Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow Realm: Fifteen ❯ Eye of the Storm, Pt. 2 ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

(Author's Note: This chapter contains excerpts from "Big Shot", by Billy Joel. All credit to him.)

No one word could give justice to what the Forbidden Palace looked like. The bare minimum that had ever sufficed was estimated to be around twenty.

The building itself was a tremendous castle, thus the name; it easily rose past three stories. The exterior looked like solid gold, although it was merely painted that way. The doors, however, were both gigantic and made of true silver - and raregold filagree created twin pentagram designs on each door. Above the doors sat a massive engraving, showing a Celtic Guardian from behind as he gazed upon seven chalices in the air; one held jewels, the second a laurel crown, the third a statue of a tower, the fourth the head of an Empress Judge, the fifth a Sinister Serpent, the sixth a Kisetai. Whatever lay in the seventh chalice was covered under a cloak.

"The famous Unspoken Warning," Raelvion noted as the four of them made their way into the Forbidden Palace, handing their invitation to the Swordstalker guarding the door.

Fifteen blinked, and asked, "'Unspoken Warning?'"

Raelvion nodded. "The seven chalices are in the air, but he can't take any of them - he's not even sure if they're real. Never trust something just because you can see it," he explained. "That holds true both within and outside of the Central Shadow Realm."

Unlike the outside, it was possible to sum up the inside of the Forbidden Palace with one word - although it was more an incomplete oath than a word: "Holy...!" The primary color was red - the carpeting was that color, as well as the trim on the walls. The walls proper were black and gold, with the occasional painting of a famous scene from Shadow Realm history - on one wall was a giant mural of Exodia wrestling the Five-God Dragon; on another, the Susa Soldier's four-day fight with the Ryu Senshi, from the Time of the Spirits. In the center of the room sat a giant kitchen, the walls invisible ones made of force, and a small army of Bistro Butchers rushed about under the command of a Hungry Burger (one of the Forbidden Palace's slogans was "Great food is made by food"). Already most of the tables surrounding the kitchen were filled up.

Fifteen's eyes had already threatened to come unhooked from their sockets if he attempted to control them, so he let them flick about as they would. Over in the corner, the Great Priest Dezard was lecturing a pair of Apprentice Magicians as they held onto his every word; on the side, the Elemental Mistress Doriado ate alone, staring off towards the stage at the back of the room. The Legendary Flame Lord himself, Reuben VII, had taken up a table as close to the stage as he could get and was currently talking up a Fire Princess; judging from her expression, he was doing quite well. And unless Fifteen's vision tricked him, the infamous Vampire Lord Orlok was near the back of the tables, drinking a very red liquid from a glass - needless to say, all four tables around his were empty.

On the aforementioned stage, one of the Central Shadow Realm's more famous performers was at work - the monster known as Danny Hypnos. Despite being an Invitation to a Dark Sleep, he had the audience fully awake as he sang:

"You went uptown riding in your limousine
In your fine Park Avenue clothes;
You had the Dom Perignon in your hand
And the spoon up your nose!
And when you wake up in the morning
With your head on fire
And your eyes too bloody to see,
Go on and cry in your coffee
But don't come bitchin' to me!

Because you had to be a big shot, didn't you?
You had to open up your mouth!
You had to be a big shot, didn't you?
All your friends were so knocked out!
You had to have the last word, last night,
You know what everything's about!
You had to have a white hot spotlight,
You had to be a big shot last night!"

The song continued, but Fifteen was snapped out of his listening by Raelvion's hand on his shoulder, guiding him to a table an equal distance between the stairs and the stage. The stairs themselves were being closely guarded by a Steel Ogre Grotto #2, and it didn't give the impression that intruders were just quietly pushed out the back door.

Naomi was already seated, and she was all but curled into a ball in her chair - the opulence of the place was getting to her. Tessia, of course, was soaking it up - as Fifteen sat next to her, she turned to him and said, "I never thought I'd see the Forbidden Palace. I knew sticking with you would be worth it!"

