I don't own Yu-gi –oh Gx

A pinch of salt, A dash of fear

"Agggg," the scream of another victim sounded off the walls of the stone chamber, as his life point meter fell to zero. Jo smirked as she watched another faceless drone plummet to her wrath, as she began collecting her cards to leave the underworld. Well, that takes care of the qualifications for the finals, she thought as she walked down the marble tunnel. Now the only thing left to take care of is that stupid surfer.

"Well, well, well if it isn't little Miss Hellfire," an annoying, and malevolent voice called out severing her thoughts.

"What do you what Backer," Jo hissed as her eyes narrowed and followed the blood-loving duelist who had started circling her. Circling her like, he was the hunter and she was the unfortunate prey. Nervousness and tension filled Jo as she watched Tanner orbit around her, something about Tanner had always made Jo uneasy. The bloody thumbprint thing was enough to make any normal person think twice before approaching him, but this was the underground, things like that weren't that unheard of, but still there was something about him, something dark, and not the kind of dark that she and Zane liked. No this dark was sinister and threatening, it made her scared, and not the kind of screaming or crying kind of scared. No this was a much deeper kind of fear, a penetrating kind of fear, the kind of fear that made Zane stand close to her when they happened to run into him together. Now that she found herself alone with him, her senses where on high alert.

"Just checking up on my favorite underground girl," Tanner replied with a sneer as he walked up to face Jo, "have to make sure she's staying out of trouble."

"I don't belong to anyone Backer, and I don't need you checking up on me," Jo spat while eyeing him. Something about him made her anxious, but she knew she couldn't show that. Having Tanner see that she was afraid of him didn't strike Jo as the smartest idea.

"Oh, now come on Jo," Tanner said as brought his hand to her face and stroked her cheek with his finger, "you never know what kind of trouble a pretty little girl like you might run into down here. Someone might try and hurt you." Tanner eyes did a down and up of her body as he said this and he licked his lips as they came to rest on an area a bit south of her eyes.

"Back off vampire boy!" Jo shouted as her hand, nails extended, met with his face and left four very deep, very long scratches.

"Why you little…" Tanner growled as he grabbed Jo's wrist and pulled her up so they were face to face. Jo had her eyes shut and seemed to be to waiting to be hit, and this somewhat pleased him, but what infuriated him was that she didn't look scared. He wanted her scared; he wanted her to tremble beneath him, her and Zane, but not quite in the same way. Those two stupid duelist; before they came he was the king of the underground. Now, now, he was nothing more than a joke, and he wanted that power back. However, that was not going to happen right now.

"You've got a little too much lip on you girl," Tanner spat as he throw her arm down, and slowly licked his lips again to find that he tasted blood, "and I can assure you, Jo, that one day I will make you bleed and I don't mean from your thumb." He watched as she turned and started to quickly walk down the rest of the tunnel.

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Jo shuttered as she closed the door to the underground, glad to be out of there, and scrunched up her face as it meet with the brightness of the sun. Soon she adjusted to the new light and was able to put her hand down and enjoy the day. Well, she really didn't enjoy the sun as much as the rain, but she was glad to be rid of Tanner. Goosebumps ran up and down her arms as she thought about that stupid blood-loving duelist. She hated that bozo, but what she hated most was that he scared her. She wasn't so arrogant to think that she shouldn't be scared of Tanner; he was a very cunning guy and could easily hurt her. She had taken self-defines classes-these days ever girl should-and knew she could defined herself, but that doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. But that was what Jo reviled the most; the fact that she still had to be scared of things. How she hated being afraid, it held her back from doing so much. Ever since her mother died, she had been terrified of loving someone again, because loving someone meant that you had to trust them with your heart, and Jo had never been good at trusting people. She supposed it had something to do with her father; she had never meant him. How could she trust strangers with her heart if her own father couldn't love her? Jo shook her head as if to force the thoughts out of her head as she approached the dueling dome.

