Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Chaos Master ❯ A Note from Dear Granddad ( Chapter 23 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi does, and he says if Ryou gets a glass splinter, I pay for the damages. Also, I know quite well that Ryou doesn't have a grandfather in the anime or manga, but for storyline purposes, he now has one.

 

Sami had come up with a plan in just a few minutes that, while it cut her team in half again, ensured that they'd know if and when Amber appeared, and would be able to pull out quickly enough if defeat looked like it'd take them. She had gone over it with Rex, and at first, he presented the problem of lack of power, but then when she told him who'd be assigned where, he had to agree. Mainly because he was assigned as the lookout, alongside Joey. No one else put up resistance, though Bakura, ever versed in the arts of battle and deception, offered her a suggestion that he had hoped she'd take.

 

“If I go in as Ryou, it may cause her enough confusion for you to kill her,” he told her, “And that might be the key to win.” Unfortunately, she didn't take to it. She shook her head, much to Bakura's dismay.

 

“I need Ryou so he can use his sword,” she replied firmly, crossing her arms, “As much as I appreciate and understand what you say, I can't lose his ability to wield Zerrkandr. It's too valuable to us right now.” Bakura had understood this, too, but he couldn't let Ryou go into danger headfirst. But Sami would hear no more of it, and eventually Ryou forced the old spirit to take residence back in the ring.

 

`Ryou, I want you both to be safe!' he argued adamantly, brows creased as he tagged along Ryou in a slightly less than physical form, `This is dangerous! This could get you killed!'

 

`I know, but there's no arguing with her. She knows what she's doing,' Ryou replied through his mind, though he was touched that Bakura was that concerned, `Just try and hang in there. We might still need you later.' Bakura didn't like having to take a back seat when they were clearly in a bad situation, but he agreed to it. Sami was crazy, but she wasn't unreasonable. If she truly needed his help, it'd take but a second for him to respond to her. He gave Ryou the thumbs-up.

 

`Deal,' the old thief replied, and disappeared entirely that time. Ryou just smiled. With both Bakura and Sami there, he felt confident that they'd make it safely. And he was just in time to see Sami handing Rex a piece of paper, who pocketed it and nodded grimly.

 

“We're going in. That's my number,” she told him, “If you see her, tell me and run. But don't try to fight her, not alone.” Rex agreed, then clapped her on the back. The two smiled. For once, they were actually working together, and not arguing. That was a new case. Bidding him safety, Sami led Ryou, Yugi, and Malik into the building.

 

The restaurant had suffered unsustainable damage since Sami had left. That fact was clear as the crystals adorning Sami's pendant as they stepped through the entrance and into the store front. Though the front wall had collapsed, when Ryou looked back, he couldn't even see Rex anymore. The smell of burnt wood grew stronger, and there was also a thick hint of gas as well. Sami frowned. Amber had broken the gas pipes to make it appear natural. But the magic from her spell was still thick, still lingering on Sami's sensitive nose. Her wings twitched. Even with her blurry vision, she saw that the front end was a former shell of itself; a shell that had been broken, shattered, and incinerated from magic.

 

“I can't believe that, just a week ago, people worked here,” Yugi commented quietly, as he picked his way about a sea of piled ash, “I didn't think she'd have done this.”

 

“No one did. She picked a good disguise,” Sami commented, shivering, “Lord Zellos, what the hell has died here!?” Ryou blinked as he saw Sami dash into the kitchen. He hadn't smelled any rot, but then again, the ash might've overpowered it. It was clear, however, that Sami smelled differently. And when she backed out, her skin stark white, he knew that had been the case. She turned and said, “…corpses. In there…” Ryou held her steady, terrified that she'd collapse right there. But she didn't. Malik stepped in front of her, looking around to quickly assess the room for all it was. He found nothing of interest save for the door Sami had gone into. Fearing the worst, he turned to her.

 

“Where's the basement?” he asked carefully, too slowly for Sami to not notice the suspicion in his voice. She snorted, a mocking sort of sound that told him clearly what he didn't want to know. She pointed to the very door she nearly collapsed in.

