Here's the next chapter.
Some information about the places I use might be off because I tweak it a bit to suit my story. Just letting you know for future chapters, just in case.
Enjoy!
Chapter 11- The Millennium Necklace
Once more, the group had started to fly off to their next destination.
"Okay. So, where do we go from here?" Yami asked.
"We'll have to look." Ryou said. He got out the book and flipped through it to where all the clues were listed.
"Well, if it's anything like getting this," Bakura said, holding up the ring that was around his neck, "then this mission is going to be easier to complete than we thought."
"I wouldn't count on it, Bakura." Heba said from his position behind the controls of the plane.
"Why's that, Heba?" Atemu asked as he turned to look at his husband.
"Just because getting the ring was easy doesn't mean that the others will be easy. We might run into some tougher battles to win. We can't just assume that this is going to be a piece of cake." Heba explained.
"He makes a good point. The moment that we assume that this will be easy is when we are going to be in deeper trouble than we already are." Seto said.
"You changed your tune fast." Yami said.
Seto glared at him. "What does that mean?" Seto demanded.
"Before, you were skeptical of what Heba thought." Yami answered.
"Well, let's just say I changed my viewpoint." Seto said.
"Yeah. After you saw the Abominable Snowman with your own eyes." Marik added.
"He has a name, Marik." Heba said.
"Yeah. Kayuk seems to hate being seen as the Abominable Snowman or those other names that people call him." Malik added.
"Um, guys." Ryou said.
All eyes turned to him.
"I just though that you might like to know that I've found the page about where the next item is located." Ryou said, holding up the book.
"What does it say?" Atemu asked.
Ryou took the book and started to read it. "A large place of trees located in the middle of the large landmass is the next key. The great river flows and is widest at the long mountain range. Insects, plants, and animals rule this place. Only two seasons exist, the rainy and dry seasons. The great beasts roam the land and the giant snake guards the necklace." Ryou said as he read the section on the item.
"Okay. What the hell does that mean?" Bakura asked.
"It's telling us where to look. Not as clear as the last one, but it's about all that we have." Heba said.
"Okay. I don't have a clue." Bakura said.
"Bakura, you flanked all your studies. I know that you don't know." Seto said.
"All right, Einstein. What do you think it means?" Marik asked, looking at Seto.
"I'm not sure, but it sounds like it might be some kind of rainforest." Seto answered.
"How did you come up with that?" Joey asked.
"It mentioned rainy and dry seasons, which is something that is most closely related to rainforests. Plus, it mentioned a great river, and most rainforests have rivers." Seto said.
"Can you narrow it down given that there are a lot of rainforest on Earth?" Yami asked.
Seto sighed. "That is one thing that I don't think I can do. I have no idea how to narrow it down to exactly which rainforest is referring to." Seto answered, not wanting to make a guess only to end up being wrong.
"Hey. Isn't there some kind of computer program that you can use to maybe narrow it down?" Joey asked.
"Puppy, that's a great idea!" Seto said as he pulled out his laptop that he had brought along just in case they needed it.
"Maybe it'll help us in some way." Malik remarked.
Seto brought the program up. "Okay. We already know that it is a rainforest we are looking for, but what else do we know?" Seto asked.
"Well, it says that there are a lot of insects, plants, and animals." Atemu said.
Seto input the information. "It didn't narrow it down enough." Seto said.
"Okay. What else?" Marik asked.
"We know that it's a very large rainforest." Yami said.
Seto added in the information. "It's narrowed it down again, but not enough." Seto said.
"The mountain range." Heba said.
"What?" Malik asked.
"It said that the river is widest at the long mountain range." Heba answered.
Seto input that information as well. "I've got it. The Amazon rainforest is where we need to go." Seto said.
"Are you sure?" Atemu asked.
"Yeah. It says that it has 2.5 million insects, tens of thousands of plants, and over 2,000 birds and mammals. It's one of the most diverse rainforests there are." Seto answered.
"What about a mountain range?" Windstar asked.
"The Andes Mountains is the longest mountain range in the world. The Amazon River, the second largest river in the world, is widest at the bottom of the Andes Mountains. That has to be it." Seto said.
"Sounds like it. I guess we're heading there." Malik said.
