DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Text in bold is being emphasised.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: This is part of my special Christmas update, a thank-you gift for everyone who's reading my stories. I've updated all five of my ongoing Yu-Gi-Oh! stories and posted a one-shot Christmas fic too. Merry Christmas everyone!
Chapter 8: The Eighth Show
By Shadow's Mirror
Show aired December 25, 2004
The camera slowly pans around the library/study of the Dark Magician's tower home but it is obvious that something is wrong. There is no cheerfully crackling fire in the grate and both of the comfy, overstuffed armchairs placed before the hearth are empty. The room is dark, as though night has fallen, although through the window it's revealed that it is merely a stormy day. Rain is teeming down and there is an occasional flash of lightning and rumble of thunder.
The scene halts on the cold hearth as the camera stops moving and D. Human's voice comes from behind it, filled with confusion. "Did I get the right day? What in the Shadows is going on around here? First Dark Witch vanishes for two weeks without a word, and now the Dark Magician and Shadow's Mirror seem to have vanished too. I don't like this. I feel so alone… Dark Witch… where are you? Where is everyone?"
A loud rumble of thunder comes from outside, as if in response to the sad question. At the same time though, the door to the room slowly opens. "D Human? Are you in here?"
"Huh? Dark Magician Girl!" The camera suddenly tilts wildly, as if someone accidentally hit it, and there is the sound of running feet followed by an enthusiastic glomping sound.
"D Human! Get off!" The Dark Magician Girl giggles as she speaks. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden? I thought you reserved your glomps for Dark Witch?"
"Yeah… well…" There's a moment of silence and then suddenly a loud wail rings through the room, accompanied with gulps and choked words. "Dark Witch is… g…gone!"
"Aw, come on D. Human. Don't cry! It's okay! She'll be back soon!"
"B…but now the Dark Magician and Shadow's Mirror are g…gone too!"
"Come over here and sit down." The tilted camera is pointing down at the floor and two pairs of feet are briefly seen as the Dark Magician Girl leads D. Human to the armchairs. There is a muttered word and suddenly the room is filled with dancing light and the cheerful crackle of a fire. "There. That's better. Oh! The camera's tilted."
The Dark Magician Girl's feet appear and then her legs. As the camera is tilted up again, it pans up her body until her pale face is seen. She looks tired and ill, but she's still smiling slightly as she nods in satisfaction at the camera before returning to the chairs. She pauses for a moment behind the chair her teacher usually occupies. Her hand lightly runs over the top of it and she sighs softly, then sits down.
D. Human, now occupying the other chair, looks over at her anxiously. His face is wet with tears but at least he's stopped wailing. "You don't look well. Are you okay?"
The Dark Magician Girl smiles slightly. "Thanks. That's just what every girl wants to hear!" When her weak joke doesn't earn so much as a smile from the worried Shadow Monster, she sighs softly. "I'm fine, just tired. It doesn't help that the Shadow Magic is so wild at the moment either. I have to call a lot of it just to do the simplest things, so it drains me more quickly." She turns and stares into the fire. "I'm not exactly weak, but it's affecting the others even more. The Dark Magician doesn't say anything, but I can see how he's struggling these days. He's been seriously ill for the past week but he's making himself worse with worry and overwork."
D. Human nods. "I know, Mystical Elf is so pale these days she's almost like a ghost. Even Dark Witch hasn't been feeling the best for the past month or so, and she hardly ever does magic. That's why I'm so worried. Dark Witch usually says something if she's gonna be away for a while. But I didn't even know she'd gone anywhere until she didn't show up for breakfast. That's not like her. And today, we were supposed to be taping a show and no one's here. Where are the Dark Magician and Shadow's Mirror?"
He pauses for a moment, sniffing sadly, then looks up again. "Dark Magician Girl… what's going on? I know there's something. Please tell me. I just want to help."
"I know you do. I didn't agree with Dark Witch when she said she wasn't going to tell you. She didn't want you to worry, but she didn't think she'd be gone this long either. It was only supposed to be a quick trip. But…" The Dark Magician Girl looks away, staring into the fire again.
"Something went wrong, didn't it? Is she okay?" D. Human's voice shakes and his fists clench tightly.
"Oh, no, she's fine! Really!" the Dark Magician Girl quickly reassures him. She sighs softly. "I guess I'd better explain, but I'm not sure where to begin."
"How about at the beginning? Isn't that where stories usually start?"