 

“Through the kitchen,” she stated, and no one missed the smug undertone to her voice. Malik just groaned miserably. Of course it'd be through there. He shrugged, and began to make way for the door. If anyone was going to die first, it might as well have been him. Katt certainly wouldn't have been too surprised if that was the case. Nor would the others, for that matter.

 

Malik had never had the luxuries of a full-fledged, five star kitchen before moving to Domino, but seeing the state of the kitchen in Flamenco's, he proceeded to pray to every god in thankfulness for the scant cooking fires he had back in Egypt. Not only were they very effective with cooking things, if they backfired, it was relatively easy to clean up the mess. Flamenco's clearly was the complete opposite. Not to his surprise, the kitchen was a complete graveyard of appliances; not only were walls ripped apart, exposing their pipes, but anything that could've been broken to pieces, was. And graveyard, he quickly decided, was meant to be used on all terms of the word. For, hidden behind many of those appliances, as Sami had said, were multiple corpses. All of them had been burned in the fire.

 

“This is even worse than a horror film,” he commented, as Ryou and Sami came in shortly after, Yugi being the last. Ryou didn't think the term `horror film' did the scene any justice. Carefully, he and Sami stepped past one such corpse, ignoring the broken appliances altogether. Though, Ryou did notice Sami was making a quick look-around as well. Most probably for Pierre later. Behind a broken refrigerator, she found the door that would lead down to the basement. Like everything else, it had been burned, but not so much that it didn't stand. With one kick, the door went down, kicking up a swirl of dust as it did. They were greeted with a spiral staircase winding down into utter blackness.

 

“Think it's safe?” Yugi asked, coming up behind Sami as Malik and Ryou checked behind them in case something even more sinister than corpses lurked. Sami's mouth curled into a grim smirk as she tapped the pommel of her sword.

 

“Safe? Don't make me laugh,” she replied sarcastically, “That's like asking if a branding iron will hurt you. So, let's see what it does.” Ryou knew what she said was metaphoric, but Yugi just tilted his head as he watched her walk down the steps, until the darkness obscured her shape.

 

Lighting a small bout of fire in her palm, Sami continued downwards, noticing at once that the temperature dropped as she stepped onto the ground. How far the stairs went, she didn't know. But it had to have been deep; the ground was uneven stone. Not ten paces away stood a wine shelf; Pierre had used this for something after all. But beyond that, Sami had never gone. And she doubted Pierre had, either. Now, though, she'd see for herself what was in the basements. She continued down the corridor, grimacing as she saw that her spell gave off little light down here. The cold must've been fizzling it out to some degree. But it provided enough for her to see that the walls were interspersed between rough-hewn stone, and an almost metallic substance. And, going further, the stone turned to a polished black. It did nothing to lighten the oppression of the darkness.

 

“This is very creepy,” Malik commented, and Sami turned to see that the others were still following. That relieved her; as much as she didn't want to admit it, being here was scaring even her. She gave a weak smile, and then turned to continue down the corridor again. She found a narrow opening leading to one of the rooms used, at one time, for storage. The smell of rotten food and old paper assaulted them, and while Ryou had particular difficulty with it, Sami ignored it entirely, walking to the crates fashioned as a makeshift desk. Upon it were a few tomes, and considering what Pierre had said earlier about the basement, that intrigued Sami. Except that she couldn't read them without her glasses. When Ryou finally came over, she shoved the tome in his face.

 

“Read that to me,” she demanded firmly. Ryou would've laughed if she wasn't so serious. The fact that she felt she even had a right to be so pushy was amusing to him. He sat down on a crate, and with Sami providing the light, began to read the tome to her.

 

“Finally! After years researching the fall of the Espers, and the rise of the race of Chesaers, I have finally found one of the tools of their demise,” Ryou read, though he had a feeling Sami wasn't appreciating the feigned excitement in his voice, “Hidden amongst the old ruins of what had once been Nesce, I have found one of the five orbs used to seal off the Espers' most deadly spells. This one, however, appears to be almost inactive. I wonder if all five must come together before they awaken?”

 

“So, then at least we know Amber didn't find them first!” Yugi exclaimed, but it didn't lighten the grave look on Sami's face. In fact, her expression grew grimmer. Ryou glanced over at her with worry. He knew she was thinking. She sighed after a moment, crossing her arms.

