Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy 7 - Yu-Gi-Oh Style ❯ Chocobo Racing and Science Class ( Chapter 12 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Lsama-no-miko 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Fantasy / Drama | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.13.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 334 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Fantasy / Drama | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.13.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 334 | Status: Work In Progress
Final Fantasy 7 - Yu-Gi-Oh style
Chapter 12: Chocobo Racing and Science Class
&n bsp; It was about an hour or so later when Honda joined the others back at the abandoned house.
&n bsp; “You okay?” Mai asked.
&n bsp; “Yeah,” the brunet replied, wiping at his eyes. “Let’s get the *bleep* outta here.”
&n bsp; Yugi nodded and put a hand on his taller friend’s shoulder as he started out. They then went to a beat up Winnebago where Honda told them the only person who knew how to get out of Corel Prison was living.
& nbsp; “Yeah, whadda ya want?” the man whose name they learned was Coates.
& nbsp; “We wanna go up,” Honda replied pointing to the theme park above them.
&nb sp; “Like I toldjya before, you gotta get the boss’ permission and even if ya did, you gotta win the Chocobo…”
&nbs p; “Well ‘Melda’s busy right now,” lied Honda, “So he told me to show ya this.” He held up the broken action figure his friend had given him.
&nbs p; “Like I care,” Coates said, eyeing the toy.
&nbs p; “You let us up!” Honda yelled back.
&nb sp; “Killed Amelda did you? He’d never give that thing to anyone. Good riddance I say. Maybe now I’ll get some peace and quiet. That guy never gave a damn about anyone but himself, always bossing everyone around.”
Honda’s eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. “What the *bleep* do YOU know!!!” he cried grabbing the man and slamming him against the side of the motor home. “You know nothing about Amelda!!!!”
&nb sp; Coates was ready to soil himself right then and there. “Y-You’re r-right!” he stammered. “I-I don’t know a d-damned thing!!!”
; “So will you let us outta here?” Yugi asked, anxious to leave the hellish prison.
& nbsp; “Sorry bub, no can do. Only one person can go up at a time and that’s the guy who enters the Chocobo Races. Ya win that, and you’re outta here fer good.”
&n bsp; “NANDA YO!!!” Honda said, shaking him again.
&n bsp; “T-Threatening me won’t do a t-thing. I ain’t the one in charge of the rules. Look I’ll l-let one o’ ya go up, b-but after that, i-it’s up to ‘Lord’ Ushio.”
& nbsp; Honda dropped Coates, making the warden fall flat on his rear. “Yugi you go. You’re good at games right? We’ll wait down here so hurry up and WIN!!!!” The spiky haired boy sighed and nodded, it was obvious the others wouldn’t be giving him any choice in the matter.
& nbsp; “We’ll be rooting for you, hon,” Mai said giving him a wink and a thumb’s up
“So which one of ya’s gonna race?” Coates asked, still a little wobbly on his legs, “Oh yeah, forgot to mention… you’ve gotta have a manager before you can enter the races.”
& nbsp; “H-Hi,” a young girl with periwinkle blue hair and a yellow ribbon about said coming over to them. “I-I sorry for interrupting Mr. Coates sir, but I heard your story.” She then blushed after eyeing Honda who quickly looked away, blushing as well.
&nb sp; “Rib—uh Miho? What are you doing here?” Coates asked.
&n bsp; “I-I want to be his manager,” she replied shyly.
&n bsp; “I don’t know… oh what the heck. This here’s Miho, the best manager in Kaiba Land.”
&n bsp; “I-It’s nice to meet you,” she said bowing to the spiky haired boy.
&nbs p; “Alright it’s settled then,” Coates said, leading Yugi and Miho to the Kaiba Land elevator. “I’ll take up two up and Miho’ll give ya all the details.”
; “That’s terrible!” Miho shouted, after learning just what Yugi and the others were doing there. “I’ll speak with Ushio. You don’t worry about a thing. Just have fun in the race. I hope you think everyone here’s a criminal. Because they’re not we’ve got some pro Chocobo jockeys and just some people who like to have a bit of fun.”
&nb sp; “Yo, Ribbon-chan!” a jockey called as they entered the waiting area. “Who’s the new kid?”
&nb sp; “H-Hello Joe,” she said smiling, blushing at the nickname.
; “You’re lookin’ kawaii(cute) as always,” he said, causing her to blush even more.
&nb sp; “A-Arigatou(Thank you). Oh, this is Yugi,” she said introducing her latest protégé, “This is Joe, Yugi one of the top jockeys.”
; “Nice to meet you kid,” he said shaking his hand, “So if you’re with Ribbon-chan then that means…”
“H-He’s an up and coming jockey,” she said.
&nb sp; “So whatcha do kid?” A glare from Miho stopped him from pressing any further.