"Well look who's final here. It's a good thing the point meter showed that you and Zane were the first ones to qualify for the finals, or you would have lost your spot with the time it took you to get here."

"Shut-up Princeton!" Jo spat as she came into the dome and saw the whole gang was there. She looked up and saw that a big point meter had been displayed on the dueling screen, and that it indicated that she and Zane along with, Atticus and Alexis, Jaden and Syrus, Chazz and Bastion, and four other teams had all made it to the finals.(Hassleberry had only come along to support the others.) A schedule had also been posted and it looked like neither of the teams would be facing each other unless they made it to the second round. Jo was very pleased with this schedule, it would give her a chance to see how the others dueled, and would help give her an idea about how to defeat them.

"What kept you, it usual doesn't take that long to walk from the underground to the dueling dome," Zane asked as he stepped out of a shadowy corner, he had preferred not to stand with the rest of the 'gang'.

"I ran into Backer," Jo said as she and Zane exchanged a look.

Zane knew how Jo felt about Tanner, and frankly, he couldn't blame her. Tanner had always rubbed him the wrong way. When they crossed paths one and one he could handle him; man to man. However, when Tanner was around Jo, or any other girl, Zane was extremely uncomfortable. There was just something in his eyes that Zane didn't trust, that's why he made sure to always stood close to Jo, whenever they meant up with Tanner. Zane, now and even before Hell Kaiser, had absolutely no tolerance for men that treaded women badly or looked at them funny; he had after all been raised by a single mother.

"Backer, as in Tanner Backer," Syrus questioned and the whole group seemed to get worried looks on their faces. He had told them all about the blood-crazed psycho that he had run into during his trip to the underworld, and the whole group had been revolted. A bloody thumbprint vest; who does something like that? Atticus, who had been messing with his guitar, had been so shocked that he had broken a few of his strings. They all were shocked that a person could be that messed up and debauched, and were glad that Syrus had gotten out of there okay. However, the news about Tanner had also giving them an idea of the kind of world Zane was living in, and they couldn't have been more concerned. Just how had their friend gotten involved with people like this, and why in the world did he keep going back to a place that had people like this? Was it like a drug or something? Syrus just couldn't figure out why Zane liked the underground so much, he for one couldn't have been happier to get out of that dark world, but for some reason Zane seemed to find some sort of ecstasy there.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Zane asked, ignoring Syrus's question, and slipped into protective mood. A shielding, territorial look seemed to wash over the Kaiser, and if Tanner and been in the room, and looks could kill, a funeral would differently need to be planed. Not that anybody would show up, expect of course for those that showed up to make sure he was dead.

"I told you before Truesdale," Jo snapped, "I can take care of myself." She had meet Zane's eyes while she said this and mutual exchanged a message with the dark clad duelist.

He had scared her, Zane decided, and if she had asked he would have gone and taken care of the punk right then and there, but the look told Zane that this was not the right thing to do. Jo could handle herself, a lot better then most people, and if she needed his help, she would ask. Jo had come to him before when she had gotten in over her head, and Zane was confident that she would again. He often came to her, when he had a problem, like last night. The two had a mutual agreement that, where they would always help each other, they would also let each other fight there own battles. Nevertheless, Zane was watchful when it came to Tanner.

"Well it looks like are last finalist is here, so we can finally start the photo-shoot!" an overly cheerful, merry redheaded woman called out as she walked up and started shaking Jo's hand rather enthusiastically. She was dressed in light-blue jeans and an overly flowery shirt, and had an aura of perkiness that would have even put Atticus to shame. "I'm Anna, the head of the Tag-Team tournament, and it's so great to meet you! You and Zane make such a cute pair. The sad, little Goth girl and boy, all dressed in black. The press is going to have a field day with you two."

"Mmmm, would you mind?" Jo asked looking a little taken aback and sickened at the amount of liveliness that was radiating off Anna, "you're kind of pulling my arm out of its socket."

