Chapter 19
Lindsey POV
Lindsey, Yugi, Mai, Mokuba, and Seto dove just in time to miss the blast from the monster. Mokuba cried out as they skid across the pavement.
"Mokuba are you alright?" Seto asked concerningly. Mokuba nodded in response. The five of them got to their feet, and then turned to look at their attacker. Lucian stood atop the beast's head with an evil smile and his arms crossed. Lindsey tried to identify the monster he stood upon, but she had never seen it before.
Lyris? Do you know what he's standing on?
"His spirit monster, The Dragon of Desolate Shadows. Everyone believed that a monster named Zorc was the ultimate shadow monster. They were wrong. You're looking at it. Just like how a part of my soul lives within the Crystal Magician and the ring, a part of his soul lives within the dragon, as well as the pendant around his neck."
Lindsey looked more closely to see a black pendant in the shape of a dragons scale around his neck.
"It's called the Shadow of Lucian. Without it, he can't control that dragon, just like how you cant control the magician without me."
So if I get this pendant, this whole Lucian problem goes away?
"Oh goodness no. That'll just piss him off. He'll have people after you left and right. He must be defeated in a duel to be rid of for good."
Why didn't Ishizu, or you for that matter warn me of this creature?
"We told you there would be a great battle. That's about all we could tell you without angering the gods."
Oh screw the stupid gods!
"This is your destiny. You must unfold it yourself."
"Lindsey!" It was Yami who spoke. He and Yugi had switched over while she was talking to Lyris. "We have to get out of here!" She looked up at the dragon. It was a solid matte black with spikes shooting out of every square inch of its body. It had glowing white eyes that matched its claws. "Lindsey now!" He grabbed her wrist and dragged her along with the rest of the group.
This isn't the time for our duel yet is it?
"No. Ishizu did tell you he was going to mess with you physically and mentally. He's just beginning his fun. The good thing is he never addressed you as Lyris which means there is a chance he doesn't know you have the ring."
I'm wearing the ring!
"Doesn't mean he noticed. He would have challenged you. He'll try to kill you before that happens though."
Oh fan-tucking-fastic.
"Buy as much time as you can. We need the advantage."
The element of surprise.
"Exactly! If he learns you have the ring, he'll challenge you. He'll find someway to lure you to the duel. He'll hurt your friends and family. We need to challenge him first."
Couldn't he harm my friends and family now?
"Yes but there is no need to go after the others if he thinks you yourself are weak and vulnerable."
That's Sick.
The gang continued running, Yami still holding Lindsey's wrist. The streets were empty; people had fled to go into hiding. Lindsey looked back to see…
Nothing.
"Guys stop!" The gang stopped and turned around as well. There was nothing. The gaping hole and cracks in the ground were gone. Any surrounding damage had disappeared as well. Lindsey was speechless.
"What on earth is going on?" Mai commented. "It looks as if nothing had happened here. Like it was just an ordinary day." The rest of the gang was speechless. Mokuba was silently sobbing as he clutched onto Seto. Yami laid a hand on Lindsey's shoulder as she stared emotionless at the seemingly untouched city.
"Lindsey?" Yami whispered after a while. She turned her head slightly in his direction. "We need to go. It's still not safe." After a moment of silence, she turned to face him.
"It's never going to be safe. Don't you realize that? I can't just keep hiding. I know you guys are going to want to stand behind me but this is my fight. If Lucian finds out I have this ring he'll try to hurt not only me but all my friends and family. Until this blows over you all need to stay away from me. I can't lose any of you."
Mai spoke first. "If one of us is going down, we're all going down with them. We're a family Linds. We're taking down Lucian together. Ten minds are better than one!"
"Ten?" Lindsey questioned.
"You, me, Yugi, Kaiba, Joey, Tristan, Tea, Bakura, Duke, and Serenity."
"What about me!?" Mokuba said through a few sniffles.
"If you think I'm letting you anywhere near Lucian you're seriously dreaming Mokuba." Seto snapped. Mokuba was tearing up again.
"What Seto means," She shot him a glare then diverted her attention to Mokuba. "Is that this is far to dangerous. With you being not a only a small kid, but a good friend of mine, you'd be an easy target for Lucian. It would give me one less thing to worry about if I knew you were safe."
Mokuba didn't look too happy but he gave her a nod saying he understood.
"So it's settled. You're stuck with us." Mai winked.
"Let me take a walk and think about it." She turned and started to walk away.
"Lindsey." Yami said with an edge.
"I'll stay on main roads." She kept walking without a glance back.
"Should we go after her?" Mai asked.
"No." Seto responded. "My guess is she has a lot to think about and it's best to leave her alone. I'll have my employees keep on eye on her via satellite. I'll know the second something happens."
