Light Amongst Shadows Part 4

“So what’s the card supposed to do?” Honda asked, “Besides make everything wet.”

“I’m hoping,” Oneesan replied as the four of them ducked for cover under a nearby bus shelter, “That even if it can’t wake everyone up, the rain can control some of the fires. Plus ‘Rain of Mercy’ is a lifepoint recovery card. So it might heal a few of the people hurt by the wave.”

“Nice.” Jou grinned, “And while it’s healing people we can focus on smashing the bad guys.”

“Okay, small issue.” Honda scowled, “Where are the bad guys?”

“I don’t know.” Oneesan reluctantly admitted, “And I’ve lost Bakura.”

“You’re kidding me.” Oneesan scowled at Jou’s deadpan tone, “So we’ve got nowhere to start, nowhere to go AND we’ve lost track of the tracker?”

“I have some idea of where to start.” The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle shook her head. “If we head further in, where the Shadows are thicker, we’ll probably find the centre of this whole mess.”

When the gang decided that made sense, they started heading further into the centre of Domino. It was just as bad further in, worse in fact, due to the crowding. They could feel the Shadows crowding as they moved amongst the sleeping masses though as they went. None of them liked the feeling and Honda distinctly missed the days before he had been exposed to the Shadows often enough to know what they felt like.

Oneesan was the most on edge. She hated the Shadows passionately. Though she drew most of her power from them, she still remembered her time trapped within them and they took every opportunity they could to try and drain Imoto-chan’s energy. Even now, with the wards she had up to protect her little sister she could feel the Shadows just waiting. Looking for a gap in their defences took take advantage of in order to draw from the purest source of light available.

She could feel Imoto-chan’s reassurance even as she could sense her apprehension. Her little sister did not like the Shadows anymore than Oneesan did, but both girls could see their uses and Imoto-chan was as convinced as always that Oneesan could get them out of this, safe and sound. Whatever ‘this’ was.

Oneesan just wished she knew what she was leading her friends into. There had been no warning at all before that wave had hit, no signs of what had been afoot before it had already struck. The last time someone had attacked them before they’d had any warning, the last few times in fact, things had nearly ended very badly for all of them.

Still she had the advantage, at least for the moment. She could feel that even as the Shadows deepened, her powers were stronger than those of whoever was controlling this fiasco. The darkness had swarmed the city but it was the upper levels of the realm, what she referred to as level one, where they wanted to feed on Imoto-chan’s light, but if exposed to it they would burn away quickly.

As far as she was aware, the only way to control the deeper levels was with a Millennium Item and she knew where almost all of those were. But then she had thought that about the upper layers too, and obviously she had been wrong about that.

“Bakura knew something.” Anzu grouched as they got lost in the alleys close to the city centre, not that far from the former site of the Black Star Game Shop, “Why couldn’t she just give us a straight answer?”

“Because she never gives us a straight answer.” Jou replied, just as irritated with this wild goose chase as the rest of them, “She never seems to lie to us, not anymore anyway, but she never gives us any real answers either. We always end up having to work out the full truth for ourselves.”

“She seemed to want us to stay out of this.” Yugi sent over the link to her other self, pondering the conversation and the situation over in her mind since she had little else to do, as Oneesan wouldn’t let her come out again for her own safety. “I think whatever’s happening, it links back to what she was talking about before, you remember? Just before she went to confront Marik?”

Oneesan had not actually been there for that conversation, Imoto-chan had not been wearing the Puzzle. However her little sister had told her about it afterwards, when she had awoken from her nap to find Bakura had gone up against Marik and lost, leaving Marik up one Millennium Item and Yugi down another friend.

‘You mean about not wanting the Items to fall into the hands of anyone with evil intentions?’ Oneesan asked, having been confused by that statement at the time.

“Yeah.” Yugi returned, “She’s only ever wanted them to end up in our hands, or hers. She doesn’t seem to care much which, as long as they were together and she knew where we were.”

Oneesan would have replied, but something in the Shadows was shifting, moving closer to their location. When she stopped and glanced around, the Puzzle glowing slightly the boys moved into defensive positions, ready to protect the girls.

Light Amongst Shadows Part 3

((sorry guys, was on earlies so had a 5am starts and fell asleep before I could post this up))

As they reached the gates, they started to realise the devastation the magical wave had caused. People had been swept off of their feet on the streets, drivers had been knocked unconscious and their vehicles had crashed, causing fires and destruction of property. Worse was that it was easy to assume that people had been hurt. Between the crashes, the fires, the magical wave and everything else, there was bound to be injuries or worse.