”Right not supposed to talk about ‘down there’, sorry Ribbon-chan. Anyway, I’ve got a good feeling about you kid. Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.” &nbs p; “Just wait here Yugi,” Miho said going over to one of the doors on the other side of the room. “I’m going to check up on your Chocobo.” ; A few minutes later, the periwinkle haired girl returned smiling, “Thanks for waiting, Yugi. You’re registered for the next race. I hand picked this Chocobo myself so you’ll have no problem beating the others,” she said with a hint of pride. “Ganbatte ne!(Go for it)!” &nb sp; Yugi nodded then proceed to the gates when the PA system announced it was time for his race. Miho was right, the chocobo she had provided for him was indeed easy to handle plus a very competitive bird for it practically flew off the track as soon as the starting gun went off. He did have a bit of trouble with the other jockey Joe, but once they reached the last few meters of the track, Joe’s chocobo had run out of stamina by then, allowing Yugi to win. &nbs p; “Omedetou(Congratulations)!!!” Miho cried, glomping the spiky haired teen, “You’re free!! Oh yeah Ushio said to give you this if you won.” She handed him a letter. & nbsp; Yugi opened the folded paper and began to read ‘Kid, if you're reading this, then you must've won. Congrats kid you earned it. I heard about Amelda from Ribbon-chan. To show you I’ve got no hard feelings about what happened at Battle Square, I’m gonna give you and your little friends a full pardon. I’m also gonna give you something to help you on your way, think of it as an apology. I wanted to tell ya this in person, but I’m a busy guy. Anyway, good luck kid. Sincerely, Lord Ushio.’ & nbsp; “A gift?” Yugi murmured, dreading whatever it was the theme park manager had given them. Before he could ask the now grinning Miho, his cell rang. &nb sp; “This is wonderful!” came Isis’ voice from the other end. “Some guy just came by and gave us the keys to one of Kaiba Land’s buggies. Now we won’t have to worry about crossing the desert or any rivers any more!” &n bsp; “We’ll be waiting for ya!” piped Mokuba. “Hurry up! I can’t wait to check this baby out!” &nb sp; Yugi told the energetic boy he’d be there in a few minutes, then hung up. Staring at the letter in amazement, he noticed there was a postscript added. ‘Oh yeah, I just met this Bakura guy you were talkin’ about. He must be real popular with kids your age. Why don’t ya go get his autograph since you’re lookin’ for him. By the way, it looked like he was heading south to Gongonga across the river.’ & nbsp; Yugi frowned. “Bakura…” he whispered, wondering what his ex-lover was up to. ; “Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Miho said, a little sad to see her new friend go. “If you ever decide to go pro, don’t be afraid to stop by. I’ll take care of everything.” & nbsp; After a few hours of driving and Mokuba constantly begging to take the buggy’s wheel, the group parked outside the dense jungle surrounding the ruins of the Gongonga mako reactor and its neighboring village. Yugi being the loner he was, made the others go ahead to the village while he’d check the abandoned reactor for anything suspicious. But Isis and Mai insisted on following him for backup reasons, which he couldn’t refuse for fear of having to deal with two angry females after his bum. &nbs p; He was right to check it out for he wasn’t at all surprised to find a bunch of Kaiba’s soldiers and two of the ghouls lurking about. &n bsp; “’ey, Rishid. Who do you like?” the brown haired Australian ghoul asked, obviously bored out of his mind. “C’mon mate, whatcha blushin’ for? Who’s the lucky sheila(that’s Aussie for girl, minna)? & nbsp; The bald ghoul was silent for a few moments before mumbling, “Mai.” &n bsp; His brunet partner let out a whistle. “She’s a tough one,” he said, just a bit jealous. He too had a crush on the feisty blonde. “Poor Mana’s gonna be heartbroken when she finds out.” &nb sp; “She likes master Malik,” Rishid replied. Varon’s eyes bugged out. “Seriously mate?” Rishid nodded. “But he likes that Anc…” &n bsp; Yugi strained to hear their conversation, but was too far away. “Damn, wish I could read lips,” he muttered. ; “They’re such baka(idiots)!” a brunet girl in a ghouls uniform said coming up to him, scaring about another ten years out of him. “They’re always talking about which girl they like or don’t like. But Malik-sama is different.” Yugi had to stifle a chuckle at the rookie’s incompetence at recognizing an enemy. “Aiya!!!” she screamed “They’re here, they’re really here!! &n bsp; “Guess it’s time then,” Varon said to his bald partner having heard Mana’s shouts. “Don’t easy on ‘em cause they’re sheilas mate.” &n bsp; “Don’t worry, Varon. I’ll do my job.” &nb sp; “I-I’ll go report to Malik-sama,” Mana said rushing out their way. &nbs p; “’ey it’s been a while,” Varon said as if he were addressing a good friend, “I owe ya for what you did back at Sector 7.” ; “Move aside,” Yugi said, holding his trusty buster sword at the ready. &n bsp; “Sorry mate, I ain’t budging.” ; “This is as far as you go,” Rishid added. &n bsp; The fight was over in a manner of minutes. “You may be thinkin’ we’re runnin’ with our tails between our legs,” Varon said with a cocky smirk, “But we’re the winners here, mate.” &n bsp; Yugi and Isis stared after them in confusion as they ran off into