"And here I thought you just liked my company," he replied sarcastically.

The Magician of Faith's expression did a complete 180, and she babbled, "Well, that's very nice too, really!"

Fifteen just smiled, making a note of it.

The server, an Earl of Demise, lurched up to their tables and handed out menus. After getting drink orders (water for Naomi, red wine for Raelvion and Tessia, whiskey on the rocks for Fifteen), he groaned, "Enjoy the show, Representative," before lurching into the kitchen.

Even as Raelvion opened his menu, he looked to Fifteen and said, "Don't forget we have serious business to attend to. Have your fun now, because I'm not sure you'll like what you're going to hear."

"Warning taken," Fifteen replied.

As Danny Hypnos finished up his song and slid off the stage to general applause, a Goblin of Greed bustled into view. Nobody who knew who he was ever called the Goblin by his species name - he was Vince, the owner of the Forbidden Palace, and he had the gold-trimmed coat to prove it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that was Danny Hypnos!" he announced, pausing just a moment to build up tension. "Now, I was hoping to save the next act for the dinner hour, but the audience is just so great today that I couldn't resist giving them a warm-up. Forget the food, the ambience, or the second-floor gambling - they're the real reason you're here! The Central Shadow Realm's most famous trio..." He paused again. He loved the electricity of an anxious crowd. "Camille, Nell, and Anita - the Harpie Lady Sisters!"

He got off the stage, and then the roof fell in. The people that weren't applauding were covering their ears to avoid going deaf from the volume. Tessia was among the screaming fans; Raelvion and Fifteen were among those covering their ears. Naomi was just staring blankly.

From the ceiling, the three descended. The first to land was Camille, the one with long maroon hair. Next was Nell, of the short orange locks, and finally Anita landed, straightening her blue spikes. All three snapped their fingers, causing microphones to drop into their hands. Without further ado, they burst into song.

The applause died instantly - not due to disappointment, but because no monster ever wanted to drown out a Harpie Lady Sisters song

0000000

Hidden away, in a place not known to the Central Shadow Realm public, a figure floated up to a small console. One flick of its fingers over the console caused five lights to turn on. Each beam of the light focused on one spot on the floor... and, interestingly, left the figure in shadow.

Another movement of its hand, and the floorspace that was the light's focus receded. From below rose a metal mold, in the general shape of a man... although any creature with that much muscle would have trouble moving without others pulling his limbs around. At the top of the mold was an opening.

With a third flick of its hand, the figure caused a metal tube to slide into the hole. The tube connected to a bucket, high above the mold, that was filled to the brim with molten metal. Once the metal had been various monsters's weapons - Ansatsu's knives, the Dark Witch's spear, an M-Warrior's sword, and some fifty other weapons. While raw metal would have sufficed, the figure had charted this choice up to artistry.

One more flick of its hand, this time at the bucket, and the figure opened a hatch within the tube. Now the liquid metal poured out of the tube, filling the mold slowly, pumping into each and every crevice of the mold's design. Wherever the metal failed to flow, another twist of the figure's hand encouraged it to fill the empty spot. It took about ten minutes for the bucket to empty and the mold to fill.

Once that was done, the figure turned its concentration to a trap cube it had left in the hollow space in the floor. No wave of the hand was needed this time - the figure let its mind do the work. The trap cube, a Cold Wave, activated, turning the entire empty hollow into a freezing mass of ice. Another mental command, and the mold descended back into the hollow to cool. A flick of the hand, just for habit's sake, sealed off the floor and caused the tools to retreat.

That done, the figure sent its mind above ground, scanning the Central Shadow Realm. [Hmmmmm...], it pondered. [The riots are quieting down. No good - I need those to last. The longer their attention is drawn away, the more time I have to finish Part D. Time to warm things up again.]