 

“The fact that he found the ruins of Nesce means that truly, the world's fallen,” she said, though it was more to herself than to the others, “But why on earth would the ruins be here? Ryou, what else does it say?” Ryou continued on.

 

“Using the knowledge of the Esper spells, and the ancient language with which they created them, I have found that this particular orb contains the spell Deugverniig. In the ancient language, it translates roughly to `dark' and `chaos' when the spell is separated into two words,” Ryou continued, “And that it has a sister orb that cancels its energy out. But as of yet, I know nothing of these orbs.” Sami felt that was just as well, too. If this man knew too much, he would have gone utterly mad. She waved a hand.

 

“Whomever this is, they have an interesting amount of knowledge on the Esper language,” she said bluntly, frowning, “Ryou, skip ahead. He must have found other things concerning the orbs as well.” Ryou nodded and obeyed, skipping ahead accordingly. And, he wasn't disappointed.

 

“They exist! To my amazement, the Time Keepers exist! Today, I have spoken to one who may know of the last living Esper in this world! According to him, the spells that were sealed within the orbs were Deugverniig, Soenfraulkt, X-Borgen, and Maetrlekt, all of which have the ability to wipe out worlds if used with enough power,” he read, and noticed at once Sami's expression turned to terror, “If only I could use their ancient magic! I could see for myself just how and why the Espers fled, leaving their kingdom to ruin.”

 

“…Aeon,” Sami growled, “He's the only one aside from the Lord of Time that knows about those spells. What on earth was he doing!?” She banged on the desk angrily, and Ryou was glad Aeon wasn't with them. The man would've been throttled if he was. Taking a breath, Sami said, “Tell me this concludes well.” Ryou gave the book a suspicion glance and then flipped a page. And he laughed. He didn't want to tell Sami how it all ended. But in the end, he did.

 

“I have gone too far! I have delved into secrets which should never have been opened in my world!” Ryou exclaimed with a flourish of mock terror, which again, Sami disapproved of, “To my horror, I have discovered the secrets of these terrible forces of power. At one time, Nesce was whole. The Espers, a mighty race, had full control of these strange, mysterious forces with which to keep the order of Oblivion strong. But now, I understand that one such Esper sought to kill, to end all that the Espers stood for. And with that, these orbs were created. But if only I could find the Esper who stopped them! If only she…” Then, Ryou abruptly stopped. Malik and Yugi exchanged curious glances, but only Sami seemed to expect the page to end right there. Just as she feared it would.

 

“What the hell happened?” Malik asked, wondering if Ryou was simply pausing for dramatics. Sami looked over at him crossly.

 

“Isn't it obvious?” she countered, “He was murdered before completing his revelation.” But her only question was why that was. She highly doubted the man died naturally; what he was about to write was a terrible threat to the Mystics if the truth were discovered by anyone else. A Mystic had to have killed him. Or someone who knew what he was up to. Curiously, she asked, “Who wrote that?”

 

“Hold on,” Ryou said gently, and flipped back toward the front. The cover had no author name penned on it, but one of the pages must have. He searched for many minutes, and then his eyes widened. He dropped the book with a loud thud, and sank to the ground, shivering. Malik and Yugi gasped, as Sami bent down and caught him before his head crashed into stone.

 

“Ryou!” she exclaimed, hoping to snap him out of his shock, “Ryou, tell me what you found! Tell me!” Ryou pointed shakily to the book and Sami snatched it up. Then she put it down, looking at Ryou gravely. She whispered, “Yazuro Bakura…” He nodded, looking away.

 

“My grandfather,” he whispered back, “He disappeared ten years ago. He had always been interested in the other worlds… but never once did I think it was… was like this.” Sami closed her eyes. The man had been a scholar in the mystical arts. That was the only explanation for how he had known all he did. And in the end, it was that same fanaticism that had him killed. Had taken him from Ryou.

 

“I am sorry, my friend,” she said, pulling him into a hug, “Mystics have once again proven to be the very bane of your existence.” Ryou could only snort, tears spilling onto her shoulder. It wasn't only him; it was his entire family that had been destroyed from that. He looked up at Sami. There was sympathy sparkling her otherwise grim eyes. He smiled weakly.

