Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Chaos Master ❯ Ominous Things Cometh ( Chapter 21 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi does. He wants to know who the actual star of my stories is.

 

Hours later, the Ishtar residence was bursting with frantic activity as Odion had heard someone breaking into the house. Unfortunately, when everyone, save for Sami, had gotten there, the culprit was gone. And, from what Ryou could see, so was most of their weapons. The only thing that had been left was Ryou's sword, only because no one but himself could actually wield it. Odion and Malik had already begun to investigate by the time Ryou had gotten there, but it didn't take long for everyone to see that no windows had been broken, and that nothing had been stirred at all during the break-in. That worried Ryou; it meant that they either knew the thief, or the thief used magic to get inside, and Ryou didn't know which one scared him more.

 

“Who could've broken into the place? Don't we keep the doors locked?” Malik asked, as he came back from the outside, “And why would they just steal our weapons? Why not our money or one of our televisions?” Rex's lips thinned as he bent down to look over Ryou's sword. It appeared lifeless, as though it were an ordinary blade. Ryou noted that, for most of the time, he saw a thin strip of energy whirling around it. Rex went to pick it up, and at first, he was able to get a good grip on it. But then, it seemed to gain three times its weight, for Rex inevitably ended up dropping it, growling in frustration as he did so. It was clear why Ryou's weapon had been spared. It was heavy as all hell.

 

“Obviously, someone doesn't want us to go to that island,” Rex replied grimly, turning to Tea, “Is Sami up? She should probably take a look at this.” Tea blinked, and then shook her head.

 

“No. She fell asleep right after she came in. She's exhausted herself,” she replied, and turned to Ryou, “I'm not sure if she should be filled in, but…” She didn't finish her sentence, as Ryou dashed up the stairs toward the room Sami had been in. He threw the door open, and stopped when he saw Sami asleep on the bed. Quietly, he walked over as Tea ran up, obviously worrying he would simply wake her up. Ryou bent down as gently as he could; he could tell Tea was against waking Sami up for this, though why wasn't known to him.

 

“Sami, wake up,” he whispered, gently tapping one of her ears, which lowered from the touch, “Sami, please, this is really important.” Grumbling, yet still asleep, Sami's tail swatted at Ryou's hand, its heavy bulk hitting him full force. Angrily, he withdrew his hand and yelped with displeasure. Sami's eyes bolted open, and she sat up, looking around. Without her glasses, it took her minutes to realize Ryou was with her.

 

“Ryou? What's going on?” she asked, reaching around for her bandana, “Why're you in here?”

 

“Someone broke into the house,” Ryou replied quickly, and Sami gasped, “They took all of our weaponry. The only thing they left was my sword.” Sami's eyes widened fiercely, and she jumped out of bed, rushing downstairs. Glancing at Tea, who simply stared at Sami's speed, Ryou followed, with Tea deciding to stay close behind. Sami was already in the room, looking over their scant excuse for equipment now. Her sword was gone, as was the smaller knife she carried as a back-up; Rex's handgun was gone as well, and the baseball bat Joey had begun to implement was missing, despite its lack of combat use. She sighed. All that was left was, aside from Ryou's sword, a small potion she had made to use as a quick fire. That would never last them.

 

“Why would they leave Ryou's sword?” Katt asked, glancing at her sister.

 

“Because they can't touch it,” Sami replied through gritted teeth, “Because it's of our magical design, and was made specifically for Ryou, I'm guessing only he can touch it. Who heard the person sneaking around?” She looked around at everyone gathered, and saw Odion raising a hand. “Did you hear anything else?” she asked.

 

“No. All I heard was the click of a gun. I thought… it might've been a hitman,” Odion replied quietly. Sami and Ryou both froze. There was but one person who fit that description: the blonde man. But why on earth would he steal from them? From Sami, whom he claimed to love? Sami looked down. The realization that he wasn't truly on her side hurt her. Ryou just patted her back. As much as he wanted to savor the victory of knowing he'd won their personal grudge, he hated seeing Sami so shaken about it.

