Hey all! sorry for the late update, My computer was broken, so I fixed it :D anyway, again, sorry for the delay. :P
Well, I'll try my hardest to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. It seems it takes me longer to finish each passing chapter... sorry about that...
Enjoy!
Atem's POV
Mira, a tall woman with blue hair cut short, her eyes were sky blue; they seemed a glow in the night, vibrant even.
"Mira..." a small voice sounded.
Mira, who had been focusing her total attention on the Pharaoh, had looked away, and towards the voice.
"Mira, what are you doing?" the voice asked. When Yami thought that Mira was distracted, he quickly popped open his eyes, grabbed her arms and shoved her away, grabbing the knife at the same time as she fell backwards.
She let out a startled squeak of surprise and then she fell silent, for Shiro had rested his foot on her stomach, firmly but not enough to cause actual pain.
"Yami, are you okay?" he asked uncertain. Only when Yami had nodded, did he turn back to the woman laying on the ground.
"Mira, may I ask something?" Shiro said cautiously.
She just growled at him, "Get off me you leech!" she hissed at him, but he ignored it.
"Mira... why did you grow so old?" he asked.
Mira stopped squirming underneath him, "Why do you want to know?" she said, "Why does it matter to you?"
Shiro blinked, "Because Sora isn't this age yet, and you're twins..." he whispered to her.
Mira narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think she isn't? I've locked you up for a long time Shiro, and you haven't come into contact with anyone until now." she stated simply.
Shiro shook his head of the confusion, then looked at Yami.
"Will you help me bring her back to the others?" he asked in a small voice.
"Of course, Shiro." the Pharaoh said, smiling.
He leaned down to pick her up, but he had a little trouble.
By the time they got Mira to his friends, it was pitch black, and Mira had managed to scratch both sides of Yami's face with her finger nails, which he had tried to prevent by moving to her head side, only to be greeted with a fierce kick to the face.
When Yami had set her beside the tree, she didn't attempt to move. Probably because she was surrounded by Shiro, Yami, and their friends.
"I didn't know so many of you were in this." she stated.
"In what?" Tea asked.
"In this war." she said, giving them all looks as if they were the stupidest people on Earth.
"What war?" Yami asked.
She shot him a death glare, "You should already know Pharaoh.. The crystal ball? hmmm... what was that message? that picture of a black hole?" she inquired, eyebrows raised mockingly.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "How would you know about that? Shadi and I were-"
"Shadi?" Joey piped up, "He was in there with you?"
Yami looked at him, then gave a slight nod, then turned his attention back to Mira, who was still glaring at him.
"Anyway, How would you know of that?" he asked her again.
"I was there. I saw you come in. Normally, I would have killed anyone who entered, but... I need you." she said, a grin slowly started to spread across her face as she ended her sentence.
"Need him?" Tristan asked.
She shot him a glare, and he immediately stepped back.
"Why Mira?" Yami asked curiously.
She didn't answer back, but flicked her head in ignorance.
"Tch, Typical. You gotta be smart when you're talkin' to them Pharaoh." Joey said as he patted Yami on the shoulder.
Yami sighed. "I don't want to be smarter than them, I just want the truth." he answered back.
Mira rolled her eyes. "look at me. I'm a grown woman and two pipsqueaks kept me down... no matter."
Tea gave her the evil eye, but Mira shot it right back.
Shiro tugged on Yami's shirt, "Yami, we have to go." he said.
"Why?"
"Because if we keep her here there's no telling what she'll do."
Yami sighed. "I suppose you're right... but where do we go?" he asked curiously.
Shiro's eyes gleamed with excitement. "To the future." he said, an excited breath escaped him as he hopped over to Mira.
Yami looked at his friends, they too showed excitement, but he knew that if they saw the future, they may try to change it... and that wasn't something that should happen.
"Tea.. Tristan, Joey. I'm sorry... this is where we're going to have to leave you."
Tea looked up, her eyes pleading, but still curious.
"Why!?" Joey exclaimed.
Yami sighed, but before he could answer-
"Because, Joey, if we saw the future, we could change it. Whether it's something we do knowingly or not, we don't have a choice. We have to stay behind." Tea answered solemnly.
