyuu said as she placed Yugi on the ground next to the two Blue-Eyes. "For those that haven't had it in the past, eat the fruit from the center tree. It should heal them."
Hakiryuu took a step back and was about to follow the other Gandora when Yugi latched onto her.
"You're not going out there alone," Yugi exclaimed as he gripped Hakairyuu's leg.
"Little one…. Yugi, you should leave it to us."
"Yes, Pharaoh." Giga came up behind and set the Mutos next to Zara. He then spoke in a growl of a voice. "Most of us have been trained all our lives to hunt monsters. We know what we are doing."
Yugi glanced at his family. Zara had placed them on her back. Both his parents seemed unconscious, and Yami could only anxiously glance at Yugi thanks to his injuries. Zara then stumbled towards the largest tree in the grove. While Yugi was concerned for them, he knew they would be fine. He may not have been able to see the white fruit anymore, but he knew firsthand its healing powers.
"Haven't we learned through this entire adventure that we are stronger together, Hakairyuu? I think I deserve to see this end just as much as anyone else." Yugi stated.
"I too." Came the azure words through the downpour. Silent Magician, hiding a limp, strode to the group. She stood at her full LV 8 height, blue cracks and flame still bursting from her. Silent Magician didn't seem to mind. She had the same resolve as Yugi.
Hakairyuu, instead of arguing as Yugi expected, heartily laughed. "I can tell I couldn't leave you if I tried! We all have reasons, and what could three Silents do against four beloveds?"
"Four?" Yugi asked.
Through the rain, Yugi managed to hear a high-pitched kurri. On Hakairyuu's head jumped a drenched ball of fur.
"Kuriboh! How did you get here?" Yugi called.
"I was carrying them when we Gandora got the ancient call," Hakairyuu explained as she lifted Yugi and Silent Magician to her shoulders. "All us Gandora had congregated in the red ravine when we got a message for everyone to come to Dark Magician Girl's castle. But before we got there, the strongest among us felt the ancient call to action." When Yugi and Silent Magician stared incredulously, Hakairyuu continued to laugh. "Trust me, I understand it even less than you do. Yet, here we appeared without flying a single inch."
As Yugi ensured he was securely holding on, he noticed the wing that had been injured thanks to Giga's bite was now completely fine. "When did you heal that?"
Hakairyuu laughed. "I thankfully teleported near Mystical Elf in our time apart. And after all this, we'll make sure to take you two to her, so we don't have to rely completely on our shared energy."
Hakairyuu then took off after the other Gandora. The rain continued to beat upon the group. It was one of the strongest rainstorms Yugi had been in, yet there were no clouds above them. Still, the weather didn't stop the Gandora, and it certainly didn't slow the Silents.
The escapees scaled a massive cliff on the opposite side of the mountain. The trail had wound away from this site because of how steep and treacherous it was. The Silents seemed to hope this would stop the others from following them. Too bad it was the fearless (Yugi thought it sounded better than reckless) Gandora on the hunt. At first, the dragons could simply fly over the cliff's jagged edges. But as the lightning continued to strike the mountain and the rain intensified, the Gandora had to start climbing.
"They can't have gotten much farther." The Gandora in the lead yelled. Yugi recognized her as the aggressive female Ruin.
It was the next lightning strike that illuminated the fleeing trio as they raced up the cliffs. Silent Lancer was using his raptor to find paths in the rock as the two followed.
"There they are," Hakairyuu growled.
The Silents noticed the Gandora at the same time. Silent Swordsman sent off another silver attack in response. Giga vaulted himself up and happily took the hit in the chest. He fell quite a ways, but then he practically pulled the mountain to him as he raced back with shining orbs.
The three Silents managed to scramble below a great overhang near the top of the cliff. Ruin tried to clamber over the rock wall to get to them, but a flash to equal the lightning flew past her. Yugi guessed the rain wrecked the Silent's aim because Ruin didn't need to dodge the attack. But even if the attack missed, her grip on the rocks began to slip. In her panic to hold on, the stone crumbled in her grasp. Then her imbalance made Ruin lose the rest of her footing. She fell past the others, sliding and twisting in the mud and gravel, right to a large section of sharp rocks.