 

“…then… we must go after him,” she said, almost too quietly. Then she turned to Yami and asked, “What else do we have? Anything of yours we might be able to use?” Yami's eyes widened in shock. He didn't think he was the best person to go to at all; Bakura had much more spiritual weaponry than he ever would. Then he remembered that, like Sami, he was seen as one of the leaders of the troupe. He shook his head.

 

“Nothing that'd actually dispatch anything Amber would throw at us,” he replied, and then asked, “What were you thinking, anyway? Only magic kills whatever she sends, right?” Sami just nodded grimly. That was more than likely the case. And unfortunately, all of her weapons were gone. She was just as powerless as they, now. And while she trusted Ryou, his skill in a fight was more than questionable. As if reading her mind, Tea stated the same thought she was thinking.

 

“It all seems hopeless now,” the younger woman said sadly. Sami's eyes narrowed. As much as she wanted to agree, she couldn't. There wasn't much use in giving up. She turned to Tea and shook her head.

 

“Don't say that,” she said sternly, frowning, “It's not over yet. I have a few tricks still up my sleeves. Now, where's Bakura? He might be able to help us find something to use.” She looked to Ishizu, who had originally thrown both Bakura and Ishtar out. Ishizu glanced around, and then shook her head to show that she had no idea where the old spirit could've gotten to. Sami bit her lip, unable to think of how far away Bakura could've been; it was nearly three in the morning. But when she heard a shrill laugh fill the air, she knew he wasn't far at all.

 

“BOMBS AWAY, MORTALS!” Bakura screamed, as a water bomb exploded against a window. Sami, Tea, and Ishizu ran to the dining room windows, opening one as Ishtar laughed maniacally, giving Bakura a high-five. Sami stuck her head out, feeling that if they threw another bomb, she might as well be the one to get hit. After all, she was the most likely to end up killing them before they threw anything more.

 

“What are you two doing!?” she demanded, and Bakura winced at the shrillness in her voice. He turned around, and grinned when he saw her. She, however, didn't return his enthusiasm.

 

“Well, we heard that someone took our stuff, so I figured you might want to see just what mine and Ishtar's truly brilliant minds concocted!” Bakura said proudly, pointing to a small pyramid of jiggling water balloons. Sami's eyes narrowed, either in amusement or annoyance, Tea couldn't be sure as she looked on. Personally, she felt the whole idea of using water balloons to be useless, and when she looked over and saw Sami's expression, it was clear Sami didn't take Bakura seriously in the least.

 

“Water balloons? You honestly think we can use water balloons?” Sami asked, with a slight tone of amusement, “Bakura, I applaud your activity, but unless we're fighting a machine, or a ball of fire, those won't do anything at all.” Just to prove her point, Sami grabbed a kitchen knife off of the table and toss it toward the pyramid with barely an effort. It hit one balloon, which exploded. The resulting damage set off each and every balloon after it, and soon, cascades of water slammed down on the two unhappy spirits as their screams of rage filled the air.

 

“Why the hell did you do that!?” Bakura screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Sami, “What are we going to fight with!?”

 

“It took us nearly two hours to make all of those, too!” Ishtar whined, “I want those hours back, you little wretch!” Sami simply raised an eyebrow, having no intention of letting them continue their slander toward her. After all, she already knew their idiotic idea would've failed; if a regular sword was going to be ineffective, she felt they should know regular water was just that: regular, unimpressive water.

 

“If you both are going to act like children, then I should think about whipping you for what you're saying to me,” she said sternly when Bakura took to calling her a bitch for popping his ingenious plan, “Stop your slander this instant!” At the threat of a whip, which both spirits knew Sami would back up, they silenced themselves. She glared at them, and then said, “If you're so bent on destruction, why not summon those birds of yours again? They took down a monster, didn't they?” Unfortunately, Sami chose the worst time to bring up any form of bird. Bakura's eye twitched, and then he looked into the night sky. Ryou's fears of the inevitable were proved when the old spirit screamed in utter outrage.

 

“I WILL NEVER ALLY MYSELF WITH THOSE MOCKERS AGAIN!” he roared angrily, and when he saw Sami's look worsen, he defensively cried, “They mocked us! They took a crap on my shoe when I was filling the balloons! One of them even pecked at a bomb until it burst!”