 

“I'm sure he would have been thrilled to meet you,” he said gently, “You're an Esper. You might have been able to…” He stopped. Even if his grandfather had met her, what would that have done? She would have been a child, no more than thirteen at the most. And even if she wasn't, she wouldn't remember anything to help him. If he had met her, she might have been murdered, too. He looked away.

 

“Did it say who killed him?” Malik asked, even though he had a good idea of who it could've been. Perhaps not Amber, but most possibly Rath. She would have been more than old enough. And she would have understood the threat Ryou's grandfather presented. Ryou's eyes hardened.

 

“Rath,” he growled hatefully. Sami nodded, and stood, helping Ryou as well. He was shaking from the emotional strain, and she held his arm to keep him from falling. She looked at Malik seriously. He understood that look. She agreed with Ryou entirely.

 

“For some reason, whatever he was saying, she wouldn't have wanted to be public knowledge,” she explained darkly, and the pale light revealed only half of what looked like a cruel, mocking smile, “My good guess is that she was involved in the destruction of Nesce. If that's the case, it's little wonder that this world's under their sway, if the ruins of the old Esper citadel is right here. But how much of it actually remains here?” That was a good question. Ryou couldn't believe an entire world would be sitting in another one.

 

“But I don't understand what that has to do with Amber,” he stated, and Sami looked at him squarely, “It's hard to understand what she's actually working for. Her mother was on your side, and Rath clearly isn't lending a hand to her now. I don't get it.” Sami's smile faded. She looked out toward the dark hallway they'd entered from.

 

“Take away that Katsaiga was her mother, and you'll see this has nothing to do with Amber,” she told him gravely, “Remember when I likened this to a chess game? Amber is just another pawn. My true opponent is not her, even though we must stop her nonetheless.” That made a bit more sense to Ryou. It was no wonder Amber had been so sloppy. Rath was letting her continue on. Ryou understood the rules of the game; the first pieces to go were always the pawns, even though experts swore they were the staples of the game. The only difference was, that if Sami stopped Amber, she might show some mercy. Rath wouldn't.

 

“But then why hasn't Rath come to take the orbs?” Yugi asked, “If Amber's just a pawn, is it possible she hid them?” Sami hummed, considering that. It wouldn't surprise her if that were the case. If Rath had the orbs, they'd have been dead long ago. Perhaps Yugi's idea held a level of truth to it. She grinned.

 

“You might have stumbled on something, Yugi,” she replied, and then she took out her phone. Dialing Rex's cell, she explained quickly what had transpired and what Yugi thought of concerning the whereabouts of the orbs. After considering what they knew, Rex agreed, albeit it reluctantly. With a mutual agreement, in the end, Rex would search outside, and Sami would take her team and search inside. With that, she shut her phone off, pocketing it. She looked at Ryou, and he noticed she seemed almost relaxed about it. He raised a brow.

 

“What did he say?” he asked her.

 

“He's not entirely happy, but he thinks the idea's good,” she replied, “I'm not sure what we'll find beyond, but if the orbs are here, my guess is it's deeper in the cellars.” Ryou noticed she became thoughtful at those last words. He could see the gears in her head turning, and likewise, Malik saw them, too. He leaned against the stone wall, waiting for Sami to explain her hesitancy. When she didn't, he simply asked.

 

“What's your plan?” he asked her suspiciously. She laughed, a sound that rang out and bounced along the cold stone. It was both comforting yet disconcerting all the same, for it was not only loud, but emitted a ring that reverberated in their chests. Then she pointed to the Millennium Puzzle.

 

“If we're going to go kill ourselves, we might as well make it difficult to do,” she replied simply, easily, “I want Yami and Ishtar with us for this.” She turned to the ring, knowing Bakura was fuming at her thoughts already, for not one of them involved him, “I'm sorry, Bakura. Ryou needs to use his sword. If it weren't so, you would be right here with me.” Ryou heard a grim agreement from Bakura, and two flashes of light off on his peripheral vision told him that Yugi and Malik let the spirits take over for now. Yami looked at Sami, and cocked his head. He looked about as sarcastic as she did just then. Ryou wasn't so sure he didn't know her intentions.