"Thank you Kaiba."
"I'm not doing this for you Yugi." Yami nodded as Kaiba and Mokuba turned to leave. Yami and Mai called the rest of the gang to meet back at Yugi's place.
The only sound was Lindsey's shoes against the pavement. She was still in her cheer uniform which was surprisingly still clean. Her arms and legs were slightly scratched up, but she was fine other than that. The streets were still empty. Lindsey wondered when people would finally come out of hiding. She rounded a corner, completely immersed in thought when she crashed into someone. Both she and the stranger fell to the ground.
Lindsey grunted. "Don't you ever watch where you're going!?"
The stranger grunted as well. "I could say the same for you." It was definitely a boy's voice. It was calm but with a slight edge. Lindsey looked to see the strangers face. He looked young and his features were well chiseled. He had Slightly long blue-green hair and grey eyes. The stranger looked up as well. He gasped when he saw her. "Lindsey Walsh!" He scrambled to his feet just so he could help her up. He offered his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her up. "Forgive me."
"Not a problem. I shouldn't have snapped like that. I've just got a lot to deal with right now."
"Nervous for the homecoming game tonight?" Lindsey eyed him up and down.
"Uh… sure." He didn't look convinced. "Just out of curiosity, how old are you?"
"Fourteen. And Yourself?"
"I'll be sixteen next month."
He nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, would you take a quick look at my deck? It's won me many tough duels, but I would like to know if it's tournament worthy."
"Well, any deck is tournament worthy if you believe it is, but a look wont hurt." The boy handed over his deck and Lindsey began looking through the cards. She was grinning a wide smile. "A cyber deck huh? Unusual choice." She handed the deck back to him.
"I know it's not very common, but I believe in it, and it gets stronger and stronger as time goes on. I'm the top duelist in my class."
Lindsey looked shocked. "Your class? Where exactly do you go to school?"
"I go to the private academy on the east side of town."
"Well, that's quite the accomplishment. Keep working and you could be in my league someday. Just remember to always respect your cards and most importantly your opponent."
"That's my main goal. Everyone wants to be the king of games, and maybe my day will come, but for now my goal is to be a respected duelist. Someone that people look up to. I prefer to be independent mostly, but it's nice to have the support of my friends. I say I can do things alone, but I feel more confident knowing they're by my side."
By your side… friends.
"You could learn something from this kid."
"You know kid. That is an amazing goal. And you are absolutely right about having the support of your friends." The kid smirked. "I hate to cut this conversation short, but there's some people I need to talk to. It was nice to meet you." Lindsey started to run off but stopped after a couple steps. She noticed the boy was walking in the other direction. "Hey kid!" He turned just his head, not completely looking at her. "I never caught your name!"
"Zane Truesdale." He smirked, and continued walking.
Zane. Lindsey then gasped and clutched her head.
"You okay Linds?"
Yea. I just got a sudden flash of Blue, yellow and red. Weird.
Lindsey pulled out her phone to see a text message from Mai.
*We'll be at Yugi's*
"It is imperative that Lucian doesn't figure out I have the ring. That's when things are going to get a little tricky. We need the element of surprise so well need a plan. I'll fill Seto in later seeing as he is the only one not here.
"Okay den. What's da plan?"
"No idea!" The group gave her blank stares. "What? I can't be expected to know everything."
"Well, why don't we find out where his lair is? We want the element of surprise, so that should be our first step."
"Thank God for Bakura!" Lindsey enthused. "That's a perfect plan that should be engaged another day because its 5:30 and I still have a game to cheer at! In fact I was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago." She started towards the door. "I expect you all to be there!" She left and made her way towards the school.
Mai stood up. "Alright. Duke, Bakura, and Tea, you three start looking around the city to see if you can find any clues. Tristan, myself, and Serenity will snoop around locations we've encountered Lucian and his henchman at to see if there's something there. Yugi, Joey, and hopefully Kaiba will help to prepare Lindsey for her duel. We should let Lindsey stay as relaxed as possible. Let us do the work. Everyone agreed?" The gang nodded in response. "Alright. Now lets get to that game! After all, we're all still in high school, and its homecoming!" The gang cheered in response, then gathered their things to head to the big game.
"Sea Wolves, lets go!" The squad clapped in unison and then broke off into a spirit rally. Lindsey looked at ease and was having the time of her life. The gang had sat front row to watch the game and cheer Lindsey on. Kaiba and Mokuba sat close, but not close enough for social interaction. Seto was uninterested and came only for Mokuba to have a night of fun.
Domino High was playing their rivals the Kingston High Bulldogs. Domino was up 28 – 21. It was a close game that had spectators on the edge of their seats. There was 5:45 left in the second quarter.