 

“That was funny, though. The bird died in the explosion,” Ishtar reminded him, hoping to help alleviate the problem. But the glare Bakura gave said he wasn't in the mood for forgiveness, no matter how comical the damned creatures had been. They mocked him, in his mind. And that was as bad as Yami mocking him.

 

“I want those sacks of shit eliminated from time itself!” the old thief declared. This time, Sami had had it with him. She leapt out the window, landing silently behind him, and smacked him right over the head. He fell over, mumbling obscene comments to her all the while. To which, she ignored.

 

“If you'll so kindly regain just a bit of sanity, I'd like to get back to our problem,” the woman growled, “We have no weapons. We're going to war. You know much more about where to find weapons than I would, and about how to dispatch shadows. Are you going to help, or are you going to die?” Bakura wanted to scream at her, but he understood that even without her sword, she'd still find a way to murder him. He stood up and looked around. Aside from his idea of water, and Ryou's sword, there was little that would do much good. All forms of darker demons were resistant to every human weapon, save for the purest of silver. He stressed that clearly, in the form of another rant.

 

“Sami, what can we possibly find here, in the middle of NOWHERE!?” Bakura asked, his voice rising again, “There's nothing but rocks at this point!” Sami raised another amused eyebrow, and pointed to a flock of birds flying away from Bakura's shrill rants of insanity at them. He followed her gaze and glared at each feathered creature, his fury rising. That was not the kind of weapon he had in mind.

 

“I'm quite sure that, if they're terrified enough, they'll take a… crap on the enemies for us as well,” Sami said, smirking with sarcasm. Bakura's eye twitched as he glared back at her. That was definitely not the time to be mocking him! If he could've hit her, he would've. But she was already walking back toward the house. Bakura just knelt, scrabbling for something in the dirt. Ishtar just looked down at him flatly.

 

“Bakura, what're you looking for?” the younger spirit asked him blankly. Bakura's eye twitched again. Obviously, he couldn't find whatever it was he happened to be looking for.

 

“Sharp… pointy… sticks… WHY THE HELL CAN I NEVER FIND ANY!?” Bakura screamed, as the front door opened. Sami stepped out again, with Ryou and everyone else behind her. They formed a small circle in front of the house, which Bakura and Ishtar reluctantly joined, without the company of a pointy stick. Sami looked at everyone assembled, knowing that another regrouping was in order and she was expected to be the one to decide who went and what was to be done. She sighed tiredly, her lips thinning as she thought of her words carefully. This wasn't a decision to be made lightly. She was literally deciding who would live, and who might be dying that night.

 

“It goes without saying that I won't be tolerating fear here tonight,” she began grimly, pacing up and down the assembled lines, “Fear's acceptable, even expected, but we can't have it clouding our judgment. Therefore, I want only those who are truly prepared to die. I can't guarantee how successful we are, and as much as it pains me to say, I won't make that decision for you, though I know exactly who I'd like beside me and why. So, make the choice. I'm giving you ten minutes.” That didn't seem like nearly enough time, but Ryou understood the need to rush. The more time they spent, the more the world swept toward destruction. So, when ten minutes finally came to pass, Sami wasn't the least bit surprised to see that only a few people were coming with her. Those few being Ryou, Malik, Yugi, Joey, Shimbou, and Rex. Not the best team, but certainly better than no one at all, Sami had to admit. She simply nodded, giving neither encouragement nor admonishment for their choice. Then, she turned to Katt.

 

“We'll see what we can do here,” Katt said quietly, “If you fail, I'll take over.” Hearing Katt say it so worriedly caused Ryou a great deal of turmoil. She sounded almost certain that her sister wouldn't be coming back. Sami didn't agree, however. The look in her eyes said that clearly as she clapped Katt's shoulder in a firm grip.

 

“We'll prevail,” she said, her grim tone merely growing despite that proclamation. Then, she noticed her phone was ringing. She took it out of her pocket, and turned it on, asking, “Yes?”

