Shadow Rising

‘Allo again. Set’s game continues, with a little twist even he didn’t expect.

Oh, for anyone who didn’t get Marik and Malik’s costumes, Marik is Inuyasha and Malik is Kagome. They’re from the anime series Inuyasha, another of my favorites.

******

“You should like this, Cousin.” Set called. “I have a game. Somewhere in the house is a prize, for whoever can find it. In various other places are traps. Whoever finds the prize gets it. Whoever doesn’t... well you’ll see at the end.” And the candles around the room suddenly flared up.

“But first. Just to make it a little more challenging...” Set began to incant in ancient Egyptian.

“What’s he saying?” Yugi asked.

“It’s a spell.” Yami replied. “Something about separating...” He stared. “Set, don’t you dare!”

“Yami!” Yugi started to fade, while Yami’s body became solid.

“Aibou! It’ll be all right.” Yami looked around. All the other Japanese teens, and Malik, were disappearing as well, leaving only the yami.

Yami stalked over to the priest. “What are you doing?” He demanded.

“A little Halloween gift.” He answered. “Haven’t you ever wanted your own body?”

“Occasionally.” Yami said carefully.

“Well, I’ve just granted your wish. Your hikari is somewhere in the house. And Mind Crushing me won’t help, the spell was random.”

He lifted his voice to be heard over the group. “Your little friends are spread throughout the house. Find them, and your links will be restored.” Yami scowled as Set gestured to Kaiba. The brunette stepped forward, glaring at Set’s back. Yami frowned, realizing that both Kaiba and Seto were solid.

“If it makes you feel any better, there is nothing in the house that can harm them.” Set told him, before he faded away. Kaiba looked shocked as he too began to fade. “What the...” Then he was gone. Yami looked around, noticed that the others had already left. With a growl of annoyance, he raced up the stairs and began his search.

******

Down in the basement, in a random storage room a vortex opened, and a teenage boy fell to the ground. He groaned and sat up, staring around.

“Where am I?” Crimson eyes took in his surroundings in puzzlement, as he brushed long black bangs out of his face. His golden bracelets clinked together as he stood, brushing off his pleated skirt.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, I suppose. I’m free of the shadow realm, and it’s time to take my place as supreme ruler again. Innocent-looking eyes, now violet-hued, suddenly narrowed and he chuckled evilly. “This time, even my nephew won’t be able to stop me.”

He stepped out of the room, walking down the hall until he came to the stairs that led to the first floor. For some reason, the door at the top had a mirror hanging on it. The boy stopped and stared.

“I’m... a child again.” He said, raising a hand to his reflection, touching it delicately. Then he shook his head and stepped back.

“No, keep your mind on the target.” He said, and walked down the silent hall. “This place is so strange.” He gestured and a blue flame appeared in his palm, lighting his way down the hall.

******

“Yami!” Yugi called into the darkness. He had appeared in an empty room. A lit torch sat on the floor beside him. He picked it up, looking around. There was only one door in the room. Yugi frowned at the door before opening it, to see another person on the other side, holding another lantern. He yelped and jumped back.

“Hey, Brat.” Bakura said calmly.

“Have you seen Yami?” Yugi asked. Bakura laughed coldly.

“Should figure that’d be the first thing out of your mouth.” Yugi fumed. He pushed past the taller boy and started down the hall. Bakura grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

“Hey!” Yugi protested.

“There’s no sense in you getting yourself into trouble, Shortstuff. We’ll stay together.” Yugi tried to pull away again, and found himself dragged down the hall.

******

“Marik?” Malik stood at the end of a dark hall. Like Yugi and Bakura, he had a lantern to light his way. Unlike them, he was trapped in a little area. A glowing blue field blocked his way down the hall. A screen in the wall held a mixed up puzzle on it, five pieces square. Malik frowned at the screen and touched one of the pieces. It shifted to the one open spot in the puzzle.

“Well, this should be easy enough.” He muttered, and began moving the pieces around.

******

Yami moved down one of the halls, looking in each of the rooms. For once, the game didn’t even draw his interest. He just wanted to find Yugi, then, once his aibou was safely tucked back in the puzzle, send Set on a little visit to the shadow realm.

“You have got to be kidding me.” He said aloud as one of Set’s puzzles popped up, literally, in front of a metal door. It was a small computer screen that rose from the floor with five empty boxes on it. Yami touched one of the boxes and it changed colour. He cycled through the colours. Red, blue, green, yellow and orange.

“This is too easy.” He scoffed, and chose the easiest solution first, red, blue, green, yellow, orange. A buzz answered him and some of the box outlines lit up. The red box and the green one lit up with a white light, while the yellow and blue boxes turned to red. In one corner the number two appeared. Red, yellow, green, blue, blue. Another buzz. This time all the boxes except for the first blue lit up white. The number turned to one. Yami frowned at it. That meant he only had one chance left, and three different colours that the last block could be. He chose the other colours, then paused over the last. Finally, he chose at random, green. A bell rang, and the door opened.

“Yugi!”

“Mokuba?”