Giga immediately dove for Ruin and grabbed her before she skewered herself.
"Thanks, Dad." Ruin grumbled.
Giga nodded. He then realized that he had a better shot at the overhang at this lower altitude. His orbs flickered as he took in a deep breath, all power congregating in his mouth. He breathed out a massive blast that hurdled past the other Gandora.
Silent Lancer appeared from the shadow of the overhang. He made his mount leap far into the air. He then attacked the blast head-on with his lance. The tremendous crimson blast was divided in two as Silent Lancer seemed to slice the energy. But even as the attack was forced off course, he could not get back to the cliff in time. Silent Lancer fell, his allies not attempting to save him. Thanks to the rain, he disappeared from view as he fell well below.
The Gandora were about to try traversing to the overhang again when SIlent Magician lifted her hand.
"They won't be there anymore." Silent Magician wrote to Hakairyuu.
"What do you mean?"
"I know Silent Swordsman. He must have used Lancer's sacrifice to try an escape. We did make most of these battle plans together after all." Blue cracks then appeared around Hakairyuu and the other Gandora close by.
"Now that I can see the clifftop, I know where we can land." Silent Magician wrote as she levitated everyone. "Going up."
Silent Magician practically threw the mob skyward. They traveled faster than they could have flown in the rain. Yugi was amazed at this show of strength. Just levitating the Gandora a few feet absolutely drained Dark Magician Girl. Yet, here Silent Magician was raising everyone.
"Is this power boost from being spirit partners?" Yugi asked.
For a moment, Silent Magician's eyes widened, and the group's ascent slowed. She then smirked and doubled their speed.
"Spirit partners… Yes, that's what we are. I should have realized sooner. This isn't just the power of LV 8." She then gave Yugi a thumbs up. "This is because I have all of you beside me. Now, let's see what else I can do!"
She then dropped the party on the top of the outcropping. Once everyone collected themselves, they checked below the edge, and, sure enough, the Silents weren't hiding there anymore.
"Where could they have gone?" Yugi murmured as the Gandora began to spread out. There wasn't anywhere else to hide as all that was ahead of them was more mountain cliffs, all too steep to hide in.
Silent Magician then raised her scepter. She shone with azure light as similarly colored cracks grew on a massive patch of the mountain. Suddenly the entire chunk was lifted. She then turned it to reveal the remaining two Silent's trying to climb the cliff she was levitating. They apparently had tried sidling along the ridge instead of going straight up.
"I know. What a bad time to be caught without your anti-Gandora equipment." The blue words were to taunt Silent Swordsman, but they also had another purpose. It advertised perfectly where the comparatively small figures in the storm were for the Gandora.
The Silents realized that their escape route was now wholly in Silent Magician's power. The two had to leap from their perch before Silent Magician smashed them into the mountain. They only barely got away from the wreckage to then find themselves in the center of an angry Gandora horde.
The two forces waited for the other to move first, then lightning blinded everyone. Silent Beast Master swung out his whip to attack. Another Gandora Yugi recognized as Havoc let the whip hit him. It wrapped painfully around his arm, exactly what Havoc wanted. He yanked back with his powered-up strength and pulled Silent Beast Master off his feet and into his clutches.
With Silent Beast Master distracted, Hakairyuu attacked Silent Swordsman with a claw swipe. Her attack was slow, thanks to not being powered up. Silent Swordsman was able to easily dodge and counter-attack. It seemed Silent Swordsman was aiming for her neck, and he would have hit his target if Kuriboh wasn't there. The puffball shielded her weak spot in a burst of rainbow colors. However, Kuriboh purposefully didn't block everything. Anything not directly on her neck was happily transformed into ATK. And it was an enormous amount, thanks to Silent Swordsman's ability. Hakairyuu's orbs practically exploded with power.
