Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Lethally Hot ❯ The Fifth of Darkness ( Chapter 10 )

//…// is Yami to Yugi; /…/ is Yugi to Yami; <<…>> is Bakura (the yami) to Ryou; <…> is Ryou to Bakura. [#] are footnotes.

Disclaimer: Toboe LoneWolf does not own YGO, Ebola, dangerous chemicals, or the works cited:
Peters, C.J. and Mark Olshaker. Virus Hunter: thirty years of battling hot viruses around the world. New York: Doublesday, 1997.
Preston, Richard. The Hot Zone. New York: Anchor Books, 1994.
…or any other snippit of stuff she quotes from.

Toboe LoneWolf: Mwhee! And here we go!!

Chapter Ten: The Fifth of Darkness

<<Heh heh…first blood…>>

Ryou uncurled, trying to shut out Bakura's mutterings. His darker self was getting more and more…dangerous the longer he stayed here. The deeper they delved into Yami's memories the darker and angrier the Spirit of the Ring became. If this continued, Ryou feared that Bakura would take over and destroy something just for the fun of it.

<<I can't wait until the next part…Oh Ra, this is going to be such fun…>>

Nope, this was not good. Ryou shook his head. He somehow had to keep his yami in check from having more "fun"…if that was possible.

Kaiba had his face turned towards the wall, shoulders hunched over. He had to get himself under control. A little -- all right, a lot -- of blood shouldn't phase him. Kaiba prided himself on his tight control over his emotions. After all, to survive the cutthroat business world he had to. And yet, something so primal as blood shook Kaiba to the core. There was something about that blood, about that boy, that made shivers go down his spine. Something familiar…

Suddenly a hand rested on Kaiba's shoulder. Tensing, Kaiba whirled around to meet Shadi's sea green eyes.

Shadi spoke in a low voice. "You look troubled, Seto. Bitter memories?"

Kaiba growled, shrugging off Shadi's hand. "Go away."

"Be warned, Seto Kaiba. Your past cannot be denied. You will have to face painful memories." Shadi's closed his eyes. "This is just the beginning."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and hardened his face. "Whatever."

A few steps away, Tristan and Tea huddled next to each other on the floor. That was one of the freakiest things they had ever seen. Okay, the stealing-soul thing in Duelist Kingdom was pretty freaky. The mind games the darker Malik played were freaky too. But those were magical, almost mystical. That was supernatural, while this was real and physical. Perhaps a little too physical. Lethally physical.

Tristan glanced down at Tea. "Um, Tea? You…okay?"

Tea leaned on Tristan's shoulder. "Relatively speaking, no. But thanks."

He awkwardly put an arm around Tea. "Um, well, everything's gonna be okay," Tristan lamely said.

"Tristan? I don't want to talk about it."

Yugi attempted to make himself as small as possible, hugging his legs as close to his chest and ducking his head. Attempting to get away from the memories now implanted in his mind. Attempting to blot out the red dotted haze that formed before his closed eyes.

" 'Ey, Yugi. You alright?" Joey's concerned eyes filled Yugi's vision.

Long pause. Eventually Yugi mumbled, "I am not getting up."

Joey grimaced and plopped down next to Yugi. "Yuge, that was the freakiest thing I ever saw, and I've seen pretty freaky stuff."

"I don't want to see more freaky stuff."

"Yeah." Joey leaned back, resting his weight on his arms, glancing at the door in front of them. "It'd be so much easier if we didn't haveta watch. Or whatever it is. But there's still three doors to find. Who knows what memory is hidden in them?" He shook his head. "More blood? More death?"

Yugi winced. "More pain, that's what." The fever was almost overwhelming for Yami, although it was a dull thud in Yugi's head. Yugi did not envy the positively horrendous headache that Yami must be experiencing right now. Yugi rubbed the temples of his forehead, attempting to alleviate his own headache.

Yugi gave up and closed his eyes. "But we've got to find those doors to save Yami, disturbing memories or not." His voice was soft and weak, hesitant. He wasn't sure if he could carry through. Not after this. "We have to."

"Ya mean save both of you." Joey poked Yugi. "If he goes, so do you, 'cause you share the same body, right?"

Yugi shuddered. "I don't want to even think about that."

Joey flashed his famous grin and dragged Yugi up to his feet, ruffling Yugi's hair. "Naaw, don't. We'll find those doors in no time. Don't you worry." He gave a thumb's up. "We're not going to give up so easily."

A weak smile crept across Yugi's face. "Yeah. We've got to keep going." Yugi wearily looked around at the almost broken group around him. "Ready to go, guys?"

Yugi could practically see a mask fall on everyone's face as they pulled on a false facade of confidence and shoved whatever troubled them in a far-off corner of their own minds. The open wounds were temporarily closed; to be taken care of at a later time. They got up and put together an artificial sense of security and happiness.

"Um, anyone has an idea of where to go?" Yugi asked.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Other than meandering and trusting to sheer chance, no, I believe we do not."

Tristan groaned with dramatics. "Oh great. More wandering. That was so much fun the last time."

"Hey, let me try!" Tea popped in, grinning a little too widely. "A woman's intuition might do it!"

All guys pull total blank as the shock reaches their masculine barrier of stoicalness. Woman's…intuition. Ah, yes. Intuition: the act of knowing without the use of rational processes; also the absence of reason. Woman's intuition: the strange phenomenon of a woman who thinks she is right and then usually is. It's a difficult concept to understand, much to the despair of the male population and pessimists around the world.

Joey stared at Tea in doubt. "Do you really think that'd work, Tea?"

"You have a better idea?" Tea crossed her arms.

Yugi waved his arms. "Let's just try it, okay? It's better than nothing."

Tristan took a step back and mock-bowed before Tea. "Lead on Tea, O Greatest of Pathfinders, O Mother of Mazes, O Woman of Wisdom--"

Tea bopped him on the head. "Baka."

And so they followed Tea, trusting on "woman's intuition" to guide the way. At the first few crossroads, Tea made a big deal of "thinking" and "getting in touch" with her intuition to choose the right path. She even went so far as to stand in an Espa Roba-like pose. This continued for about three intersections, and then Joey yelled at her and even Kaiba had tacit approval of this. Tea said she just wanted to lighten up the gloomy mood, but apparently it didn't work. Afterwards, Tea was a little more sensible in choosing a path.

She led the group around, meandering up and down levels, crossing hallways and other nooks and crannies. Tea didn't go back down the long stairway they had taken previously, instead choosing to explore a second level of intricacies. It should be noted that she did not lead them into any dead-ends. Tea really didn't have a clue of where she was going, but at least the group was together instead of splitting into smaller groups and possibly getting stuck like Tristan had.

Tea let her mind wander as her feet were. It was strange to be leading the group for once. Usually it was Joey or Kaiba or Yugi who did the leading. Or to be more precise, the spirit that resided within Yugi.