"All right. Well, it all started a few months ago, when the weather in the Shadow Realm began to go wrong and the Shadow Magic began to go wild. Of course, it had all happened before, so we knew what was going on, and what to expect. But this time… it turned out that we didn't know at all."
D. Human nods, shivering. "It's much worse this time, and it usually only lasts for a few weeks."
"Yes, the longer it goes on, the worse it gets. We weren't expecting that. We also didn't know what would happen. As the days passed, the wildness of the Shadow Magic began to affect the weaker Shadow Monsters. They became aggressive… well… more so than usual, I mean. Even the most passive of them became dangerous. It was only affecting the ones out in the wild though. The ones like Kuriboh and Fusionist, who spend most of their time inside, weren't affected. As the days passed, the… madness… began to spread to the stronger monsters. It also became more and more difficult for us spellcasters to use the Shadow Magic. That's what things were like two weeks ago."
"Which is when Dark Witch disappeared." D. Human frowns slightly as the Dark Magician Girl nods.
"Yes." She turns and gazes into the fire, her eyes troubled. "What you don't know is that we had a visitor at the castle that night. It was about three in the morning when I woke up. I knew right away that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. I could feel it in the air. The Shadow Magic was stirring and it felt… angry. I'd never sensed anything like it. I was scared. So I woke Dark Witch to see if she could feel it too. As soon as she opened her eyes… I'd never seen her move so fast! She was up and out the door in moments and I had to run to keep up with her. I tried to ask her what was going on, but she looked at me with such fear in her eyes that I couldn't finish the question. Then we got to the front door and she stopped. She told me to stay there, that she didn't know what was going on, but she was going to go and find out. Of course, I refused to stay behind."
"You should have woken me too. I would have gone with her."
The Dark Magician Girl shakes her head. "We didn't go anywhere. We just opened the door and… there he was."
"He?"
"The Magician of Black Chaos. He was struggling through the snow towards us. I'm surprised you didn't wake up when I screamed. Talk about startled! Remember the blizzard that had started the afternoon before?" D. Human nods. "Well it was still going. I don't know how he made it so far, but he'd managed to fight his way through the blizzard to get to us."
"It must have been important," D. Human gently nudges when the Dark Magician Girl pauses.
"It was." She pauses again, but only to sigh heavily. "Fire Sorcerer had fallen ill the day before, but he got worse in the night. His guardian was beside himself with worry. He knew what the problem was and it wasn't with Fire Sorcerer." She glances at D. Human meaningfully. He gasps, understanding.
"You mean… Oh no! But then… Dark Witch…" He shakes his head, panic in his eyes. "No… No she wouldn't have gone there… Not alone!"
"She wasn't alone. The Magician of Black Chaos went with her." D. Human's eyes widen at that.
"What? But… but he never goes anywhere! I mean… he's always around so he can carry messages and stuff for the elders. How could he just go off and leave them to fend for themselves? Especially with everything that's going on right now."
"That's why he was able to." The Dark Magician Girl smiles slightly as D. Human gives her a totally baffled look. "The elders are all keeping to their fortress at the moment. With things the way they are, there's really nothing that they needed him for. Besides, they agreed that this was more important. He was needed."
"So he and Dark Witch went… to the mountains?" D. Human shivers as the Dark Magician Girl nods silently. "But why didn't she say anything? Why didn't she tell me?" His voice is soft and very sad as he bows his head and sniffs. The Dark Magician Girl leans over and gently pats his knee.
"She didn't want you to worry. They thought it would be easy. She even joked that I'd better make sure that you didn't try one of your cooking experiments, because she'd want a decent meal that night."
D. Human raises his head, frowning slightly as he takes that in. "She expected to be back that day?"
The Dark Magician Girl nods, then sighs softly. "That was the plan. The mountain isn't that far away. A few hours to get there, then a few hours back, since the state of the Shadow Magic meant that they couldn't just teleport there. But the weather turned out to be more of a problem than they thought it would be. Not only did it make their journey more difficult, but it's also made the mountain almost impossible to search. Also, the magic is really strong there and at the moment it's completely wild. Without it, they have to search the hard way and the ones they're trying to find have been driven deep inside the mountain's caves by the weather. The Dark Magician's been keeping an eye on them, but the drain on his power for even the simplest spell is great and the spells he's been using to watch them are far from simple." She sighs again, her expression troubled.
"He made himself ill by doing it, but he wouldn't stop. These past few days, I've barely been able to persuade him to rest at all." Her voice trembles and she pauses to take a few calming breaths. It's D. Human's turn to pat her knee in comfort and she smiles weakly at him in response.
