Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Meeting My Yami ❯ Preparing for the Inevitable ( Chapter 23 )

"While Pegasus looks up the spell, we will prepare for the raid," Yami announced as everyone stood up to leave. He was right about that. We did need to prepare if we were going to face Tea. Still, we had two days before I had to make my decision. That should be enough time; I hoped.

"We will use today to prepare for it," Yami continued. "In the early hours of morning, we will launch our raid. Now are there any questions?"

"What are we suppose to do?" Serenity asked. She was sitting next to Meru and Mokuba. "I know my big brother doesn't want me to come along." She received a nod from the mentioned person. "And we want to help in any way we can."

"You can help us prepare," I suggested, to which everyone else nodded their heads in agreement. "I know, since there are three of you and three yamis, each of you will assist a yami."

"That's a good idea," Meru chirped as she bounced in her seat.

"I would rather have Mokuba work with you," Seto spoke up as he looked over at my yami and I. For some reason, he apparently didn't trust the other two yamis.

"Ryou, would you mind working with my sister?" Joey asked the white haired hikari.

"Not at all," Ryou assured Joey, though his yami was muttering about not needing help.

"Just great," Ishtar groaned. He placed his face into the back of his hikari. "We get stuck with the girl on a constant sugar high."

Bakura started laughing despite the situation. "Now you know how we felt when we had to deal with Duo."

"You're forgetting he likes to pester us," Malik snorted.

"In case you forgotten, we have to deal with him a lot longer than you do," Bakura countered, to which both millennium rod holders cursed. "And this is only temporary."

Joey and Seto headed towards his home office to get some work done and to make out, though they didn't think anyone would notice. Ha! My yami and I noticed because we already knew they were a couple, even if they didn't admit it to us. I don't think either of them would be the type to be romantic and mushy in front of people. That was why they often were away together when they did it. Isis and Shadi went back to deciphering the scrolls. Those pieces of paper were becoming such a nuisance. I really wanted to burn them in a blazing fire. Each yami and hikari team worked with an assistant. We separated the work into three different sections. Ryou, Bakura, and Serenity would work on devices or plans to get past the guards unnoticed as Bakura had the most experience breaking into secured areas. Malik, Ishtar, and Meru built combat weapons as well as came up with a back up plan in case the first one failed. My yami, Mokuba, and I were left with any spells that maybe present in addition to coming up with two escape plans. Yami insisted that we always have a back up one, even in dueling.

"What kind of spells do you think she's going to be using?" Mokuba asked flipping a page in the newly acquired spellbook.

"To be honest, all I know is of that one she bought the ingredients for," Yami sighed. He closed his current book with a snap. I glanced up from my scroll to see him reaching for another. "Even then, I don't know if there is a counter spell, because hardly anyone has used the spell to begin with. It's very dangerous, especially to the caster."

"If it happens to be," I spoke up softly, "then wouldn't Tea get someone else to do it for her. I mean she would want to be present when she rebuilds the world according to her standards."

"You're right about that," my darker half agreed with me. He closed his eyes and sighed for who knows how many time that day.

I went back to reading the scroll. This one had a few things, concerning magical traps and how to effectively deactivate them. When I had discovered this, I immediately showed it to my other half, who nodded with approval. He said that it would become very handy as Tea was now dabbling in magic so it was natural for her to use traps using magic. Yami remembered a few of them he had used to protect his valuables from being stolen. He told me to study the ones that he wasn't familiar with. Mokuba, of course, read from the translated version. He showed me a few markings in that book and I gave it over to Yami for confirmation. He agreed the spell might come in handy if Tea should use a certain spell.

"Hm," I said to myself as I pulled another scroll from the pile. To my surprise, there was something holding it. I pulled harder on it until that something or someone released it. To our aggravation, it was Duo, the Change of Hearts, causing trouble.

"As if it wasn't bad enough, we have Meru to deal with," Ishtar groaned. He banged his head on the table several times, causing his hikari to wonder if Ishtar was sane in the first place, but then again, when was he ever?

"Duo, what are you doing here?" Bakura bellowed from his table. He was literally blowing steam from his ears.

"We came here to see if we can help," Duo replied, trying to sound innocent, even his darker half. "We knew you were researching when we saw you huddled around the tables."

"Oh you know they won't accept it," the dark half argued.

"They will," the light half countered. "If I know Master Ryou he would accept it. He cares too much about his duel monsters."