Heba changed course and started to head the plane in the direction of the Amazon Rainforest.
"Just out of curiosity, what did is mean by great beasts and giant snake?" Joey asked.
"Unfortunately, the Amazon Rainforest is known for a lot of predators. There's no telling what we're going to come across." Atemu answered.
"Great." Joey muttered.
"Come on. You've got us." Earthstar said.
"You were beaten by Kayuk." Malik said.
"We did the best that we could!" Lighteningstar snapped.
"Calm down. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, so we need to stay on good terms. You four are going to have to help out. Your senses are going to help us out a lot in this situation." Heba said.
The four tigers nodded their understanding.
"I wonder what the next item is that we're going to be finding." Joey said.
"It doesn't specify in the book." Ryou answered.
"We'll find out when he get it, Joey." Heba said.
Aknankanon was standing on the balcony at the throne room with Dartz.
"It's odd that it's been several days since the last attack." Aknankanon said as he looked out across his kingdom.
"The Zordanians know that we are here. They do not want to waste their magic at the moment." Dartz replied.
"What will they wait for?" Aknankanon asked.
"I cannot say for certain, Pharaoh, but if I had to guess, I would say that they are waiting until their magic is strong enough to defeat us as well." Dartz said.
"I pray that my people are not forced to suffer too much." Aknankanon said.
Dartz looked over at Aknankanon and could see the same worry and fear for his people that Yugi held for his own. "This is a possible war, Pharaoh. We all know that there are casualties in war. It is one of the sad truths that all would like to avoid if at all possible." Dartz told him.
"Yes. I know. I only hope that Atemu and the others are able to find these Millennium items in time." Aknankanon said.
"They are a group of smart, resourceful young men. I have a feeling that they will be able to find the items without trouble." Dartz said.
"You don't know Marik and Bakura as well as I do. They are trouble." Aknankanon said.
"I'm sure that we will be fine. They can do this." Dartz said.
"I only hope that these items will do what that legend says and save us." Aknankanon said.
'I hope that as well. I do not think that we will survive this if these items do not do what we think they will do.' Dartz said.
"Where are the Knights?" Aknankanon asked. He realized that he had not seen them all day.
"They decided to patrol the kingdom to make sire that the Zordanians weren't trying anything." Dartz answered.
"A smart idea. We don't know who these Zordanians are. I don't like the thought, but there are some of my own people who may be a part of them." Aknankanon said.
"That's why they chose to do that." Dartz answered.
"We're getting close to the Amazon Rainforest." Heba said.
"That's great!" Joey said.
"There is just one problem." Heba said.
"What's that?" Atemu asked.
"I don't see where I can land in the rainforest, so we're going to have to land outside of it." Heba answered.
"Meaning we have to do a lot of walking." Yami translated.
"Exactly." Heba said.
"Great. Just what we wanted to do." Malik said.
"Why don't we just sue our wings and fly over?" Joey asked.
"Because we don't have a clue where to start." Heba answered.
Heba then landed the plane on the outskirts of the rainforest.
"It's rather hot and humid here, so I suggest shorts and T-shirts. Tank tops would probably be better for us." Seto said.
"All right. I guess we change again." Malik said.
The group then changed into the proper clothing.
Windstar chuckled. "That's the good thing about being a tiger. We don't have to worry about things like that." Windstar said.
"Come on. Let's get going." Heba said.
The group got off of the plane and started to walk into the forest.
"It's so beautiful and peaceful out here." Ryou remarked as they walked through the trees.
"Yeah, and the trees are really high." Malik added.
"Some of the trees are up to 200 feet high." Yami said.
"Huh. There's no sunlight here." Heba said.
"There is sunlight, but most of it hits the canopy of the trees." Seto replied.
There were some birds that were flying around.
"The birds are beautiful." Ryou said.
"Yeah. Just about everything in this is that way." Yami said.
"Everyone, we need to focus. We have to find that item as fast as possible." Atemu said.
"Well, it mentioned a great river, which I'm assuming is the Amazon River." Heba said.
"Most likely. We should probably head to where the river is at the Andes Mountain range as well." Seto said.
"Which way?" Marik asked.
Seto used a portal GPS unit that he had brought. "This way." Seto said.