“We should help...” Anzu looked around, feeling lost as she saw the fallout.

“How?” Honda grouched, “If we’re the only ones awake that means there’s no police, no hospitals, or anything!”

“We don’t know thta there’s no one else awake.” Anzu pulled out her phone as she spoke, “I mean we have to try to call some...I have no signal.” She scowled at the device, which merrily displayed ‘No Signal.’

“I’m not surprised.” Oneesan sighed, “Not with what’s happening. If that wave didn’t wreck the electronics, there’s no way a signal could get through the Shadows. In or out.”

“Tech doesn’t like magic.” Jou nodded his agreement, “Well unless it’s Kaiba’s tech. It always seems to work, even when cameras and computers are going nuts. I think we’re on our own.”

“So what? We’re just going to leave everyone where they are?” Anzu demanded.

“I’m not sure there’s anything else we can do.” Jou commented as Oneesan gazed around at the fires and started searching her deck for something, “I mean none of us drive, you guys don’t know more than high school level first aid and what I know is better suited to gang fights than huge waves of magic and... is it raining?” He looked up in confusion as raindrops fell out of what looked, to his eyes, like a clear blue sky. “How...?”

“Oneesan!” Honda yelped, supporting the Pharaoh as she wavered on her feet, dropping the ‘Rain of Mercy’ card she was holding as she did so.

“I’m okay.” She snapped back at him, harsher than she intended, “I just ran into one of the Rules, that’s all.”

“This isn’t a game, ‘Neesan.” Jou scolded.

“Yes and no.” Oneesan straightened herself out and picked up the card, which seemed to still be in effect as they watched the people in the wet weather glow slightly, a small pleased smile crossing the spirit’s face as it happened. “We’re not in a traditional Shadow Game...and I should not be able to say those words... however whoever called them down intended for everyone to be asleep, including anyone who could be considered opposition.”

“But that’s cheating, right?” Jou asked, kind of figuring where she was going with it.

“Right.” Oneesan nodded. “So a loophole came into effect. We’re awake because we all have a little magic because of our contact with the Shadows. And if we use up that magic...”

“You pass out.” Honda got it, “But why’d the card hit you so badly, it’s no Osiris.”

“Casting it over the whole city wasn’t easy.” Oneesan shrugged, “Besides I’m fine now and I have an advantage. Two souls.” She gestured to herself, “And two wells of magic to draw from.”

“But we,” Honda gestured to Anzu and himself, “Don’t have magic.”

“Obviously you have enough for now.” Jou grinned, suddenly glad for his near death experiences in the Shadows, since he too had been magic-less a couple of years back. “Don’t question it. If the bad guys think they’ve won already, they’ll be easier to beat.”

Light Amongst Shadows Part 2

It took the spirit of the Puzzle a while to recover from the sudden assault, and by the time her senses had stopped screaming at her the light had faded away and her friends were picking themselves up.

“What the hell?” Honda demanded as he picked himself out of the desks, wincing as he extricated himself gingerly.

“I dunno.” Jou’s voice echoed in her ears as she tried to pull herself together, “Oneesan?” He asked, then shifted slightly under her, concern becoming obvious as he spoke again, shaking her gently, “Oneesan? You alright?”

“F...Fine.” Oneesan spoke, opening her eyes and wincing against the headache that was forming. She moved carefully as she got to her feet, trying to work out why Imoto-chan’s mind was suddenly fortified with spells, ones that should only have activated if they were drawn into a Shadow Game.

“You sure?” Anzu asked, having pulled herself out of her own mess and helping her up.

“Yeah.” Oneesan reassured them, a horrible thought coming to mind as she registered the fact the electric lights were off and there was a dim glow coming from outside. Not sunlight but a tainted, almost omnipresent light that seemed to stretch across everything evenly.

She darted over to the window, a stream of invectives, most of which she had learned from Jou, pouring out as she worked out exactly why the spells she had cast to shield her little sister had activated.

“Okay, while it’s impressive that you not only know all those swear words, but can use all of them in a sentence,” Jou commented as he came over to look out the window, “You need to tell us what you’re seeing. We don’t have that freaky mage sight thing that the Puzzle gives you and Yuge.”

“Let me guess, you just see the sky.” Oneesan growled, frustration obvious.

“Perfect blue sky, same as it was... earlier.” Jou trailed off, noting how tense Oneesan seemed and the way something seemed to be pulsing in the air. “Oh, you’re kidding me. There’s no way...”

