Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Game Master! ❯ Modern RPGs: The Dummies Method ( Chapter 3 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Final Fantasy 6. Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh, and he isn't sure Yaten should be gaming. SquareSoft owns FF6, and they don't care who games as long as they get some money from it.

 

Hana and Sephira raced down the streets of Domino, searching frantically for Yugi's shop. They had traveled nearly a mile from Ryou's house, both willing their legs to pull them faster and faster down the turns and streets they flew down. Twice, Sephira had led them down a wrong turn, and three times, they had to ask for directions. It was all driving Hana absolutely crazy. Finally, however, they saw a sign with a turtle, and a mailbox labeled “Mutou,” and knew they'd found their mark. Dragging Hana along, Sephira stormed up the sidewalk and practically slammed into the door. Only to find it was locked. Which would just be their luck in this sort of crisis. Sephira slammed her fists into the front door.

 

“Hey! Open up!” Sephira yelled, hitting the glass repeatedly, “Come on! We need your help! Your grandson's about to die here!” Hana blinked, simply watching Sephira as she continued to scream. Passersby slowly edged away, wondering why a young girl would be screaming on such a calm day, and finally, Hana had to drag Sephira away. It was clear that no one was in the shop. Or that they had scared anyone inside off.

 

“Come on! There's no one in there!” Hana strained, as she dragged an unwilling Sephira with her down the road. They walked for minutes, until Hana turned down a quiet drive and pointed to another, smaller gaming store. This one dealt specifically with video games. Sephira wasted no time, and practically tore the door down as Hana followed her in. There, a young woman sat by the counter, and she looked up at them, startled. Obviously, seeing two girls burst into the store was the last thing she expected. She raised a brow as Sephira spoke.

 

“Riz, help us!” she panted, nearly falling over. Riz, the cashier, looked at her critically, as though she couldn't decide if she should help or call the asylum. Sephira looked absolutely panicked, and Hana wasn't doing too much better, either. Riz just snorted. She didn't really want to know what was going on, but for their sake, she asked anyway.

 

“Where's the fire?” she asked, chuckling, “What's got you both so terrified? You're running like you had your heads cut off.” Except that they had their heads. Hana took a deep breath, trying to fill her lungs before she explained their situation. She had to pick and choose her facts, though; she couldn't say for certain if Riz would believe what was going on.

 

“I'm not sure yet, but something's up with Sith's game,” she explained, wondering if she should leave out the part about Ryou, “It's corrupted, and we need the guide to see if there's a way to fix it.” Riz blinked, slowly processing what Hana said. Then she shrugged. She wasn't sure what kind of guide could help with technical difficulties, but who was she to stop a sale? She walked into the back room and brought out every guide they had. There were many in the box. At least, it looked that way. She grinned.

 

“We should have something for what you need,” she told them. And immediately, Sephira took to ripping the box to shreds, trying to find that holy guide of guides. She managed to find just one with the words FINAL FANTASY stamped on it. She held it up like a little kid on drugs.

 

“I think I found it!” she exclaimed proudly, showing it to Hana, “Well!?” Hana looked at the cover critically for a long moment. It was for Final Fantasy. But not the right one. Her lips thinned. If Sephira knew that, it might crush her. But Sith needed the right guide.

 

“It's not the right one,” she stated, “Seph, she has game number six. That's for the fifth game.”

 

“But it's all we have,” Riz told her, frowning as she leaned on the counter, “Take it or leave it.” Hana hummed nervously. There was a good chance the guide wouldn't help, but they didn't have the time to keep looking. Sith needed them right then. And apparently, Sephira already made up her mind about it as she took the guide back and hugged it protectively. Her brows creased as she stared at Hana.

 

“What difference does one stupid number make!?” she demanded, stalking toward the door, “We have the guide, so let's just get back before Ryou's dead!” That was a good point indeed. The three nodded to each other, and both Hana and Sephira rushed out without so much as a goodbye. Riz watched them go. And then she sighed. If she had any hope of helping Sith, she'd need to call Suguroku for the right guide. She just hoped he had one.

 

---

 

Back at Ryou's house, Sith had managed to snatch her controller away from Yaten, and was currently trying to escape the battle happening in the game; it was by far the worst situation she'd ever been in. Yugi's HP was critical, and with both Ryou and Malik unconscious, Sith had no desire to see what Yugi could possibly do. Not that he could do much with 6 health points left. She pressed the L and R buttons to escape, and finally, Yugi's sprite ran off of the screen as the world map loaded again. She sighed with relief, but it was just for a second. With Yugi so close to death, every second counted.