"Oh, I'm sorry dear," Anna cooed as she dropped her arm and, even though it seemed impossible, her smile deepened.

"Just what do you mean by press and photo shoot," Zane questioned coming up to stand beside Jo. He didn't like the sound of where this was going, if there was one thing that Zane hated more than anything else it was the press. Reporters were always nosing around and trying to invade his life, and Zane did not intend to make that any easier for them.

"The press is doing a full page story on this tournament and wants to do interviews of all the teams and the bond between the members, and also a segment on the 6o'clock news. It's going to bring a lot of publicity to this tournament, and help promote Tag-Team dueling." Anna said with the same happy-go-lucky smile still in place.

"A photo shoot? T.V. time?" Atticus screamed running up to Anna with stars in his eyes; it appeared that Atticus's goals at stardom were still alive and kicking. "I sure we would all," Atticus continued while waving his hand at the whole group, "be happy to help with that."

"Well that's just great," Anna said as she pulled the whole group together and started ushering them into the elevator. "Now if you all would just head up stairs, we can get started. You two," she said turning to Zane and Jo and pointing to the next elevator, "can take that elevator since this ones full. See you at the top!" She waved as the doors shut.

"Danm, how many pills do you think she's popping?" Jo asked as she and Zane filed into the next elevator.

"Probably a bottle or two," Zane smirked as the doors closed and the elevator started up. "Man, I can't believe that we have to do this stupi….." Zane started, but was suddenly cut off as the elevator jerked and the lights went out.

"Jo, Jo, are you okay" Zane called out as the elevator settled down and the emergency light came on.

"I'm fine," Jo replied but her voice sounded a little shaky, and unstable, "What do you think happened? Why aren't we moving?"

"I think were stuck between floors," Zane said as he fettled with around with the door and control panel.

"But they're going to get us down right?" Jo asked her voice becoming even more anxious, as she started to pace around a little panicky.

"Yeah they'll get us down, but it may take awhile," Zane replied.

"Awhile, awhile, what do you mean awhile?" Jo shirked; panic going thought her whole body. "We can't stay here!" she yelled going up and pounding on the door. "We cannot stay in this tiny little box; we have to get out of here! There's not enough room in here, the walls are going to start closing in!"

"Whoa, Jo calm down," Zane whispered as he grabbed her and held her at arms length. Jo was trembling and her breathing had become very quick and unsteady. Her skin had also gone a sickly greenish, pale. "I didn't know you were claustrophobic."

"Zane, let go of me, let go of me" Jo trembled as she stared to shake even more.

"Shhhhh, hush it's going to be okay, you're going to be okay," Zane said as he pulled her towards him and started to sit down, while still cradling Jo in his arms. He brought Jo head to his chest and placed her over his heart so she could hear it beating. When he had been younger, and got scared, his mother had always done that with him and listening to her heart had always calmed him down. Seeing Jo like this was a little unnerving; Jo had always been strong and never let on when she was scared. Seeing her openly display her fear was so uncharacteristic, and unusual for her that it rather scared Zane. But as Jo clang to him, a rather warm feeling ran over Zane. She was relying on him to protect her, and that, in its self, was very hard thing to do. Zane new all to well that it took a great deal of trust to truly rely on someone, and the fact that Jo did trust him enough was pleasing, and rather completing in a way. It was nice to be needed, but even nicer to be wanted. Nobody had ever really needed Zane before, at least not like this. Sure, there was Syrus, but Syrus really need Zane's approval more than anything else. Never before had the Kaiser had someone clutch him in such a way. Zane liked being able to protect Jo, and as he watched her calm down, he couldn't describe how great it felt to know that she felt safe when she was with him. That she trusted him enough to let herself feel safe with him.

"There," Zane said as he brought his hand up and gently brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes, "I told you it was going to be alright."

