Sneak Peek: Chapter 16: Yugi and Harry and the Shadow Treaty

Yes, I finally have this chapter with my beta reader!

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Joey was confused for the ten seconds it took for him to re-orientate himself and take in the gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Then it hit him that they had been teleported away from the fight at the Ministry of Magic and dropped off here. Considering that they had been outmatched and outnumbered, it would not have been a bad thing but there was an issue. A rather big issue. Both Yugi and Harry had been left behind.

“Take us back!” Joey furiously demanded as he glared around at the pair of mages who had side-along apperated them to the school gates, far away from the battle.

“So you can do what?” Moody, the real Moody, asked derisively, “Stand around and get yourself and others killed because you tried to fight someone who’s older, better trained and sneakier than you? You’ve not even taken your fifth year yet and if you could summon those creatures of yours, you would have done by now. If you go back now, you’ll get killed.”

“But...” Joey trailed off when Hermione put a hand on his arm.

“Moody’s right. Even if Harry and Yugi are still there, we’d be in the way.” She murmured quietly as he glowered down her. Her expression told him that she liked it as little as he did, but as per usual she had a much more level head about the situation. “They’d never forgive themselves if we got killed going back for them.”

“The others will be here with your friends in a minute.” Moody’s accomplice, a young woman whose hair could not seem to make up its mind what colour it was, spoke up, trying to reassure them. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

Joey let out an irritated huff. No, they were not ‘fine.’ He knew that already. Even before Harry had nearly fallen, clutching his right arm, Joey had felt like someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed. Just for a moment, but the sensation and the lingering ache afterwards was worryingly familiar. There was nothing physically wrong with him, but he knew what had caused it.

It was a warning. An alarm call. A scream for backup.

Yugi was hurt. Badly.

Harry’s collapse and explanation had only confirmed what he had already known. On its own that would have been bad enough, but the discomfort had only intensified as time went on which was why he wanted to go back so badly. He did not need to though as Professor Lupin arrived in a stream of white and a swirl of white smoke which deposited the werewolf and Harry amongst their group.

Professor Lupin rushed past them, Harry in tow and carrying something in his arms. Hermione did not get a glimpse of what he had, but Joey did and he froze up in horrified shock for a moment before rushing to catch up, all thoughts of going back to the Ministry forgotten.

The trip to the hospital wing had never seemed longer as they raced through the surprisingly full corridors and Joey did not know what to do. Instead he hesitated by the infirmary’s door as the werewolf laid Atem on the nearest bed and called for the school’s healer.

“Yugi...” He breathed as he stepped into the ward, Hermione’s shocked gasp going unnoticed in the face of the reality of seeing his best friend led on a hospital bed, unconscious, deathly pale and bleeding profusely.

Sneak Peek - Ennead: For Those We Love: Chapter 2

Bakura paused as she stepped through the classroom door and looked over at her group of friends, who were gathered around a travel video player, chatting to the screen.

“Good morning?” She questioned, curious as Yugi looked up and nodded to her, then slumped back into her seat, while the others all gave her smiles that looked rather false. “What did my other self do now?” She asked as she moved over to the group.

“It wasn’t her fault.” She jumped a mile as the video player answered her, causing her to move around to see the screen. Yugi’s grandfather was on it, waving merrily at her, “Good morning, Bakura-chan.”

“G...Good morning, Mutou-san?” It was more a question and she glanced around at the others, noting Yugi had seemed to sink further into her chair. “Is he really...?”

“Yeah.” Jou nodded, his tone angry and his movement sharp. “Some prick with a Millennium Item challenged Yuge, cheated all the way through and sealed Ojiisan’s soul into the tape when she lost.”

Bakura could feel her other self shift at the back of her mind at Jou’s words and mentally grimaced. She was well aware of how close her other self had come to total victory just a couple of months ago. It was only the fact the she had sacrificed herself to halt the final blow that had saved her friends.

It had only been a miracle that had saved her life and the life of her Other Self, but they had been dead, at least temporarily, and while she was willing to do it again if she needed to, the spirit of the Ring had made it clear that she had no intention of dying again. Not for a long time at least.

This meant that, for the time being, Yugi’s Puzzle was firmly off the radar. Any other Items however were still fair game and Bakura couldn’t really bring herself to object considering that most other item holders seemed to be obnoxious prats.

“Can you get him out?” She asked, remembering how Yugi no Oneesan, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had seemed to have no difficulty in helping her free those trapped in the game pieces from her Monster World set.

“No.” Yugi shook her head, seeming calm, though Bakura could see it was just a mask. She couldn’t help but wonder if the others could see the dejection hidden underneath. “Anesan tried. We just ended up with a headache for our troubles.”

‘Of course they did.’ Bakura flinched as the voice of her other self echoed in her head, still not used to being able to hear the thoughts of the spirit of the Ring and mostly wishing she still couldn’t, ‘The Penalty was set against them. They will have to fulfil the ‘out’ clause before they will be able to free him.’

“Could we do it?” Bakura asked the voice, startling them both. “Could we free Yugi’s Grandfather?”

‘I don’t know,’ The voice replied after a moment of thought, sounding amused for some reason, ‘And quite frankly I don’t care to try. The Pharaoh got herself into this mess and she can get herself...’

The Other Bakura paused, retuning into the conversation at the table in time to see Jou rolling his text book into a cone shape, pointing it at the Puzzle and yelling, “Hey Oneesan! If you can hear me in there, cheer up!” at the top of his lungs.