"So is that where he is now? Resting?"
"Not exactly…" The Dark Magician Girl smiles ever so slightly. "This morning, when I reminded him about the interview today, he told me to contact Shadow's Mirror and reschedule it. You know what she's like though. Two minutes into the conversation and she knew the whole story. As soon as our conversation ended, I came up here again and… she had already arrived!"
That earns a small chuckle from D. Human. "I'm sure the Dark Magician was pleased."
The Dark Magician Girl looks thoughtful. "Actually… I think he was. At least a little. He only put up a small fuss when she ordered him to sit down. I went out of the room for a little while then to make him some tea and when I got back, he was fast asleep in his chair and Shadow's Mirror…" She pauses, frowning as she remembers the scene she'd walked in on.
"You know D. Human, sometimes I think she isn't just an Authoress. There's something about her… When I came back into the room, she was using the Shadow Magic as though she was one of us."
"Well, she does write about it a lot. Maybe that gives her the ability to use it."
"Maybe." The Dark Magician Girl shrugs and returns to the matter at hand. "Anyway, she managed to find them."
"Find them? You mean…" D. Human stares at her in shock. "She found them?"
The Dark Magician Girl giggles softly. "Isn't that what I just said?" D. Human sinks back into his chair as she nods. "That's how the Dark Magician reacted to the news too. So, that's where he and Shadow's Mirror are at the moment. They went to the mountain to get Dark Witch and the Magician of Black Chaos and take them to the others. Then they're going to take all of them to the fortress."
"All of them?" D. Human falls silent for a moment, thinking about that. "It's that serious?" he finally asks quietly. The Dark Magician Girl nods silently in response.
For several long moments, the only sound in the room is the crackle of the fire. The two Shadow Monsters gaze into the flames, both lost in thought. Finally, D. Human breaks the silence.
"Well… I guess I'd better pack up the equipment, since we're not taping tonight after all." He starts to get up but the Dark Magician Girl shakes her head, stopping him. He looks at her curiously. "No? Why not? Oh! Was there something that the Dark Magician wanted me to do tonight instead?"
The Dark Magician Girl smiles, her first full smile throughout the whole conversation. "No, but he wouldn't be very happy to find you gone when they get back. They should be here any minute now."
D. Human stares at her. "But… how? You said they just left this morning, so surely they won't be back for at least a few days. Why are you laughing? All right, what am I missing here?"
"Remember I said that Shadow's Mirror can use the Shadow Magic? Well apparently she can also use portals without any trouble at all at the moment! She and the Dark Magician left a few hours ago, but they promised that they'd be back in time to start taping. You always show up early, so I was asked to fill you in on everything and keep you company until they got back."
"Oh." D. Human leans back in the chair and a change seems to come over him. In that moment, it's as if the weight of all of his cares and worries has lifted from his heart. Releasing a long sigh, he closes his eyes. "So… Dark Witch will be home soon."
The Dark Magician Girl smiles. Before she can speak though, a bright ball of white and silver light appears in the middle of the room. The girl squeals happily at the sight of it, causing D. Human's eyes to snap open in surprise. He stares at the orb as it begins to grow.
"What in the Shadows is that?"
"One of the most annoying modes of transportation I have at my disposal." Shadow's Mirror's voice comes out of the light. A moment later, her cloaked form steps out of the portable portal of light. "No matter how careful I am, I always get my cloak hopelessly rumpled in that thing."
As she shakes out her voluminous black velvet cloak, the Dark Magician steps out of the portal as well. The Dark Magician Girl immediately jumps up and runs a few steps towards him before stopping abruptly. She looks down in apparent shyness. "Welcome home, Dark Magician," she says in soft formality. The Dark Magician smiles slightly and takes a step towards her, then falters. Shadow's Mirror instantly grabs him and D. Human and the Dark Magician Girl are soon at his side too.
When the Dark Magician is settled in his comfy chair in front of the fireplace, he smiles tiredly up at the three hovering anxiously around him. "I am fine. Merely a little… tired." He looks around the room and his gaze comes to rest on the camera. "Ah! Yes! Shadow's Mirror, we should get started on…"
"Oh no you don't!" D. Human glares at the Dark Magician as he interrupts. "First of all, you're going to tell me where Dark Witch is! Then you're going to tell us what happened!"