I was beginning to get a migraine and I wasn't the only one. The other yamis and one hikari appeared on the verge of murdering that annoying duel monster. Ryou tried to keep the peace around there so he sent Duo off on an errand, which he knew wouldn't cause the other duel monsters much trouble and also at the same time keep the Change of Hearts pretty much occupied for the mean time.

"Why did you do that, hikari?" Bakura questioned his aibou a little irritated though he wasn't angry at him.

"As much as he is annoying, Duo has his moments," Ryou sighed. Of course, it helped the duel monster that he was Ryou's favorite. The Change of Hearts had been Bakura's until he had met Duo in person for the first time.

"True, though his moments are once in a blue moon," Malik commented. He groaned when he heard Meru jumping up and down about finding something she thought was useful. It turned out to be very useless as we weren't going up against any small time enemy. Ishtar had turned his millennium rod into a sword until I sent a death glare in his direction and he instantly transformed it back into a rod.

"Now that we have taken care of Duo, can we please get back to business?" I asked the others, who nodded in agreement. The fate of the world as well as my grandpa was at stake. There was much to lose and much to gain, depending if we accomplished the task or not.

How were the others doing? Malik and his yami were doing their best not to strangle or any way harm Meru, who was chattering about this and that. She was reading and telling about everything she had found, anywhere from the useful data to the very trivial things such as what was made in what year or who made them. Ishtar was currently meditating as to calm his nerve. I have never seen him act this way even around Duo. They had a few sketches of weapons on the table. Most of them were neatly drawn as Malik had drawn them. The others were extremely sloppy and messy. Hm, I wondered who drew those.

Bakura drew a few rough sketches of the tools we were going to be using. He informed us he was going to teach us how to use them. Well, he was going to teach us hikaris and not the yamis, for his own reason. I knew he didn't want Yami to find out how he broke into so many tombs. Serenity proved to be a big help to them as she wasn't as annoying as Meru and she knew more than Mokuba. They were the first group to finish and Serenity went to deliver the list to Seto. My group finished next and Mokuba volunteered to give the list of materials we needed to his big brother. We had most of them from our shopping trip to the magic store.

Finally Malik and his group finished. They were glad to send Meru out of there to Seto as they were very tired of dealing with her. By the time they were finished, Serenity and Mokuba had returned from their excursion. The other duel monster had been on look out while we researched and drew blue prints. When Mirai and Calin had discovered we were finished, they came back into the mansion. Duo was busy watching the wildlife that inhabited the area surrounding the Kaiba mansion. The other duel monsters didn't bother with him as he was being occupied. Arian and Drake were currently lounging on the backyard, but they kept alert. Hardly anyone would want to mess with a Blue Eyes White Dragon. Orion and Cyan walked around the perimeter keeping watch.

"Is there anything we can do?" Mirai asked us.

"We've pretty much taken care of everything," Yami informed him. He glanced over at the clock. "No wonder why we're tired. Three hours have passed."

"No it's four hours," I corrected him as I looked over at the clock. Bakura was snickering as Yami scowled at him. The former tomb robber couldn't believe that the almighty pharaoh badly messed up a simple math equation. Ishtar wasn't fairing better as he struggled to contain his laughter.

"Can it the both of you!" Yami growled at his fellow yamis, which caused them to laugh even harder than before.

"Just knock it off, before I knock you off," I said idly. Both of them instantly shut up as they knew what I was capable of when I became enraged. "Good, now that we have our sections taken care of. Let's bring everything together."

The six of us went through the things our groups discussed and straightened out the details. Bakura was the most stubborn out of us. He refused to allow anyone to modify his plans. Ryou tried to keep the peace. He suggested a few compromises, to which his darker half grudgingly agreed, because it was his hikari who suggested it. Malik was all too eager to show us what they had. We agreed that some of his plans were a bit brutal and gruesome, but no one except me argued against it. I told him that we should try to kill less people as possible, but to do it, if there was no other choice. Ishtar was greatly disappointed, because he really wanted to spill blood and create complete chaos. Yami basically agreed to anything I said.

"I think this went rather well," Ryou said, cheerfully or he was trying to be. It sounded awful when he forced himself to sound cheery. This reminded me of Tea, being happy when she was really happy.

"Just drop it," Bakura muttered. Obviously, he felt what his hikari was really feeling. "I know what you're going through and you can't fool me. Heck, even Meru knows you're faking it and we all know she's dense."

"Okay," Ryou sighed, showing his true feelings. He leaned back against the sofa, for which he perched himself on.