 

“Sami, is that you?” To both her surprise and annoyance, it was Yaten Bakura, “Listen, I want Ryou home. I see what's going on outdoors, and I don't want my son catching pneumonia. As the housekeeper, you're supposed to be watching him, so bring him back!” Sami just raised a brow. That was going to be a problem; Ryou already decided he'd be fighting alongside her. Then she took a breath. She'd have to lie. Her only fear was that Yaten wouldn't believe her.

 

“Sorry, sir, but I lost track of him,” she said, and Ryou's eyes widened, “I'll find him, but the city's huge and most of the power's out.” At least she wasn't lying completely. The power was blown practically throughout the city, and the city was very large indeed. Yaten went very silent for a moment, knowing that it was unlike Ryou to just run off. Especially if he was with Sami.

 

“Think he bought it?” Ishtar whispered, but Sami shook her hand to quiet him. Finally, Yaten spoke again.

 

“You're supposed to be watching him,” Yaten told her very firmly, so much that Sami had a hard time believing it was actually him, “I pay you to keep my son safe, and you lose him after all of this? Sami, find him now or I'm going to call the cops to find him.” Sami just paled immediately. Everyone knew that if the police became involved, she'd be found and possibly taken in for being unregistered by the ESB. Ryou motioned for her to give him the phone, which she did. This was the last shot, or he'd have to go home. There was no arguing with Yaten.

 

“Dad, it's okay. I'm here,” Ryou replied, and that seemed to calm the older man down considerably, “It wasn't her fault, I ran off to make sure Yugi and Malik were okay. Don't get mad at her.”

 

“Son? Come home, now. Do you have any idea what the news is saying? We're expecting a tsunami. In Domino!” Yaten told him in alarm. Ryou sighed. He couldn't do that just yet. As much as it pained him, he'd have to do the one thing he never wanted to do: defy his father.

 

“Sorry, dad,” he said sadly, “I'll see you at home.” Then he clicked off the phone. For a moment, he stood there, looking at the cell phone. Why was he going off like this? He certainly wasn't a fan of magic, and they did have Sami there. But this was his world, not hers. If she were dead, he wouldn't even have a choice; he was the only one holding the Zerrkandr. Sami just patted his back. She understood this even more than he had. That was why she'd given them that choice.

 

“We'll prevail,” she said again, this time with more determination. She looked to her sister again, “If he calls you, you understand what to do, right?” Katt nodded.

 

“Tell him you both died. Understood,” Katt replied, and when Ryou stared at them both, she said, “Ryou, it's so that he doesn't try to look for you later. If he figures you and Sami are still out here, he's going to go insane and come looking. If he thinks you're dead, he'll have to wait for the storm to pass before coming out here.” Ryou didn't particularly like what the two sisters had planned out, but it did prove to be the only way to really keep Yaten from looking for him.

 

“Let's go so that it doesn't come to that,” Sami said sternly. Taking the few members she had, she left Malik's yard, going through the groves toward the east, where the bay sat.

 

Though the path was clear, Sami still led her team cautiously, occasionally stopping to look at where they were heading. The night sky was still dark, and it didn't appear that there'd be sunlight any time soon. That wouldn't make the going any easier; she didn't want to use magic in case it alerted Amber in any way, but there was no other way to get light. In the end, they were forced to pick their way through the dark. Sami's eyesight proved invaluable, for it was much crisper, despite being blurred from her lack of eyewear. She relied on a low-powered ability to pick out where the obstacles were placed.

 

“So, if we have no weapons, what do we do if we run into another monster?” Shimbou asked, as they climbed down a natural `staircase' of large, winding tree roots. Sami stopped, realizing that she hadn't actually come up with a solution. Magic would've been unavoidable if that were the case, then. She looked down. If only she had her sword…

 

“Then we either run away or fight bare-fisted,” she replied after a moment of hesitation, “I'm not so sure I can use magic without causing Amber to find us, and I certainly don't want to risk it.” Bakura raised a brow, appearing next to Ryou.

 

“You think she'd actually be able to trace where the spell came from?” he asked her. She nodded grimly. That wouldn't be hard at all, especially if she found a way to force Aeon to do it for her. That was, after all, how he'd found Sami in Winbourne.