When Silent Swordsman realized his mistake and tried to back up, he was held in place by blue cracks. As Silent Swordsman scowled at her, Silent Magician gave a coy wave. With an inhuman snarl, Silent Swordsman reached out to end her spell, only to then be swiped aside by Hakairyuu.
Silent Swordsman went sailing into Giga, who had finally climbed back to the group with Ruin. He clutched Silent Swordsman in a death grip, making sure he couldn't use his sword even if he did summon it back to himself.
"It's over Silent Swordsman," Yugi said, seemingly backed by the thunder.
Yugi's and Silent Swordsman's equally magenta eyes met. Yugi was surprised not to see the hate he was expecting. Instead, Silent Swordsman, though he tried to hide it, seemed astonished. And for a moment, Yugi thought he might have understood the warrior. Everyone said at one time he had been a hero, a great Silent guardian. But then, that good nature was squashed by the corrupt world he found himself in. But unlike Silent Magician, who chose to fight against such horrible traditions, he thought his only chance at survival was to become as cruel as the others. He excelled at it even. But now, he was faced with all his past mistakes. The Gandora he had used, the Silent Magician of his old life, and Yugi, the perfect example of how that mindset was wrong. This wasn't going to be just a defeat for him.
A yellow flare then shot by from lower on the mountain. Yugi froze. It was a flare from Silent Lancer.
"Activate bombs!" Silent Swordsman shouted.
Before Havoc could move, Silent Beast Master managed to get his hand free and press a trigger in his grip.
The subsequent explosion overshadowed any lightning or thunder. When the ground beneath the group began to disintegrate, Yugi realized that Silent Beast Master must have set bombs along the overhand while they were hiding. Yugi watched in terror as Silent Swordsman and Silent Beast Master disappeared in a burst of yellow light.
Yugi tried to cling to Hakairyuu as everyone plummeted. But as the slippery cliffs battered the group, he lost hold. Yugi never felt more helpless as he prepared for the following impact. But the pain never came. Yugi found himself surrounded by many Kuriboh as they multiplied themselves and clung to everyone, absorbing what damage they could. And they needed to negate a great deal as the falling rocks combined with the rain to create an avalanche.
Blue cracks then surrounded Yugi as Silent Magician attempted to control his fall. She seemed to be trying to bring him closer to her, but her hold was shaky at best. Then Yugi noticed it wasn't just him covered in cracks. Silent Magician was controlling everyone's tumble. Every chance she had, Silent Magician would try and lift them away. But the debris would nearly crush them every time. So, she focused on making sure everyone dodged the worst the mountain had to offer.
As Yugi tried to find himself in the chaos, he passed three figures. It was only for a moment, but he saw Silent Swordsman safe in a sheltered alcove. Beside him were Silent Lancer, still glowing his yellow aura, and Silent Beast Master.
Silent Swordsman and Yugi once again locked eyes. Silent Swordsman looked on at the avalanche with a frown. It wasn't pity or joy in his eyes, maybe… disappointment? Yugi didn't have a chance to figure out much more as he fell past them.
"Silent! Get Yugi to me!" Hakairyuu's roar broke through the clamor of the avalanche.
Yugi barely had time to register her call before he was thrown through the collapsing mountain. Hakairyuu had managed to cling to the cliffside. This part was slightly protected thanks to a large cluster of Gandora crystals jutting out. But it was clear she was barely holding on. Even still, she caught Yugi and held him to her chest.
"We have to destroy this avalanche." She panted.
Yugi looked down to see everything tumble towards the angelic grove. There had already been some boulders that almost hit the group, but they seemed stopped by a light purple wall. Yugi recognized the magic half-dome as made by Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. Once Silent Magician saw the barrier, she levitated the Gandora to it, and the mages let them in. The dragons would then work with the Blue-Eyes to blast what stones made it past the magic. Still, the mountain continued to fold onto the family. There were going to be buried.
"How do we stop it?" Yugi gasped. "I don't think all the spellcasters together could freeze this."
Hakairyuu held him closer to her, even as her other grip slipped more. Yugi felt her heart thud.