Tea struggled with her feelings. It was if she were attempting to stand on two sides of a colossus. And not succeeding. Great going Tea, she scolded herself. You've fallen in love with a dead guy and you're currently wandering in his mind to save him and your best friend, who you also think you have feelings for. What are you doing?!?

Quite frankly, she had no clue what she was doing. Dang female emotions are so hard to regulate, aren't they? Never logical, never sensible; not something you can squash down with a thumb to make it stay there. She kind of wished someone would get in her face, give her a whack on the head, and wake her up to reality. She'd tried it by herself and it didn't work, except to give her a headache. So until then she'd have to struggle along, taking things as they come.

Tristan was doing much the same, reminiscing over what had happened. Let's see, he'd been taking a nap when his dream of Serenity turned into a nightmare. Then they ran around Yugi's body for a while, and then decided that taking a trip around his mind was an even better idea. Somehow they'd gotten the idea that opening certain doors would fix Yugi and that other spirit of his up, and then got stuck in a memory of that Pharaoh dude. That'd happened…let's see, four times. Tristan looked at his watch. Time elapsed…

Umm…none?

Tristan stared at his watch. The digital readout read 7:07 37. And stayed that way. Maybe it was…stalled. He tapped the face of the watch. Nope.

"Um…guys? Is it just me, or did time stop?"

"Wha?" Joey exclaimed. "How'd that happen?"

Tristan turned his wrist around so everyone could see. "It's still seven minutes past seven. That's about the time we came back from the hospital." He wiggled his watch. "And it's not keeping time. It's stuck."

"Maybe it's just your watch?" Tea hopefully pointed out.

"I paid 2500 yen for this! No way does this just break!" Tristan said. "And if it did, I want my money back…"

"The passage of time cannot be calculated in soulrooms. However, experience helps one judge how much time has passed." Shadi paused. "It could possibly, as you measure time, be midnight in the outside world. Perhaps not. Memories distort judgement."

At that moment, Joey's stomach made an enormous growl that everyone heard.

"Bodily functions generally also come under this concept of time in soulrooms." Shadi looked down at Joey. "However, our mind may perceive the need of hunger or set traditions of consumption."

Tea rolled her eyes. "Which for Joey, is about an hour."

Joey grinned sheepishly. "Um, I'm hungry?"

Ryou fumbled around his blue jacket. "Here. Have this." He handed over some kind of beef jerky.

<<Hey! That's mine!>>

<Spirit, do you really want to hear Joey complain about food for the rest of this…mission?>

<<…>>

<I'll take that as a yes.>

Joey thankfully grabbed it and bit off a chunk. "Thanks, Ryou."

After this little episode of the definition of the passage of time in soulrooms and also food problems, things went back into the set routine of wandering aimlessly while following Tea. This is clearly quite productive. In a very warped sense.

Tea at the front, looking totally dazed. Tristan off to the side, brooding. Joey on the other edge of the hallway, muttering to himself and ripping apart the beef jerky as if that could console him. (Which is possible. Food is very, very soothing in times of stress. Cofffeeee…) Shadi, as usual, was right in the middle of the hallway, looking straight ahead. Kaiba was, for once, hiding in the shadows, with his shoulders hunched over, daring for someone to move into his proximity. Yugi somewhat behind him, gripping the Puzzle and walking like a sleepwalker. And Ryou at the very end, trailing the others and cupping his hands around his glowing Ring… not good.

Kaiba brooded as they wandered down various corridors. He had to figure this out once and for all, or at least sort out the facts in some logical order.

Okay, first assume that there is magic, that spirits can exist, and that reincarnation is possible. Of course, if this were false, all of the following conclusions are false as well. The only proof of this "magic" was that one: people are doing things that can't be done, like this memory thing; two: He had unfortunately experienced it; and three: there are some definite weird things happening around lately, and the explanations given were "magic." Kaiba did notice that something changed about Yugi whenever they dueled, and sometimes when they talked. And all of those weird things in Battle City, according to Yugi, were due to "spirits" who were from the past. Bah humbug. But these memories (they could still be sophisticated holograms though) definitely made some Yugi look-alike to be Pharaoh. This led to the possibility of Yugi being a descendant or a reincarnation of the Pharaoh. After all, Yugi looked a lot like the Pharaoh, even acted like him somewhat. So protective of his "people." Not to mention a peculiar similarity to a certain stone tablet in a museum…

…Which also had a depiction that looked a lot like him. This led to the possibility of himself also being a reincarnation or descendant, which was something Kaiba did not like at all. Even if he could read ancient text, had some unsettling dreams, had various feelings of deja vu, and had a strange alikeness to someone from the past, that did not mean exclusively that he, Seto Kaiba, was of any relation to the Priest Seto of the past. It could all be coincidence. Possibly. Pure luck. Unfortunately, Kaiba did not think too highly of "luck" either…

Whatever. In any case, he was not going to fall into the myth of Egyptian fairy tales. Numbers, data, written documents -- those he could believe. Memories, coincidence, and the say-so of others he could not. And Kaiba resolved that unless he found cold hard facts to prove it, he would not believe.

Ryou was having his own problems. He stayed in the back close to the walls. Something was bugging him. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but Bakura seemed a little too happy. If that were possible. Bakura was never this happy after bloodshed. And for some unknown reason, Ryou felt that his mind had been distinctively empty at times…

<<Oh, you're all concerned. How touching, Ahou.>> Bakura laughed, and it was disturbingly cheerful -- until it darkened. <<Now butt out of my business.>>

<Y'sir.>

But Ryou couldn't help but worry. It was his nature after all. After Battle City, he had to make sure the Spirit of the Ring didn't mess with his tentative friends. And something was not quite right…

Yugi was tagging along at the end of the group. From time to time he would either rub his temples or whack himself on the head, whichever suited his purposes against the ever-present headache. At least he could walk by himself instead of having Joey carry him like last time.

There was something wrong, though. The Puzzle around his neck was pulsating, as if trying to notify its holder to do something. But do what? Yugi was just getting really edgy, like something gritty was coming across his mind and continually rubbing against him.

Time went on, each person in deep thoughts. (Well, mostly deep. Some artificially deep.) They became used to the sounds of hollow footsteps, mutterings, and the chewing of beef jerky. They did not notice added noises, such as the hum of ancient magic and a distant rumbling. Although they did not notice, the noise, or what made it, certainly noticed them.

Tea stopped suddenly. "Guys, I think we're close."

"Whaaa?" Joey asked confusedly. "I don't see any door."

Tea frowned. "I don't know, but I feel that we're really close…"

And then hell decided to make some noise.

Beneath their feet, the brick rumbled and quaked, some small bits even shaking loose. Footing suddenly became precarious and the sound of falling rocks could be heard distantly. Large rocks. Along with the particular clang of bending metal. Something was pushing from beneath the floor; they could see the floor actually rising, stone cracking and crumbling as the foundations were literally ripped open. It was quite simply, chaos.