the jungle. & nbsp; “Is it me or do you get the feeling they knew we were coming?” Mai asked. &n bsp; “They could have followed us,” Yugi began, “but I didn’t see any signs of that…” & nbsp; “Maybe a spy?” Honda asked, after meeting them at Gongonga village. “I don’t want to think about that, I trust all of you,” Yugi said, silently praying that wasn’t the case. &nb sp; “Well let’s check out what they were doing here,” the taller brunet said walking back to the reactor. As they reentered the reactor’s clearing, a Kaiba Corp. helicopter landed and a brunet girl about Yugi’s age in a very slutty red dress. &n bsp; “That’s Anzu Mazaki, head of Kaiba Corp.’s Weapon Development,” Yugi said, recognizing her. Motioning the others to hide he crept closer to hear what she was saying. & nbsp; “Hmph!” she said, chucking a piece of materia away. “Typical. Crappy reactors like this only give up crappy materia. Want I want is a nice biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggggg piece of materia. Have you and your ghouls seen any?” &nb sp; “’Fraid not,” the blond leader of the ghouls said from the still running chopper. “I’ll have my men get right on it.” &nbs p; “It’s a good thing that creepy Pegasus up and went AWOL on us. Weapon Development’s getting a bigger budget thanks to him.” &nb sp; “How nice for them,” Malik muttered, glad the chopper’s motor made it difficult to hear. &nb sp; “Tch. Even if I do design the most perfect weapon that aho(dumb @$$) Marik probably wouldn’t be able to use it properly.” Malik bristled at the insult to his superior. “Oopsie, I forgot Marik’s your boss. My bad.” She then began to laugh haughtily (think Naga from Slayers) making the blond ghoul cringe. “Let’s get outta here, my dress is getting filthy!” she called to the pilot and the chopper flew off. &nbs p; “Just what is Kaiba up to?” Yugi murmured, not liking one bit what they had heard. & nbsp; &nb sp; The day was just full of surprises. After shopping around for supplies and a place to rest a bit, Yugi-tachi were shocked to learn that this had been the hometown of Isis’ now MIA former boyfriend. &nbs p; With no sign of Bakura in the vicinity, AVALANCHE decided to move on to Rocket Town to see if anyone knew what was going on with Kaiba Corp’s weapons department. But Fate being the merciless *bleep* she was, had other plans. The buggy then suddenly backfired and its engine died on the spot, forcing them to hoof it to the nearest town, which was a pueblo like village in the Cosmo Canyon. & nbsp; XIII eagerly ran up the stairs leading into the pueblo’s entrance. “Yo!” he called to the watchman at the top “I’m back! It’s me Jounouchi!” &nb sp; “Hey if it ain’t Jou!” the guard said smiling. “Glad to see you’re safe kid. Sogoroku’s been worried sick.” &n bsp; “Jou…nouchi?” Yugi asked, surprised to learn his friend’s real name. However, the dog like creature refused to say anything, suddenly tightlipped. &n bsp; “You friends of Jou’s?” the guard asked, “Well if you’re friends of his, I guess you can come on in. Welcome to Cosmo Canyon. Guess you know all about this place then.” &n bsp; “Not exactly,” the spiky haired teen replied. “Oh, well this is where people from all over the planet come to study the life of our planet,” the watchman explained. &nbs p; “I always wanted to come here,” Honda said, blushing slightly. ; Yugi pulled out his cell and called up the others waiting by the buggy. After meeting up again, XIII, or Jounouchi, led them to a series of stairs leading up to an odd looking house at the canyon’s highest point. &n bsp; “Dis is my hometown,” the dog like creature explained. “My tribe was the protectors of dis place. My mother died protectin’ it while my *bleep* of father ran away like a coward! I’m all dere is left.” &n bsp; “You don’t mean that, do you?” Isis asked, saddened by her friend’s tale. &nb sp; “He was a lazy good fer nothin’!!!” Jounouchi spat, “It’s up to me ta protect dis place now so I’m gonna hafta say goodbye to you guys. Thanks for everything.” &n bsp; “Oh Jounouchi!!!” a short old man with a bandanna and overalls said coming from the the house. “You’re home!” He promptly gave him a fierce bear hug. &nbs p; “I’m gonna unpack Gramps,” he said and rushed off to the house. &n bsp; “Hey good idea,” Honda said, “I can use a break. Plus I wanna find some stuff out too.” &nb sp; So they followed the dog like creature into the house, which was actually a makeshift observatory. &n bsp; “Guys, this is my grandpa Sugoroku,” Jou said introducing them to the old man, “Dere ain’t nothin’ he don’t know.” &n bsp; The old man let out a hearty laugh. “Oh come now Jounouchi, you flatter me too much. So you’re the ones who looked after my grandson, eh? Thank you for taking care of him, he’s still a kid you see.” &nb sp; “Grandpa! I’m forty-eight!” he said, blushing. ; Sugoroku let out another laugh at the shocked and confused faces of his grandson’s friends. “Jounouchi's tribe has an extremely long lifespan,” he explained. “Which means in people years, forty-eight is more like fifteen or sixteen.” ; “Fifteen or sixteen?!” Yugi said amazed, he was older than him? From the way the dog like creature fought and talked, he had thought he was the older one. &nbs p; “Grandpa! Stop it, you’re embarrassing me! I’m gonna protect you and the village when I’m an adult!” & nbsp; “Slow down there pup,” he said laughing heartily, “You’re