"My death detonation. Now usually even it wouldn't be enough, but with our spirit partnership, I know I would be powerful-"
Yugi's face paled. "No! I won't-!"
"Listen! It's the only thing that will have enough power. But I refuse to die here, and that's why I need you, Yugi, and Kuriboh. I need our partnership. Only us working together can give me that kind of power without actually dying."
Yugi at first rejected even considering something that dangerous. But as more of the avalanche collapsed the mountain around them, Yugi began to understand. Every spirit partnership came with a small bonus, something specific to each bond. Yugi thought of all the times Hakairyuu was powered up by his command. When the group was originally flying to Dark Magician Girl's castle, Silent Magician had said Hakairyuu's strength increase was from their partnership. Yet, Yugi had never quite liked that answer. Moments like when Hakairyuu stopped her explosion mid-eruption during her duel with Giga and moved all that energy into a breath attack. Or when the riddle was rebuilding itself, and her attack decimated the mountain along with the wall. All of it was more than just "strength increase." What's more, when Yugi helped lead, she seemed to take no damage afterward as most Gandora attacks entailed. So if she tricked her body into thinking it was dying, what power could they create together?
"I would need to control where this power goes very carefully, so I don't explode myself. But I know I can, with you." Hakairyuu stated.
Yugi wanted time to think this over. He needed time. But with more boulders and rubble piled on the weakening dome, Yugi knew what to do if he wanted to save everyone.
"Ok. I, as your spirit partner, am ready."
Kuriboh agreed too. They then pulled their duplicates from Hakairyuu and made sure they bunched around Yugi so he wouldn't get destroyed in the blast, hopefully.
"You think you'll be dying without me?" Silent Magician wrote as she flung herself through the avalanche and grabbed Hakairyuu's tail.
"How did you get here?!" Hakairyuu yelped as she moved Silent to her shoulder. The remaining Kuribohs then crowded around the spellcaster.
"With everyone else behind the magicians' barrier, I could focus on navigating myself. And with this suicidal plan, you'll need someone to move your body while you focus on not exploding." Silent Magician wrote. She then yelled to the best of her abilities. "Go!"
Hakairyuu nodded and let go of the wall. She opened her wings and darted past the falling mountain. It had been the fastest Yugi had ever seen her fly. Along the way, she bumped and took as much damage as she could, adding to the power Silent Swordsman had already given her. She then dove to the front of the avalanche.
Yugi took in a deep breath, hoped his family would forgive him for this, then yelled, "Hakairyuu! Boundless Gigarays!"
The growing white light of Hakairyuu's orbs turned scarlet as she roared. "We will not be buried again!"
…
"Yugi!" Yami screamed when Yugi hopped on what he guessed was Hakairyuu and flew after the Silents. "What is he doing?!"
"Doing wha-? What!" Grandma Blue-Eyes ended up screaming when she, too, saw the disappearing dragons.
Zara looked her most worried, that being mild distress. She then moved the family off her back and set them under the canopy of the grove's elder tree.
Yami began trying to shake his family awake. He then realized Junior had been conscious this whole time, even when he collapsed after the Gandora arrived. He had been simply lying with his eyes wide open.
"Dad! Dad, we need you here!" Yami tried. Junior kept his glazed stare. "Yugi just ran off into danger, again!"
"Oh-!" Junior jumped right up with a lovely string of curses. "Forget life-altering memories! Where is my son?!"
"Yugi?" Yui groaned as she tried to sit up but failed. She was still too woozy.
"Before we go running off, eat," Marshmallon said as they hopped over with a massive piece of fruit balanced on their head.
"How can we think of eating when Yugi's up there?!" Junior yelled until his mouth was stuffed with one of the pieces. Yui and Yami were also given slices of fruit, be it less forcefully, by Zara.
"Now focus on the lovely two Blue-Eyes here," Marshmallon said as they hid behind the dragons' legs. "Their star count should heal you guys right up."