"Then you're going straight to bed!" As everyone blinks at the Dark Magician Girl, she blushes. "Um… because you look really ill and I know how exhausted you must be and…"
"I'd stop there, if I were you. If you keep going, you'll be rambling and I do quite enough of that in this show as it is." Shadow's Mirror grins and winks at the blushing Dark Magician Girl before turning to the Dark Magician. She studies him for a moment, then nods decisively.
"I'll explain what's happened while you rest. If you're more than half awake by the time I've finished, we'll do the interview. Otherwise, I agree with the Dark Magician Girl. You need to rest. Considering what's coming, you'll need all your strength."
"Very well." The Dark Magician closes his eyes, missing the concerned looks that the other three give each other. He didn't argue about it. That's not a good sign.
Shadow's Mirror waves her hand and two more comfy armchairs appear from thin air. As soon as the Dark Magician Girl and D. Human are comfortably seated in them, Shadow's Mirror sinks into her own chair and smiles at them. "Okay…" She looks at the Dark Magician Girl. "You filled him in?" At her nod, Shadow's Mirror turns to gaze into the fire.
"When the Dark Magician and I arrived at the mountain, things were pretty bad. We found them no trouble at all. Dark Witch was so glad to see us, she actually hugged both of us. Yes," Shadow's Mirror nods at the startled looks from her audience. "Both of us. I wasn't surprised, when I saw Chaos. She must have been relieved to know that help had arrived." She sighs heavily.
"The Dark Magician had been keeping track of them as best he could, but there's a lot of magical interference in that area, so tracking and scrying spells don't work as well as they should. He could tell where they were, but most of the time he wasn't able to get any sort of visual, let alone one clear enough for him to notice that Chaos was ill."
The Dark Magician Girl and D. Human both gasp. "Chaos is ill?" The Dark Magician Girl bites her lip. "What's wrong with him? Will he be all right?"
Shadow's Mirror smiles and leans over, patting the concerned Shadow Monster's leg reassuringly. "Yes, he'll be fine. He just needs to rest and warm up. He battled the storm from the Fortress to the Castle of Dark Illusions and then, without any rest, from there to the library and then on to the mountain. It would have been hard on him even with his magic, but without it…" She shakes her head. "Frankly, I'm amazed he made it as far as he did before he collapsed."
"Chaos… collapsed?" D. Human and the Dark Magician Girl both stare at Shadow's Mirror, obviously deeply shocked. "But… he's always so strong… so… vibrant…" D. Human trails off, shaking his head.
"Yeah." Shadow's Mirror sighs and stares into the fire. "But even the Magician of Black Chaos can't withstand freezing temperatures for almost two weeks without rest. According to Dark Witch, he insisted on taking the watch whenever they stopped. She's also pretty sure he was using his power to keep her warm, whenever he could get away with it. But finally, his strength just gave out. He collapsed yesterday afternoon and it took all of Dark Witch's power and ingenuity to look after him."
Shadow's Mirror shook her head slightly. "She is truly remarkable. She didn't have enough strength to get them to safety magically, so she dug a nice little snow cave and pulled him inside it. Then she just cuddled with him until we got there. In fact, they were so snug that Chaos was drifting in and out of consciousness by the time we arrived. According to Dark Witch, it was a huge improvement over how he had been last night."
D. Human smiles through the tears shimmering in his eyes. "That's my girl. Quick thinking and good in a crisis." He leans forward, looking anxious. "Why did she not return with you? Is she all right?"
"She's fine." Shadow's Mirror smiles at D. Human. "She was more cold and tired than anything. She stayed with the others to rest up. I'll go get her later."
"Oh good." D. Human sighs with relief. Then he frowns slightly. "The others… You found them?"
Shadow's Mirror nods. "Once we got Chaos and Dark Witch out of the snow cave, I used a simple locating spell and transported the four of us to the cavern where the others were."
The Dark Magician Girl bites her lip again. "H…How are they?"
Shadow's Mirror bows her head, the hood of her cloak shadowing her eyes. When she speaks, her voice is soft and sad. "They're all in pretty bad shape. Not just from the cold either. The illness has taken its toll on them. They didn't put up more than a token argument before agreeing to go to the fortress. That mountain… It was safe for them there as long as the Shadow Magic was in balance, but they should have left the moment the balance shifted."
D. Human sighs heavily. "You know them. Stubborn, every single one. This whole isolation thing was their idea from the start and they'd never admit that it was a mistake."
"True." Shadow's Mirror nods. "Although… It was a good idea, in theory. As long as their existence remains unknown, we'll have the advantage in the coming battle. You can't guard against what you don't know exists, after all. But to go to the mountain… No, I agree with you there. That was a very bad idea. And one that they're paying for, right now. Poor dears."