Tristan didn't say anything, the excitement draining from his face.
"I guess you're right, Tea." Joey replied.
Mira was surprisingly quiet during this conversation, which aroused Yami's suspicions.
"Shiro," Yami turned to the boy. "How exactly do we get to the future?"
Shiro thought for a moment.
"When Mira took my sister and I here, she used a type of portal... it's in that building, I think it's in the room next to where you found me." he said while pointing at the building where they had previously exited.
Yami nodded, "Alright then."
He then turned to Mira, who was looking calmly back at him; he hoisted her up with the help of Shiro on his other side.
Tea, Tristan and Joey all looked at them and, feeling it was their que to leave, left with soft whispers of luck.
Yami smiled to each of them, "I'll get Yugi and the others back. I promise."
They slowly made their way to the red, barn shaped house; it still surprised him further when Mira didn't struggle, or even try to run.
"Mira. You never did answer my question." Shiro said suddenly.
"And what would that be?" she asked smugly.
"How did you get so old?" he asked again.
She let out an irritated sigh. "Fine, I'll tell you, brat."
Mira looked at Yami for a moment, who pushed her to the side so as to enter the house easier.
"Well... to put it simply... the portal that I use to go back and forth- a cheating way I might add- takes a rather big... tole on my body-"
"Therefore, you age faster." Shiro finished for her.
It wasn't a question.
"Yes." she answered, confirming his thought.
"I think it's right here." Shiro said to Yami as they rounded a corner.
"Where?" he asked curiously. He didn't see anything, he just saw a dead end, no doors, no wallpapers, no paintings. Just nothing, not even a spark or distortion to suggest a portal.
Shiro smiled a little, "Yep. This is it... isn't it, Mira?" he asked.
Mira narrowed her eyes, and looked away.
"Thought so." he stated.
A sudden thought flashed across Yami's mind,
"Shiro... How old are you?" he asked. It hadn't even occured to him to even ask, though, he pretty much assumed that this boy was around the age of 7.
"I'm 11." he replied.
Yami stopped so suddenly that he felt Mira and Shiro jerk backwards with him.
"11?" he asked. "That old?"
Shiro looked down at his feet, yes, it was true, he was 11, but it was also hard to tell because of the way he acted, and how short he actually was.
"Yes. You see... I can't-"
"He has a growth disability, it seems." Mira cut him off.
Shiro glared at her, but then he looked down again, tears starting to form in his eyes, "Yes... that's right." he said in a sad voice.
"How..?" Yami started, but he wasn't sure how to form a question without offending him.
"My mother said that it was in my genes..." he said.
"Please stop talking about that brat, I swear your gonna kill me." Mira muttered.
Yami rolled his eyes, but did stop talking. He didn't want to dive further into that part of the conversation; he was afraid he might offend the boy.
"So... Shiro..." Yami started, he was still staring at the wall before them when they were conversing.
"The wall?" Shiro guessed.
"Yeah... How..?" he began.
"We just walk through it." Shiro said, giving a shrug. "Atleast, that's what my sister told me when we were still together."
"Your sister... do you know where she might be?" Yami asked softly.
Shiro shook his head sadly.
"Oh my god! can we go!?" Mira shouted, jerking Yami and Shiro forward at the same time.
"What? wait-!"
but it was too late, they were already jerked towards the wall.
"Hang on!" Shiro yelled, and Yami did. He held on to Mira like his life depended on it, which, for all he knew, did.
Yugi's POV
"Sora?" he said sleepily.
She turned to him, her face soft with kindness.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Can we sleep yet?"
She smiled and sighed, "Not yet... We still have somethings we need to do today before we can sleep." she said in a whisper.
"Oh.." was his only reply.
She rubbed his back simpathetically. "You'll get to sleep soon, but-"
She was cut off by a sudden screech of fury; her head shot up in fear, as did Yugi's.
"What.. was that?" he asked.
"I... don't know. Let me check." she replied, and got up from her desk, leaving a pile of documents and papers that they had been sifting through, trying to find any sort of help from documents that related to past-present-future references.