"Hey Linds? It's almost half time. You ready?"
"Of course Marki! I've been ready to go since Monday!"
"Same here!" Marki was a fellow team member. She had dark skin with long flowing dark hair and beautiful hazel eyes. She was also quite tall. Lindsey was smiling at her when the crowd erupted into applause.
"TOUCHDOWN SEA WOLVES!" Lindsey jumped up and down with joy. The buzzer had finally hit zero signaling half time. The band, cheer team, and drill team all lined up to prepare for one of the most spectacular halftime shows in all of Domino.
The gang was erupting into laughter every other second at the nearby burger joint. The Sea Wolves had won the big game 52-49, a close game won in overtime by a field goal. The burger joint had been packed with students from Domino High, all celebrating the big victory. Lindsey and the gang barely managed to get a table seeing as they had nine people.
"So den I said, 'I'll duel ya right here!' Den he left in his helicopter mublin about an Egyptian God card! Rich boy was scared ta duel me! I don't blame him. I am Joey Wheeler afta all!" Mai choked on her milkshake.
"Joey hun, I don't think Kaiba is scared of you. He just thought the Egyptian Gods were more worth his time than you."
"What!? Dat is not true! Everyone fears Joey Wheeler!" The gang then burst out in laughter again.
"Big brother! How could anyone fear you! You're the nicest most loving person I know!" Joey's face fell.
"Joey a loving person?" Duke asked
"That'll be the day." Tristan joked.
"I know it." Mai stated. The gang started snickering. Joey groaned.
"Alright. I think Joey's had enough." Tea chimed.
"Yes let's talk about how Duke struck out with that girl at the game." Bakura suggested.
"That shouldn't surprise you guys." Lindsey said as she took a bite of her burger. The gang laughed again. Lindsey had noticed Yami had been quiet most of dinner. She nudged him with her elbow. "You okay?" She whispered. He just nodded. She finished off her burger, slightly concerned for Yami.
"Well if everyone is done, we should go so we can clear some space for other people." Mai said. The gang gathered their things, paid for their meals, and then congregated outside the building.
"I say we all meet at Lindsey's tomorrow afternoon to further discuss this Lucian business."
"I agree with Bakura." Yami finally spoke.
"Okay but make it at noon on the dot!" Mai commanded. "The homecoming dance is tomorrow, and we are not missing it!" The gang agreed to meet at noon then went their separate ways for the night. Lindsey and Yami had walked together.
"Okay grumpy pants. What's wrong?" She grabbed his hand.
"Just concerned for you."
"Well don't be! I'll be okay. Yugi and Joey's help is really doing me good. I have faith we'll conquer this without any flaws." He stayed silent so she squeezed his hand. "Please stop worrying. At least for me?" She batted her eyelashes and he smiled.
They arrived in the lobby of her apartment building. "Yami, can I confess something?" He nodded. "I'm scared." He looked shocked.
"You just said not to be worried."
"I know. You didn't let me finish. I'm scared to be alone, at night. Earlier today it was still light out when I walked around the city. The shadows seem to be Lucian's specialty, so I hope you see where I'm coming from." He pulled her into a tight embrace. "Stay with me tonight." She whispered in his hair.
"Of course." He whispered back. She pulled back only to lock lips with him. She was clutching to him as if her life depended on it. Yami could sense the urgency in her kisses. She threaded her hands in his hair and deepened the kiss. He returned the favor with just as much passion.
"Oh! Sorry!" Lindsey and Yami broke apart to see a very grossed out looking boy. It was then that Lindsey realized she was still in the lobby.
"Zane!" Yami gave her a confused look. "I didn't know you lived here?"
"Yea. My whole life." Lindsey smiled in response. "Carry on." He then made his way to the stairs.
Lindsey sighed then began to giggle. Yami was still holding her. "We should get to bed. Big day tomorrow." Yami nodded in response. They walked towards the elevator hand in hand.
Lucian POV
Stupid child. Thinks I don't know she has the ring. Thinks she can have the upper hand. She can't stop me. No one can. Once that wretched Lyris is out of the way, this world will be mine and mine alone. It's time to claim what I've worked so many years for.
"Master Lucian." Lucian slammed his fists on his desk.
"What is it Lance?" Lucian was irritated.
"The Pharaoh is staying with her for the night."
"Isn't she a little young to be staying the night with boys?" Lance got a grim look on his face. "If only she had a responsible father to teach her better." Lucian laughed darkly. Lance cleared his throat.
"Should we hold off the attack?"
Lucian paused a moment. "For now." Lance nodded in response then left the room. Lucian sat back in his chair and stared out his window towards the ocean.
Safe for one more day. Lucky you Lyris. But your luck is about to run out….