 

“Thank Roris,” Sith mumbled, and then turned to Yaten as she demanded, “What the hell was that!? Haven't you ever played a damn video game before!?” Yaten looked at her for a moment, as though he couldn't decide if the question was valid or not. The answer should've been as clear as the sky. He shook his head.

 

“Nope. Can't say that I have,” he replied, taking off his glasses as Sith stared in complete disbelief, “You know Ryou's the gamer in the family. I'm just the one who makes money, pays the bills, and supports three hyper children and one insatiable spirit.” Sith sighed and slapped her forehead, unable to fathom just how she was this unlucky. She had to teach Yaten the basics, or she'd lose Ryou forever. And she didn't have that time. So, feeling it best to continue solo, she opened up the status menu, and was relieved to find that she had two Phoenix Downs and ten potions. That was just enough to revive her team, and more than enough to bring them to full health.

 

“Bless us, Bahamut,” she mumbled, and revived both Ryou and Malik. Then she healed everyone's HP to full with three potions. Yaten, who was getting tired of the game already, had gotten up to get some coffee, which Sith was perfectly fine with. She'd actually get something accomplished, and it'd give her some time to talk with Ryou, something she really needed to do.

 

“Aah… Sith, what happened?” Ryou asked softly, holding his forehead and shaking. She knew he had a migraine, and decided that he should hate his father as much as she did, since Yaten technically was the reason Ryou was in pain. Her eyes narrowed, every intention of recounting recent events becoming evident on her face.

 

“That imbecile you call a father nearly killed you,” she said plainly, and Ryou felt tremendous bouts of distaste and bitterness in her voice, “I'm surprised you lived through your own childhood with that man.” Ryou silently snorted with laughter. Though he never said it, he was partly surprised with that as well. His father wasn't exactly the most attentive parent in the world, though he did more or less keep Ryou out of trouble. Yugi just snorted. He'd been the one to actually live through that horrible disaster. He even confirmed Sith's rather obnoxious recount of what happened, when she finally told it.

 

“It's a good thing you were here or I wouldn't have made it,” he said to her, “To which I still can't believe I did. But now what? Do we wait for your friends?” Sith frowned. In all honesty, she wasn't entirely sure how much they could do. The game was breaking up, and if magic had everything to do with it, they were screwed from the beginning. She took a deep breath. Bringing the bad news was never easy.

 

“No. I'm going to see how far we can get, even though we need that guide. As soon as they come back, we'll see if I can fix the glitches,” she reasoned, and then her voice went flat, “At the very least, they can take your father's place. His gaming skills are shit.” Ryou could only laugh. He knew first-hand how poorly Yaten's skills were. Many a tabletop RPG was ruined because Yaten simply didn't know what he was doing. Nor had he paid attention to the rules beforehand.

 

“I know. He keeps killing himself on Dungeons and Dragons,” Ryou said, half amused, and then saw a flicker of movement behind Sith, “I think he's coming back!” Sith glanced, and nodded, gesturing for the others to remain silent as Yaten sat back down with a big mug of coffee. Her look went flat, and she proceeded to try and ignore the man as another battle was initiated. As if answering to her plea, the phone rang. Sith paused the game, and looked directly at Yaten. If she had any chance of getting Ryou back, she had to make sure his idiot of a father understood that he couldn't do anything until she came back. She had no need for a game over.

 

“I'll get it,” she said, standing up, “You wait there. Don't touch anything. Don't even move.” Yaten seemed to comprehend what she said, so she went to the kitchen and took the call. And when the other person heard her, they weren't happy about it. Which was fine. Except that person was a complete asshole about it.

 

“Oh good god, not you!” Sith's flat expression returned. That was Bakura. Her own decree stated she should kick him where it hurt for that, but he wasn't even there. So she settled for a slightly less violent approach. Only slightly less.

 

“Let's try that again before I mutter Soenflaukt and roast you alive,” she growled. Despite the fact that she couldn't currently use magic, she was hoping Bakura had forgotten, and her tone had been frightening enough. It seemed to work well, because his tone changed drastically.

 

“Sorry, Sith,” he mumbled without sincerity, “Look, I just need to know if Ryou's there. I need to talk with him.” Sith looked around for a moment. Obviously, Bakura didn't know what had happened. Maybe that was for the better. Then again, it probably wasn't. If the woman wanted to separate Ryou from Bakura as well, she succeeded. And that pissed Sith off even more.