Finding a good target, the figure set its mind on it and gave a slight twist.

00000000

The rioting was indeed beginning to die down. Between the army's obvious superiority in weapons and the slow ebbing of Don Zaloog's words, the monsters involved in the riot were beginning to see the wisdom of living and letting live.

The riots had started in the Warrior and Beast-Warrior Living Quarters, and it was there that they first began to settle down. A Fire Reaper had found itself caught in the tide of the looting and destruction, and now stood before a Kojikocy and a Blade Knight.

"Lower your weapon," the Kojikocy said, "and we won't have any trouble."

The zombie was quick to comply... and then something caught hold of its arm. Even as it struggled with its errant limb, the Fire Reaper couldn't stop itself from raising the bow again. Taken aback, the two warriors stumbled back, drawing their weapons.

Cursing silently, the Fire Reaper could only watch as its other arm reached back into its quiver, drawing forth an arrow. The more it fought, the more smoothly its arm went through the motion of nocking the arrow and taking aim. Even as it tried to shout an explanation, the power of speech was taken from it...

The arrow flew, and the Kojikocy stumbled and fell, pierced through the heart. Its companion let out a cry of shock, and then its blade flashed, shattering the Fire Reaper's skull.

Elsewhere in the area, a Robotic Knight had taken position on a podium, in front of which a number of the rioters had gathered. "We assure you that the Shadow Council is seeking a peaceful solution," it said in the monotone one expected from a machine. "We seek nothing more than a fair and calm resolution to this unpleasant situation..."

Inside one of the Robotic Knight's eyes, the screen turned red, and the word "ERROR" flashed repeatedly. The machine didn't understand... until its left arm suddenly jerked up. In shock, it sent multiple override commands to the arm, but none of them got through. All the robot could do was watch as it took aim into the suddenly frightened crowd.

Then, with a terrible slowness, an all-too-familiar clicking noise filled the Knight's sensors. Shell by shell, its arm was loading the gatling gun on the end. Soon, the ammo chamber was full. By now, the crowd had started to flee, but it was too late.

Unable to stop itself, the Robotic Knight watched in utter bafflement as its arm opened fire into the crowd. It kept firing, hitting a monster with almost every shot, until the ammo chambers clicked dry.

An enraged Panther Warrior was upon the machine before it could flee. Grabbing the Robotic Knight's left arm, he ripped it out of the socket and swung again and again, smashing the machine to pieces.

A similar incident happened in the Pyro and Thunder Living Quarters, and another near the Low-Level Fiend Living Quarters train station. Before ten minutes had passed, the riots resumed, even more furiously than before.

0000000

Within the Forbidden Palace, Fifteen and his party had ordered their meals, and Raelvion was taking his time saying what was on his mind, idly swirling the wine in his glass around without ever touching it. Finally, he sighed and said, "I have so much that you need to know, Fifteen. What do you want to know first?"

The Witty Phantom gave it a great deal of thought, and then said, "Start at the beginning."

"'Before all things came Exodia,'" Raelvion began, and then took a sip of his wine in order to give Fifteen time to stop choking.

Once he'd gotten the whiskey out of his windpipe, Fifteen shot the Dark Magician a glare and said, "Very funny, but judging from how you acted when we came in, this is serious business."

"It is," Raelvion said, "and the story I was about to tell has significance. I know what the Unspoken Warning says, but this time you'll have to trust something based on its looks."

Tessia and Naomi refused to say anything, and so Fifteen was stranded. Finally, he nodded and waited for Raelvion to resume.

Finishing his wine, the representative picked up his story: "'Before all things came Exodia, and he alone stood on the darkness of the Shadow Realm. But a great light pierced the Shadow Realm, and it imbued Exodia with its very substance. The light could not bear darkness, and so Exodia purged from himself all things dark and foul, discarding them into the darkness. From this darkness came a being formed from the Forbidden One's abandoned lesser aspects. Repulsed by this foul doppelganger, Exodia named it Necross, and the two set to battle. For one year, and another, and another, did they battle, and then all other monsters came into being...'" Pausing, Raelvion added, "It doesn't say how they were created."

