Current Dungeon Dice Vote status:

Manga: 2

Anime: 2 with one questionable vote.

Still need votes to come in on which version you want. This section will probably be another one or two chapters depending on where I stop episode-wise so we need those votes in. But for now, enjoy another action packed chapter of Yami no Game.

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Yami no Game: Dark Saga

Chapter 22

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"Well, at least I'm glad we have our dueling decks but I'm a little worried about the life point counter. I mean, its common sense to know what'll happen when you lose a life in a video game but what will happen to us here when we lose all our life points here…" Yugi murmured as they walked through the forested area where Kaiba was last seen. "Yeah, no kidding..." Jou muttered as they came up to a cliff that overlooked a graveyard. They knew they had to venture through it to get anywhere and steeled themselves for what's to come before heading down. "It's still hard to believe this is all virtual and not real."

"Yeah, Ruby-nii really outdone himself with the programming." Mokuba murmured.

"Yeah...looks plenty real ta me." Jou added, hating the memories that came back to him the last time he had to deal with a graveyard setting. As they walk, it wasn't long before they heard something and turned to the disturbance. A rift appeared across the ground before a monster started to emerge. Armored Zombie came from the ground, Dragon Zombie and Clown Zombie coming in as reinforcement. "Oh hell...what do we do now?" Jou questioned, panicking. As a typical gamer, he was used to having some sort of weapon to fight with and right now, that wasn't a given option when they started the game. He then realized something.

"Wait, these guys are nothing but Duel Monsters…" he murmured and smirked. "So if I draw a card..." The blonde drew a card from his deck as the monsters starting charging for them. He blinked for a moment. "And now I don't know what to do next." Both Yugi and Mokuba gave an exasperated sigh before Mokuba stepped up. "Let me show you how it's done." Mokuba called as he drew a card and held it up. "I summon Rude Kaiser!" Yugi nodded, getting what they had to do, and drew a card as well. "And I call upon Black Magician!" They both appeared and easily took out the zombie monsters easily. "Ah, so that's how it's done." Jou murmured.

But as quickly as they disappeared, they came back. "Crud! They're back! Let me take care of this." Jou growled as he pulled out a card. "I summon Flame Swordsman. Attack with Toki Enzan Ken!" The monster went in to attack only for Yugi to realize something was terribly wrong. The zombie monsters' attack rose and his eyes widened. "Jou, wait! Stop Flame Swordsman's attack!" he called and Jou looked back to Yugi in wonder just as Flame Swordsman sliced Dragon Zombie. Just like before, it came back with even more attack points. "Damnit! Each time we kill these zombies, they come back with even more attack power." he hissed as Flame Swordsman was destroyed before he could retaliate. "That's true but remember, they have one fragile weakness. You dealt with this before, Jou. Remember?" Yugi reminded and Jou rattled his brain. 'Oh yeah! That battle with Kozuka! He used these very same monsters!' he thought and grinned. "I got this!" Jou drew the card needed and held it up. "I use Shield and Sword! Time to mix up yer attack and defense, ya zombie losers!" he called as the monsters' attack and defense switched, leaving them vulnerable. "They're all yours!"

"You got it! Go Black Magician! Black Magic attack!" The magician appeared behind Yugi and finished off the monsters for good. In the wake of the monsters' defeat, a card appeared on the ground. "Hey, Yugi, look at this." Mokuba bent down and picked up the card. "I wonder what they are."

"Looks like it might be part of scoring system or maybe even the currency of the game."

"I go with that option." Mokuba agreed as he walked over to him. Jou looked at his counter and groaned. "My life points aren't going back up. Looks like this game is playing for keeps." he muttered. "Well, that ain't good." They heard a tiny giggle and looked over to one of the tombstones where a tiny fairy appeared. She giggled again before ducking away. "What is that thing?"

"Hey, it must be one of those faeries they put in the game ta help the players." Jou confirmed. The fairy giggled once more before flying off. "Hey, there it goes! Let's follow it!" he called and they nodded as they ran after the fairy. The fairy was quick and soon enough, they lost track of it as they reach a cliff side. "Damn, that's one slippery little sprite." Mokuba looked around before seeing something in the distance. "Well, we may have lost it but I think I found out what it was trying to show us. Look over there." he said, pointing out to what he saw. Yugi and Jou came walking over and were amazed. "Look at that. It's a town. Maybe we should get down there and collect some information." Yugi suggested. "Yeah but the problem is getting down there."

"Maybe Yami and Aqua could help." Yugi nodded in agreement and called them out from their soul room. They appeared beside Yugi and looked down to him. "Need something, little one?"