 

“He's not,” she said, and sat in a chair, “What's wrong?” Then, her expression went flat. Bakura almost never called just to talk to Ryou. “What did you do?” She wasn't surprised at his reaction to the question.

 

“Why is it that no matter what, you always assume I did something!?” he demanded angrily, “For all you know, woman, I could be calling to say hi!” But that didn't fool Sith. It never did. She perked a brow. As much as Bakura amused her, she didn't have the time to get into an argument with him. She still had Yaten to contend with. She decided to go with the best way to get information: Yami.

 

“I'm assuming Yami's with you,” she said without question, “Put him on.” She heard Bakura mumble, but he obeyed more or less. By practically throwing the phone at the old pharaoh's head. Yami took it and sighed. Obviously, he was about as annoyed as Sith sounded at that point.

  

“Rex arrested him for reckless endangerment when he shot at a squirrel,” he told her simply, “He needed a legal guardian, but since he has no parents, I decided to see what I could do.” Sith didn't say what a terrible idea she thought that was. It wouldn't have helped, though now she did regret picking up the phone. She took a deep breath.

 

“How long is he in there?” she asked, wondering what she might be going back to once she hung up. A game over seemed almost apparent ten minutes ago. She could only hope Yaten wasn't touching anything.

 

“Rex says if he doesn't give up his firearms, he stands a chance at ten years,” the old spirit replied, half-amused, “Bakura says that's nothing compared to being in the ring for three thousand years.” Sith's lips thinned. That was nothing compared to her own age. She would've laughed. Except it wasn't funny. Bakura was wasting her time, and if there's one thing Sith Winchester hated that day, it was her time being wasted. Especially on stupid shit like this.

 

“Tell him that if he doesn't cooperate, I'm going to imprison him in something far worse than that pendant of his forever!” she growled angrily, “I have no time for this, and I certainly don't want to deal with it! Good bye!” With that, she slammed the phone down. She felt a little bad about exploding on Yami, but she'd feel worse if Yaten actually did manage to get a game over. Not wanting to risk that, she rushed into the living room. Thankfully, the man stayed put like she told him to. But he seemed relieved when she came back in, despite her scowl.

 

“Finally! I have to go to the john, and I wasn't sure you wanted me peeing on the rug, so can you handle it from here?” Yaten asked, getting up. Sith wanted to say she didn't need to hear that, but she merely nodded and let him leave. When she sat down, she saw he disobeyed after all; he'd gotten into another fight. But at least he defeated most of the monsters already. She resumed the battle, and Ryou blasted the last monster out of the sky. As their experience was given out, she saw they finally leveled up. That was good. It'd make it harder for them to die on her.

 

“Hey, Sith? It says I learned Fire!” Yugi exclaimed, and Sith saw indeed, that it did, “We can use magic here?” Sith went grim. Whatever world that was, magic was the case. And she didn't like it. But Yugi was the only one to receive destructive magic; Ryou learned Cure, and Malik learned DEF Up. But while Ryou was happy, Malik seemed utterly disappointed. He looked up at Sith as well and scowled.

 

“What the hell!? Why did I get such a crappy power!?” he demanded angrily, throwing his arms up, “I'm the one who beat the monsters to a bloody pulp! I want to learn something kick-ass like Flare!” Obviously, Sith wasn't proof enough that Flare wasn't a spell he wanted to use. Her eyes narrowed. If he hadn't been in a game, she'd have hit him over the head. Or just stabbed him. Either one would've shut him up.

 

“Be thankful you even have magic,” she growled angrily, and turned away, “Flare would probably kill you as well as any boss that faces you, anyway.” Ryou frowned as she spoke, but at that point, Malik no longer cared about magic. The mention of bosses drew his attention. He hadn't really played games before, but he had a feeling he knew what bosses implied.

 

“Wait… bosses… as in stronger monsters than this!?” Malik exclaimed, “Sith, tell me it's not so! We can't even survive here let alone against a boss!” If looks could talk, Sith's easily would've said `you're a damned idiot' to him. She took a breath, and shook her head.

 

“Malik, I know this is beyond your scope of living, but you're in a video game,” she stated sarcastically, crossing her arms, “It'll get harder as we continue on, not easier.” Malik made a face, but didn't argue. There wasn't much point. Even if she insulted him, she was right. Video games weren't in Egypt; he never played one until today. He shrugged, deciding to let the insult roll. It could've been worse, after all.