"We should be going to bed by now," Yami informed us. "The slightest mistake on our rescue mission may result in our deaths."

"Speak for yourself," Bakura mumbled to the former pharaoh. "Some of us are experts in the art of stealth." He eyed Ryou and Malik questioningly.

"What?" Malik asked, now that Bakura's glance caught him. "As it happens to be, I am an expert in stealth. Just ask my yami."

"He is," Ishtar grumbled. He was currently glaring daggers at his hikari.

"So what happened?" Ryou asked either of the millennium rod holders.

Before Ishtar could shut his mouth, Malik answered his question. "You see I would spend my time trying to sneak up on birds, cats, dogs, and you know animals with sensitive hearing. Then when Ishtar came along, I used it on him and he would jump ten feet in the air when I caught him off guard!" He started laughing out loud and fell onto the ground, despite his yami glaring daggers, knives, swords, and any pointy things at him.

"I so do not get caught off guard," Ishtar pouted. I'd never though I'd see the day this yami pouted in front of us.

"So the great Ishtar gets caught off guard by a rookie, no less," Bakura was now laughing.

"He's not a rookie!" Ishtar argued. His glare was directed towards his fellow yami. What they didn't see while they were arguing was Malik sneaking around the room, towards the former tomb robber. Only us hikaris knew anything about it. Serenity, Mokuba, and Meru were chatting amongst themselves. Ryou tried not to snicker, because it would give him away.

"Right," Bakura said mockingly. "And I'm the almighty pharaoh."

"Knock it off, petty thief!" My darker half scowled at him.

"HEY!!! I am NOT a petty thief!!!" Bakura growled at the former thief.

"Of course you are," Ishtar said, taking Yami's side. "You are a petty thief with hardly any ambitions."

"I have ambitions!!!" Bakura jumped up from where he was sitting, startling the three younger children. "I was going to rob the tomb of the greatest pharaoh, but someone beat me to it."

"HA!" Yami and Ishtar laughed.

That was when Malik stood directly behind Bakura. He tip toed towards the white haired yami until he was inches behind him. Once he was in position, he pounced on Bakura, causing the former tomb robber to jump up and bump his head on the ceiling.

When he landed, he found every yami except himself rolling on the floor laughing. Malik and I were laughing our heads off while Ryou attempted to stifle his laughter. He did manage to snicker a bit.

"Oh go ahead and laugh," Bakura muttered, though he knew Ryou would be rolling on the floor with us. He must have felt Ryou's emotions through their link. "I know you want to." He started pouting on the sofa when his hikari came up to him and began to nuzzle him. Bakura smirked and pulled his hikari up to him, returning the favor.

"We have a long day ahead of us," Yami pointed out as soon as he had calmed down enough to talk and make sense. "We should eat dinner and go to bed."

"It's too early," Malik pouted this time.

"Well, if you want to get enough sleep before our raid, then I suggest you hit the sack soon," I pointed out. "We're leaving around three in the morning."

"Oh," Malik said, obviously wanting to get his sleep. "Who's going to be cooking?"

"I think Isis is going to be cooking," Serenity said as she stood up and brushed off her skirt. "I'll go and help her."

"Thanks," I said politely. That was when Ryou was about to stand up to help the girls when his yami wrapped his arm around Ryou's waist. He wasn't about to let his hikari go.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bakura asked in Ryou's ear when he thought no one was listening.

"I was going to help the girls with the cooking," Ryou replied innocent as possible.

"You still owe me," Bakura said as he carried a protesting Ryou out of the room.

"Well that was interesting," Mokuba said, blinking his blue eyes several times. "I'll go get big brother and tell him the plan." The younger Kaiba brother gathered up a copy of the master plan before scurrying out of the room. Meru followed even though she wasn't invited to tag along. It could be that she was interested in him. I hoped it wasn't the case.

"I wondered where Tristan wandered off to," I said thoughtfully. I tapped my chin a bit impatiently.

"He's probably with the duel monsters or trying to help my sister," Malik shrugged. He walked towards his yami and pulled him away from the room, leaving only the two of us here.