“Jonouchi!” Anzu shoved him away as Yugi tried to get some hearing back. “Seriously! I don’t think that’ll help.”

It had a little though, Bakura could see, as Yugi smiled for a moment, some of the despondency lifting a little in the face of her friend’s lunacy. 

Sneak Peak: Relic Song Chapter 4

Seto was understandably wary when he stepped out of his helicopter and onto the grounds of Duellist Kingdom. The last time he had been here had not been a pleasant experience and when his little brother had informed him that this was a trap, he hadn’t been surprised. The who had been a shock, but not the trap itself.

Having already phoned his teacher in Shadow Magic, he already knew the Millennium Rod was useless if the enemy activated their own spells. However he felt better knowing that his Millennium item was at his side, if only because it meant he knew where it was and that it wouldn’t be turned against him.

Mokuba followed him without a word as he entered the castle. The younger Kaiba brother wasn’t convinced that coming was a good idea. Even with the powers of a Millennium item on their side and the Pokémon he had borrowed from Cassandra, he wasn’t sure. Still the company was under threat and there was nothing he could or would say or do to prevent his brother walking into this.

‘Pegasus’ was waiting for them in the entrance way, smiling cheerfully with that vindictive hint that only a gamer would pick up on, just as he had when he’d sealed both of their souls away. “Ah, Kaiba-bo...”

“You can drop the act.” Seto glowered at the man before them, “I know you’re not Pegasus. You’re not annoying enough for a start.”

“Really?” The fake Pegasus sounded disappointed, “But I tried so hard to get it just right. Oh well...” With that he took a step back and Mokuba let out a startled yelp as the floor vanished beneath him.

“Mokuba!” Kaiba lunged for his little brother, trying to grab his arm as he fell but missed. The younger Kaiba brother slid down the pipe, cussing hidden passageways as he shot out of the end of the pipe and tumbled onto the floor. 

Ennead: Season Zero Chapter 23 Sneak Peak

Yugi didn’t need much coaxing to come and settle at her Grandfather’s side as he settled on the sofa, happy to leave Jou to cook something that was resembling food more and more with every meal. She cuddled into him, relaxing as he hugged her. She had been tense for days after Death-T, still partly convinced that everything that had happened was her fault. Even now, a week and a half later she sought out their company, silently enjoying what had nearly been ripped away from her, but didn’t join in their games and laughter. Tonight was no different.

It was almost, Sugoroku mused as he watched the frustration crossing Jonouchi’s features when Yugi didn’t join him in playing for yet another night in a row, instead watching as he completed yet another chapter of some video game, as if she didn’t think she deserved to have fun.

It hurt to see her like this. Watching her regress into the quiet, shy little mouse she had been pre-Puzzle was painful. He missed the bouncy, happy, energetic girl she had become over the last few months. 

It was partly his fault she had withdrawn so far. When they had gotten to the hospital, he had still been in emergency surgery and the Doctor had told Yugi the truth of his condition. A condition that had been brought on by Kaiba’s ‘Penalty Game.’ He had emerged from the surgery whole and healthy, feeling much better, in fact, than he had for a while but the damage had been done.

Yugi had barely left his side since. He didn’t think he could blame her. He had been just as terrified about losing her as she had about losing him. He had been so afraid that she would not make it. That Kaiba’s malicious games would rob him of the last remaining member of his family. He did not think he could have survived it if he had had to return to the Game Shop, knowing that Yugi was never going to come home.

To know she was safe, that she had made it through the trials she had taken on purely to ensure his safety, eased most of the remaining stress on his heart and made breathing easier. Now if he could just mend her heart, his own would be just fine.

He had tried to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault. That he didn’t blame her for Kaiba’s actions. He had even offered to help her merge his deck and hers into something new, just for her. However she had turned him down, just handing the deck back and shaking her head. A first sign, maybe, of the state she had spiralled into.

He couldn’t help but wonder what the Pharaoh thought. Whether the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle was as frustrated as Yugi’s other friends or whether she felt guilty about what Kaiba had done too. It wasn’t like he could ask his other granddaughter. Not without something happening to Yugi to make her come out.

He was sure that given the right impetus Yugi would be okay but he couldn’t help but worry. He wasn’t quite sure what to do to fix the problem. Normally he would have offered her a game or two from the store to help lift her mood, but he did not think it would help. Not when he didn’t have anything new to encourage her curiosity.

Not till tomorrow at least. He was pretty sure that the new game that was due to arrive in store would at least get her playing again. She wouldn’t be able to help herself. She never had been able to resist the latest releases. From there he was sure her friends could draw her out of her shell once more. Despite their frustration he could see that they only wanted to help her.

Yugi retired to her room early again, leaving a ticked off Jou and a worried Sugoroku behind.

“If she were a guy I’d’ve smacked her by now.” Jou huffed, irritated as he watched her go. “It wasn’t her fault Kaiba was a psycho and the sooner she works that out the better.”

“I have a plan.” The elderly gamer reassured him, smiling slightly at the confirmation of his suspicions. “Just give it a little longer.”

“I hope it works.” Jou replied, shutting down the games console as he did so. “Can I help?”

“Actually you’re kind of vital.” Sugoroku chuckled lightly, “Got something new coming in tomorrow. I’ll be giving you and Yugi freebies.”

“But Yuge’s not playing...” Jou paused, curiosity kicking in, “Wait, how new?”

“Brand new release. Out for sale tomorrow.” He informed the teen, amused by the way the thought of a new game had derailed the blonde.

“That could work.” Jou nodded thoughtfully.

“We’ll just have to wait and see.”