 

“So, where's the first boss?” he asked after a moment, as she led them south, out of the desert and back into grassland. She looked up thoughtfully, and then frowned again. That wasn't a good sign. Then again, in this situation, what was a good sign supposed to look like?

 

“Well, technically, the first boss was back in Narshe,” she stated seriously, “And with the game crapping out on us, who's to say the next one's still on Mount Koltz?” No one except Sith knew what that was, so they didn't question her. They'd find out soon enough anyway. For a few moments, they traveled in relative silence. What Sith said concerning the first boss worried all of them, particularly in the fact that they all had the feeling they were in no way prepared for a boss battle. And as if to confirm that, Yugi asked that very question five minutes later.

 

“So, are we strong enough for the bosses?” he asked Sith. And she frowned again. Ryou snorted; she would've been better off saying they didn't have a snowball's chance in hell for that matter. Her frown said far worse than that. And it sent shivers up Yugi's spine all the same. Malik just threw his hands up.

 

“What a Ra-damned surprise. Can this day get any worse!?” he complained unhelpfully, “Sith, how strong are we supposed to be!?” He turned up toward her, but for once, she actually looked amused with him. Her brow rose fractionally, her lips curled in a slight smile. She looked smug.

 

“I got through here on level six,” she said, or more bragged, “But the normal rate is around nine. So, no, you guys are probably going to die if we try fighting a boss right now.” Ryou actually laughed. That was probably the stupidest thing she could've said to them right then, because he knew Malik wanted to punch her right in the face for it. He glanced at Malik for a long moment; the boy's face went through a number of expressions Ryou couldn't read. Finally, he managed to twitch.

 

“Your vote of confidence speaks millions,” he grumbled unhappily, “Can't you hack this thing and crank us up to infinity!?” Sith shook her head. From what she knew personally, mixed with Kaiba's warnings and Bakura's mostly-failed attempts to hack, doing so was the quickest way to void a game's warranty. And in this case, to end her friends' lives. She would definitely not be doing that. Malik growled and yelled, “Come on! What the hell are we supposed to do!?”

 

“I'm sorry, asshole. I didn't realize you wanted to die,” she replied sarcastically, and her brows creased sharply, “We can do this two ways; my way, or die way. Now shut up and let me think for a damned moment.” Malik wanted to scream that they didn't exactly have bucketloads of time for her thinking, but that was also the quickest way to void their warranty. Mainly because she might actually get angry enough to fry the playstation. So, he refrained. But after a while, he got the urge to yell again. Sith still hadn't spoken, and now minutes were passing, and they hadn't moved. Yugi looked up at her. She looked particularly vexed.

 

“Everything okay, Sith?” he asked, and she looked into the television again. Her lips thinned.

 

“No. This game won't be the same, and I'm wondering what we should be expecting in Figaro Cave,” she replied grimly, wings ruffling, “If that Mystic shows up again, you're dead.” Ryou frowned. She didn't have to be that blunt, but he was glad she was worried. Not that there was much she could do about it, but he let that slide. Thinking was her best weapon right now; he might as well let her use it. Unfortunately, another disruption from the front door caused Sith to turn. Hana and Sephira walked back in, holding a bag. Sith hoped it was the guide; if not, someone would be dead soon.

 

“Sith, we got it,” Hana said, out of breath as she handed the older woman the bag. Sith set it down, and grinned.

 

“I was wondering if you'd been hit with a car on the way back,” she joked, taking out the book, “You both took an awfully… long… ti… what the hell!?” Ryou tilted his head, wondering what was making Sith so upset. She glanced up at Hana and said, “This is the wrong one.” Surprisingly, Hana wasn't surprised.

 

“We know,” she said, glaring at Sephira, “Someone decided not to listen to me and grabbed it before I could stop her.” Sith snorted, but she wasn't grinning anymore. She put the book down and shrugged. There wasn't much she could do about it now.

 

“Well, it's not the end of the world,” she said simply, and then rephrased, “Our world, anyway.” Now Ryou wanted to punch her in the face for that. The only thing stopping him was that she wasn't in the same world as he was. She was probably lucky; he'd probably have shot her face off with his gun if she were there.

 

“Now what!?” Malik demanded shortly, and slumped on the floor, “Seriously, someone kill me at this point. It might make things easier.” Sith would've agreed, but she chose to ignore him, turning back to Hana.