Those who carried Millenium Items felt their items flare with heat that did not burn. Shadi's eyes widened as he felt yet another door open. The pointers of the Ring flew haywire for a few seconds. Bakura had a few choice curses that needed to be said about this, and did so. Yugi stumbled back, clutching his Puzzle as he felt something leave…

"Gaahh! What's happening?" Joey jumped.

"It's the Ravager!" Shadi shouted. "Move!"

Yugi gasped as he felt the Puzzle throb madly. He grasped the Puzzle in his hands, reaching for that underlying bond to his other self. /Yami! What's wrong?/

Then the rush, the crash, a blast of pain and terror--from Yami?-- cascading of memories upon old memories, a feeling of holes being ripped open and a desperate race to plug them up. And then nothing.

The brick floor finally gave away, right where Tea had been standing. She gave a gut-wrenching shriek, arms flailing as she searched for some handhold before she fell into a seemingly bottomless pit. Joey and Tristan leapt forward, attempting to reach her before she was lost.

They did not succeed.

"Tea!!!" Yugi screamed. He dashed to the edge of the opening void, a vast hole that seemed to go on forever. Yugi collapsed and stretched out a hand in futilely.

From below, the Ravager rose up from the depths and gazed into their eyes.

It glided out of the chaos it had created, simply rising from a pool of darkness like a leviathan from the deep. It had come up from beneath them, bursting out of the brick floor. A single primal Beast had somehow managed to find its way into Yami's soulroom and decided to wreck some havoc.

Whoever had created the thing certainly had some sense of artistic style. Black sheaths rippled and shone, sleek with power. It moved with ease, reveling in the contained power within it. Spikes studded down the length of its body, as if the thing needed any more weaponry than it already had. It was, quite simply, a thing of destruction, created for that purpose only.

The Ravager seemed to turn its head (or something like it), observing the seven before it. It paused in front of Yugi, before snaking towards him. It reared its head, as if to strike…when suddenly, it halted and jerked its head up. It seemed to be listening to something. And then it nodded and slithered away, back down the hole it had created. Down the hole where Tea had fell.

Silence.

"That- that--" Tristan stuttered.

"That was the Ravager." Shadi affirmed. "Being of Death. And now we have even less time than before. The Ravager had reached the Pharaoh's mind. It is slowly destroying him, eating his mind away. Time is running out. If we do not find the remaining three memories, we will lose them both."

All eyes turned towards Yugi, who was slumped on the ground, eyes glazed. He could feel the bond between himself and his other self wavering, weakening. Yugi was sobbing. "Tea… Yami…God, it's eating him away…it's eating his mind, his heart, his soul…they're dying…I can't leave him like this…"

Joey stumbled towards Yugi. "Yuge, man, get up!"

Tears streamed on Yugi's cheeks.

Joey shook Yugi's shoulders. "Snap outta it! We gotta stay focused!" Joey punctuated every word with a shake. "Yami's counting on you to keep your head on!"

"Jou…I couldn't save him after all… "

"No way! I ain't givin' up, so don't you give up either!" Joey growled. "We're not gonna give up now! Not you, not Tea, and especially not Yami!"

Shocked, Yugi stared into Joey's eyes. Wide and honest, there was no room for lies. Come on, they said. Don't let go now. Let me share the pain. We're all here for you.

"Come on, Yuge." Joey pleaded. "Get up. I swear, Tea's still alive."

"Really?" Yugi whispered. "How do you know?"

"GUYS?! ANYONE?" Tea's voice echoed around them.

"Wha?!?!?" All the guys exclaimed.

"What the--" Joey jumped up, and Yugi unsteadily got to his feet, hope rising in his eyes. "WHERE ARE YOU?" Joey yelled.

"DOWN HERE!"

The group heard the voice coming from the hole. Had Tea actually survived the fall?

Tea had managed to keep a grip on her mind when the floor suddenly gave way. She had felt something really strange on the way down, but that was probably due to shock or something, she rationalized. Tea landed somewhat smoothly, bending her knees and thanking the dressing gods that she had chosen to wear her boots today instead of high heels. Much better at absorbing shock. She tripped a second later, tumbling onto the hard brick floor with a thud. Grumbling, she got up, pushing off the floor with mysteriously scrapped hands and gasping as she regained the breath that had been squashed by fear.

She looked up to see a ceiling with a hole and the door of the Tauk under her feet. Well, this was certainly interesting.

It was at this point that Tea yelled.

"Tea! Are you okay?" Yugi called down. "Where are you?"

Tea craned her neck up. "Yeah, I'm fine!" She waved her arms. "I'm down here!"

"She's alive!" Tristan exclaimed.

Joey whacked Tristan's head. "Duh."

"And guys, I found the door of the Tauk!" Tea beamed. "I told you I'd find it! It's down here!"

Above, all guys sweatdropped. "Well, you certainly have an interesting way of finding things, Tea." Kaiba remarked.

Shadi walked over and peered down. "It appears to be that this hole is not endless." Shadi paused. "I thought that this had been another mental defense, but apparently not so…"

Tristan looked down. Blackness. Again. "Tea, I don't see anything. Where are you?"

"I'm right here!" Tea waved her arms.

Yugi squinted over the edge. He could kind of see the brick floor below him, but it looked really, really far away. Actually everything looked a bit hazy, and darkness seemed to swirl around like that funky stuff last time. Not that heights unnerved him or anything, but he doubted if it were as close as Tea said…"Tea, I really don't think that's a close bottom…"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "For you, nothing is close."

"Hey!" Yugi craned his neck to see Kaiba smirking and groaned. "Kaiba, you too? Why can't anyone appreciate the small?"

Joey snickered, and then edged over so he could look down also. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Just Tea's exasperated face. "Tea, I'm lookin' down, and I'm not seeing anything 'cept you…"

Tea sighed loudly. "Guys, if I say I see something, I see something!" Tea took a breath. "Look, I was a gymnast when I was younger and I still take dance lessons now. I should know how to fall and how high I'm falling from. And I'm saying it's no more than ten meters high…"

Ryou frowned. "But how are we going to get down?" He peeked over the edge. "It looks really deep…"

<<Coward.>>

"Um…I can catch?" Tea hopefully said.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Riiigght…"

Tea rolled her eyes. "I'm also a cheerleader, guys. We do this all the time!" Tea was getting a bit frustrated now. "Are you coming down or what? We don't have time to waste, you know!"

All the guys looked dubiously at each other. Alrighty then, let's list the facts: 1) The next door was down there. 2) They were up here. 3) They had to get down there. 4) Assets: They had one girl down there. 5) Plan: The girl proposed that she catch them. 6) Problem: No guy ever wants to be caught that way. 7) Unfortunately, there was no other choice.

See all guys sigh in agreement. Tristan called down, "Alright Tea, we're gonna jump down then. Ready?"

Tea nodded, even though they couldn't see her. "Yeah. Um, just one of you guys jump down at a time, okay? I'm the only one down here…so um, I think Yugi'd better go first…"

All eyes turned towards Yugi, who squeaked. "Me? Now?"