"What will happen to them now?" The Dark Magician Girl searches Shadow's Mirror's eyes anxiously. "I wish we could…" She bites her lip, stopping herself from voicing what can only be a dream.
"I know." Shadow's Mirror smiles gently at the female Shadow Monster. "Some day, you will be able to stand with them, side by side. All of you. I promise. But that day is still some time off. Although… maybe not as far off as all that." A distant look enters her eyes as she turns to gaze into the fire again.
Several minutes pass in silence before Shadow's Mirror stirs. She looks to her left, past the Dark Magician Girl, to the Dark Magician's chair. A soft chuckle escapes her when she sees that he is sound asleep. Glancing to her right, she winks at D. Human. "No interview tonight."
As the two Shadow Monsters chuckle, Shadow's Mirror frowns in concentration and makes a flicking sort of motion with her fingers towards the Dark Magician. A soft silvery glow surrounds him for a moment before fading. "There. Now we won't need to be quiet for fear of waking him. He'll sleep through until dawn."
The Dark Magician Girl sighs in relief and smiles at Shadow's Mirror. "Oh thank you! He really needs the rest! He's been driving himself so hard, lately."
Shadow's Mirror nods, smiling slightly as she watches the young mage sleep. "I'm not surprised. Of everyone in the Shadow Realm, he has the most to lose or gain from what's coming. He… and Dark Witch. Speaking of…"
With a wave of her hand, a shadowy portal forms on the other side of the room. Shadow's Mirror winks at D. Human. "The Dark Magician kicked up such a fuss about her staying and resting that she agreed, but not before making me promise to bring her here as soon as he fell asleep. I think she's anxious to see a certain someone."
D. Human blushes at her words even as he jumps to his feet. By the time Dark Witch steps through the portal, he is waiting for her.
"Hey! D. Human! Put me down!" The female Shadow Monster laughs as D. Human lifts her up and swings her around happily. As he lowers her feet to the floor again, she puts her arms around his neck and hugs him hard. "I missed you too." Her voice is suspiciously shaky.
"Don't you ever, ever, ever do that again!" D. Human holds her tightly as he scolds her. "Have you any idea how worried I've been?"
Dark Witch pushes against him gently until he releases her. She catches his hands in hers and smiles at him. "I know. I am sorry. I thought it was only going to be a quick trip. Had I known otherwise, I would have told you all about it."
D. Human frowns at her. "I would have gone with you."
Dark Witch leans in and gently kisses his cheek. "I know that too."
"I hate to break up this charming reunion, but…" Shadow's Mirror voice apparently reminds the two Monsters where they are. They quickly break apart, their cheeks tinged with colour. Shadow's Mirror chuckles at their reaction. "It's time I was heading off home. If you guys want a lift…"
"Please!" Dark Witch shudders. "I have no wish to go out in that storm again for quite some time." D. Human nods in agreement.
Shadow's Mirror chuckles and turns to the Dark Magician Girl. "I'm assuming that you're staying here with him?" She grins as the girl's blush and nod confirms it. "Good. He'll sleep through until dawn but if he still looks tired and pale, just tap him on the head and say 'sleep' and he'll drift off for a few more hours. You'll probably be able to do that two, maybe three, times before he catches on." She winks and then gets out of her chair.
One wave of her hand later and another dark portal shimmers into existence on the other side of the room. Shadow's Mirror makes a beeline for it. "Goodbye Giel. Tell him I'll stop by for a visit some day next week, would you please? Okay you two, come along! Next stop, the Castle of Dark Illusions!" She steps through the portal.
D. Human starts to follow but pauses as Dark Witch hesitates. He glances at her and receives a nod.
"You go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute."
As D. Human heads through the portal, Dark Witch crosses over to the sleeping mage. She looks down at him for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face. Then she leans down and lightly kisses his cheek before whispering in his ear. "Thank you for coming after us. Thank you for worrying about us. Thank you for watching over us." She kisses his cheek again, then straightens and rests her hand lightly on his shoulder for a moment before turning and crossing to the portal.
Dark Witch begins to step into the shimmering darkness but pauses for a moment. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiles at the Dark Magician Girl. "Look after him."
"I will."
The two female Monsters share a smile and a nod of understanding. Dark Witch turns back to the portal and steps through, pausing only long enough to say one last thing.
"Sleep well, my brother."