The group started forward only to be stopped by the tigers.
All four tigers were growling, and they were crouching down in a defensive position.
"What's wrong?" Heba asked.
The four tigers didn't answer.
Suddenly, Lighteningstar lunged forward and tackled an animal to the ground. The animal threw Lighteningstar back and got up, growling and crouching.
"What is that?!" Malik exclaimed.
"It's a Jaguar!" Seto said.
"What's that?" Joey asked.
"It's a big wildcat, and we'll leave it at that." Seto said.
Waterstar started forward to help Lighteningstar.
"No! Leave this overgrown cat to me!" Lighteningstar growled.
The jaguar lunged at Lighteningstar and latched onto his neck. Lighteningstar howled before throwing himself forward and slamming the jaguar into a tree. The jaguar jumped forward and landed behind Lighteningstar. The cat raised his paw and brought it down at Lighteningstar. Lighteningstar moved out of his way.
"Shouldn't you help him?" Marik asked.
"No. Lighteningstar wants to do this alone, and he would never forgive us if we tried to help him. Besides, I know that Lighteningstar will be all right on his own." Waterstar said.
Lighteningstar jumped up and went down at the jaguar. The jaguar jumped up at Lighteningstar, and the two felines grabbed hold of each other. The two went rolling across the ground before they both got up and started circling each other, growling at the same time. The two the jumped at each other. The jaguar struck out with his paw and hit Lighteningstar in the face. Lighteningstar growled and lunged at the jaguar. Once more, the two went rolling. Lighteningstar jumped up and struck out with his claws, hitting the jaguar in the neck. Lighteningstar then latched onto the jaguar's neck. The jaguar howled in pain. Before long, Lighteningstar let go of the jaguar, and it fell to the ground, unconscious.
Lighteningstar panted as he tried to catch his breath from the fight.
"Lighteningstar, are you okay?!" Malik asked as he ran over and knelt beside the tiger.
"I'm fine, Master." Lighteningstar said as Malik petted his head.
"Nicely done." Earthstar said, looking down at the jaguar.
"Is it dead?" Yami asked.
"No. I didn't kill it. It's just unconscious. I couldn't kill something that was only acting on natural instincts." Lighteningstar answered.
"We understand. Come on. Let's get going before we get caught by something else." Atemu said.
The group then continued on through the rainforest as they looked for the next Millennium item.
Before long, the group finally found themselves at the river.
"Whoa! That's a big river!" Joey exclaimed.
"The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world. The Nile is the longest. It's a very big river." Seto said.
"Over there!" Atemu said, pointing.
The group looked to see the Andes Mountain Range on the other side of the river.
"Well, at least we finally found it." Bakura grumbled.
"Come on. The river is shallow enough right here that we can cross by walking through the water." Joey said as he stepped out into the water.
"Joey! Get your ass out of the water right now!" Seto shouted.
"Why?" Joey asked, turning to look at him.
Heba noticed something swimming through the water. "Joey, look out!" Heba shouted.
Before Joey could react, something wrapped around Joey's leg, and Joey felt an electrical shock going through him. "AAAAHHHH!" Joey shouted.
"JOEY!" Seto screamed.
Heba darted out into the water. He ran over to Joey. Pulling out a dagger, Heba rammed the dagger into what had wrapped around Joey before he grabbed Joey by the arm and ran back to the others, getting out of the water before anything else could happen to them.
Joey dropped to the ground, dazed.
"Puppy! Are you okay?" Seto asked, dropping down beside him.
"What was that?" Joey asked as he shook his head, trying to clear his mind.
"Probably an electric eel. The Amazon River is known for them." Yami said.
"Electric eels?! Why didn't someone say something?!" Joey exclaimed.
"Because you wouldn't listen and were already out in the middle of the water before anyone could say something." Seto answered.
"Anything else we should worry about?" Heba asked.
"The Amazon is known for Piranhas, too." Seto said.
"What are those?" Malik asked.
"Piranhas are small fish that have sharp teeth. They're dangerous when they attack in groups, and that's how they usually travel." Seto said.
"We need to avoid the water at all costs." Heba said.
"How do we get across then?" Bakura asked.