Joey grinned. "Yep, you Yuge." He winked. " 'Sides, do you really think she could catch one of us by herself?" He flexed his arm muscles, which made everyone around him face-fault.

Yugi scooted over to the edge and looked down. Gaaah, not good idea. He knew that it wasn't that far down -- Tea proved that -- but that didn't stop his body from thinking it was a hundred meters up anyway. Tea seemed to be a little tiny dot, the size of his fingernail.

"Come on, Yugi. I'll catch you!" Tea spread out her arms.

The irony of it was monumental. The description is simply…disturbing. There was Yugi, teetering over a brick edge, about to jump into Tea's arms. The scene is quite amusing…for an observer's point of view.

Yugi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, really wished that Yami was coherent now, and stepped off the edge like he was walking off the plank.

A few milliseconds of sheer terror and then a long moment of embarrassment, because he happened to be on top of Tea and Tea happened to be dazed on the floor, rubbing her head.

"Tea? Tea? Are you okay?" Yugi scrambled off of Tea.

"Ow. Haven't exactly done that recently in cheerleading practice." Tea said without opening her eyes, and moaned. "Yugi, next time try falling horizontally…I forgot to tell you guys that…"

"Oops. Sorry." Yugi pulled Tea back up into a sitting position, leaning against Yugi. "Here. Better now?"

"Much." Tea lurched back upright, shaking her head to clear her eyes. Swirls are not something she should see in her vision. Ah, much better. She turned towards Yugi. "Thanks."

Yugi looked around. They had fallen into yet another level of Yami's soulroom. More sets of stairways and twisted doorways, halls that went nowhere and an endless place of mazes…

"Hey, you two? You guys alright or do we haveta call in the expert?" Joey yelled down.

"We're fine!" Yugi yelled back.

"Really, then? 'Cause Tristan's coming down!"

"Not yet!" Tea yelled. "Have to get ready first! And try falling horizontally!"

She whirled towards Yugi and then glanced up to where Tristan was standing. "Yugi, you stand over there," she pointed to a place a meter in front of her, "hold your hands like this, and get ready to catch Tristan's legs."

Yugi nodded. "Right." He looked up. "Alright, Tristan! Let's go!"

"Bomb's away!"

Most of the rest of the group got down without much problem, although Joey decided to fall face down instead of face up, giving the impression that Superman had lost the ability to fly. At least, that's what he tried to look like. Kaiba's trenchcoat, being the long, bulky thing that it was, added much padding. This was a good thing, because since the trenchcoat made it difficult to tell exactly where Kaiba's body was, Kaiba slipped out of their hands at the last second and fell onto the ground. Shadi falling put in a whole new perspective to the Holder of the Ankh; it's not every day that you see Shadi's clothes waving around like the mysterious breeze that comes whenever yamis appear. It almost looked as if Shadi were a falling mummy, arms crossed and everything. The trailing banner that came out of his turban was also very interesting…

But poor Ryou, scared guy that he is, had a pretty hard time going down. He managed to get his toes up to the edge and stand up, but that was about it. Everybody else had already gone down and was calling up at him, saying that it was fun or cool or not that bad, but he just couldn't make himself jump off.

<<You useless, spineless idiot! You can't even jump off a measly ledge!>>

Ryou squeaked.

Bakura screamed. <<Do I have to do everything that is remotely interesting?>> He brutally grabbed control. <<Now vessel, watch and for once, learn something that is applicable to life.>>

In his soulroom, Ryou couldn't help but mutter, <Jumping off of high places is applicable to a normal teenager?>

Bakura snarled. <<Ahou, I heard that. Consider another word your death.>> And with that Bakura leaned forward and pushed off, straight into oblivion.

Ryou's clothes and hair whipped around him, blinding Ryou for a few crucial moments. Crucial, because Bakura had decided to play a trick and/or teach Ryou a lesson by relinquishing control in the middle of their "flight." A moment of "ignorance is bliss," and then Ryou found himself staring into the approaching face of Yugi who was apparently going to catch him.

<Iiiiiiiiiiieeeee!!!! Yaaaammmmiii!!!!!!!>

A long, low chuckle as Ryou was enveloped in hands and arms. <<That was fun,>> Bakura commented.

Ryou shook his head as he was lowered to the ground. Now the spirit of the Ring was saying this strange adventure was "fun." Yep, hell had definitely frozen over…

Seto raised an eyebrow while Ryou brushed off his clothes and got up. "So where's the door, Tea?"

Tea smirked. "Under your feet, Kaiba."

Kaiba jumped off the door as if the door were on fire. The door was quite literally, in the floor. It had the same basic design -- iron door with the symbol of the Tauk, a small puzzle on top and the thieves cant in the center, except the door opened into the floor. And as the rest of the group walked over towards the door, they saw that it had no handle.

"How are we gonna open this door if there's no handle?" Tristan asked confusedly, placing his hand where the handle should be.

"Um, just like last time? Ask the door?" Ryou put in timidly.

Tea tried it. "Please open, Door of the Tauk?"

The group collectively sighed when nothing happened. Nothing is ever that easy or repetitive. They all just sat around the door in the floor.

Joey sighed. "Gah, stuck. Again."

Tea squinted. There was more of that funny writing again…"Move over, Joey."

Joey raised an eyebrow as Tea breathed on a spot at the foot of the door and rubbed it, getting rid of the grime. And remarkably, writing appeared underneath her hands. Writing that they could understand. And as Kaiba, Shadi and Bakura noticed, the type that translated into several languages.

Tea read it aloud. "Those who seek, find."

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Oh sure, that helps. Find what?"

"The handle?" Ryou said. "Maybe it's just hidden."

"Yeah, but where?" Joey waved a hand over the door. "There's no handle at all!"

Tea pursed her lips. "Then we'll just have to find it. Maybe it's really small."

And so they examined the door meticulously to the point where they could distinguish a strand of hair. It was quite uncomfortable, kneeling on top of the door, as the markings and whatnot did not exactly have rounded edges, and the metal knobs on the edge were not pleasant to rest your knees on either.

It was Ryou who finally found it. "Hey guys, I think I've got it."

Everyone practically slumped to where he was pointing. "Whaaa?" Joey mumbled. ("My eyes hurt…")

Ryou indicated to a tiny blotch beneath one of the markings. The one that happened to be Bakura's mark, by the way. "See, there's a little ditch right here. And a really small dot in the center."

"Soo…" Tristan trailed off.

"I think it's a button." Ryou stated simply.

"So try it. Use one of the pointers of your Ring, Ryou." Yugi nodded. "I think that's the smallest thing we've got that'll push that button."