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Tea's POV

I knew it was only a matter of time before Yugi and the others figured out I was behind the entire mess. It was me from the beginning. I had already known about the seven millennium items from this book I had bought. Then I stumbled across this scroll concerning the eighth millennium item and how it will bring peace throughout the world. I figured that I would go along with them, because Yugi and Ryou both possessed millennium items. Now the hard part was to figure out where they were. My plan was to find them myself, but why go through the trouble when I can have them find out. Apparently, they had no clue in the beginning. I made sure that my minions captured his pathetic grandpa. They would have killed the Celtic Guardian, but I told them to keep him alive, because I wanted the elf to tell the others what had happened. They panicked and went to get every millennium item before I could. Now all I had to was sit back and wait until they figured out the scrolls. Since I couldn't decipher the writing, I had left a few of them with Isis, making her think that she had bought them awhile ago. This must be one of my most ingenious plans, if I do say so myself.

"Mistress, is there anything I could do for you?" A certain mysterious warrior asked her.

"No there isn't anything," I said, with a shooing motion. "I need time to think."

"Of course," Leilo answered with a bow. "Since they know, should I prepare for them?"

"Double the guards around the old bag," I scowled at him. "If they do strike, they will go after him first. On second thought, move the old geezer to someplace they wouldn't think of finding him, except my room."

"As you wish," Leilo gave another bow. He took his leave from my sight.

Now what to do when I caught them, I wondered. I had several ideas, but Yugi wouldn't agree with them, any of them. Besides, he wouldn't be too happy when I axe his grandfather after he joined, but then I never said that the old geezer would be returned alive, now did I? I was cleverer than I had given myself credit for. Everything was going according to plan. Now all I had to do was wait for his decision or for him to come to me and rescue his grandfather, which ever came first. I shouldn't dismiss the idea he will attempt a rescue of his grandfather, after all he nearly lost his soul rescuing him in the Duelist Kingdom.

I stood up and walked over towards my balcony. For some reason, this was my favorite part of my mansion. If you're wondering how I acquired this, easy, I had my duel monsters evict the previous owners. They complied with very little problems as they feared my followers and minions. Leilo was one of my most trust-worthy companions and warriors.

"What brings you here, Kitana?" I scowled at my duel monster, without turning towards her. I instantly knew it was her.

The Wingweaver bowed to me. "I have come with news." I waited patiently or tried to when she didn't go on. I guessed she knew I was becoming annoyed and continued. "The old man has asked to speak to his grandson and I have been feeling unusual auras coming from the Kaiba mansion. I can't identify them; neither can the other fairies or spellcasters in your deck. Is there anything you command me to do?"

"When Yugi comes to us with his decision, only allow him to see the old geezer," I said with a glint of mischief in my blue eyes. "Don't allow him to hear the old man. I don't want him to make rants about how his life doesn't count and to do the right thing. If there is anything I can't stand, its people willing to sacrifice their lives to save others even if it's just one."

"But mistress," another voice spoke up. A young lady stood next to the fairy. "Weren't you in the same position as Yugi?"

I immediately walked up to her and slapped her on her cheek. I don't care if she was my favorite duel monster. The Magician of Faith appeared on the verge of crying before she apologized profusely for her mistake. I took a deep breath to calm myself and prevent me from strangling her. "I had to because the others would have figured it out."

"I'm sorry, mistress," Kari apologized. She bowed a low one before hastily exiting.

"Young ones, they never learn," Kitana muttered under her breath. She had been trying to train that spellcaster to be more of a duel monster, but the Magician of Faith hadn't been a good student in the first place.

"I don't blame you," I agreed with her. "She can be a pain in the rear. I don't know why I chose her as my favorite duel monster. She can be easily replaced like now for instance. As of now, you're my favorite duel monster."

"I am honored, mistress," Kitana grinned, though she thought she could hide it from me. She made her exit as I told her that I needed time to myself. I watched the sun as it set down in the East. It reminded me of how things were meant to be.

We were going to purge this world of evil and wickedness. I was to be named ruler of the entire world and Yugi was to be my right hand man with Yami as my king, though I think he wants his hikari to be his bride. I'll have to investigate this. Anyways, with me in control, weapons of mass destruction will be destroyed and banned from being created or researched. Anyone who was caught with those weapons will be instantly killed. Those in association will be severely beaten and watch their comrades die in front of their eyes. Yes, they will die horrible, slow, and agonizing deaths.

Decisions, decisions. Should I keep the other yamis and hikaris alive? Malik, I knew, had complete control of his millennium rod. With that item, he could try to control my mind, but I would have Yugi on my side. The eighth millennium item was definitely stronger than any of the others combined. Ryou held the millennium ring and eye. Knowing him, he wouldn't dare to wear the eye, because putting it in was very painful. An idea crossed my mind. I will find someway to force them to work for me. Too bad Isis held the millennium tauk so she was out of the question as well as Shadi. Maybe I could capture both of the Wheelers, Mokuba, and that one girl. They won't stand back as their friends were tortured and beaten.