"Mind giving us a lift. We want to see that town down there." Yami nodded and picked up Yugi before taking off in demon form, Aqua right behind him with Jou and Mokuba. When they reached the town, they landed on the outskirts so Yami could shed his form before heading inside. They looked around, Jou becoming a little squeamish at what some of the booths held. "Man, I'm glad I ate before we came in here…" he muttered as he looked to a booth that had dried lizards out for display. "Hey, Jou! Come take a look at this!" Yugi called. He ran over to where they stood and gaped when he saw some cards. "Whoa! These look awesome! We'll take 'em!" The blonde spoke cheerfully. "Um...I don't think it works that way." Mokuba pointed out. "Eh?" he mumbled before looking down, seeing there was a price for the cards. "2000 points? Man, surely we made that much fighting those zombies, right!" he questioned as he looked to them. Yugi shook his head. "No, we only got five points from them." Yugi commented and Jou groaned, ruffling his hair. "Come on, Jou, let's concentrate on finding nii-sama first." Jou sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Since we do have this whole plan thing goin' on still." he mumbled and they nodded.

"I suggest we split up and get some information. Surely if Kaiba was stolen, it's a possibility that whoever the culprit was has been seen by the townspeople."

"Alright then! Let's comb the town and look through every street!" Mokuba announced, all nodding before heading off. They asked all around, even doing mundane tasks in exchange for information. When they did all they could, Yugi, Aqua and Yami were the first back at the fountain at the center of town. "Find anything?" Aqua asked. "Not a clue." Yugi murmured before looking up, seeing Jou coming their way. "Any leads, Jou?"

"Naw but I do hate virtual dogs." he grumbled, a dog clamped on tight to his pants leg. He shook off the dog and it ran off. "Good riddance."

"Hey guys! I got a lead!" Mokuba called as he ran over to them. "What did you find out, Mokuba?" Aqua asked. "A woman I help out today said that she saw a man come by with a prisoner this morning." he explained, pointing over to the mountains in the distance. "Supposedly there's an ancient temple at the top and the prisoner was being taken there. To get there, we need to cross this desert." Aqua nodded. "Well, we've been through deserts before. We shouldn't have a problem getting through." he hummed as he moved down to all fours. "Climb aboard, Mokuba. Jounouchi." They nodded and climbed onto his back, Yami carrying Yugi and both started into the desert. Not too long after being in there, they were slowed by a sandstorm that began to brew around them. "I have ta hand it ta Ruby, virtual sand tastes like real sand…" Jou muttered as he covered his mouth and face with his arm.

"Maybe we should turn back!" Yugi called as he looked up to Yami. "We can't! We have to get to that temple and save nii-sama!" Mokuba pleaded. "Looks like we won't be getting far!" Aqua hissed as he saw a sand twister coming their way. "Hold on!" he cried as the twister engulfed them.

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"...ugi...Yugi, wake up. We're a'ight." Jou's voice rang through his hazy mind. He groaned softly as he regained awareness and sat up. "Where are we?" he asked. "We're back in town. Looks like the twister carried us back but Mokuba's not looking too hot, though." he murmured, looking over to where Mokuba sat, head lowered. Aqua sat beside him, a comforting wing wrapped around him. A raucous laugh was heard was heard and both looked up to see an old man sitting there. "Well that surely ain't any way to cross no desert!" he commented. "Really? Then do ya know a way?" Jou question as he and Yugi ran over to him. "I don't know any way except for them desert crossing Niwatori chickens." Jou looked clueless for a moment before his eyes glimmered with a thought. "Hey, you mean the Niwatori card, don'cha?"

"Sounds like it." Yami said from behind him, making him jump. "Where'd you come from?!" He chuckled softly. "I went to take another look around town to get some information about crossing the desert. Everyone says the same thing but nothing else. We need the Niwatori card." he said. "Well, that was a bust." Jou grumbled. "Maybe we should take a look at the card stands." Mokuba said as he walked over to them with Aqua right beside him. "There are plenty of stands around town. So maybe we'll get lucky and find that card." Yugi nodded in agreement. "It's worth a shot." he said before they all headed back into town to start search through card stands.

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Outside the building where they were, Saruwatari and his men stood. "Here it is. Kaiba's private lab. Now all that's left to do is pull the plug and its game over for them." he said as they walked inside. "They've been gone for a while. I hope they're alright." Honda hummed as he looked over to Ruby. "I'm sure they'll be fine. With Mokuba there, they should have no problems."

"Yeah. And with Jou there, they're sure to find Kaiba. I remember when I was still living with him, he played a game for three days straight without blinking or nothing. At least until I dumped a glass of cold water on him. I had to run for it but it wasn't long before he conked out from sleep deprivation." Kaiser commented with a chuckle. "Really? I need to remember that for blackmail." Honda spoke with a laugh. They waited in silence for a moment longer before Honda looked to them both. "Hey, I got an idea that will make this waiting go faster. A game called guess my facial hair." They both looked to him as if he grown a second head. "Really? I'll pass." Kaiser muttered. "Aw, come on. Don't tell me you didn't notice my fine beard growing in. I have like eight whiskers now! Take a feel!" he urged.