“Uhh guys, we have a problem.” Honda’s tone caused the pair to turn away from the window. Honda was knelt at the side of one of their classmates. Worryingly not a single one of them had stirred from where they had fallen, nor did they respond to Honda when he tried to wake them up.

“It’s that light, right?” Anzu asked, “That’s what’s caused this?” She gestured around the devastated classroom and their fallen classmates.

“It wasn’t just light.” Oneesan tried to explain, “There was magic in that wave.” She paused, confusion obvious, “I know how I resisted it, but how are you three awake?”

“Uhhh, I have no idea.” Jou glanced at the others who looked just as uncertain.

“Damn,” Oneesan tensed up as she wheeled around to face the door, where a certain white haired, brown eyed, smug looking teenager was leaning against the doorframe, “I was hoping this was all your fault.”

“Bakura no Oneesan.” Yugi’s older sister scowled at the other Millennium spirit, “I was just thinking the same thing.”

"If you're not at fault, then I don't have time to play your games today, your highness." the Thief King scowled, "Not with that," she gestured out of the windows, "going on." with that she turned to leave.

"Bakura." Oneesan winced and Bakura scowled as Yugi appeared out of thin air.

"What do you want?" Bakura asked, watching the girl carefully, wondering if she was aware of how uncomfortable it made Oneesan when the pair of them had a civil conversation.  

"You've been around a long time. I was just wondering if you've ever seen anything like that wave of magic before." Yugi replied, trying to ignore her elder sister's low growl as Bakura moved further into the room, pondering her question.

"No." Bakura admitted slowly, "But I can guess why we're standing and they," she signaled their class mates, "Aren't.”

“Oh?” Jou asked, not entirely sure if he trusted the spirit of the Millennium Ring. At times she was a dangerous adversary, while at others she could be a trusted ally. It all depended on her mood. She seemed to be on their side more often than not though, so he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. At least for now.

Bakura just shrugged and turned to Oneesan, “I don’t have time to play ‘what do I have in common with the twerps’ and neither do you. Whatever’s going on isn’t our fault, which means…”

“Someone else is controlling the Shadows.” Oneesan had already gotten to that point and nodded her agreement of the assessment, “But I thought you needed a Millennium Item to do that.”

“Not necessarily.” Bakura shook her head, “But again, I’m not gonna explain it to you. Just don’t get into trouble.”

“Bakura…” Before Yugi could finish her sentence the other item holder had left, leaving the group just as confused about what was going on as they had been before.

“Okay first off, this is creepy.” Honda looked around the classroom, “And secondly who thinks she’s hiding something?”

“Honda. One word.” Jou snorted, “Duh.”

“Well I’m going to find out what’s caused this.” Oneesan paused as Yugi let out a soft sigh and waved her hand in front of Jou’s face. When she got no reaction from her friend, she gave Oneesan a sheepish smile and vanished back into her soul room. “And if I have to chase Bakura halfway around the city to do so, so be it.”

“Well, I don’t know why we’re awake, but I don’t fancy sitting on my thumbs while you do all the work.” Jou smirked at her, “So lead the way.”

Oneesan opened her mouth, shut it again, shook her head in amused frustration, “No point even telling you guys to sit tight anymore, huh?”

“Nope. So let’s get going.” Honda snorted, “I’m supposed to have a date this evening and she needs to be awake for it.”

“Oh yeah.” Jou grinned as they followed Oneesan to the lockers and pulled on their outdoor shoes, “You finally talked Miho into going on a date with your mangy butt. I dunno, I think we’d be doing the girl a favour if we left her sleeping through it.”

“Hey!” Honda snapped, “Can we just get this latest crazy over with?”

“Yeah yeah.” Jou waved it off before looking at Oneesan, “So, oh fearless leader B, where’re we going?”

Oneesan’s eyebrows raised at the ‘B’ comment, but did not comment on it, instead gazing outside and scowling at the Shadows that seemed to encase the city, even if the others couldn’t see it. “I want to find out where that red light came from.” She informed the others, “Once we know what’s been cast, we might be able to break it.”

“And if we can’t, we beat up the bad guys till they fix it, right?” Jou asked, pounding his fist into his palm. Oneesan’s vindictive smirk was answer enough. “Well then, off we go.”

Light Amongst Shadows Part 1

It was but another school day in Domino High. Once Battle City had come and gone and Marik had gone home to Egypt everything had settled into a routine. Life had gone back to the sort of boring she had actually missed amongst the craziness that had been getting Oneesan socialised, dealing with Kaiba and Bakura, winning back Ojiisan’s soul, the virtual insanity, the fire at the Black Star shop AND everything that had happened with Marik.