 

“I'll see if Psycho Gamers can order one,” she told the girls, “Chances were, Yugi's grandfather didn't have one. Give me a moment.” With that, she got up and went toward the kitchen, dialing a number on the phone. Riz picked up, and she wasn't surprised to have a call from Sith. She was simply amused that the older woman had taken so long to make her call. But when Sith explained the situation, giving the details Hana had left out, she could feel Riz's mouth drop in disbelief. But the good thing about Riz was that, as long as it helped her job, she was willing to do just about anything. She didn't say anything about how utterly ridiculous Sith sounded.

 

“You want me to order one?” she asked incredulously, “Sith, you realize that game's old, right? Mr. Mutou doesn't even have a guide for it, and he's old, too!” Sith didn't like the humor very much. After a long moment, Riz sighed and said, “I'll see what I can do. Yami might be able to find one for you.” Sith frowned accordingly. Yami and Bakura were probably in prison at that point. She certainly didn't trust the old thief, but she liked Yami and knew that if it meant life or death, he'd pull through for her. Probably.

 

“I'd appreciate it much,” Sith said, deciding to take that risk. Riz agreed, and the two hung up. Sith walked back into the living room, and Hana paused the game just as Ryou was about to strike one monster. The result was that he now hung in mid-air, unable to move or even crash. Malik just laughed; it was like watching a badly-performed circus act. But Sith didn't find it funny. She was pissed that someone decided to play without her. She turned immediately to Hana, who pointed to Sephira. Sith wasn't even surprised.

 

“Well?” Hana asked her as she sat on the couch, taking off her glasses to clean them. She gave a sly smile. That meant something had indeed happened. Whether it was good or not, however, Ryou couldn't guess.

 

“Yami's going to find the guide,” Sith told them all confidently, “He should…” At that moment, the door was practically blown off its hinges as Bakura strolled in, holding up the guide like some trophy. Sith partly wished it was the Excalibur instead of a book; she could kill him with it then. But she didn't speak. At least, not until Yami and Ishtar stalked in after the demented thief. Now her confidence turned to confusion. “What in hell is he doing here!?” Malik blanched. Now he knew he was dead. And Ishtar was more than willing to give Sith the sword to kill him with.

 

“Well, Ishizu decided to screw winter and throw us out because `it's her time' or some shit like that,” Ishtar explained to her with a grin, “So, when I found out Malik was crashing here, I was absolutely sure you'd welcome my company!” Malik was lucky if dead was all Sith would make of him. She turned to the screen rigidly, looking directly at Ryou as she unpaused the game. He yelped, slamming into the lone monster and sending it screaming to its death. That was an effective way to say `I'm mad.'

 

“Which one of you suggested this?” she asked flatly. When Malik went to protest, she said, “I don't care why, or how, or for how long. Just tell me which of you idiots decided I'd actually go for this.” Malik bit his lip and edged away, Ryou glaring at him as he did so. He was throwing the white-haired boy right into the fire pit, and Sith was holding the match to light it. Knowing that Sith's patience wasn't great, Ryou raised his hand.

 

“I did… sort of,” he said quietly, and when Sith glared, he exclaimed, “What did you want me to do? Leave him out there!?” She didn't even respond. Which probably meant that was exactly what she would've done. “Sith, it's minus ten out there!”

 

“She's going to kill me, isn't she?” Malik whispered, half-expecting the answer to be yes. Ryou nodded fractionally, and Sith grinned darkly. Malik hated that look. That was the closest thing to a `yes' he'd be getting from her.

 

“Don't touch my sister and I won't spear you,” she compromised. Unfortunately, what she didn't know would hurt Malik, because when she found out, she would kill him. And unfortunately again, Ishtar handed her the gun to shoot with.

 

“Guess you'll have to send him to the morgue tomorrow!” the spirit practically sang, and Malik cursed. Now Sith looked pissed off. Her eyes went red, and he swore he saw a red aura around her. That usually meant something somewhere was going to die. He had a feeling he was that something, too.

 

“As soon as he's out of there, I will,” she promised, and Malik felt she should've killed him then and there. Living in the simple fear of his imminent death would be a million times worse than actually facing it. And this time, he didn't have Katt to distract Sith. Nor was the blonde man there to distract her, either. Or aid her, if he felt Malik was enough of an ass to kill off. The only thing working in his favor was that Bakura sat down next to the vexed woman. And Bakura liked him… hopefully. He turned to Sith.

 

“Want my help, dear?” he asked her sympathetically, seeing for once that she was truly tired with how the day was going. She glanced at him from the side and frowned. On a normal day, she'd have accepted. But this wasn't a normal situation. She handed him a controller warily.