Ryou took off the Ring (with much yelling from Bakura) and poked one of the pointers into the hole. This resulted in a very loud creak and groan, and with much, much effort the door swung open, and since the door opened upwards, everyone on top of it fell off in a tumble. They had no time to right themselves before they were swept away into the memory of an ancient pharaoh as the air filled with the lingering smell of desert plants…

The body, or what was left of it, was put into a jar and handed to Karal. I gave prayers over the remains in hope that his spirit would survive Amenti, but I knew that the chances were slim. The jar was taken away in a great procession led by some priests while others did purification rites over the death-site.

"His death shall be avenged." Seto stated simply, thumping his staff on the stone floor, the hollow sounds echoing ominously.

I nodded. "His death shall not be in vain. Through his death our people will know life. "

Karim added mournfully, "It is the balance of things."

A long moment of silence. So much gained, but at what cost?

It was Shadi who finally spoke. "What shall we do now, Pharaoh?"

I sighed. "We need to test our plan first. This cure will take a great amount of time, magic and strength to put on all of the Black Land, and I do not want to waste our energy for something that may be fruitless."

Seto raised an eyebrow. "A test run then, Pharaoh?"

I nodded. "We need another person who is battling the Ravager now. And I would like it if this were done outside the palace walls. Too much blood has been shed in this place."

"So we must enter the diseased villages?" Akunadin distastefully said. "Places of death?"

Isis gave Akunadin a significant Look, the kinds that are permitted to the usage by women only. "Because Akunadin, that happens to be where the cure will be most useful."

Akunadin glared at Isis, and Seto groaned. "Oh goodie. I am not looking forward to a stroll through rat-infested streets and dead bodies." Seto looked mournfully down at his garments. "Not to mention the considerable damage it will do to my clothing."

I snorted. Seto liked to dress in fancy clothes and flowing cloaks. On the second thought, all of my priests wore elaborate attire. All of us were wearing white robes with various layers, along with gold arm bracelets, wrist bracelets, belts, and neck dresses. And of course, our very…distinctive hairstyles. Isis, Shadi, Karim and Akunadin (who was one of the few who did not openly wear golden jewelry) were fairly normal in that they wore hoods or a typical Egyptian haircut, while Seto, Mahado, and myself were a bit more…creative. Mahado's cloak was attached to long, sloping shoulder plates, and his diadem was a very thick gold band with a circle in the front and two spikes pointing straight up. Seto favored a headdress that was very similar to my blue crown, except that it was purple and not of metal. He also wore a purple tunic over his robes, and on the center of his chest was an outstretched falcon. I wore the royal outfit of a purple cloak, a white tunic that covered my torso and ended in a skirt-like fashion, and enough gold to sick a ship. And of course I was fated to have a hairstyle that would fulfill omens, gossip, and various rumors.

In essence, none of us were going to fit into the lower class atmosphere. I laughed, though. "What Seto, you want us to start wearing peasant clothing? Loisha would have a fit!"

Shadi added wryly, "Although we would be a walking advertisement to thieves."

Mahado chuckled. "A thief daring to take us seven on? Oh please, Shadi!"

I walked over to the throne doors. "Whatever the case, let us go now, before the priests take notice and believe the world has come to the end."

Akunadin coughed. "Ah, Yami? The priests will notice and will believe the world will come to an end, because you will not be here to do the evening ceremony."

I groaned; I had forgotten that fact. "Give Loisha the task for this one night. Perhaps that will keep him busy enough to forget to worry about the fact that I am running about the streets of Thebes." I grabbed a bit of papyrus on a table nearby and wrote the various permissions and then placed it on the doorway where the priests would notice. "There. Knowing Loisha, he'll be so proud that he won't care what I'm doing. Let's go."

"Um, Yami? Aren’t you forgetting something?" Seto pointed to the arrangement of weapons on the wall. "You have a reputation to keep. The Fighting Pharaoh."

I grimaced. My sword was a fine weapon, forged from the same metal that made up the Millenium Items, although it was not infused with magical qualities. However, it held a keen edge without much need for sharpening and was also very light and thin, not to mention also a wondrous golden color. In fact, it was my father who had forged that weapon; he had been so impressed with the physical qualities of the Millenium Items that he ordered other weapons to be made of the same material. He favored the battle-axe, though I favored the sword. It also happened to be unusual in that it was long and straight, with edges on both sides, while typical Egyptian swords are shorter, wider, and curved.

Granted, I was known as the Fighting Pharaoh due to my affinity for fighting to the very end, but swordplay was not one of my typical ways to "duel." However, as Seto said, I did have a reputation to keep. People tend to look at the outward appearance. I grabbed my sword and slid it into my scabbard, pushed the throne doors open and looked back at my priests who were all hesitating. "If we may all leave…?"

Akunadin coughed again. How proper, he was. "Pharaoh, is this wise? If the people see you unguarded, without your procession, they will spread fear that something is wrong."

Karim lowered his head. "Your control over the priests and the renegade magicians is tenuous. A sign of weakness or worry may create greater trouble. Please, Yami, rethink this."

Mahado stepped forward. "Pharaoh Yami, let my magicians take over. Surely they can create the cure; we have already found the way."

"But the people, Mahado!" Isis cried out. "While we stand here, our people die in piles! How can you call for patience?"

"Enough!" I commanded. "Isis is right. We cannot wait; we must act now before the fire becomes a firestorm."

And then to add to our troubles, someone burst in the room for the fourth time this day. I barely had enough time to get away from the door and in the proper center position. A guard, perhaps the one that had brought in the thief, bowed down. "Great Pharaoh! There's been a breakout from the dungeons!"

Inwardly I groaned. Note to self: reorganize the bureaucracy for more efficient management. Why must they always come to me? Even the simplest problems come to my feet for fixing!

Seto rolled his eyes. "And why, may I ask, did you have to come here in the middle of the night to bring us this fact? Surely the dungeon master can deal with a single escapee. And if not, this indicates laxness…"

"No sire, but the one who escaped left this behind. He was the insolent one I believe." He grimaced. "Apparently he was not too happy with the accommodations and decided to leave." The guard reached into his robes and pulled out a dagger. "He left a message."

I took the dagger and examined it. It was razor sharp from frequent use, although the owner apparently did not care about bloodstains on the hilt. On the metal, hieroglyphics were carved into it to read, "Kkwy tchetta er neheh." Darkness forever and ever.

"Well, that's certainly frightening." Seto said sarcastically.

"And Honda is dead." The guard added simply. "The thief killed him with that knife in his escape. Jonouchi was wounded as well."

The knife clattered to the floor.

Honda, dead? He had been one of my good friends, even though there had been a social barrier. But he was one of the few people that I could leave the cloak of royalty behind and for once, be a normal person. And Jonouchi -- that bold, brash fool -- had been a loyal friend to the core. I had met them on my excursions out into the cities (the details involved a chase from an angry merchant and a seriously mad Seto) and the bonds of friendship had been quickly forged in our runaway. And now one of them had been permanently severed…

"Pharaoh, look!" Mahado pointed with his staff at the knife on the floor. "There is a magical signature on the blade!"