 

“Ready to die?” he asked. Sami laughed again, this time more harshly, and brandished her own sword.

 

“Ready as ever to join you,” she mocked. Yami just smiled, and as Sami used her sword to break the seal on a door that Ryou hadn't seen, for it was obscured in shadow, he began to feel exactly what Yami had referred to. Evil dwelled beyond, taking more forms than Ryou cared to count. Then, the door slowly slid open. And Sami slipped inside. Right into an early grave. And she grinned as though this didn't bother her, just like the crazy bitch she'd always been.

 

---

 

Rex worried now. He had never worried for Winchester before, but he did so now, knowing that if she died down there, he would never know until he forced himself to look. And he knew if she failed, he would never look. For she had said that if he saw Amber, he was to run away and never return. Those words barely daunted on him then, but now they filled him with a dread no other case had ever done. Because now he knew clearly that what she said was true. She had sounded so grim on the phone, and though she couldn't explain all of what she had found, it was more than enough for Rex to understand that it was enough for Amber to kill her on sight. Now he stood, looking into the gloom that descended on the café as Joey scrabbled the dirt for clues.

 

“I can't stand here and do nothing,” Rex stated, his breath heavy with anticipation. Joey managed to find a broken bottle, but quickly discarded it before looking upon the younger man.

 

“As Sami says, rest easy,” Joey told him, standing up and wiping the dirt off his knees, “There's no point going in unless you want to die. And she needs us out here.” Rex already knew that, but he was a cop, damn it! His job was to protect people like her, not let them take the brunt for a case he was supposed to be investigating. But Joey was ultimately right. If they both went in, there'd be no one to warn the others of the danger. And there'd be no one to look for the orbs.

 

“She'd better win or I'll be pissed,” Rex simply huffed, “I hate this place! It feels like people are walking on my grave, just standing fifty feet in the vicinity!”

 

“Then go over there and sulk,” Joey replied, pointing across the street. He heard a distinct `fuck off, wiseass' from Rex, and couldn't help but chuckle. But he knew what Rex meant. He also felt the waves of evil energy. Pierre wasn't lying at all; this was probably worse than what the poor man had felt. Joey just shook his head. He was no expert with magic, but this would probably end up killing them all. Then he felt Rex pulling his arm hard, frantically.

 

“Run, idiot!” Rex screamed, and Joey's eyes opened, “Damn it, don't look, just run!” Joey was too slow to miss it. He saw the figure flying toward them. And he knew exactly who it was. Clad in leather, with a black cloak, she descended quickly and darkly. And she smiled when she saw only two of them there.

 

“Amber,” he whispered, and turned to Rex, “Damn it, man! We have to run!”

 

“Run? How sad, I was going to invite you boys to play!” Amber declared mockingly, and laughed, “Silly boys and their silly games, of course.” Rex was in no mood to play. He took out his gun, loading it with one bullet. He was a good shot, though he had a feeling she wouldn't die even if he managed to get six bullets in her. Still, a bluff never hurt. It might give them enough time to run and get help.

 

“Sorry, but I like the grown-up toys,” Rex said with a smirk, aiming at her. Joey couldn't believe that was his opening threat, but he didn't argue. He wouldn't have done any better. Amber just laughed again, her laughter likening to a dying hyena, in Rex's distorted mind.

 

“Go ahead and shoot, hot shot,” she dared. Rex growled. That was enough to tell him bullets wouldn't do a damn on her. Sami needed more time. He had to do something. But he was limited; he had nothing except his gun and fists. And if the former didn't work, the latter was worse. This time, Joey acted. And it was just the thing Rex wanted to avoid.

 

“Fall in a damn ditch and die!” Joey shouted, lunging toward her. Rex tried to grab the man's leg, but Joey was just too fast.

 

“You fucking idiot!” Rex screamed, and this time he knew he'd have to act. He aimed his gun and fired as many rounds as his gun had. Joey stopped, knowing if he went further, he'd be caught in the gunfire. As it was, Amber took eight shots in the chest. And she still stood. And when she looked at Red, almost unable to believe he'd do such a horrible thing, she looked infinitely pissed.