 

“Make a mistake and Ryou won't be the only one dead,” she threatened, and Bakura knew what she was actually saying. He nodded and patted her back as Yami sat behind her and took the guide. He wasn't much for video games, but he knew how to read. And Sith would need the guide soon, too. He opened up to where Sith indicated, when he asked her. He sped through the passage, raising a brow as he looked up at her again.

 

“Okay, according to this, the recommended level is five,” he told her calmly, “What level are you?” Sith grinned slyly. She'd have normally said something ridiculous, and he knew it. But this was too urgent to be joking. And Yami had a feeling whatever the woman's answer was, he wouldn't like it. That was how it went with them.

 

“Two,” she replied honestly, and Yami's mouth dropped. Subsequently, so did Bakura's. That just didn't seem right; Sith was good at pretty much anything she tried to do. Why the hell was this so different? Bakura just shrugged. If she wanted to do this half-assed, he wouldn't complain. But Ishtar would, and he did. He couldn't even understand why anyone thought Sith would be a good leader in this situation.

 

“Two!? Are you serious!?” the young spirit demanded in absolute disbelief, “Sith, what the Ra-damned hell!? You're an Esper and you seriously think you could win on level two!?” Sith glared at him flatly. She didn't feel the need to dare him to do this himself. Mainly because she knew if she did, Ryou wouldn't be coming back. Instead, she ignored the insult and kept the party moving southeast. The great dunes of the desert began to give way to sparse grassland. And Yami confirmed, in Ryou's curious glances upward, that that was where they needed to go. Sith only smiled when an FMV began to play, depicting Ryou, Yugi, and Malik walking up to the entrance of a large cave, set below an impressive mountain range. Everyone else's mouths dropped as they watched the scene. Sith hadn't the heart to tell them that, realistically, not even the remix had those graphics.

 

“…it looks dark in there,” Malik whispered, as they all gazed into the cavern's entrance. Ryou nodded, but Sith snorted in amusement. Malik looked up at her, and bit his lip. She smiled thinly.

 

“Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark,” was all the woman said. Malik nodded grimly, and she sighed. At least he didn't tell her he was. Not with words, anyway. He didn't need words, either. Ishtar, as usual, got the next word in. The spirit rolled off the couch, laughing hysterically at the silence Sith received.

 

“If only Katt were here to see this now,” he taunted, sitting up on the floor and grinning maniacally, “I doubt she'd want to marry you now.” The tense wasn't missed, either with Ryou or with Sith. And both of their mouths dropped in absolute, utter disbelief. Malik just twitched. Now Sith would really kill him.

 

“Ishtar, SHUT UP!” Malik yelled as Sith turned to the screen and practically screamed, “You proposed… to my SISTER!?” Normally, her voice was pretty shrill when she was mad, but now it made Malik's blood freeze. Whether it was from terror or magic, he neither knew nor cared. He just prayed to Ra in thanks that Sith wasn't in the same world as he was now. Not that it'd do much good; she could easily kill him by shutting the game down.

 

“Sith, there's no reason to get angry…” Ryou began quietly, but it was clear she terrified him, too. Her eyes flashed red, a sure sign that someone, somewhere, was going to die. Ryou didn't want to know who that'd end up being. Malik turned to him, knowing their weapons would fail holding her fury off.

 

“I'm dead, aren't I?” he asked, and Ryou could only laugh. Dead wasn't nearly enough to explain how pissed Sith was.

 

“You've buried yourself in a grave eight thousand feet deep, my friend,” Ryou warned, and Malik laughed nervously. That still wasn't enough dirt to stop Sith, with or without her magic present. She still had both Aeon and the blonde man, both of which were more than willing to end her friends' lives prematurely.

 

“Then let's dig it in some more,” Malik mumbled, and with that prodding, Sith happily obliged. She picked up the controller as the scene ended, and moved Ryou's sprite into the cave. It was damp, and he felt the swirl of cold air as it rushed about. No wonder Malik was afraid. The place smelled musty and old. Just like a cave should. And Sith happened to be smiling again, just like an idiot would.

 

“Onwards and upwards, friends,” she said, but somehow, that brought such little comfort to the rest of her team. But no one argued. No one was that stupid.

 

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

 

With the guides and spirits to help her along, Sith may have a chance to get Ryou out before the woman from before shows up to destroy him again. But with danger so close, she'll need to hustle to save her friends. Can she figure out the mystery behind Ryou's warp to another world? Is it another attempt to destroy their own? What awaits them at the end of the cavern? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!