 

“Even a half-breed should be able to,” she told him, stepping off the roots onto the forest floor, “I'm more worried she'll act out of fear and start unleashing the forbidden spells before actually understanding what's what. She knows we're coming. That's why she took Aeon, no doubt. She knows I'd come looking if she evened the score a little.”

 

“Man, that's low!” Joey exclaimed, brows creasing. Sami just chuckled. It was, but that was how Amber worked. She wasn't gifted with tactical genius. She'd use whatever shot she could if it meant bringing Sami down.

 

“It's not surprising,” she replied easily, “You might find this a little cold, but this is a game to Amber. It's like playing a very dangerous form of chess. And right now, she's capturing or destroying my pawns.” Ryou couldn't help but laugh. That was a roughly accurate analogy. But the thought that someone like Amber was doing this for fun was scary. She was causing some severe devastation. If she were half as serious as Rath, Ryou might not even have a world to walk on. He felt both worried and thankful Amber wasn't any brighter.

 

“But why you?” Malik asked, as they headed down a gentle slope, the sea opening up in the far distance. Sami stopped again. That was a good question. There were other Espers Amber could've played against. Why did she pick Sami?

 

“My guess is because of her mother,” the woman said, though she knew there had to be more to it, “Katsaiga died to help us, and in the end, she said it was for me. That had to make Amber angry, perhaps even jealous. But… I can't be sure. I wouldn't know why it'd have been for me.” No one else had the answer, either. It was just another reminder that Sami had no idea who she was. She started out again, though the others followed at a slower pace. Malik had posed a good question, and now they began wondering what this was even about. They hadn't gotten any answers in Winbourne.

 

“It can't really be about Sami, can it?” Yugi asked quietly, as the trees around them began to thin, “Ryou… did she say anything about why she had been shot? Did she tell you anything?” Ryou shook his head, unable to recall anything of importance. Sami basically said the same thing she said now: that this was a game to whomever shot her. Maybe that was reason enough. Because it really was just a game.

 

“Not much. She didn't understand why she was shot, but I think now it was just to warn her,” Ryou replied, “I don't know what kind of game she'd think this is, though. Chess is about skill and control. Amber hasn't really shown it very well, even though she's come close to offing Sami a few times already. This seems more like hide and seek, because every time Sami finds a hint of the girl, she just runs away.”

 

“Could she be leading us somewhere?” Malik suggested, and both Ryou and Yugi turned to him, “Think about it. Maybe sending you guys to the wrong world wasn't so wrong at all. Maybe she wants you to learn certain things, or come to a conclusion that isn't right.” Ryou considered this. Winbourne did distract them enough for her to recover, and for her to find both Aeon and the blonde man in one shot. Bakura, however, wasn't so sure Malik was going the right way with this. He shook his head.

 

“If she wanted that, she wouldn't have shown up period,” Bakura argued gruffly, crossing his arms as they walked, “Something tells me she's simply psychotic. I can't even begin to understand what she actually wants to do. If she has the orbs, we shouldn't even be alive. The fact that we are means she's not doing something.”

 

“Maybe she can't use them,” Joey put in, “Sami said they were really old, and Amber can't be that old, can she? Maybe she hasn't figured out how to unleash them!” Unfortunately, Ryou felt Joey was being just a bit too optimistic about that conclusion. Even if that were the case, that meant she'd probably harm Aeon and the blonde man to get her answers. And as much as both annoyed Ryou, he knew it'd cause Sami a lot of pain if they ended up dead.

 

“She's waiting for Sami,” Ryou reasoned after a moment of uncomfortable silence, “If this is a chess game… she made her move by capturing Aeon. Now it's Sami's turn.” The others just stared at him. That was a cryptic clue, something Yami might've said, had he been there. But Ryou wasn't as smug as Yami. He didn't want to be right, in this case. It definitely seemed like Sami was headed to a checkmate. Joey just laughed then, causing even more shock to them all. The situation was grim. Why was he just laughing?