"How about that?" Marik asked, pointing to where there were large rocks in the middle of the water that stuck up and were spaced apart.
"If we're careful, that could get us across." Seto said.
"All right. That's how we're going to go get across. We just need to be careful since the rocks are probably slippery." Heba said.
One by one, the group started across the rocks.
"This will be fun." Earthstar muttered as he started across the rocks.
"Come on, Earthstar! Speed it up!" Joey shouted from across the river since he was already on the other side.
Earthstar growled. "I have to fit four feet on the rocks, not two! It's a little harder, Master!" Earthstar shouted.
Finally, Earthstar made it across to where Joey, Seto, Bakura, and Ryou already were.
Marik crossed next, followed by Malik who was following by Lighteningstar.
Like Earthstar, it took Lighteningstar a little longer to get across the rocks.
Atemu went next across followed by Heba. Windstar went across after Heba.
Yami and Waterstar were the last ones to go across.
"Go on, Prince Yami. I'll go last." Waterstar said.
"All right." Yami agreed. He then started across.
"Could you hurry up?! We have a lot that we need to do before we're all seventy!" Bakura shouted to Yami, growing impatient.
"Bakura, will you shut UUUPPP?!" Yami screamed as he lost his footing and went toppling into the water.
"Yami!" Atemu exclaimed.
Yami surfaced, completely soaked. "Thanks a lot, Bakura!" Yami growled.
Bakura started laughing along with Marik.
Yami groaned. 'Sometimes, I hate them.' Yami thought.
Waterstar looked out across the water, and his eyes widened.
A group of fish was making their way to where Yami was.
Fearing they might be Piranhas, Waterstar darted out across the water to where Yami was. "Get on my, Yami!" Waterstar ordered.
"Why?" Yami asked.
"Hurry!" Waterstar snapped.
Sensing that he was desperate, Yami stood up.
Seeing the fish getting closer, Waterstar forced Yami on his back before running across.
"Piranhas!" Seto exclaimed, seeing the fish.
Yami held on tightly now that he knew why Waterstar had been so frantic.
Unfortunately, the fish caught up to them, and one managed to bit Waterstar's foot.
Waterstar howled in pain as he reached the shore. He jumped up on the shore.
Yami got off of him. "Thanks, Waterstar" Yami said.
"Your foot." Lighteningstar said, seeing Waterstar's foot bleeding.
Waterstar winced. "That hurt. I know now why you wanted to avoid the Piranhas." Waterstar said.
"Here." Heba said. He ripped a part of his shirt before he carefully wrapped it around Waterstar's foot.
"Thanks." Waterstar said.
"I'm glad you saw them. I didn't." Yami said.
"I know. That's why I did what I did." Waterstar said.
"This wouldn't have happened if you had kept your big mouth shut, Bakura!" Atemu snapped.
"How was I supposed to know that would happen?" Bakura asked.
"Let's forget it for now. There are a few things that we have to do that are more important that this right now." Seto said.
The group then continued on walking in search of the next Millennium item, although Waterstar had a slight limp now.
Yugi was busy in his office. "There has to be another way." Yugi muttered.
Firestar watched his master a little worriedly. "Master, are you all right?" Firestar asked.
Yugi sighed. "I was trying to figure out another way to defeat the Zordanians, but there doesn't seem to be one." Yugi said.
"The Millennium items are the only way known to defeat them." Firestar said.
"I know, Firestar. I just was hoping there would be another way." Yugi said.
"Are you going to join them in the battle?" Firestar asked.
"Yes. I will aid Egypt in this mess. If an all-out assault happens to occur, I am going to help them, and I trust that you are going to go with me and help them as well." Yugi said.
"Of course. I will help them as well." Firestar agreed.
"Finally!" Bakura said as they reached the base of the Andes Mountain Range.
"Okay. What are we looking for now?" Marik asked.
"It said that the giant snake guards the necklace." Ryou said.
Something occurred to Yami. "Um, Seto." Yami said.
"What?" Seto asked, turning to look at his cousin.
"Do you think that the giant snake could be referring to an anaconda?" Yami asked.
Seto frowned. "Maybe." Seto said.
"What's an anaconda?" Malik asked.
Suddenly, the ground started to shake.