Yami could barely focus on anything until the unnaturally sweet fruit melted in his mouth. Grandma Blue-Eyes and Zara then spread their wings as they stood in front of the family. (Zara stood. Grandma Blue-Eyes could only sit up, her eyes constantly flicking towards the mountain.) And soon enough, Yami stopped feeling exhausted and hurt. He then witnessed as the green splotch on Junior's arm, where he had been patched up earlier, healed into normal skin.
"It worked?" Yami gasped.
"An oh-so-useful trap card planted on this part of the mountain," Marshmallon said as they went to the Silent that had fainted earlier and helped feed her and the three other beasts.
"It only works once, so do not do your famous Muto self-sacrifice any time soon." Grandma Blue-Eyes growled as she handed Yami the clear crystal he had dropped earlier. "To defend yourself."
Yui, along with her wounds healing, seemed to jump back to full awareness. "Where are my boys?!"
Junior tried to calm her, but she wasn't having any of it, so he simply handed her the small crystal he had. She used the jewel as a stress ball as she paced the grove.
"I have an eye on them." Silent Spy said. He was standing on Zara's back as he looked through his eyeglass.
"Are they hunting Silent Swordsman?" Floating pastel green lettering read. The once knocked-out Silent then shakily stood and walked over. "They should have waited for me. I can summon another Silent back to the field, whether they want to come or not."
"Who are you?" Yami couldn't help but ask.
"I'm Silent Paladin. It's an honor to meet you, great Pharaoh. I just wish it was under better conditions." Silent Paladin bowed low, which Yami tentatively returned. She then scaled Zara's back to look through Silent Spy's telescope.
"What's going on up there?" Grandma Blue-Eyes just about demanded.
"Patience, it's hard enough to see in this storm, let alone see what some tiny figures are doing miles up." Silent Spy replied.
He didn't have to search for long as a great crash drowned out all their thoughts.
"Avalanche!" Silent Spy cried.
Everyone saw what looked like an entire cliff face get blasted from the mountainside. It then started tumbling, taking chunks out of the muddy mountain and creating a massive brown maw about to swallow the group.
"Master! Together!" Dark Magician Girl cried.
Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl jumped from their places in the trees. They stood at the front of the grove and raised their staffs together. A purple and pink wall of magic appeared around the area, nearly making a dome. The mudslide then surged past the group. They realized they couldn't run or fly away, so they could only stare as the dome held back the first wave. Their magic was the only thing stopping it from burying the family.
A few large chunks hit the wall, causing a ripple in the magic. The magicians' kept their scepters up, unwavering in their defense. The dragons joined in as they destroyed what obstacles they could. Then Gandora flew to the dome. The two spellcasters opened temporary holes for them, but doing so seemed to tire them. The dragons were followed by heavier chunks as the mountain crashed into the magic, causing it to tremble. The magicians cringed and winced. They refused to make a peep, but Yami could almost feel their pain.
"We can't stay here." Silent Paladin said.
"But what about Yugi?!" Yui shouted as she shook Grandma Blue-Eyes's side.
Grandma Blue-Eyes snapped at her to get Yui to back up. The dragon seemed torn between her own worry for Yugi and getting the others to safety. Then her eyes widened as she stared at the avalanche in horror.
"She's- He's-" She sputtered. "They're going to WHAT?!"
All was bathed in white light as a fireball barreled past the landslide. The falling star took on blue cracks to help stop it from smashing into the magicians' barrier. It was about then Yami realized this wasn't an attack, but a Gandora glowing in so much radiant light that Yami was almost blinded.
"Hakairyuu!" Marshmallon screamed.
The dragon of destruction only glanced back for a moment to nod. On one side of the Gandora was a tall figure surrounded by Kuriboh, probably the Silent Magician from earlier. Then, Yami realized, along with his family, that Yugi was on the other shoulder. He was clothed in that same aura, his magenta eyes a small patch of peace in the hungry white.
"Hakairyuu! Boundless Gigarays!"
The white turned a brilliant scarlet as Hakairyuu reared back. She roared something Yami couldn't understand as the light enveloped them.