rushing off to your doom and you don’t know it. Kids these days! Thinking they can really snatch the stars from the sky.” He let out a snort. “Keeping you head in the clouds like that makes you lose sight of what’s really important. When the time comes for the planet to die, you’ll understand you still won’t know everything.” &n bsp; “When the time comes…” Yugi repeated, thinking about Bakura. & nbsp; “It may be today or a hundred years from now, but it’s not far off,” the old man said. &nb sp; “How do you know this sir?” &nb sp; “Call me Grandpa, son, everyone does. I can hear the cries of the planet.” As if on cue an eerie sounding wind blew through the open observatory dome. &nb sp; “What’s that?” Yugi asked, feeling a slight chill run down his spine. &n bsp; “That my boy, is the sound of the stars in the heavens. They make it as they are born and die.” Suddenly another wind blew, this one even more eerier than the last. It sounded as if something or someone were screaming in terror or pain. &nb sp; “I don’t think I want to know what that was,” the spiky haired teen said, trying his best to suppress another shiver. & nbsp; “There it goes again. The planet keeps crying as if to say, ‘I’m hurt’, ‘I’m suffering’,” Sugoroku said, frowning. ; “’ey Grandpa, why not show my pals here your thingamajiggy. They’re tryin’ to save the planet.” “Trying to save the planet?” Sugoroku asked, laughing. “Well I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” &n bsp; “Oh yah, um… Yug, you betta pick one of da others cuz only three can fit into Gramps’ machine,” Jou said before going over to an odd looking elevator and going up to the observatory with the old man. &nbs p; After drawing lots, it came down to Yugi, Honda, and Mai. They then went up the observatory. &n bsp; “Over here kids!” the old man called. & nbsp; Going over they now saw that the dome had been closed and they were now standing in a holographic version of outer space. There were stars all around them which gave them a strange sense of floating in the sky. &nbs p; The old man was fiddling around with some sort of control panel. “Pretty impressive, eh?” he said, proud of his work. “I’ve programmed this 3D holographic system I managed to get from Kaiba with all I know about the workings of outer space.” & nbsp; “Oh my!” Mai said as a shooting star raced by, “It’s even got shooting stars!” & nbsp; Sugoroku laughed, happy to have a chance to lecture once again. It had been too long since the last scholar had come searching for his knowledge. “Well, let's get started.” The holograms focused on a small green planet with little people walking on it. “We all know people die, so what happens after they die?” Suddenly the people started to fall. “The body rots, and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows.” The bodies of the people ‘melted’ into the planet. “What about their minds, their hearts and their souls? The soul too returns to the Planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on this Planet. In fact, every living thing in the universe, are the same. The spirits that return to the Planet, merge with one another and roam the Planet.” As he spoke, more people, trees and animals appeared on the planet and they too ‘died,’ disappearing into the planet and reappearing in a constant cycle. “They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream'.” As the beings died, lights came from their bodies and slowly formed an intricate web of light flowing like rivers of light all over the planet. “In other words, they form a path of energy of the souls roaming the Planet. 'Spirit Energy' is something you shouldn’t forget. New children are born and blessed with Spirit energy. And then of course, die and return this energy back to the planet. But there have been exceptions… but I’m getting off track here.” The old man cleared his throat. “Those are the basics of the Study of Planet Life.” &n bsp; “So,” Yugi spoke up, “if the planet’s energy runs out…” &n bsp; “Ho Ho Hoooo. Right you are m’boy!” Sugoroku said, as the holographic planet’s ‘lifestream’ faded and the planet turned gray and shattered. “Spirit energy is so efficient because it’s everywhere we look. But if spirit energy is forcefully extracted or manufactured, it won’t work as well.” &n bsp; “You mean mako, right?” Honda asked. &n bsp; The old man nodded. “Everyday your Mako reactors suck up this planet’s spirit energy, diminishing it. It gets compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako energy. Kaiba’s using all the living things throws them away as if nothing mattered.” He scowled, eyes narrowing and darkening to a deeper shade of purple. “Which means, Kaiba’s precious mako is killing the planet.” Once the lecture was over, Yugi and the others went back into the canyon and sat by the Cosmo Candle, an enormous bonfire that was constantly kept burning. “This's where AVALANCHE was born,” Honda said somberly, “I promised that once we saved the planet, we’d come here to celebrate. Biggs... Wedge... Jessie... Now they're all gone... died for the planet.” The brunet slammed his fist on the ground. “Tch! We all... we all hate Kaiba Corp.... But why is it me that has to go on? Will they...... ...will they ever forgive me? I know one thing tho’, if there's anything I can do to save the planet, or the people livin' here, then I'm gonna do it! Justice, revenge, or whatever doesn’t