Naomi broke her silence, commenting, "I know those words..."

"You should," Fifteen interrupted. "He's quoting verbatim from the Chronicles of the Shadoria - Shadoria being an archaic term for the Shadow Realm. It's probably the most famous book ever written, but nobody's sure who wrote it. I had a copy back in my apartment before the entire hall went up in flames."

A smile crossed the Dark Magician's face. "Well-read, I see," he said. "The same text is used in the Counting of the Days of the Gods, although the Church of the Gods prefers to open with a long chapter on how the Gods created everything... but can I continue?"

The other three monsters fell into silence.

Clearing his throat, Raelvion spoke again: "'Some monsters saw Exodia and Necross in battle, and they charged to aid one side or the other. No monster who did so survived, however, and soon they ceased their efforts. Finally, two years after the other monsters came into being, Exodia landed the final blow. Although Necross, being made from Exodia's cast-aside evils, could not die, he was stunned and unable to defend himself. Taking up the body of the defeated Necross, Exodia traveled to the one edge of the Shadow Realm that would never move. There, he constructed a great iron door, and behind it he sealed his dark counterpart. The iron door still stands there, and behind it ever rages Necross...' And there the text goes on to describe everything from the First Dragon Wars to the Time of the Spirits. Any objections to my jumping ahead?"

None were voiced.

"Thank you," he said before he continued. "The last segment of the book reads, 'But one dark foretelling has floated about, in many forms, since the dawn of prophecy. It declares that should Exodia, the Forbidden One and the guardian of all the Shadow Realm, ever be slain, no matter by whose hand it be done, the power that keeps the great iron door shut shall falter and die. And from it shall Necross emerge, hatred and destructive lust all on his mind. He shall tear through the Shadow Realm like reapers through the harvest, and not even the Gods shall be able to stem his wrath. And in that time shall all that exists be rent asunder, and the Shadow Realm reduced to a bitter memory, long forgotten.'" There was a quite dreadful pause as he spoke the last words.

The silence finally broke when Fifteen finished off his whiskey and asked, "Very dramatic, but what's the point?"

Raelvion went on, "Before the Second Dragon Wars, the Serpent Knight Dragons conjured up a Dimension Warrior and sent her after me, pinning the blame on the Buster Blader - it was all I could do to keep the spellcasters and the warriors from having their own civil war. Fifty years ago, just before the Day of Zorc happened, his followers used their powers to control the minds of many of the monsters in the Central Shadow Realm. They then turned everyone against each other and let them go. The Warrior and Beast-Warrior Living Quarters were utterly destroyed in the violence that followed. Forty years after the Day of Zorc, when the Time of the Spirits began, the Asura Priest incited a level revolt, ensuring that the army was too busy to respond when the other Spirits arrived. Now we have open rioting in the streets again." He paused, and sipped his wine. "Do you know what the three old events all have in common?"

Fifteen shook his head, and Naomi and Tessia followed his lead.

"In the Second Dragon Wars, the dragons did everything they could to lure Exodia and the Five God Dragon into one-on-one combat; they knew the Five God was strong enough even to face Exodia. During the Day of Zorc, Zorc's only goal was to kill Exodia; he was caught on the Council Upper Quarters, just outside the Shadow Council chambers. While the other Spirits were laying waste to the Central Shadow Realm during the Time of the Spirits, the Yamata Dragon and Otohime launched an attack on Exodia's palace. The scholars at the Library Arcanium are convinced that it's not a case of three coincidences..." Stopping a moment to catch his breath, Raelvion finished, "Every time someone tries to kill Exodia, they start a riot to cover their tracks."