 

“You bastard!” she screamed, “You shot me! How dare you shoot me, you filthy, little toad!” Rex just laughed. He half expected her to just smack him, or maybe try and kick him down, but she chose to insult him instead. As though words could hurt him more than a broken neck. Then again, words of magic would do worse than that. Those would kill him. And as he saw her take out an object from her cloak, he had a feeling she did have few such words. She grinned and said, “Know what this is, little boy?” Rex's eye twitched. He didn't want to alarm Joey, for he knew the man would probably go haywire, but he knew exactly what Amber had. It was small, barely bigger than her palm, but it was an orb. And it seemed to have an eternal flame within; he saw a red glow on her skin.

 

“So Winchester wasn't full of bullshit,” he muttered, “You know, she really should've said she thought you had them. Does this mean you have all of them!?” Amber's teeth flashed, and somehow, they looked larger, and sharper, than Rex ever thought possible. He felt a shudder ripple through him, and he backed away. He didn't need her to answer. At this point, he was just trying to buy time. Sami needed time. And so did he, for that matter. Amber only happily obliged.

 

“No, not yet,” she replied, and the shock must've shown on Rex's face, for she explained, “I'm missing the last one, the spell of Oregashyn. I've yet to find that pest and make him cough that orb up. But trust me when I say I have more than enough power to dismantle that little insect. The only problem is if he's already warned Sith.” Rex's mouth thinned. He glanced back at Flamenco's for a second. Aeon had called Sami `Sith.' As did the blonde man. He could only guess as to why, but he hoped that whatever her damn name was, someone somewhere warned her enough. He looked back to Amber. If he had any hopes, he'd have to stall.

 

“Why Winchester?” he asked, and when she raised a brow, he added, “Why play this game with her? You won't win.”

 

“What a dolt. This isn't about winning against me,” she said smugly, her grin growing likewise, “This is for Rath. Don't you see? If I give these orbs to Rath, she'll win. And that's more than enough.” Rex's eyes widened. If Amber succeeded in that, then there'd be no point in fighting her after. There'd be no fighting period. If Rath found those orbs, the world really would end. As if to hear his silent thoughts, Amber said, “But that doesn't mean I can't have fun. Soenfraulkt!” Rex's fists clenched, and grabbing Joey's collar, he threw them both onto the ground as he felt a heat wave pass over them both. He had no idea what to expect from the spell, but he focused on keeping low until it passed. And he found he was lucky. The spell did next to nothing to them, though he heard crackling all around him. Praying Joey either kept quiet or collapsed, Rex kept his head down.

 

“Now, that provided some entertainment… I just hope Sith dies a bit more slowly,” Amber mumbled, turning from what she had assumed to be corpses and heading toward the ruins. Rex heard her boots crunch on glass, and opened his eyes when he heard the creak of broken hinges. The sight was devastating. The spell had taken whatever was left of the city, at least from what he could see. But he had little time to look; right then, he needed to call Sami and warn her. He took out his phone. And using the little strength he had left, he made his call.

 

---

 

How long the fight actually lasted, Ryou couldn't say. He thought it'd have been longer, but when Sami charged through, her sword practically glowing in her hands, she was dismayed to see that the room was empty. There were shadows creeping along the walls, but they generally left the group alone as they passed. Sami looked on, completely, utterly bewildered. She had sensed the force of much evil to be slain, and yet there wasn't even a trace of a monster here. And the room was bare. Every wall was made of metallic substances, and in some instances, seemed luminous despite the gloom. It was like stepping into a science fiction movie. Except that this was real. Sami frowned.

 

“What trickery is this?” she demanded, raising a brow, “No monsters, and no shadows?” She turned to Yami and raised a brow, “Think it's a…” She didn't finish as her phone began to beep. Yami just blinked as she took it out. It was Rex.

 

“Who the hell would even call you!?” Ishtar asked, and Ryou nudged him as Sami took the call. At first, she had been calm. But in less than ten seconds, that calm had turned into the most violent storm Ryou had seen. Her face crossed a number of expressions. It settled on none in particular.