matter anymore. Let everyone have their own reason.” He let out a frustrated yell. “Alright! I’m doin’ it! Long live AVALANCHE!!!” & nbsp; “Hey guys! This place is booooring!” Mokuba piped up. “I wanna go look for some more materia!” ; “I wonder how long it’s been…” Ryuuji said, lost in his own memories, “This place sure brings back memories.” &nbs p; “I’ve learned so much,” Isis said quietly, “About my people… The Shadow Realm… I feel so alone now.” &nb sp; “But… I’m, uh, we’re here for you,” Yugi said, hoping to cheer her up. ; “That’s sweet, Yugi, but that’s not what I meant. I’m the only Cetra left.” &n bsp; “So, we’re still going to help!” &n bsp; “Aren’t bonfires funny, Yugi?” Mai asked, when he came to sit next to her, “They bring back all sorts of crazy memories. About five years ago… Nah forget it.” &nbs p; “What’s wrong Mai?” &nb sp; “I can’t help feeling that you’re going farther and farther away. You’re… you’re really Yugi Mutou right?” Yugi remained silent, not sure how to react to that. &nb sp; “When I was a pup,” Jou said, noticing his friend’s discomfort, “We used ta gather round dis fire…” He trailed off unable to finish. & nbsp; “What happened?” the spiky haired teen asked, grateful for the subject change. & nbsp; “My folks… When I think about my mom, I get dis real proud feeling and dat makes me happy. But when I remember my dad, it just makes me mad.” &nb sp; “Still can’t forgive your own father?” Sugoroku said, coming over to them. &nb sp; “Whadda ya think, Grandpa! He left Mom for dead! When those no good Gi attacked, he turned tail and ran! Mom was left by herself to protect the place!” & nbsp; The old man sighed. “Jounouchi, there’s something I think you should see. I was waiting for you to get old enough to understand, but I know I should have showed you long ago.” ~TBC~ Sakura: Woot!!! Got another chappie done!!!! Yami: Finally decided to get off your lazy but then, onna? Sakura: (pulls out her FDNOD – Feather Duster Nyoi-bo of Doom) Care to repeat that pharaoh? Yami: Don’t you dare come near me with th-that thing!!! Bakura: Go for it onna!!! Sakura: Oh I intend to. (eg) Yami: Kyaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! I’m out of here. Sakura: Not so fast Yami!!! (tickles him until he passes out) Joachim: Now I know for sure. She’s scarier than Lord Dracula. Leon: Indeed. Xel: She’s a fast learner, ne? ^_^ Kouryuu: She’d make a great demon! ^_^ Sakura: Oooooh thank you Xel!!!! Kouryuu-sama!!! It’s been ages!!!(glomps him) Anyhoo, I gotta get back to work on the next chappie. Leave your reviews with the bishies, just remember all flames will be sent to the Shadow Realm along wth the flamer so be warned. Jya ne, minna!!!
”Right not supposed to talk about ‘down there’, sorry Ribbon-chan. Anyway, I’ve got a good feeling about you kid. Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.” &nbs p; “Just wait here Yugi,” Miho said going over to one of the doors on the other side of the room. “I’m going to check up on your Chocobo.” ; A few minutes later, the periwinkle haired girl returned smiling, “Thanks for waiting, Yugi. You’re registered for the next race. I hand picked this Chocobo myself so you’ll have no problem beating the others,” she said with a hint of pride. “Ganbatte ne!(Go for it)!” &nb sp; Yugi nodded then proceed to the gates when the PA system announced it was time for his race. Miho was right, the chocobo she had provided for him was indeed easy to handle plus a very competitive bird for it practically flew off the track as soon as the starting gun went off. He did have a bit of trouble with the other jockey Joe, but once they reached the last few meters of the track, Joe’s chocobo had run out of stamina by then, allowing Yugi to win. &nbs p; “Omedetou(Congratulations)!!!” Miho cried, glomping the spiky haired teen, “You’re free!! Oh yeah Ushio said to give you this if you won.” She handed him a letter. & nbsp; Yugi opened the folded paper and began to read ‘Kid, if you're reading this, then you must've won. Congrats kid you earned it. I heard about Amelda from Ribbon-chan. To show you I’ve got no hard feelings about what happened at Battle Square, I’m gonna give you and your little friends a full pardon. I’m also gonna give you something to help you on your way, think of it as an apology. I wanted to tell ya this in person, but I’m a busy guy. Anyway, good luck kid. Sincerely, Lord Ushio.’ & nbsp; “A gift?” Yugi murmured, dreading whatever it was the theme park manager had given them. Before he could ask the now grinning Miho, his cell rang. &nb sp; “This is wonderful!” came Isis’ voice from the other end. “Some guy just came by and gave us the keys to one of Kaiba Land’s buggies. Now we won’t have to worry about crossing the desert or any rivers any more!” &n bsp; “We’ll be waiting for ya!” piped Mokuba. “Hurry up! I can’t wait to check this baby out!” &nb sp; Yugi told the energetic boy he’d be there in a few minutes, then hung up. Staring at the letter in amazement, he noticed there was a postscript added. ‘Oh yeah, I just met this Bakura guy you were talkin’ about. He must be real popular with kids your age. Why don’t ya go get his autograph since you’re lookin’ for him. By the way, it looked like he was heading south to Gongonga across the river.’ & nbsp; Yugi frowned. “Bakura…” he whispered, wondering what his ex-lover was up to. ; “Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Miho said, a little sad to see her new friend go. “If you ever decide to go pro, don’t be afraid to stop by. I’ll take care of everything.” & nbsp; After a few hours of driving and Mokuba constantly begging to take the buggy’s wheel, the group parked outside the dense jungle surrounding the ruins of the Gongonga mako reactor and its neighboring village. Yugi being the loner he was, made the others go ahead to the village while he’d check the abandoned reactor for anything suspicious. But Isis and Mai insisted on following him for backup reasons, which he couldn’t refuse for fear of having to deal with two angry females after his bum. &nbs p; He was right to check it out for he wasn’t at all surprised to find a bunch of Kaiba’s soldiers and two of the ghouls lurking about. &n bsp; “’ey, Rishid. Who do you like?” the brown haired Australian ghoul asked, obviously bored out of his mind. “C’mon mate, whatcha blushin’ for? Who’s the lucky sheila(that’s Aussie for girl, minna)? & nbsp; The bald ghoul was silent for a few moments before mumbling, “Mai.” &n bsp; His brunet partner let out a whistle. “She’s a tough one,” he said, just a bit jealous. He too had a crush on the feisty blonde. “Poor Mana’s gonna be heartbroken when she finds out.” &nb sp; “She likes master Malik,” Rishid replied. Varon’s eyes bugged out. “Seriously mate?” Rishid nodded. “But he likes that Anc…” &n bsp; Yugi strained to hear their conversation, but was too far away. “Damn, wish I could read lips,” he muttered. ; “They’re such baka(idiots)!” a brunet girl in a ghouls uniform said coming up to him, scaring about another ten years out of him. “They’re always talking about which girl they like or don’t like. But Malik-sama is different.” Yugi had to stifle a chuckle at the rookie’s incompetence at recognizing an enemy. “Aiya!!!” she screamed “They’re here, they’re really here!! &n bsp; “Guess it’s time then,” Varon said to his bald partner having heard Mana’s shouts. “Don’t easy on ‘em cause they’re sheilas mate.” &n bsp; “Don’t worry, Varon. I’ll do my job.” &nb sp; “I-I’ll go report to Malik-sama,” Mana said rushing out their way. &nbs p; “’ey it’s been a while,” Varon said as if he were addressing a good friend, “I owe ya for what you did back at Sector 7.” ; “Move aside,” Yugi said, holding his trusty buster sword at the ready. &n bsp; “Sorry mate, I ain’t budging.” ; “This is as far as you go,” Rishid added. &n bsp; The fight was over in a manner of minutes. “You may be thinkin’ we’re runnin’ with our tails between our legs,” Varon said with a cocky smirk, “But we’re the winners here, mate.” &n bsp; Yugi and Isis stared after them in confusion as they ran off into the jungle. & nbsp; “Is it me or do you get the feeling they knew we were coming?” Mai asked. &n bsp; “They could have followed us,” Yugi began, “but I didn’t see any signs of that…” & nbsp; “Maybe a spy?” Honda asked, after meeting them at Gongonga village. “I don’t want to think about that, I trust all of you,” Yugi said, silently praying that wasn’t the case. &nb sp; “Well let’s check out what they were doing here,” the taller brunet said walking back to the reactor. As they reentered the reactor’s clearing, a Kaiba Corp. helicopter landed and a brunet girl about Yugi’s age in a very slutty red dress. &n bsp; “That’s Anzu Mazaki, head of Kaiba Corp.’s Weapon Development,” Yugi said, recognizing her. Motioning the others to hide he crept closer to hear what she was saying. & nbsp; “Hmph!” she said, chucking a piece of materia away. “Typical. Crappy reactors like this only give up crappy materia. Want I want is a nice biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggggg piece of materia. Have you and your ghouls seen any?” &nb sp; “’Fraid not,” the blond leader of the ghouls said from the still running chopper. “I’ll have my men get right on it.” &nbs p; “It’s a good thing that creepy Pegasus up and went AWOL on us. Weapon Development’s getting a bigger budget thanks to him.” &nb sp; “How nice for them,” Malik muttered, glad the chopper’s motor made it difficult to hear. &nb sp; “Tch. Even if I do design the most perfect weapon that aho(dumb @$$) Marik probably wouldn’t be able to use it properly.” Malik bristled at the insult to his superior. “Oopsie, I forgot Marik’s your boss. My bad.” She then began to laugh haughtily (think Naga from Slayers) making the blond ghoul cringe. “Let’s get outta here, my dress is getting filthy!” she called to the pilot and the chopper flew off. &nbs p; “Just what is Kaiba up to?” Yugi murmured, not liking one bit what they had heard. & nbsp; &nb sp; The day was just full of surprises. After shopping around for supplies and a place to rest a bit, Yugi-tachi were shocked to learn that this had been the hometown of Isis’ now MIA former boyfriend. &nbs p; With no sign of Bakura in the vicinity, AVALANCHE decided to move on to Rocket Town to see if anyone knew what was going on with Kaiba Corp’s weapons department. But Fate being the merciless *bleep* she was, had other plans. The buggy then suddenly backfired and its engine died on the spot, forcing them to hoof it to the nearest town, which was a pueblo like village in the Cosmo Canyon. & nbsp; XIII eagerly ran up the stairs leading into the pueblo’s entrance. “Yo!” he called to the watchman at the top “I’m back! It’s me Jounouchi!” &nb sp; “Hey if it ain’t Jou!” the