"Thanks Zane," Jo sighted as cuddled more into his arms, bringing her head up so it rested under his chin, "but don't you get the wrong idea or anything. I'm only letting you do this because I'm really scared of enclosed places, it's not like I'm enjoying this or anything."

"Wouldn't even dream of it," Zane said as he hugged her even tighter.

"Good," Jo said as she nuzzled her head under his chin even more. The truth was that she really did like being in Zane's arms right, it was the first time she had felt safe in a long time. It was somewhat nice to be able to rely on someone like this; Zane was really the first person Jo had ever trusted since her mother. Why she trusted him, she had no idea. He was an underground duelist, being trust worthy was not in their nature. In fact, their whole relationship was completely abnormal. Why in the world destiny throw them together she would never know, but to be perfectly honest she didn't care. Being here with Zane right now felt nice, it felt right, it felt somewhat completing. Jo couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when the lights suddenly came on and the elevator started moving again, causeing both Jo and Zane to jump a little.

"See I told you they would get us out of here," Zane said as he and Jo stood up and started straitening out there clothes.

"Yeah," Jo replied as she fixed her ponytail, "if you ever tell anybody about this Truesdale I'll kill you."

"You would to," Zane smiled as he fixed his jacket, and the doors opened and the dark dueling team was left to the mercy of the flock of reporters.

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In someone unknown man's apartment……

"Hey, Jack come here a second," a blond haired, brilliant green-eyed man called out to his roommate as he was watching the 6o'clock news. He was a middle-aged man about 33, 35, and was about six feet one; he had a fun loving look about him.

"What is it Jason?" Jack asked while walling into the T.V. room. He was a tall dark haired man about six foot four, and looked to be about 36, 37. He was dressed in a navy uniform, and he was currently untying his tie.

"Doesn't this girl look exactly like mom," Jason asked.

"Yeah, she does," Jack answered as he sank down on the couch and stared at the pale, black haired girl on T.V. with brilliant green eyes. She really did look exactly like his mother, but there was something else about her too. Something he couldn't quite place; he felt as if he knew this girl.

"She's a duelist," Jason continued on, "her name is Tannin, Jo Tannin. Didn't you use to date a girl with the last name Tannin? Allana Tannin?"

"Yeah, I did, but we parted ways after she decided to become a firefighter and I decided to go into the navy. We spent one last night together, right before I shipped out, and that was the last I heard of her."

"Well dude, it only takes one night," Jason said as he slapped Jack's back playfully.

"What? No, there's no way? I mean Alana would have told me.

"She might not have told you," Jack stated. "I mean look at the facts. She looks exactly like mom, her last name is Tannin, which is not very common, and she would be about the right age. Plus, her first name is Jo."

"What does her first name have to do with anything?"

"Hello, Jack, Jason, Jo…another J name. You know Alana always thought that it was cool that everyone in our family had a J name."

"Still, that doesn't mean that she's my….my…." Jack couldn't even bring himself to say the word.

"Look at her eyes, Jack. You may not have gotten green eyes, but those no question that those are our family's famous green eyes. And," Jason said his voice suddenly going serious, "you sence something about her too, don't you?"

"I'm going to call the airport and get a ticket out to Domino, do you what to go?" Jack asked his brother as he picked up the phone.

"Fly all the way to Domino to see if some girl we saw on T.V. is the long, lost daughter you didn't know you had. Sure, why not, it's not like I have anything else to do anyway."

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Yahoo, summer is here at last. No more test, no more quizzes, no more homework, the only thing I have to worry about is summer reading. Sorry it took so long to up-date, but I had finals to prepare for. I would like to say thank you to Anime 300 for the review; I was wondering if anybody noticed the salt in the title thing. I would also like to say thank you to Kaiseress for her review, I actual started writing this after I received her review. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of the new chapter and the story in general. If you have any ideas about what you would like to see in this story please tell me, I might use it or it might inspire. Thanks for reading.