"What on Earth?!" Atemu exclaimed.
From the water, a giant snake arose and looked down at them, flicking it's long tongue at them with a hissing sound.
"That's an anaconda, Malik." Seto said.
"Oh." Malik said.
The anaconda raised it's tail and flung it at the group.
Everyone barely managed to get out of the way in time.
Joey took out his sun and brought hiss word down at the snake, hitting it in the side of its long body.
The snake hissed before lifting it's tail and hitting Joey, throwing Joey into the ground.
"MASTER!" Earthstar shouted as he ran forward and jumped at the snake, latching onto the tail.
The anaconda hissed loudly as it flung it's tail back and forth before throwing Earthstar off of him.
Ryou and Malik both ran at the snake with their swords drawn. Before they could even reach the anaconda, it's tail hit them and threw them into the ground as well.
"Seto, what's the best way to kill this thing?" Heba asked as he drew his sword.
"Best chance would be to cut off its head." Seto said.
"Windstar. Lighteningstar. I'll need your help. Waterstar, stay back." Heba said.
"Why do I have to stay back?" Waterstar asked.
"Because your paw is injured." Heba answered before he ran forward with the two tigers following him.
The anaconda saw Heba and flung its tail at Heba, but Heba jumped up and used the snake's tail as leverage before jumping up at the snake. Heba tried to strike the snake in the head, but the anaconda ducked his head and hit Heba. Heba flipped and landed on his feet.
Lighteningstar and Windstar both lunged at the anaconda. Lighteningstar clamped his teeth on the snake's tail and dug his claws into the snake as well. Windstar had jumped up high and latched his teeth into the neck and his claws in the neck as well. The anaconda tried to throw the two tigers off, but couldn't.
Heba, seeing that the anaconda was distracted, ran forward and jumped up, bringing his sword across. He severed the anaconda's head from its body above where Windstar was.
The two tigers jumped back as the snake fell.
Heba landed on the ground.
"Wow! Nicely done, Heba!" Joey said.
"I'm just glad that that's over." Heba said.
"How do we find the item now?" Atemu asked.
Suddenly, the Millennium Ring started to glow and the points at the bottom pointed to a cave.
"What's with it?" Bakura asked.
"I think it's showing us where the item is." Heba said as they walked to the cave.
"I don't think that's possible." Marik said as they looked around.
"Really?" Malik asked as he picked up the gold box.
"Okay. Maybe I'm wrong." Marik said.
The group left the cave.
"Well, open it!" Marik said impatiently.
"We'll open it on the plane." Heba said.
"We have to walk all that way back!" Bakura exclaimed.
"Yes." Heba said.
Bakura groaned.
"Come on. Let's go." Ryou said as he grabbed Bakura's arm.
The group then headed back to the plane.
Aknankanon looked out from the balcony of his room.
"Are you all right?" Amara asked as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around her husband.
"I'm just worried about the boys." Aknankanon said.
"I'm sure that they're fine. We raised them right, and we know that they are resourceful and smart. Besides, Heba and the others have powers that can help them." Amara said.
"I know." Aknankanon said.
Amara kissed him lightly. "I'm worried about them, too, but we have to trust them to be safe." Amara said.
"I know, Amara, and I know that they will be fine." Aknankanon told her.
Once back at the plane, the group changed back into their regular clothes, and Heba tended to Waterstar's foot.
"All right. Let's open this thing." Marik said.
Ryou opened the box to find the Millennium Necklace inside the box.
"What's this one?" Atemu asked.
"It's called the Millennium Necklace." Joey said as he looked in the book. "According to this, it gives the owner the ability to see into the past and the future." Joey finished.
"Hmm. Think one of us is the owner?" Atemu asked.
"I don't know." Heba said.
Each person in the group picked it up, but nothing happened.
"I guess none of us are the owner." Yami said.
"Well, we'll save it for later then." Ryou said, closing the box once more.
"We should get going. We still have six to go." Heba said.
The group returned to their seats, and Heba lifted the plane, leaving the Amazon Rainforest.
Hope you liked it. The sources I used for finding information on the Amazon Rainforest was the Grolier encyclopedias I have as well as a few internet sources.
Next: The Millennium Scales.
R&R.