Yugi stood by the desk now, wonder and fear sparking in his eyes, but he knew he couldn't just stand there all day waiting for her to return in case something should happen to her. "I'm coming with you." he told her, walking slowly up behind her.
Her blue eyes flashed to his, there was an alarming look in her face, but it soon relaxed.
"Alright. But only if you're very careful. If something should happen, I may not be able to help you, and you may be on your own." she told him warningly.
He just nodded, "Alright. I can deal, I've been here long enough to know my way around." he answered.
She nodded, "Ok. Now, just keep quiet and follow me." she whispered.
Yugi didn't answer, but gave the sign, and they both quickly flowed out the door like a calm wave.
Atem's POV
"Ouch." Yami rubbed his head.
"Here, give me you're hand." Shiro said. He leaned over to Yami's curled up body that was lying on the ground. It was winter, and they had nothing to keep them warm.
Yami took his hand with a slight shake, and stood up.
Mira had her face planted into the surrounding snow, and she lay there unmoving; her hair was strewn about, and it looked like she was hardly breathing.
"Shiro.. Is Mira..?" Yami began.
Shiro looked at her and shook his head. "She's acting. She can make it seem like she's in a very weak state, but she isn't... trust me." he said.
"...O-Okay" Yami answered.
Shiro trudged through the snow towards Mira and kicked her in the side; Mira hissed in pain, but picked up her body and teetered for a moment, before she got used to being on her feet again.
"My advice for next time," Shiro began, "Is to only go one or two people through the portal at a time, or else something bad could happen."
"Like what?" Yami asked.
Shiro shrugged. "I dunno... never happened to me before, but my father... well, yeah."
Yami nodded, "I see, I'm sorry.."
Shiro shook his head, "No big deal, come on, let's go."
Yami nodded and they both resumed their sides at Mira.
As they trudged through the snow, Shiro let out a small gasp of surprise.
"What is it?" Yami asked.
"Nothing, it's just... so different then I thought it would be." he said in a low voice.
"I see."
Yami looked at his surroundings, it was beautiful, he realized. The blanket of snow covered the ground as far as he could see, there looked to be a burnt building covered in snow nearby; immediately next to the burnt building, on all four sides, were rows of homes. Only one stood out to them though. A snow-covered building, tan by the looks of it, towered over all except the damaged building; he guessed that that building is what they were headed to.
To confirm his thought, he asked.
"Is that where we're headed?"
Shiro and Mira both looked at him for a moment, but Mira turned her head when Shiro answered, "Yes. Thats the Main Estate where everyone gathers."
"Ah." was the Pharaoh's only reply.
All of a sudden, as they were walking along a snow-covered stone path, there came a screech of fury.
Everyone's eyes widened in fear and confusion; they sprung away from each other in panic, not knowing what to do; the Pharaoh roamed away from the others, while Mira and Shiro stumbled away from the path.
"No! We must stay together!" the Pharaoh shouted to them, but they didn't seem to hear.
A person was racing towards Shiro and Mira at high speed, the person looked some-what angry; when the pharaoh saw this, he immediately tried to make his way over to the others as fast as he could, but they were already seemingly too far away.
As the person grew closer, the Pharaoh saw the angry figure to be a girl; Mira must have noticed this fact, for she began hissing and spitting- much like a cat who didn't want another to come near them.
Then there was Shiro. Yami hadn't even tried to look at the poor boy who was struggling to hold Mira in one place all on his own.
"Shiro! Move out of the way! ... and take Mira with you!" the Pharaoh called to him.
Shiro looked up, a confused look on his face, he didn't seem to see the reason behind Mira's sudden struggle; when he did notice though, he stoped. Just stoped. He did not move nor flinch when Mira pushed him away, but by the time Mira had managed to get away from the boy, the girl who had been running suddenly bore down on her with all the might she could have seemed to muster.
At this point, Shiro still didn't move. He seemed to be in a type of shocked state. All he could seem to do was watch as the girl and Mira began fighting- seemingly to the death.
"Stop this at once!" the Pharaoh shouted over the screeching when he finally stood upon the pair.