The family couldn't make her or Yugi out as the mountain's teeth surrounded them. The magic of the dome began to shake and wither, the mages crying out.
Then, the avalanche was gone.
Yami wished he could have explained it better. Mountain's just don't lose their natural disasters. But here Yami was, witness to the utter annihilation of the rockslide.
The scarlet breath that came out of Hakairyuu's mouth spread far and wide. Anything it touched was immediately evaporated. All became nothing in the dragon's power. And Hakairyuu kept going; her power never wavering. Yami would almost think of it as an act of one of the God Cards.
"In all my years, I've never seen..." Marshmallon gawked. The rest of the group could only nod as their reply.
"I see Silent Swordsman! And the other two!" Silent Spy yelled. He still had his telescope to his eye, even though Yami could see tears running down his cheek from staring past such a bright attack. "They're just barely out of the way of that Gandora's attack. They're going to get away!"
The group looked at each other, and all nodded. They didn't need Grandma Blue-Eyes to convey their thoughts. They all knew what needed to be done.
In a flash of pastel green light, Silent Swordsman was suddenly in the midst of the family of monsters and humans. And soon after followed Silent Beast Master and Silent Lancer. Each was blinded by Hakairyuu's power and confused by the surprise teleportation.
Gazelle immediately pounced on Silent Beast Master before he could summon his whip. Under the great king's paws, Silent Beast Master found two Alligator Swords' weapons at his neck.
Silent Lancer didn't fair much better as Silent Paladin and Spy were more than ready to grab him and his mount. He never had a chance to teleport away as a shield bash stunned him, and Silent Spy's knife made him fall to his knees.
Silent Swordsman may have had more time to gain ATK, but the family wasn't going to let that hold them back this time. Grandma Blue-Eyes and Zara attacked at once, but they purposefully didn't hit him for their own safety. The two dragons still surprised the bewildered warrior and made him leap back. Silent Swordsman may not have had his sword, but he swung his fist, realizing he still had a much higher ATK. Only for it to be stopped mid-swing by Junior.
The impact was strong enough to create its own wind, and yet Junior stood completely firm. Junior's eyes then began glowing the same scarlet of Hakairyuu's blast as he threw Silent Swordsman back. Silent Swordsman was too shocked by the human to notice as he fell into Yui's and Yami's held-out crystals. Both gems may have been drained of power, but that was precisely what they needed. Silent Swordsman's ATK was high enough that the crystal absorbed the little stab as damage and blasted it right back at him, equaling his power twice.
Silent Swordsman was thrown into the magic dome. The spellcasters kept the magic up long enough for it to be a hard wall. Then they let it down, along with him.
Silent Swordsman lost all his height and silver glow. He fell to the ground as something smaller than a child. The group was about to go to him when Hakairyuu's attack finally died down.
Silent Swordsman had the joy of waking up to the fiery eyes of a fully powered-up Gandora hanging over him. Kuriboh's duplicates disappeared for all but one that sat on the dragon's head. Yugi and Silent Magician were still on Hakairyuu's shoulders as the dragon towered over the tiny warrior. She shone from every inch of her body, her companions seeming to reflect the same energy. They each radiated pure destructive power.
"May... my next life be a curse on you," Silent Swordsman managed to spit as the dragon raised her claw.
Hakairyuu slashed down. It was a blow so powerful that everyone was pushed back by the force. Yami was a little worried about what he'd see after he opened his eyes. But when he looked, there wasn't the mess he was expecting.
Silent Swordsman was still kneeling, staring in utter shock at the claws that missed him by near inches.
"No one is dying under our watch," Yugi announced.
Yami didn't know how, but Yugi managed to make that sound like a threat rather than a blessing. Silent Swordsman seemed to agree as he stared astonished at the human. This seemed beyond his comprehension.
"We may not want you dead. But I am still a dragon of destruction." Hakairyuu snarled. She then slapped her hand into Silent Swordsman's body and knocked him across the grove. Silent Swordsman was then caught by Silent Magician's power as all five fainted.