However that didn’t make class any more interesting. The teachers droned on and on in one tone of voice, boring her half to death. Luckily for her she had someone close by who was more than willing to help her stay awake.

‘Not that I mind playing games with you, Imoto-chan, but aren’t you supposed to be paying attention in class?’ Oneesan’s slightly disapproving tone made Yugi internally wince. ‘We did promise Ojiisan that we’d keep our grades up.’

“I know, I know.” Yugi replied, sticking a ‘o’ in an empty square anyway and mentally shifting aside so her big sister could take her turn, “But I’m bored. Between the two of us and the advance reading Anzu was making us do, we already know this.”

‘True.’ Oneesan allowed as she took her turn, ‘We’ve pretty much finished the whole textbook now. Not that most of it makes any sense. I mean what’s a proton and why do you need to know about it if you can’t see it? And why are they called neutrons?’

“I have about as much clue as you do.” Yugi admitted as she took over and pretended to scribble some notes to take the teacher’s attention off of her game, “I mean if I wanted to be a scientist it might be useful, but for running the shop? Not so much.”

Oneesan didn’t respond to that. She and Ojiisan were convinced that Imoto-chan would be able to go wherever she wanted and do whatever she wanted to do. However it frustrated both of them that all she seemed to want to do is stay at the shop and work there for the rest of her life.

The two played in silence for a little while longer, always staying on par with wins and losses, only stopping when Yugi noticed that Anzu was glaring in their direction. The feeling of ‘oops’ from both her and Oneesan was enough to cause them both to stop, and to force Yugi’s attention back onto what she was supposed to be doing.

When the dinner bell went Yugi couldn’t pack her books away fast enough. The sciences held no interest for her and she wanted to have at least a little fun before P.E. kicked off. Anzu turned her chair around to face Yugi, about to start scolding when Jou came over and Yugi leaned against his side, as his hand rested on her shoulder.

Anzu let out a soft sigh as Yugi rested her cheek on Jou’s hand, well aware that both Yugi and Jou were more comfortable with subtle signs of affection than the more overt displays their classmates favoured when the teachers weren’t looking. On the one hand it was easier to hide their blossoming relationship because of it, on the other it meant that sometimes she had to prevent the rumours of a falling out. There were times Anzu envied Yugi’s complete obliviousness when it came to the rumour mill.

“So,” Jou grinned as he settled on the desk next to Yugi’s and the girl pulled out her lunch, “What’s the plan?”

“You mean what do I have for lunch?” Yugi chuckled, waving a spare bento box under Jou’s nose.  He snatched it up eagerly and started munching as the rest of the class filed out to buy lunch or settled at their desks to eat.

“So now the human dustbin is being fed, what’s the plans?” Honda asked as he unpacked his sandwiches, ignoring the glare that Jou sent his way over his bento.

“Well I brought a couple of games we can play together,” Yugi said between mouthfuls, “But I don’t...”

“Yuge?” Jou asked through a mouthful of food, watching as Yugi trailed off, stiffened and turned towards the windows, Oneesan taking over as she moved. “What’s...?”

“I...” Confusion was obvious on her features as the Pharaoh tried to work out what it was that had just spiked her senses. She knew at a base level what it was, magic, a lot of it. However she couldn’t work out what it was. It felt like Shadows, except it didn’t, not really. There was a difference in the magic that had just caused her to jump a mile and the Shadows that she was used to.

“Oneesan?” Anzu asked quietly but with concern. Something was bothering the Pharaoh, something she couldn’t sense but obviously the spirit of the Puzzle could.

Before Oneesan could say anything to his friends there was a bright flash of red light on the horizon, moments later followed by a wave of light that rushed at them.

Oneesan was not the only one who dove for cover, most everyone who had seen the flash attempted to duck beneath something. It did not help and as the wave of light burst through the windows and washed into the corridors, it hit like a tidal wave, sweeping everything with a pulse off of its feet.

Oneesan was sent tumbling into Jou and the pair of them hit the nearby desks as the magic that was contained in the light continued its unstoppable march onwards. It overwhelmed Oneesan’s senses as the massive spell continued its job and it was only the support of Imoto-chan that prevented the spirit of the Puzzle from losing consciousness.

Author Note: Ennead Update

Here You Go!

Author Note: Full Site Update

My Website can be Found Here

I've just spent the last three or more hours updating my site so it has all of the chapters I've posted on ff.net on it.