"How about you take a nap somewhere." he growled before his ears flicked a little. "Wait shut up for a second." he whispered. "Do you hear that?" Ruby listened closely before moving over to the door and opened it. "Shit, it's Saruwatari and he brought some men with him. Looks like the Big Five are trying to unplug the game for Yugi and the others." Ruby muttered as he closed and locked the door. "Honda, Kaiser, help me barricade this door. I'm not letting the Big Five win." They nodded and gathered any heavy, loose items to start barricading the door. 'When we get Kaiba out of this...I'll make sure Yami and Aqua tear you all apart...' he thought venomously as he went back to the control panel.

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Again, they all met at the fountain with no luck in finding the card. "Man, we check every stand and no sign of that card." Mokuba muttered as he sat down on the ledge of the fountain. "That bird must be some rare card then." Jou added. "Rare card..." Aqua murmured. "Wait...I think I have an idea." He ran off and curious, Yugi followed. It wasn't long before everyone else was with him. "It was only a glance but looks like this might be the only way." Aqua deducted as he let them view the sign. Yugi looked at the sign. "You're right. It's an announcement for a contest and the prize is the Niwatori card."

"Fame, glory and the prized Niwatori card. All this shall be awarded to the warrior that is able to defeat our champion. Signed the grand battle chief and combat outfitter of Shadow Coliseum." Mokuba read then looked to the others. "Sweet, let's sign up! I always wanted ta be a warrior!" Jou said enthusiastically. And so they walked towards the coliseum on the far side of town. When they got there, they told the wart ridden man that one of them was going to enter the tournament. "So one of you want to enter into the tournament. I dunno…" The toad man said as he looked to them. "This town takes its gladiator matches seriously. But if it's a shot at the champion you desire..." he continued as he gazed at the fly buzzing around them. "Excuse me a moment..." They all jumped as the toad grabbed the fly and ate it before he continued on. "Well, don't let me stand in your way." he hummed as he pulled out something from under the counter and held it out to them. "Here is your battle mask and combat cape." Yugi took the outfit as the toad got up from his seat. "Is this all really necessary?" Aqua questioned. "Well of course. If you're going to lose all your life points then why not lose them looking like a hero." The toad pointed out. Yugi looked to the outfit once more before Jou walked over to him. "Let me have stuff, Yugi. I don't want you to lose all your life points fighting this champion."

"But Jou, you're already lower than the rest of us. If you lose, who know what'll happen to you." Yugi pleaded. "Yeah I know. I'll just be extra careful." The blonde assured, taking the cape and mask. "Then again, that champ better watch out once he sees my moves in action." he added with a grin. "But if I do lose here, pass on the message to Kaiba that I'm giving him one chance with me but if he screws it up, it's over." They nodded and Mokuba smiled a little. "Thanks, Jou. I'll make sure to pass it on."

"Forget about it. I always did want to be a hero." he said before leaving out the room behind the toad man, slipping on the cape and mask.

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Cheering was heard from the stands as people got settled and ready to watch the match against the champion and the challenger. "Ladies and gentlemen! We have finally found a brave soul ready to take on our champion! I present to you the picture of pugnacity, the pig that packs a punch! Introducing Senior Porky!"

"Looks more like Senior Dorky to me!"

"Yeah! The champ's gonna wipe the floor what that guy!"

'Well, it's better than bein' called a dog by Kaiba…' Jou thought as he walked into the arena. "Come on, Jou! You can win this!" Yugi called from the stands. "And now, introducing our undefeated champ; the monarch of mayhem, the queen of mean, Madam Butterfly!" The toad man called as the other adversary came out from the other side of the arena on a chair hefted up by four men. 'Whoa, the champ's a chick!' Behind the mask, the champ smirked as she jumped from her seat, laughing all the while. 'Oh man, this chick's looks like she ready to rumble!' Jou thought, now a little worried that he won't be able to win this battle as he hoped.

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Zypher: And that's it for another chapter. Probably only one or two more chapters to this segment and as such, we still need those votes in so if you haven't voted yet for the manga or anime version of Dungeon Dice, please vote now. The tally so far is up at the top and I thank Red Dragon of Egypt, Phoenix Takaramono, fanfictionlove23, and the questionable vote from SilverPurity [and I do agree, the dog suit has to go so if the anime version does win this little poll, there will be changes for that outfit that will please the readers because we all know with Otogi, he would be much more devious if given the chance with that bet -evil grin-] but all in all, hoped you enjoyed and will be eagerly waiting for the next chapter.