 

“I'm sorry, I thought you actually compared our lives to a chess game,” Joey said to Ryou. Ryou just blinked flatly. That was, unfortunately, what they'd been doing for the past while. Maybe letting Joey join them wasn't such a good idea.

 

By the time they'd reached the highway, overlooking the beach Kaiba had indicated, the sun was battling futilely against the storm to resume its natural course. Nature had a tendency to lose to magic, however. And the scene greeting them, over the railing, proved that. The waves crashed violently, becoming much louder on the deserted road than Ryou thought was ever possible. Lightning cracked across the sky to the distance, and barely, they made out the island Kaiba pointed to. It looked terribly ominous against the darkness.

 

But the true concern wasn't in the island. Getting there would prove a worse problem. Ryou looked down to find a sign of bridge or boat, but what he found instead was almost crushing. The seawater from the storm had risen several feet, and whatever land bridges that had been there before, were gone. The entire beach was only a crescent of what it had once been. Ryou tugged Sami's sleeve, and she took note of it, too.

 

“The… the beach is gone!?” Rex asked, unable to actually believe he was looking at what had once been their beloved beach. Now it was just a swirling abyss of dark water. Sami just frowned. Even though the rain from the storm had been the actual cause, magic was what caused the storm in the first place. Amber was stalling. Next to her, she saw Malik shake his head in utter bewilderment.

 

“Okay, I can understand monsters. I kind of understand the other worlds thing. But this?” Malik began, eyes widening, “She's actually changing the entire face of the world! How much power does she have?” Sami didn't want to answer. Her reply might actually scare them all shitless, if they weren't smart enough to be that way already. Instead, she continued looking to the scant outline far out in the sea. It was barely visible, but she could see it. Her eyes narrowed.

 

“She's out there,” she growled, and everyone turned to her, “She's waiting… mocking us, almost.” Without bothering to wait, Sami jumped the railing, splashing into the water below. Thinking she was brave, but damned crazy as well, everyone followed, regretting it immediately. The water was freezing, the air only adding to the cold. Only Sami would find this a suitable method of traveling. Only Sami would be crazy enough to want to die.

 

“A-anyone see the d-damn i-island?” Malik asked, teeth chattering. Ryou just patted his back as Rex sloshed forward, stomping hard to avoid his feet being sucked by the muck below. Lightning arced across the sky again, and he sat the flat disk in the distance. He grinned almost madly and pointed.

 

“There!” he exclaimed. Ryou frowned. It was far indeed, but he saw the dome half-built upon it. The water still had some ways to go before it was leveled with the land, too. That was good to know. None of them wanted to be swimming all the way to their death. Not that it'd make much difference. The cold was sucking at their life force like the mud was dragging their shoes in.

 

“Is there any way we can cross?” Sami asked Rex, unable to see as the darkness settled in again. Unfortunately, Rex hadn't seen any passage. But luckily, Shimbou had. He tapped the woman's arm and led her gaze to where he was pointing. Barely, just barely, she saw a ramp leading down a soft decline from the highway, all the way toward the island. Very convenient, and somewhat suspicious. Sami half wondered why she had never seen it before.

 

“Think that's a good way to get there?” Shimbou asked, half in amusement, half sarcastic. He knew there wasn't another way unless they wanted to die a cold death. Sami just shook her head, turning back to try and find some way back up to the road. She regretted just jumping. But there was a ladder, right underneath the bridge. They rushed, careful not to be dragged down too deep from the current, and one by one they fled the water to the safety of the road. When at last Sami came up, wishing to stay behind to ensure the others' safety, she turned to the bridge. Barely, she could see pulsating lights periodically placed to provide some measure of light to the wayward traveler. She nodded grimly, pointing forward.

 

“Onward, friends,” she said calmly, “Let's see just how this game will end.” Ryou wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as their inhuman friend, but no one objected. The faster they did move, the quicker Domino would be safe. Nay, the entire world would be able to breathe easier. That was worth the danger.

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

After having been stolen from, Ryou and Sami marshal a small troupe to head out and stop Amber's madness before Domino is swallowed by magic. With Kaiba's directions to guide them, they're at the final stage of the encounter. What will be their next move, and will Sami lock herself in a checkmate? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!