"What?" I exclaimed. I invoked the Puzzle to confirm it. The eerie sign of magic emerged from the metal, and it looked familiar. Dark, twisted and curving, sleek and-- it was something I had seen before.

"The Ravager." Shadi grimly said. "The blade has the Ravager's mark."

"And if the Ravager is spread by blood…" Isis trailed off.

"Then Jonouchi will be walking with Anubis quite soon." Akunadin concluded. "Well, we've found our test."

I clenched my fists. How dare he consider my friend nothing more than a test? Jonouchi was more than that; he was a steadfast rock, always faithful, always willing to lend a hand. Logic won over rage though; I highly doubt Akunadin knew of my late-night excursions. It was a cold face though that stared into the guard's eyes.

"Where is Jonouchi?" I demanded. "When did he leave?"

The guard quailed. "H-h-home, I suppose…he was wounded on his arm, went to bandage it I think half a watermark ago…"

I stormed out the palace doors. Enough time had been wasted. "Then let's go." No Ra-cursed disease was going to take my friend away. Not in this lifetime.

I'm not quite too sure what happened immediately afterwards. My mind was on more pressing matters. For one, where did that thief obtain a magical blade? How had he escaped? And how, oh, how could he have known about the Ravager?? How could he know about the magical aspects of the Ravager? Mahado himself discovered that!

Somehow along the way I found myself riding Wahankh, my war horse. I believe there was some confusion behind me in the direction of the palace stables, and then six other horses galloped beside me, each carrying one of my priests. They seemed to be very irritated…perhaps they were not used to riding in haste.

We made it into the city without much mishap. I believe that there was only one miffed diplomat and a few startled cats, but the palace people were used to horses barging through the palace gates. We were riding through Thebes at night into the lower part of the city because it was a shortcut. Even with the darkness, I could feel my people's horror.

Bodies strewn in the alleys, decaying and giving off putrid smells. Mothers screaming, children running, tripping, falling into half-hardened pools of blood. Men limping on the streets, only managing to stumble away. Rats scurrying over twitching bodies. The local priest in this particular section of the city was chanting prayers to the goddess Isis for healing as flames circled around him, as bodies burned. I whispered my own prayer. May Ra protect us all.

And yet, for all the magic and power granted to me as Pharaoh, I could not save them. There was neither time nor the strength to heal every sickened individual in front of me. I could not protect them as my duty required. To save Jonouchi, who had a better chance of survival, or the dying people in front of me? There is no time to save them all, my mind argued, though my heart cried traitor.

Their wails will haunt me for the rest of my days.

Jonouchi's home was in a somewhat higher part of town; this section of Thebes had at least body-carriers to lug away the dead bodies. Most of the people had locked themselves inside, not daring to even step outside into Death.

"Pharaoh! Look!"

I whirled my head around to see Isis pointing up into the night sky, her blue eyes wide and open. "What is it? We cannot stop now!"

"Look at the moon!" Her horse stumbled in Isis' hesitation.

I took a quick glance at the moon. And then jerked to a stop in shock.

The moon was blood red.

The rest of my priests had stopped as well, horses sliding their hooves on the dirt. We all stared at the moon, the moon of white that had turned into blood. In the past, this event had been recorded in the scrolls, infrequently and with ominous warnings. For every time it had appeared, hardship and trouble followed. It was a sign of chaos and forewarning, a time of death. The gods were at war.

It was an omen of death.

Mahado spoke into the silence. "What is happening? Has it been destined to end now?"

"You are too gulliable." Seto scowled at Mahado, waving his left hand at the moon. "Forget 'Destiny.' As for me, I will make my own destiny." He abruptly wheeled his horse around and nodded towards me. "Yami, let's go. We are going to crush the Ravager once and for all."

"But--" Isis feebly answered. "The omens--"

"Down the Nile with omens!" Seto interjected. "Nothing is going to happen to Yami! And while we're worrying about omens, someone is dying that we might be able to save. So let's go!"

Seto spurred his horse on, and I urged Wahankh as well. There was just this street and one turn, and then we would wrestle with Anubis for Jonouchi's life.

In a world within a world, another cell was unlocked. This cell was armored and armed to the teeth to seek and destroy. While its younger brother used guerrilla tactics, hitting and then quickly dodging away, this cell was not meant to retreat.

This cell was a tank.

The new cell joined the ranks with the symbol of the Tauk shining brightly on its center. It immediately charged the infantry of the Ravager. Swarms fell.

Unfortunately, one tank cannot win a war. Neither can an entire platoon of tanks. No, what the defending army needed was its killing machines…

~ * * * * * ~

Bakura lurked the hidden passageways of the Pharaoh's soulroom yet again. Ah, this was quite fun. He'd waited three thousand years for this chance. Now the Pharaoh was weak from the Ravager, and finally Bakura could have his revenge.

Bakura glared at a nearby door and wrenched it open. Perhaps luck was on his side…

"Sir, the thieves are acting up again."

I groaned. "Again? I thought I'd caught their King a month ago."

"Apparently there's a new one now…"

Bakura kicked the door closed. So the Pharaoh still remembered him, ever so vaguely, hmm? Bakura grinned. If only the Pharaoh knew. He had lost it all, but Bakura remembered everything, burned into his mind.

He traced his hands across the crumbling brick wall. Ah, everything was going to plan. It had taken awhile, but finally things were going his way. Bakura grinned. His heart began to beat faster as he saw bloodlust, vision hazed in red. He licked his lips. Oh yes, now this was the good part. The Ravager had been unleashed.

First blood was theirs.

One predator heard the call of another predator, and like the cry of the pack, answered that call.

The Ravager emerged from the wall, shedding its camouflage and revealing its true nature. The two hunters stared at each other.

Bakura chuckled. "Ah, I should have known."

The Ravager nodded, and then jerked its head.

"Ra curse it, I'm working on it! I'm only one spirit here!" Bakura growled. "I did my part three thousand years ago, the part you failed!" Bakura moved his hand to his back pocket. "So excuse me, I have some searching to do…"

It bowed its head, and then crept away. Bakura sneered and then focused on the Ring, because it was time for him to return. Cursed vessel kept waking up; perhaps he needed to get some tranquilizers. His hunt would have to continue later.

* * * * *

If someone had entered ICU 105, they would have thought that Yami was sleeping peacefully. But appearances can be deceiving.

Yami was not in much pain anymore. It was distant, muted. Like someone had stuffed a pillow over a stereo that had been on max volume.

He doesn't seem to be fully aware of pain any longer because the blood clots lodged in his brain are cutting off blood flow.

In fact, Yami was not really aware of anything that much anymore. He vaguely understood that he was sick, and that someone was going to make him feel better…but who? Yami tried to concentrate, but his mind was falling apart. What was happening? Where was he?