guard said smiling. “Glad to see you’re safe kid. Sogoroku’s been worried sick.” &n bsp; “Jou…nouchi?” Yugi asked, surprised to learn his friend’s real name. However, the dog like creature refused to say anything, suddenly tightlipped. &n bsp; “You friends of Jou’s?” the guard asked, “Well if you’re friends of his, I guess you can come on in. Welcome to Cosmo Canyon. Guess you know all about this place then.” &n bsp; “Not exactly,” the spiky haired teen replied. “Oh, well this is where people from all over the planet come to study the life of our planet,” the watchman explained. &nbs p; “I always wanted to come here,” Honda said, blushing slightly. ; Yugi pulled out his cell and called up the others waiting by the buggy. After meeting up again, XIII, or Jounouchi, led them to a series of stairs leading up to an odd looking house at the canyon’s highest point. &n bsp; “Dis is my hometown,” the dog like creature explained. “My tribe was the protectors of dis place. My mother died protectin’ it while my *bleep* of father ran away like a coward! I’m all dere is left.” &n bsp; “You don’t mean that, do you?” Isis asked, saddened by her friend’s tale. &nb sp; “He was a lazy good fer nothin’!!!” Jounouchi spat, “It’s up to me ta protect dis place now so I’m gonna hafta say goodbye to you guys. Thanks for everything.” &n bsp; “Oh Jounouchi!!!” a short old man with a bandanna and overalls said coming from the the house. “You’re home!” He promptly gave him a fierce bear hug. &nbs p; “I’m gonna unpack Gramps,” he said and rushed off to the house. &n bsp; “Hey good idea,” Honda said, “I can use a break. Plus I wanna find some stuff out too.” &nb sp; So they followed the dog like creature into the house, which was actually a makeshift observatory. &n bsp; “Guys, this is my grandpa Sugoroku,” Jou said introducing them to the old man, “Dere ain’t nothin’ he don’t know.” &n bsp; The old man let out a hearty laugh. “Oh come now Jounouchi, you flatter me too much. So you’re the ones who looked after my grandson, eh? Thank you for taking care of him, he’s still a kid you see.” &nb sp; “Grandpa! I’m forty-eight!” he said, blushing. ; Sugoroku let out another laugh at the shocked and confused faces of his grandson’s friends. “Jounouchi's tribe has an extremely long lifespan,” he explained. “Which means in people years, forty-eight is more like fifteen or sixteen.” ; “Fifteen or sixteen?!” Yugi said amazed, he was older than him? From the way the dog like creature fought and talked, he had thought he was the older one. &nbs p; “Grandpa! Stop it, you’re embarrassing me! I’m gonna protect you and the village when I’m an adult!” & nbsp; “Slow down there pup,” he said laughing heartily, “You’re rushing off to your doom and you don’t know it. Kids these days! Thinking they can really snatch the stars from the sky.” He let out a snort. “Keeping you head in the clouds like that makes you lose sight of what’s really important. When the time comes for the planet to die, you’ll understand you still won’t know everything.” &n bsp; “When the time comes…” Yugi repeated, thinking about Bakura. & nbsp; “It may be today or a hundred years from now, but it’s not far off,” the old man said. &nb sp; “How do you know this sir?” &nb sp; “Call me Grandpa, son, everyone does. I can hear the cries of the planet.” As if on cue an eerie sounding wind blew through the open observatory dome. &nb sp; “What’s that?” Yugi asked, feeling a slight chill run down his spine. &n bsp; “That my boy, is the sound of the stars in the heavens. They make it as they are born and die.” Suddenly another wind blew, this one even more eerier than the last. It sounded as if something or someone were screaming in terror or pain. &nb sp; “I don’t think I want to know what that was,” the spiky haired teen said, trying his best to suppress another shiver. & nbsp; “There it goes again. The planet keeps crying as if to say, ‘I’m hurt’, ‘I’m suffering’,” Sugoroku said, frowning. ; “’ey Grandpa, why not show my pals here your thingamajiggy. They’re tryin’ to save the planet.” “Trying to save the planet?” Sugoroku asked, laughing. “Well I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” &n bsp; “Oh yah, um… Yug, you betta pick one of da others cuz only three can fit into Gramps’ machine,” Jou said before going over to an odd looking elevator and going up to the observatory with the old man. &nbs p; After drawing lots, it came down to Yugi, Honda, and Mai. They then went up the observatory. &n bsp; “Over here kids!” the old man called. & nbsp; Going over they now saw that the dome had been closed and they were now standing in a holographic version of outer space. There were stars all around them which gave them a strange sense of floating in the sky. &nbs p; The old man was fiddling around with some sort of control panel. “Pretty impressive, eh?” he said, proud of his work. “I’ve programmed this 3D holographic system I managed to get from Kaiba with all I know about the workings of outer space.” & nbsp; “Oh my!” Mai said as a shooting star raced by, “It’s even got shooting stars!” & nbsp; Sugoroku laughed, happy to have a chance to lecture once again. It had been too long since the last scholar had come searching for his knowledge. “Well, let's get started.” The holograms focused on a small green planet with little people walking on it. “We all know people die, so what happens after they