There was a brief pause, as the other monsters at the table took in the information. Naomi finally said, "It makes sense. If you're trying to assassinate the head of the Central Shadow Realm, you wouldn't want the army to be looking your way."

"That still doesn't explain why Fifteen got dragged into this," Tessia added.

"I was just getting to that," Raelvion resumed. "One would have to assume that whoever's organizing all this chaos is after Exodia, and it's also a safe bet they don't want their real identities hooked to the martial law and the rioting. Thus, they needed a decoy - and that's why our Witty Phantom friend here is the latest Public Enemy #1."

"And whoever did the rest of it had a shapeshifter to mimic me," Fifteen said, the pieces clicking together in his mind. "And since they needed to keep me alive to keep the police force's eyes off them, that explains why it mimicked Don Zaloog and broke me out of Ha Des's office." There was a pause, and then the fiend's expression turned dark as he asked, "But why specifically me?"

Another pause swept the table before Tessia patted Fifteen's shoulder. Raelvion sipped his wine and admitted, "I haven't figured that out yet. But..."

The conversation was fractured when a slightly tinny voice shouted, "Raelvion!"

All four diners looked to the source of the voice... and saw what appeared to be a floating, legless doll. The doll had bright yellow eyes, long purple hair, and was wearing what appeared to be a maid's apron. Both hands were currently where the doll's hips would be, if the doll had any.

Raelvion groaned under his breath, but then turned to the Rogue Doll with a warm, phony smile. "Tilde! How did you get past the front door?"

"The Swordstalker knew who I was. Either way..." She took a swing at the Dark Magician with her staff, but he managed to swerve out of the way. "I can't believe your nerve, sir! First you spend every night for a week sneaking out to the Missing Number..."

Tessia gasped, and then said in awe, "You were the cloaked one? How did you get past the door?"

"A Demotion badge," Raelvion explained before ducking the next swing from Tilde.

The Rogue Doll continued, "And then you run off in the middle of the night to Gods-know-where and leave me to have to worry about you all evening! Where in the name of The Creator did you go off to, sir?"

"You'd rather not know," Raelvion muttered. "Any messages for me?"

Having worked out most of her frustration, Tilde sighed and answered, "Two, sir. The Shadow Council called - they're holding an emergency session tonight, to discuss the current situation in the 'Danger' quarters. Also, Linnalee called..."

Watching as Raelvion's face turned pale, Fifteen leaned over to Tessia and whispered, "Who's that?"

Tessia giggled and whispered back, "The Dark Magician Girl - his apprentice and, rumor has it, his girlfriend as well. Seems the rumors were true."

Leaning on his staff, the Dark Magician groaned. "I was supposed to contact her yesterday. What was the message?"

There was more than a hint of triumph in Tilde's voice as she said, "It started with a very polite greeting, but then descended into yelling and cursing in seventeen separate languages, including Aquan, Gigatongue, Toonjib, and one that I couldn't identify but, judging by tone, was more of the same..."

A hand settled on Raelvion's forehead. "She was cursing in Ancient Draconian again... It's going to take a month to get her over it." Turning to the others at the table, he sighed and said, "It appears we don't have time to wait for dinner. I'll have to take you to my place, and we can continue the discussion after I patch up my relationship with my apprentice."

Tessia and Naomi looked disappointed, but Fifteen dashed off another silent prayer of thanksgiving to the Gods. He was almost certain that the Legendary Flame Lord was staring at him.

The light in Tilde's eyes flashed red before she interrupted, "That reminds me. Who in the Shadow Realm are these people, sir?"

"Well, for starters, the Witty Phantom is D-15A, the Shadow Killer..."

It was, perhaps, a good thing that the group had already decided to leave. Exactly thirty seconds after Tilde's reaction to those words, they were thrown out en masse.

0000000

[They are exiting now, Breaker. Make your move.]

"Got it."