His personality is being wiped away by brain damage. This is called depersonalization, in which the liveliness and details of character seem to vanish. He is becoming an automaton. Tiny spots of his brain are liquefying. The higher functions of consciousness are winking out first, leaving the deeper parts of the brain stem (the primitive rat brain, the lizard brain) still alive and functioning.

Oh Ra, help me…wait…who is Ra? Yami couldn't make out anything, couldn't remember anything. There was something just out of reach, and Yami struggled for that last mental millimeter. Something was wrong, but…what?

It could be said that the who of Charles Monet has already died while the what of Charles Monet continues to live.

Who am I? Where am I? Yami couldn't piece it all together. He knew it was there, but he couldn't make the pieces fit. What is my name? What do I even look like? It was all too confusing…

There was very little electrical activity in his brain, but every now and then the flatlines gave a spooky twitch, as if something continued to struggle within the boy, some destroyed fragment of the soul.

The Puzzle glowed, the Eye of Horus appearing on the sick Pharaoh's head. Its magic flowed into its bearer, instinctively cradling the heart and the deep memories of the King of Games. Locking certain doors, enforcing crumbling walls, and supporting the soul, sacrificing the outer in order to save the core. As if it were second thought, the Puzzle moved to guard newer doors, the ones that contained the memories of a boy. The Puzzle seemed to sense the Pharaoh's connection to this boy and exerted its magic to protect these new memories as well.

Wait…something…he was missing something…something forgotten…yes…there was something else… he had to find it. To go back, and search, for something that was lost…But could he? It seemed to be so long, so very long ago…

"Is there a way to return
"Is there a way to unlearn
"That carnal knowledge
"That's chipping away at my soul
"I've been gone too long
"Will I ever find my way home?

There was a boy, yes, a boy…he was to help him…somehow…who was he?

A picture, or a memory, came to Yami's mind. A smiling, open face, beaming down at him. He looked so young and innocent, like an angel. Always able to see the light in the dark. Always ready to forgive and to trust wholeheartedly, time after time, naively, hopefully, waiting for a change. He was reaching out a hand.

"There was a boy who had the faith to move a mountain
"And like a child he would believe without a reason…

The boy whispered, "Come on, it's not so bad. Let me show you…"

Yami tried to reach up, but he had no strength. The memory faded away.

"Without a trace he disappeared into the void and
"I've been searching for that missing person…

Yami struggled to remember. The boy seemed so familiar. He knew that boy from somewhere. More memories appeared of the innocent boy. Pictures of his family, of his friends. Of some sort of game, of a friend… his struggles, his belief in the triumph of good…

The boy would do anything for his friends, Yami noticed. Most people didn't notice, but that boy had a core of fire that could not be burnt out. With that fierce determination, that boy could overcome it all for his friends. Wistfully, Yami thought it must be nice. He certainly couldn't remember any friends…or did he?

"He used to want to try to walk the straight and narrow
"He had a fire and he could feel it in the marrow…

It was all too distant, all too long ago. Yami couldn't remember. And why did he remember this boy? Did he have some sort of connection? For some reason, Yami felt like he did. Or he used to…

Perhaps he'd better find him then.

Yes, perhaps then he'd remember.

He had to.

"It's been a long time and I haven't seen him lately but
"I've been searching for that missing person…"

* * * * *

Tsuikyu, an intern at Domino Hospital, sighed as he entered the small room. Tsuikyu was a trainee, only twenty-seven years old, and he aimed to be a surgeon someday. He was a quiet man, enjoying fishing rather than basketball as a favorite sport. Tall, with blue eyes, he tended to stay away from people and would rather look at the newest blood sample than watch doctors rush about in the ER.

In his hands Tsuikyu carried the latest blood sample from Yugi Motou from ICU 105.

This was going to be fun. Dangerous, but fun.

He had been told about what was in the blood that he carried. The intern who had analyzed Yugi Motou's blood when he had first arrived to the hospital had been scared to death. Tsuikyu's reaction? "Cool! Can I see? …Shoot, you threw it away?!"

But there was also the sense that "I missed one of the big ones."

Tsuikyu had immediately asked to analyze any further samples. Strange how no one else wanted to…

Tsuikyu carefully set the array of test tubes onto the counter. He searched for the latest one -- ah, there it was, not even an hour ago. With a gloved hand, he pulled out the tube that was filled with blood and placed it into the centrifuge machine. He flipped the button on. With a hum, the machine spun the tube round and round, till all of the busted cells were squashed onto the bottom of the tube, taking less than five minutes. With extreme care, Tsuikyu turned off the centrifuge and took out the tube. From it, he scratched out the lump of cells, a lump of meat for the predator within. He plunked the lump -- no bigger than a pinhead -- onto a little plug of plastic. Tsuikyu picked up the plug and moved to another machine. He set the plug inside and turned the machine. This machine was perhaps the sharpest machine on earth, containing a diamond blade sharp enough to slice a virus, the smallest lifeform (if it could be called that) on earth.

The machine sliced the Ebola virus like cheese. Tsuikyu edged once slice out and moved it to the electron microscope. This machine was able to magnify things 112,000 times, enough to view a virus that was no more than 800 to 1,000 nanometers long, where 1 nanometer equals one-billionth of a meter.

Tsuikyu edged around and sat down in the small seat in front of the electron microscope. It was a bit difficult, as he was wearing one of those biohazard suits Doctor Seimei had insisted on. He had to be careful, because these suits ripped very easily.

He switched the microscope on. And the Ebola virus appeared in all its glory.

It was like mass of worms, or a pile of snakes, all slithering and writhing around the dead cells. Ebola viruses are some of the largest and most unusual viruses that Mother Earth has to offer. Long, thin, and cylindrical, this peculiar protein shape made scientists put Ebola and its sister Marburg in a family of its own, "Filoviridae," with a single genus, "Filovirus." Sometimes, because of their length, the viruses actually fuse together, forming one long strand of a Death-making machine.

Ebola is actually fairly primitive. It's protein shell is made up of only seven proteins, while the common cold contains over twenty proteins, each which mutate freely. Ebola is made up of RNA, which is a primitive form of the "modern" DNA. Basically, Ebola is a virus meant to do one thing: destroy.

Ebola is a rather simple virus -- as simple as a firestorm. It kills humans with swift efficiency and with a devastating range of effects.

Oh, Tsuikyu knew the statistics. (He memorized them from his textbook.) In more scientific terms, the virus was pleomorphic, unusual in itself. It consisted of a nucleoprotein, a glycoprotein, 7 polypeptides, a polymerase, and 4 other undesignated proteins; made from polyadenylated mRNA; contained a nucleocapsid, which is surrounded by a cross-striated helical capsid. There is an axial channel in the nucleocapsid, and a lipoprotein unit derived from the host cell surrounds the whole virus. And yet today, with all of medical science pushing it, they were still clueless to this miniature predator's strategies.

In biology, nothing is clear, everything is too complicated, everything is a mess, and just when you think you understand something, you peel off a layer and find deeper complications beneath. Nature is anything but simple.

