Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Hunted ❯ Chapter 18 ( Chapter 18 )

Tea and Ishizu examined Yugi's body for any severe damages. Aside from a few cuts, some of which would require stitching, and bruises, they were unsure of any internal damages. “Malik, can you and Ryou help Odion carry Yugi back to the van?”

 

Malik and Ryou nodded. “We know a few tunnels that will take us closer to the vehicles in less time. Plus, they haven't been in use for some time from the way the dust looked,” Ryou stated.

 

It was then that Malik noticed something, “I don't think that's Yugi's normal choker. It looks too new.”

 

“You're right,” Ryou agreed after looking closer at it. “This isn't his at all. I think that the Vampire Lord replaced it with this.”

 

Ishizu removed the collar and Malik threw it into a tunnel. They carefully gathered their things and Yugi's limp form to leave the tunnel. They reached the van in less than thirty minutes and strapped Yugi's still form to the table to protect it from being further damaged. Just to be on the safe side, Ishizu hooked the boy up to a life-support system, relieving the strain on herself and Tea. They had been using their magic to keep his body from failing completely. After securing the form, they headed back to the mansion to tend to the body there.

 

 

“That monster is going to pay for what it did to my brother,” Atem growled under his breath as they headed down the hall to the Vampire Lord's chambers.

 

Shadi looked at him, “Try to clear your mind, my friend. Otherwise, your anger will blind you to the task at hand. We must try to locate this Soul-Crystal that contains your brother's soul. But we must do so with a clear mind.”

 

“I'll try, Shadi. Thank you,” Atem replied.

 

Shadi nodded and continued walking through the darkness. Atem stopped when he felt something under his left foot. He knelt down to inspect the object. “This looks like the choker that Yugi always wore,” he says as he pockets the item. “We're close.”

 

Shortly after finding the collar, they arrive at a pair of ornate doors. Bakura and Marik grin. “We'll handle the door, Temmie,” Marik states as he pulled out a combination C-4 pack and Holy Water. “This will be the perfect time to test mines and Baka-ra's coolest toy yet.”

 

Bakura rolled his eyes at the annoying nickname, “Remind me later that Crazy Boy needs to get his brain checked. I think he took too many whacks to the head when we were attacked in the tunnels.”

 

“So what did you design this for,” Atem asked Bakura.

 

He grinned, “We designed it to blast open walls, doors, you name it, and spread the Holy Water in a wide range. If we're lucky, the Water will douse the vamps enough to cause some massive damage. It also gives us a safe zone to fight in if need be.”

 

“Got a name for that thing,” Duke asked, knowing that he'd regret asking.

 

Marik grinned, “H2-Holy Mister.”

 

Bakura smacked his teammate on the back of his head, “That's a stupid name.”

 

“But it seems to fit, that is if the device works as you said,” Shadi pointed out.

 

Atem rolled his eyes, “Just blow that stupid door open and get us in there before Joey does something brash.”

 

“But I wanted to bust the door down,” Joey complained.

 

Bakura and Marik attached the device to the door quickly and dashed around the corner of the hall. Bakura grinned as the others followed their example, “Fire in the hole!”

 

Marik took the cue and set the Holy Water bomb off. He and Bakura looked cautiously around the corner and saw that their newest invention actually worked. There were a total of three vamps in the room and two of them, apparently guards, were doused in the mist. The third looked very upset that his chambers had been breached.

 

Atem, Marik, and Bakura stepped out from their cover and the rest of the team followed suit.

 

 

Raiden was contemplating his next move when the large doors to his chamber were blown open and his two best guards were doused in Holy Water. He was racking his brains as to whether he had ever seen such a crude device in all his years when three figures stepped into the hall. Others followed suit behind the first three.

 

He stood defiantly as the group neared. When the intruders were close, Raiden realized that the first three looked familiar. “So the runt managed to free himself from the Soul-Crystal?” He looked at said crystal and back at the doppelganger, “You're not the runt.”

 

The double glared at him, “What did you do to him?”

 

 

“He's got a broken arm, a couple of cracked ribs, broken leg, and a few other internal injuries,” Ishizu told the others after taking a closer look at Yugi. “I have to keep him sedated otherwise we're in danger at this point, either from him or he'll further injure himself.”

 

Ryou and Malik nodded and went to the library to see if they could find out any information on how to help their best friend in the older Hunter's Handbooks and Notes from Early Hunters.

 

An hour into their search, Ryou found something that stood out. It was one of the oldest copies of a prior Hunter's journal. “Hey, Malik,” he called to his friend. “Check this out. This journal belonged to a Ryota* Yori**, who lived almost 500 years ago. He was the founder of the earliest band of Hunters and had a major run-in with the Vampire Lord of that time. It says here that the Vampire Lord back then was known as Raiden Takeshi. Apparently, this king of vampires had a thing about sealing souls of his captives.”

 

Malik read over Ryou's shoulder.

 

 

Malik turned the page to continue.

 

 

 

 

Malik handed Ryou another book that he had found containing the notes that were based on documents stolen from the Vampire Lord nine years ago by a reckless, yet lucky, Hunter.

 

 

Ryou shuddered, but continued reading:

 

 

The boy opened his eyes and I was pleased to see that they had not changed, as this will be beneficial should he ever run into a Hunter. They would likely assume him to be `safe', allowing for him to catch them unawares. I am pleased with this experiment. I have decided to Mark him as my heir. My Gatherers have been dispatched to retrieve the other two boys that they mentioned to me earlier, as I want to repeat this process to be sure that it works out the same way.

 

Malik turns the page and reads:

 

Success! The experiment has produced the same results as the first. I now have two of my newest breed of `offspring'. He, too, will be Marked as my heir. I have ordered the capture of the third and final boy. I want no remaining ties between the three left behind. There have been instances where a friend had been left unChanged and became a Hunter, vowing to destroy any creature with ill-will towards humans. I will not allow this to happen as these are the start of my newest generation.

 

A few pages later the `tone' changes:

 

 

 

The Hikaris looked at each other with wide eyes. Malik spoke, “I think that this is speaking about us, Ryou.”

 

Ryou nodded and gathered the books to take to Ishizu.

 

Ryota: Japanese name meaning “stout, strong.”

Yori: Japanese unisex name meaning “servant to the public.”