Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Changes ❯ Silver Grin ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the lyrics to "Mouth" by Bush. Obviously, Bush owns those. I own Joey's switchblade, though.

Author's Notes: I believe Tristan is a very ignored and underappreciated character, so I gave him something to be appreciated by. o^.~o The chapter titles and ending words are parts of lyrics from the song "Mouth" by Bush, the theme song for An American Werewolf in Paris, one of the best werewolf movies out there. Yes, I am Gothic, but cheerfully Gothic! o^.^o

Changes

Chapter One: Silver Grin

It was dark and quiet as Tristan walked home from the small Duel Monsters tournament that had been held at the arcade. He was alone and starting to get a little jumpy from the scratching noises he was certain he heard. The puddles of yellow light made from streetlamps caused shadows to be darker, alleys to seem like black gateways into Gothic worlds, and his adrenaline level to rise from the recent stories of murders at night during the full moon.

And worst of all, it was the full moon. It came out from behind a cloud for a moment, illuminating the dark street a little more and assuring him no one but he was walking there. These assurances soon vanished when he caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of his eye. Turning around he saw what appeared to be a very large and shaggy black dog. It glared up at him with illuminated yellow eyes. He knew about feral dogs and to stay still when you saw one and it saw you. He didn't look into its eyes and he kept his fingers curled into fists, standing as tall as possible; a feat easily accomplished for an almost six foot tall teenager.

This, unfortunately, was no ordinary dog. It snarled and crept closer, baring its sharp fangs, but the brunette stayed still. When it began to charge him, he turned and ran as fast as he could. He could hear it gaining on him and he ducked into an alleyway, quickly finding a small open window down to a basement, and he slipped in as quickly as he could.

However, he was not quick enough. Just as he was closing the small window the creature's jaws clamped down on his arm, tearing and biting at him before he shut the window and locked it. It snarled and made strange screaming noises at the window, scratching and pounding the glass in an attempt to get in. When a light went on inside the house and the door to the basement opened, it immediately quieted and ran off, snorting and growling.

Tristan clutched his wounded arm tightly, whimpering softly, and a person with a flashlight came down the stairs.

"Who's there?!" a young male voice called, and the injured boy whimpered louder, trembling from fear and pain. The flashlight's beam shone on him and he pulled his knees to his chest, shaking harder. "Are you okay?" the man asked softly, slowly walking over. "What happened?" he inquired as he knelt beside the brunette. He simply trembled and the man called up to someone above to call an ambulance, then turned back to the boy and asked him again what had happened.

"A...a dog attacked me...." he murmured, staring up with terror-filled green eyes. "It was huge, and it chased me in here...."

"Don't worry, an ambulance is coming...was it foaming at the mouth?"

"No..."

"Good, but I think you should get checked for rabies anyway. What's you name, kid?"

"Tristan Taylor..."

They both looked up when a woman about the same age as the man came down the stairs.

"What happened, honey? Is someone hurt?"

"Yeah, this kid says he was attacked by a big dog. Did you call an ambulance?"

"Yes."

"Good." He turned back to Tristan and asked him where he lived and what his phone number was. The boy replied with the correct information and the man helped him up the stairs. His arm was still bleeding, and something worse was going to happen. Something much worse....

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Yugi sighed softly. Tristan had been in the hospital for nearly three weeks now with a burning fever and occasional convulsions. It wasn't rabies, they had checked, and it wasn't an allergic reaction of any sort. The doctors were stumped and the only thing they could find that was happening was that his metabolism was rapidly changing. Something was happening to him and no one knew what.

"Is he okay?" Joey asked for the trillionth time to a passing nurse. She said his condition hadn't changed and he was still sleeping, occasionally crying out in his sleep. He called for random people and kept saying 'no' over and over sometimes, but he always calmed down after a while. He seemed to be having nightmares.

Everyone was worried for the poor boy, but Joey was the most worried of everyone. Tristan was like a brother to him, and if anything happened to him Joey would probably kill himself. It would be done before he remembered his sister.

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