 

“WHAT!?” Sami eventually roared, “You aren't lying! My god… no, don't do that. Just get out and run. I don't care if you're a cop. Don't be an idiot. Yes. Thank you. Goodbye.” Then, she turned her phone off. But her anger had far from faded, and just to prove her fury, she threw her phone down and smashed it apart. Everyone stared at her, but no one dared to try and stop her. They might find a sword in their chest, should they dare.

 

“What happened?” Ryou finally asked her. She turned to him. Her eyes had hardened harshly, practically red from how angry she now was. He knew what happened immediately.

 

“Amber unleashed Soenfraulkt,” she growled, “She nearly killed Rex. He says she doesn't have the last orb, but it's only a matter of time until she does.”

 

“Where's the last orb!?” Yami asked her in sudden alarm. She turned to him. But her expression told him she honestly didn't know anymore. And she didn't need to.

 

“I have it.” Ryou's blood froze. He knew that voice too well now. Slowly, he turned, his eyes flashing for just a second as his gaze met that of the blonde man once again. The man was standing in an open window set high within the wall, its bottom just level with the ground. His face was hidden entirely in darkness, but Ryou saw the burning blue orb that served as the man's good eye. All of the sudden, Ryou's sword was in his hand, his back tense in anger.

 

“What are you doing here!?” he demanded harshly, and Sami gasped at the tone in his voice. He was surely furious now. The blonde man chuckled, the corners of his mouth curving up.

 

“Helping you,” he replied casually, and tilted his head, “Or did you want Sith to die?”

 

“Go away!” Ryou screamed, and threw the Zerrkandr with all his might. The sword went flying, but the blonde man sidestepped and the sword crashed into the wall. The resounding sound made Ryou's bones chatter. If the man hadn't alerted Amber himself, the sound definitely could have. Sami turned sharply to Ryou, brows creased in agitation.

 

“Ryou!” she said quickly, and he froze at her voice, “What the hell do you think you're doing!? You're going to kill him!” Ryou glanced at her. If only she knew how much he wished he had. But murder had never been in his conscious thoughts before. He had wanted the man dead, but he never acted on it. Was this truly beyond him?

 

“But… but he,” Ryou began, but Sami obviously didn't want an answer. Her look told him he should stop speaking before she hurt him. He did so. She looked from him, to Yami and Ishtar. They looked equally as terrified. What she said next didn't even surprise them.

 

“Get in your items and bring Malik and Yugi back,” she commanded, “Perhaps I won't kill Ryou if they're here.” The two spirits exchanged nervous looks, but they complied. Within minutes, both Malik and Yugi were looking at her curiously, wondering what had scared their spirit counterparts. But she wasn't looking back. Her attention went back to Ryou; they both remained silent, though Sami definitely looked very, very angry with him. Malik decided to divert this.

 

“So, do we go kick ass now?” he asked, raising a brow. Sami glanced at him for a split second, but she neither turned toward him nor acknowledged him in any other way. She crossed her arms, her gaze still upon Ryou. And she shook her head.

 

“We're not ready,” was all she would say. Malik shivered. Her voice sounded so oddly cold. Whatever Ryou had done, if anything, it must've been pretty bad. But he didn't want to bring it up. Malik just shrugged. He'd trust Sami's judgment. If she didn't think they were ready, then they probably weren't. It was fine with him. He needed some time to get used to the idea that he'd be risking his life now, while Ishtar rested within the Millennium Rod. He shrugged and sat.

 

“Well, when we are, wake me up,” he said. But even then, he had a feeling Sami might not do that anyway. She simply nodded, and then turned from all of them. Then, she simply waited. The time was almost upon them. She felt it more strongly than ever.

 

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

 

After going into Flamenco's and finding clues as to how and why the orbs had been discovered in Ryou's world, Ryou and his friends have come to the end of the road, the final battlefield. With Rex and Joey out of commission, Amber has only a few resistances before her plans are complete. Are Ryou and Sami enough to stop her before she unleashes the other spells? Can they protect the blonde man before Amber gets the orb from him? And what help can he offer to them, anyway? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!