Tsuikyu looked into the viewing screen, into a world of a microscopic living system. It was like seeing another planet, its lifeforms, its atmosphere…and its predators. Tsuikyu became acutely aware that he was working in a primitive Level 4 zone, a place with no cure and with a known predator in front of him. A shiver ran down his spine.

One thing the work did leave us all with was a healthy respect for what this mysterious microscopic virus could do. It caused acute suffering and one of the most unpleasant deaths imaginable. Marburg was bad enough; it killed about a quarter of its victims. But its cousin, Ebola, had killed nearly 90 percent. Ebola was the hottest of the hot agents, always investigated under Level 4 conditions. And even then, the space-suited scientists and technicians could not afford to become complacent or let down their guard. They were working with a killer that had no known cure.

He focused on a single virus, the twisted thing it was. It was curled into the shape of a question mark. Mother Nature's worst joke. Totally absorbed in work, Tsuikyu began taking pictures. Tons of pictures. Pictures of viruses, pictures of bloated cells, pictures of lysis, pictures of a microphage…

…What?

Tsuikyu hunched over and squinted his eyes. Yes, that was definitely a microphage. And it was definitely in the process of destroying an Ebola virus. This made no sense. Research done on Ebola implied that the immune system was usually unable to defend itself against the virus, especially this late after infection. But Tsuikyu could clearly see a single microphage -- he made sure of the "single" -- eating at the viruses. This was certainly food for thought. How was this happening? And why just a single microphage?

Tsuikyu focused in on the lone microphage. It seemed normal, appropriate body structure, color, action, it made sense -- except that the immune system defense was usually futile and that there was only one microphage. There should be millions, geared for fighting. Why this lone cell?

Tsuikyu snapped a shot of this lone cell. As the screen blinked, he thought he'd seen something else. Confused, he looked into the viewing screen again. Wait a sec, there was something flashing in the middle of the cell body…but that made no sense…

And then he would have sworn that the cell moved. It seemed to wiggle, or it got bigger, or perhaps it moved a micrometer, or something. Tsuikyu made sure he hadn't jiggled the microscope. Nope, it was steady. But then how…?

Then he would have sworn that the virus glowed.. Was there something wrong with his eyes? Perhaps he needed more sleep; interns were famous for not getting sleep…

Tsuikyu's body would be found three hours later, face frozen in shock, with test tubes shattered and his hands covering his eyes. He was pronounced dead on the spot. Cause of death: Act of God.

Ebola had risen in these rooms, flashed its colors, fed, and subsided into the forest.

* * * * *

Project Death: Coming soon to a body near you.

Rating: Lethal.

Not Previewed.

Tick. Tock. Tick…

Footnotes:

[1] 2500 yen = around $22 US dollars; 35 UK pounds; 23 euros; or 14 Australian dollars. ^^ See all the math I do for you guys? ^^;;; But math in money is not my forte… Exchange rates taken from Encarta 2002. Oh yes, I don't know what timeframe Japan uses, the 24 hr shifts (aka army time) or the 12 hr shifts. I'm guessing 12 hr shifts.

[2] Seto's headdress = um okay, basically from what I've seen, Seto wears something that looks a lot like the Blue Crown, which was…gah…big, blue, curved, and helmety? Um, remember the anime episode The Past is Prologue, number 52? Past Kaiba wearing purple hat? You get the idea… -_- I stink at describing fashion… The Pharaoh generally wore the Blue Crown when he went into battle.

[3] Ceremonies = The Pharaoh, being the god-on-earth, had to do basically everything to make sure the world didn't collapse because the gods were displeased. As such, the Pharaoh had to do a lot of ceremonies to please the gods.

[4] Egyptian swords = During the 18th dynasty (the time when Yami reigned) Egyptian swords were typically curved, used for slashing rather than stabbing. Yami's sword is based on the typical European hand-and-a-half sword, because that makes him unique. ^^

[5] Jonouchi/Honda = Aka Joey/Tristan. Yes, yes, yes I know they're not in the memories in the memory arc in the manga! And yes, other non-canon people will appear. This is fanfiction, therefore I can tweak things, yes? >> The timeline of this memory is a clue as to why I'm being a bit off canon though… *winkwink* And note that Honda is already dead…

[6] Red moon = what they're seeing is a full lunar eclipse. It's red because the earth's atmosphere filters out the blue rays that the moon usually reflects. Omens…I couldn't find info about; this is made up but very probable, considering Egyptians have a thing about destiny…

[7] Biology = O_o … but, ^_^ Woot! Biology! *sweatdrop* Had to have some somewhere, I love this stuff! Will explain basics. Pleomorphic, able to exist in many shapes. Nucleoprotein and glycoprotein, basic proteins of viruses. Polypeptides, string of amino acids, the basic building blocks of the world. ^^ Polymerase, enzyme to reconstruct RNA. mRNA, one half of RNA. See, basically Ebola works like this: vRNA (viral RNA) from the Ebola virus is injected into the cell; this turns into mRNA, which uses the polymerase to create RNA, which then multiplies into gazillions of vRNA, which then are surrounded by a protein shell (lipoprotein). ^_^ Funfun, yet? ^^ Capsids, kinda like a holding place for more genetic info. See, you can have genetic info in the nucleus (DNA and all that) or a capsid. Now, wasn't that educational?

[8] Lysis = aka cells blowing up and spewing out their contents, including the mass-produced viruses inside.

(9) Egyptian: Amenti = region of the dead;
Black Land = what Egypt called itself, or more specially, the area around the Nile where the river dumped off the nutrient silt;
Wahankh = Egyptian for "Strong in Life"

(10) The song excerpt is called "Missing Person" by Michael W. Smith, which I don't own. *sobs* That's such a cool song, but I couldn't fit it all in!! >> Oh well, Lethally Hot isn't exactly a song-fic…

Author's End Notes:

Toboe LoneWolf: ^_^ WAHOO!! *runs around* Lethally Hot Rules!! *pumps fist* All Hail the Ravager!!

Djani: Oh joy and bliss.

Toboe LoneWolf: *rubs hands* Alrighty then, let's lookie at the agenda…aha! *waves paper* Readers, check this out! Real Ebola plushies! *waves plushie* Only $5.95 US dollars! ^^ Mwhee, so cute!

Everyone: O_O

Toboe LoneWolf: ^^;; Go to [http://www.giantmicrobes.com/calamities/ebola.html] to order! *looks at paper* *checks off list* Alrighty then, that's about it. Next chapter everything turns upside-down, Bakura gets an eyeload, Pharaoh Yami drains himself, some people die, I believe there's gonna be some ER action, and Yugi reaches out. Funfunfun!

Yami: -_- I worry about your sanity.

Toboe LoneWolf: Sanity? What sanity? *shrugs* Oh well then. *waves* Hope you enjoyed this long chappie! Lots of goodies, I hope! The Ravager is getting impatient! (Raaaar! ^^;;;) Ja ne!