Both of the women stopped at once, frozen. Mira glanced at him, but then forced her hands to grab the girl's wrists; before any of them- including the girl- knew it, a beam of light surrounded the two of them and a seeming shock wave exploded all around them. The pharaoh and Shiro were knocked back, but the girl and Mira were stone still. That didn't stop the scream of agony that exploded from the girl's mouth.
Shiro suddenly snapped out of his daze. A look of pure hatred filled his complexion. He stood on his feet, the repeated shock waves that held both Shiro and Yami to the ground seemed to have no more effect on the boy as he made his way over to the pair.
Finally reaching them, he spoke- his voice was bone-chilling, something that Yami never wanted to hear again, but knew he would eventually.
"Let her go," he said. "Or you'll be the one screaming."
Mira looked at him in shock, but immediately released her hold on the girl.
She fell to the ground, panting and crying. Mira didn't even glance at her; her focus was all on Shiro.
It was then that Yami realized he was shivering, although cold, it wasn't that. It was of fear. He didn't want to see this side of Shiro- he saw him as an innocent little boy who lost his sister-
But wait. Who was this girl? could it be...?
Shiro knelt down to the girl and embraced her with a loving touch. "Miki. You're safe now." She smiled a little.
"It's good to see you Shiro... after so long."
And then, they cried. They cried and held eachother in their arms, and it was then that Yami realized that Miki and her brother had a stronger relationship that he'd ever seen before.
Yugi's POV
Sora and Yugi made their way out the corridor and to the door that lead to the outside.
As Sora gently eased it open, Yugi realized that it was snowing.
"Come on." she whispered to him gently.
Yugi gave a smile, and followed her out the door, into a winter wonderland.
"It's beautiful out here." he commented.
"Mmm." was her reply; her hand suddenly shot up and pointed to an area in front of them that seemed close due to the snow, but was distant.
Yugi saw a few black specks in the distance, but wasn't sure what it was.
"There." Sora said.
Yugi looked at her confused. "What?" he asked.
"That's where the sound came from."
"Oh... how do you know that?" he asked.
She smiled at him and nudged him gently, reminding him of their previous conversation.
"Right," he corrected himself. "But, how can you do that when it looks like your not using magic?"
She shook her head with a laugh, "Yugi, you don't have to always see what the magic is, you sometimes have to just feel it."
Yugi then had a lightbulb go off in his head. Of course! that's what the Pharaoh sometimes tells me when I'm in a tight spot. he thought.
"Sora.." he began, and she swiveled her head and gave him all of her attention.
He stared nervously at the ground infront of him.
"Are we going over there? to the place you pointed?" he asked.
She smiled, "No. We'll let them come to us." she said.
Yugi looked up at her face. He noticed that the falling snow that surrounded them now, was beguinning to pile up on her soft blue hair. He reached up to his own hair and felt the snowflakes making his head cold, and brushed them off.
Sora laughed a little, and brushed off the rest from his head.
"Come, lets go inside and finish looking through those documents." she said softly.
He smiled up at her, "Alright."
She paused for a moment, "And Yugi..."
He stopped as well.
"Can you tell me? you know... how you got involved in all of this?" she asked.
Yugi's face went expressionless, and he turned away from her. "I will," he said, closing his eyes, "I will in time, it's not something that I'm ready to talk about yet..." he said. A tear formed on his face and trailed down his cheek. The cold snowflakes drifting down on him, and Sora, seemed very far away.
"Alright." Sora said. "I'll wait."
Yugi noticed that she was being serious; Sora really did want to know about his involvement.
It's my fault. It's all my fault. If I had just gone home that day... No one would be here, the Millennium Items would be safe, and none of my friends would be in this much danger... Oh Pharaoh, what do I do?
*Bangs head on corner of table*
Seriously, this took so long because of a computer problem! wow... really sorry for the long wait, I'll be quicker next time, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! ^^
This was pretty long wasn't it? I noticed that the Pharaoh and Yugi basically stayed in the same setting for a few chapters... didn't intend to make it quite that long.. so, a change of scenery! YAY!
~Review? You know you want to :D
