Sneak Peak: Shadow Treaty chapter 14

Tristan was not happy.

Last night’s attempt to make a plan had proved fruitful. However the meeting had ended on a blazing row as they discussed who would be best to go and get the prophecy from the English Ministry.

Harry had to go, no one else could get the orb out of the Hall of Prophecy. If Harry was going, so was Yugi and Yami. From there it had devolved into a row. They all wanted to go, well except Kaiba, who had more than enough on his plate as it was and needed to be in Japan. However it had been argued that if something went wrong, a big group was more of a target then two or three people on their own.

Two bodies had been discarded immediately. That would mean Harry and Yugi going alone with only Yami for backup. None of them were willing to let that happen.

Seven, it was decided, was too many. As was, it was eventually argued, five. Four allowed two to go with the pair, while leaving enough on the island to help the refugees, settle any more sent their way and keep a decent size force behind to protect the island, should the worst happen.

Then it just came down to arguing over who should go with them.

Personally, while Tristan knew about the link between Harry and the Yugis, he was of the opinion that sending the trio into the maw was a bad idea. If anyone should stay behind it was Yugi and someone else should go in his place. It wasn’t going to happen though. Not with his link partner going into danger and the enemy able to summon monsters equivalent to the Egyptian God Monsters.

Yugi had to go, if only to ensure Harry would return.

There had not really been any question of Joey not going. He had had Yugi’s back for nigh on a decade, there was no way in hell he was going to let Yugi and Harry walk into danger without him now.

Which left the debate over the last spot.

Tristan had put himself forward before anyone else could and was still fuming over how quickly he had been shot down. It was his own fault, he knew that. He had had no magic before the gang had been split up by the Ministries of various countries. He hadn’t practised with his Shadow Magic since he had gained access to it. He didn’t have a wand, or any training with one and he was not used to the Magical Community in England.

He had the physical strength, but in this, just as he had been in every other battle his friends had fought, he was utterly useless and it was driving him to distraction.

With Kaiba taking himself out the running, since he needed to run his company, Ombre refusing to risk the safety of anyone else by going with them while her control was shot and Ryou stepping back for much the same reason, that left Mokuba, Luna, the Weasleys and Hermione.

Kaiba had nixed any thoughts his little brother had of going. Mokuba was needed to help prevent Kaiba Corp falling into complete collapse. Unspoken was that Seto refused to let Mokuba go into battle without him there to fight at his side. There was no way the elder Kaiba, who was his little brother’s guardian, would allow Mokuba to go. The elder Kaiba knew Mokuba would eventually forgive him for the oath he had extracted from his little brother to prevent just that.

If Mokuba wasn’t going, then it was decided that no one under Harry’s age should go, much to Ginny’s outrage, though Luna looked as if she had expected it.

The only hesitation Weasley twins had had was that they were looking for one person, not two, and while they were skilled at tricks and treats, they were not amongst the group that had trained for combat for the last year.

Finally it had been decided that Hermione, who had trained alongside the others, worked on her Shadow skills until they were second nature alongside Kari and knew spells far beyond her age level would take the last spot.

Ron had exploded with rage, launched a long, ranting and mostly rude tirade against the group, and then stalked off back to the castle.

Tristan, in all honesty, had wanted to do much the same but knew it wouldn’t have helped anything.

He had, at least, been a little appeased by the decision to leave the Millennium Items, bar Yugi’s Puzzle of course, on Duellist Kingdom. It was a bad idea to take them back into enemy territory when they had been stolen once already. Instead Yugi had asked a favour of Tristan, hoping it would appease him slightly. While Draco held the Millennium Ring, the other five items needed protection. Yugi had entrusted that task to him.

Tristan didn’t see why he was being allowed to guard the items, but wasn’t trusted enough to protect their wielder. Yugi had tried to explain, that it wasn’t that he didn’t trust him to have his back, but that he wanted him to be here, where he could protect not only the Millennium Items, but the refugees and the island too.

Tristan had seen through it easily. Yugi didn’t want most of his friends and ‘Clan siblings’ following them to England, because the one person who had always been certain that everything would be alright in the end wasn’t sure that they would come back.

He had a feeling that if it hadn’t been so essential to his powers and his access to Yami, Yugi would have left the Puzzle too.

They should not be this worried. After all it was a simple retrieval. Go in, get the prophecy, get back out again. Easy, right?

Yeah right. Just the fact it was supposed to be a ‘simple’ retrieval meant that everything was going to go balls up the moment it had an opportunity.

Still, as he helped Yugi settle the refugees that had arrived this morning with the Speaker, he looked forward to when this was all over and they could possibly, finally, leave all the saving the world business to the professionals and have a relatively normal life.

Normal life. Ha.