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Normal POV

"Calin, will you quit pacing around?" Mirai asked, completely irritated. The elf had taken to pacing back and forth, ever since their masters had gone to sleep.

"Sorry," the elf apologized sheepishly. "I can't help it. I'm worried about our masters. What if their plan fails? Why didn't they include us in it? I'm sure I could sneak in there!"

Mirai shook his head in disbelief. His blonde elfin friend and now lover was completely worried about their masters. The magician assured him that they would be fine. "In case you have forgotten, we have to guard them this evening and tonight, because they need their sleep, especially if they're going to pull this off."

"You're right as always," Calin sighed, returning to his guarding duty. "Will you be coming or standing there like a statue?"

The magician humphed before he followed his fellow duel monster. They were assigned in patrolling the many hallways. Only the human type of duel monsters guarded in inside as they can walk around without destroying the furniture or priceless art. Duo caused enough trouble as is and pairing him up with the Whitty Phantom didn't help either. Orion and Cyan walked together in the halls.

"Have you seen anything?" Orion called out to his fellow swordsman.

"No we haven't," Calin responded just as loud.

"Shouldn't you keep it down?" Mirai hissed. His blue eyes darted around to make sure the humans weren't awake.

"Nah," Calin shrugged. "Besides the sleeping quarters are on the other side of the mansion, which is why we should be heading over there."

"You do have a point, for once," Mirai said with a smirk on his face. He found the elf's reaction very amusing to watch.

"Where are you two heading off to?" Orion asked when they had gotten closer in proximity.

"We're going to the sleeping area," Mirai answered for the both of them, because Calin was busy pouting about having good ideas. "If she planned an assault then that's where she'd most likely hit when they are vulnerable."

"Like what our masters are about to do," Cyan said, though he didn't know whether Tristan was participating in the raid.

"Do you think Master Joey will be in it?" Orion asked with concern. He had nearly lost his master in the Duelist Kingdom.

"I doubt they would place him in danger," the soldier assured the distraught warrior. "The pharaoh and his hikari wouldn't want anything to happen to their friends, especially their best friends." He placed a hand on Orion's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Master Yugi would never let any harm fall onto Joey," Mirai said with confidence. He knew the two acted more like brothers than best friends. "Sometimes I think they are brothers than best friends by the way they interact, but nothing more."

"I have to agree with that," Cyan said. "My master treats Joey almost the same way, though he is growing fond of his little sister."

"Then he should better treat Mistress Serenity," Orion spoke up. "Master Joey would be very displeased if Tristan should harm her in any way and you know what that means."

The rest of the duel monsters nodded their heads. They knew exactly what it meant. Tristan would be paying the hospital a visit pretty soon afterwards. The four duel monsters headed in the direction of the sleeping area, because that place needed more guards than the others.

"I should go and check on the dragons," Calin spoke up. "They're becoming very anxious and restless. It was as if they were sensing something heading our way."

"It's probably nothing," Cyan shook his head.

"Maybe they're nervous about the raid," Orion suggested. The magician had kept quiet for the meantime as he was deep in thought and the warrior had noticed this. "Why so silent, spellcaster?"

"I was thinking about the stranger power I have been receiving for the past few minutes," Mirai spoke slowly and softly. He had been feeling something strange and didn't like it at all. "Don't tell me you don't feel it."

"Don't look at me," Cyan, Orion, and Calin spoke simultaneously.

"You know warriors aren't that in tune with magic," Calin spoke on their defense. The other two warriors nodded their heads. They knew what it was like when the spellcasters in their deck sensed something and they didn't.

"I'd better check it," Mirai spoke as he hurried over towards the sleeping quarters. When he had arrived, he discovered it was only their master. The little guy was doing something in his sleep and he knew it must have been a nightmare. "It's only Master Yugi." Every duel monster there took a deep breath of relief, even the dragons outside.

"It should be another hour or two before they wake up," Orion said. "Maybe we should get them some snacks or something to eat before they leave?"

"Why don't you and Calin go?" Mirai suggested to the two sword wielding warriors. "I know I can't make anything without the use of magic."

"And I can't cook period," Cyan shrugged. "We'll guard Master Joey with our lives."