0000000

The group - now consisting of Fifteen, Tessia, Naomi, Raelvion, and a slightly calmer Tilde - headed toward the Library Arcanium again, Fifteen rubbing a sore elbow. When a Steel Ogre Grotto #2 is ordered to throw you out, it takes the instructions literally.

"There's a private train station down the road and to the right," Raelvion explained. "It travels only between this level and the Council Upper Quarters. My home's on the Upper Quarters, and once we get there, we can plan our next move."

Fifteen was about to say something when a blur of movement caught his eye. Turning his head, he saw nothing there. He paused, and then did a double take. There was nothing there - but Naomi had walked next to him only a moment earlier!

Tessia screamed, and Raelvion drew out his staff, spinning and trying to find her. And then another blur of movement caught Fifteen's eye, and turning to follow it, he shouted, "Look!"

The group looked forward, and saw Naomi - caught in a headlock from one arm of Breaker the Magicial Warrior. Breaker's other arm kept his sword steady on the Witch of the Black Forest's neck.

"I'd heard there was a jailbreak in the Maximum Offender Lockup," Raelvion said, trying to aim his staff at a part of Breaker that wasn't blocked by Naomi. "How interesting that it happens to be you."

The criminal hissed, pressing his sword a little more into Naomi's neck. "You even think of casting a spell, her head and shoulders part company."

Raelvion lowered his staff.

"You touch me," Breaker continued, "she dies. You take a step closer, she dies. You try any spells or traps on me, she dies. Or better yet..." His sword slid along her face until it rested just above her third eye, which winced and quivered as the sharp metal neared it. "I understand that if a Witch of the Black Forest loses the central eye, her mind goes poof - or she just suffers horrible pain the rest of her days, the stories differ. Why don't I make her third eye blind and see for myself?"

Naomi screamed, and then fainted, sagging in Breaker's grip. The Magicial Warrior cursed, put his sword back at her neck, and hefted her up into his arm.

"What do you want us to do?" Fifteen asked, glaring at his fellow Level Four.

Snickering, the spellcaster said, "You just have to stand there and wait for further instructions. My part in this job is over now that I've got her." The little finger of his sword hand dropped, and a Creature Swap cube flashed to life. A crow on top of a nearby building now stood where he had, whereas Breaker was dashing off over the rooftops.

All four monsters left in the group just stared at the crow, until it began to swell. After a few moments, it had transformed fully. Its new shape was similar to Raelvion... but with many differences. Its hair was white, and its eyes red. The color of its hat and robes were a deep maroon, as opposed to the purple attire on the Dark Magician. And it had the most devious expression on his face.

"Fine, fine, I'm insulted," Raelvion said finally. "Just tell us what you want."

The shapeshifter in the "evil Dark Magician" form chortled and then said, "My master has ordered that the Witch of the Black Forest be brought to the lair. If you wish to have one last chance to see her before we enact our plan, you will come to the abandoned Equip Factory in the Work Quarters, on the very edge - next to the fence. If you are not there by sundown, you'll miss all the fun."

"Who's your master?" Fifteen asked.

"Not allowed to say," the shapeshift replied, and then it was back in the shape of the crow. Taking flight, it vanished on the horizon.

A moment passed, and then Raelvion said, "We have our orders, it seems." Turning to Fifteen, he added, "I assume you're coming along."

"It's that or go cower," the Witty Phantom replied.

"I suppose you can't be convinced to go home?" the Dark Magician asked Tessia and Tilde.

Both shook their heads.

"Let's go get a Labyrinth Tank," he finished.

0000000

In its hidden location, the figure looked up from what it was reading. On the very edge of its perception, it could feel the four approaching, even as Breaker returned to the lair.

[The lambs come forward,] it thought out loud. [Four stray lambs, all coming to be slaughtered. In that one stroke, I will resolve a loose end and do away with one of my major obstacles. Soon, it shall all come to an end.]

One hand gestured to the book, and the page turned, showing an old drawing of Necross behind the iron door.