die?” Suddenly the people started to fall. “The body rots, and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows.” The bodies of the people ‘melted’ into the planet. “What about their minds, their hearts and their souls? The soul too returns to the Planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on this Planet. In fact, every living thing in the universe, are the same. The spirits that return to the Planet, merge with one another and roam the Planet.” As he spoke, more people, trees and animals appeared on the planet and they too ‘died,’ disappearing into the planet and reappearing in a constant cycle. “They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream'.” As the beings died, lights came from their bodies and slowly formed an intricate web of light flowing like rivers of light all over the planet. “In other words, they form a path of energy of the souls roaming the Planet. 'Spirit Energy' is something you shouldn’t forget. New children are born and blessed with Spirit energy. And then of course, die and return this energy back to the planet. But there have been exceptions… but I’m getting off track here.” The old man cleared his throat. “Those are the basics of the Study of Planet Life.” &n bsp; “So,” Yugi spoke up, “if the planet’s energy runs out…” &n bsp; “Ho Ho Hoooo. Right you are m’boy!” Sugoroku said, as the holographic planet’s ‘lifestream’ faded and the planet turned gray and shattered. “Spirit energy is so efficient because it’s everywhere we look. But if spirit energy is forcefully extracted or manufactured, it won’t work as well.” &n bsp; “You mean mako, right?” Honda asked. &n bsp; The old man nodded. “Everyday your Mako reactors suck up this planet’s spirit energy, diminishing it. It gets compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako energy. Kaiba’s using all the living things throws them away as if nothing mattered.” He scowled, eyes narrowing and darkening to a deeper shade of purple. “Which means, Kaiba’s precious mako is killing the planet.” Once the lecture was over, Yugi and the others went back into the canyon and sat by the Cosmo Candle, an enormous bonfire that was constantly kept burning. “This's where AVALANCHE was born,” Honda said somberly, “I promised that once we saved the planet, we’d come here to celebrate. Biggs... Wedge... Jessie... Now they're all gone... died for the planet.” The brunet slammed his fist on the ground. “Tch! We all... we all hate Kaiba Corp.... But why is it me that has to go on? Will they...... ...will they ever forgive me? I know one thing tho’, if there's anything I can do to save the planet, or the people livin' here, then I'm gonna do it! Justice, revenge, or whatever doesn’t matter anymore. Let everyone have their own reason.” He let out a frustrated yell. “Alright! I’m doin’ it! Long live AVALANCHE!!!” & nbsp; “Hey guys! This place is booooring!” Mokuba piped up. “I wanna go look for some more materia!” ; “I wonder how long it’s been…” Ryuuji said, lost in his own memories, “This place sure brings back memories.” &nbs p; “I’ve learned so much,” Isis said quietly, “About my people… The Shadow Realm… I feel so alone now.” &nb sp; “But… I’m, uh, we’re here for you,” Yugi said, hoping to cheer her up. ; “That’s sweet, Yugi, but that’s not what I meant. I’m the only Cetra left.” &n bsp; “So, we’re still going to help!” &n bsp; “Aren’t bonfires funny, Yugi?” Mai asked, when he came to sit next to her, “They bring back all sorts of crazy memories. About five years ago… Nah forget it.” &nbs p; “What’s wrong Mai?” &nb sp; “I can’t help feeling that you’re going farther and farther away. You’re… you’re really Yugi Mutou right?” Yugi remained silent, not sure how to react to that. &nb sp; “When I was a pup,” Jou said, noticing his friend’s discomfort, “We used ta gather round dis fire…” He trailed off unable to finish. & nbsp; “What happened?” the spiky haired teen asked, grateful for the subject change. & nbsp; “My folks… When I think about my mom, I get dis real proud feeling and dat makes me happy. But when I remember my dad, it just makes me mad.” &nb sp; “Still can’t forgive your own father?” Sugoroku said, coming over to them. &nb sp; “Whadda ya think, Grandpa! He left Mom for dead! When those no good Gi attacked, he turned tail and ran! Mom was left by herself to protect the place!” & nbsp; The old man sighed. “Jounouchi, there’s something I think you should see. I was waiting for you to get old enough to understand, but I know I should have showed you long ago.” ~TBC~ Sakura: Woot!!! Got another chappie done!!!! Yami: Finally decided to get off your lazy but then, onna? Sakura: (pulls out her FDNOD – Feather Duster Nyoi-bo of Doom) Care to repeat that pharaoh? Yami: Don’t you dare come near me with th-that thing!!! Bakura: Go for it onna!!! Sakura: Oh I intend to. (eg) Yami: Kyaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! I’m out of here. Sakura: Not so fast Yami!!! (tickles him until he passes out) Joachim: Now I know for sure. She’s scarier than Lord Dracula. Leon: Indeed. Xel: She’s a fast learner, ne? ^_^ Kouryuu: She’d make a great demon! ^_^ Sakura: Oooooh thank you Xel!!!! Kouryuu-sama!!! It’s been ages!!!(glomps him) Anyhoo, I gotta get back to work on the next chappie. Leave your reviews with the bishies, just remember all flames will be sent to the Shadow Realm along wth the flamer so be warned. Jya ne, minna!!!