The black-haired boy ran forward. “Pharaoh. What’s going on?” Who was that guy that looked like my big brother?”

“That was Set, a high priest from Egypt. Your brother’s his reincarnation.” Yami answered absently, as he raised his lamp high. The room appeared to be empty.

“Come on. Let’s finish this game quickly. I have a bone to pick with my cousin.” He continued down the hall, Mokuba right behind.

******

“Ah!” Jounouchi jumped, jerking back as the door in front of him suddenly opened with a creak.

“Jou?”

“Honda? That you, man? Jesus, you about scared me out of a few years growth.” Honda’s companion giggled.

“Shizuka. You’re all right?”

“Of course, Silly.” She answered. “Honda’s taking good care of me.”

“I bet.” Jounouchi answered, and Honda laughed and scratched his head.

“We’d better hurry up and find the others.” He suggested. Jounouchi nodded, and led the way to the other door in the room.

******

“Sagira?” Anzu called, opening a door.

“I’m right here.” The irate Princess answered, strolling forward out of the shadows. She lifted a hand and Anzu touched palms with her. There was a small flash, and the mindlink was instantly reconnected, though Sagira remained solid.

“So that’s what he meant.” Sagira said. “Set gave us our own bodies.”

“So we can’t join together anymore?” Sagira’s body faded and her spirit overlapped Anzu’s.

:Apparently we can.: She answered, before separating into her own body again.

“Help!” The two turned at the call, exchanged glances, and ran down the hall.

“That’s funny.” Sagira said, chuckling as she saw Malik. The boy had somehow gotten himself stuck upside down in a violet field. He was desperately trying to keep his skirt from falling.

“Stop laughing at me, and do something!” He seethed. Anzu looked around, while Sagira continued laughing, and spotted a keypad. She frowned at it, then shrugged and typed in 5000. The violet field faded and Malik dropped with a yelp.

“Thanks.” He growled, sitting up and rubbing his head.

“I don’t suppose you’ve seen any of the others?” Anzu asked.

“Well, see, we were all together, but then I decided to leave the group and find a trap to get stuck in. What do you think, baka?”

“Well, there’s no need to be rude. We should have left you up there.” Sagira countered. Anzu just shook her head.

“Hurry up. Let’s get out of here.”

******

Marik stood in a four-way, wondering which way to go. He had quickly decided not to go looking for Malik. The boy could take care of himself, and there was a treasure to find.

Finally, he shrugged, and decided to go straight.

“Oh, damn.” He thought, as the intersection lit up with a white glow and time seemed to freeze, leaving him motionless.

******

“What is that?” Yugi asked, frowning at the faint light up ahead. It was swinging about.

“Ryou!” Bakura called. The light swung around again. As they approached, it gradually revealed the angel.

“Bakura?” Ryou’s hand went to his ear, of its own accord.

“Where are they?” Bakura demanded, instantly noticing that the earrings were missing. Ryou opened his hand to reveal them. Bakura took them from him, and their mindlink reconnected. Bakura only frowned and put the earrings back in Ryou’s ears.

“They itch.” He complained.

“Stop your whining, Ryou.” Ryou winced, and glanced at Bakura hesitantly. Yugi looked from one to the other, knowing he should say something, but feeling more then a little afraid to. After all, if he annoyed Bakura too much, there would be no witnesses but Ryou, and Yugi didn’t doubt that he wouldn’t be much help.

“You do realize that if these close up, I’ll just have Marik open new holes.” Bakura added. Ryou paled and swayed slightly. Bakura rolled his eyes, and held him up as he fainted. Yugi quickly caught the lantern. “Jesus!”

“He’s pretty scared of Marik, isn’t he?”

“Bloody Ass.” Bakura answered. He gave Ryou’s face a gentle slap, and the boy moaned and shifted, then opened his eyes.

“What?” He asked, confused. Yugi blinked at him, surprised.

“Not you.” Bakura said. He watched Ryou cautiously a moment, then pushed him away. Ryou took his lantern from Yugi, and stood at Bakura’s side, eyes downcast.

“Come on.” Bakura gave him a gentle push and continued down the hall, keeping Ryou in front of him. Yugi quickly followed.

******

Set smiled at the 3-D view of the mansion before him. Various small lights moved through it, and three lights had turned red and were now stationary. As he watched, two of the red lights were joined by white lights; the red ones changed to white and moved on.

“I must say, I’m surprised at how everyone’s getting along.” He said aloud. Kaiba glared at his back, from where he sat in one of the chairs. This security room was the only one in the mansion that still had power. Well, technically, all the surveillance cameras still had power, but they were powered by the same generator that ran the lights here, completely separate from the rest of the mansion’s power.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Set said, not even turning. “It’s not like you had anything planned.”

“Who knows what they’re getting into.” Kaiba replied.

“Don’t worry. I thought of that. The whole mansion’s been… edited… for the night. Everything non-organic has been shifted, so they can be neither seen nor touched, except for the few things I allowed to remain. We are on the very edge of the Shadow Realm.” Kaiba only scoffed. Set finally turned to look at him.

“I am quickly becoming tired of your attitude, Boy. Watch you do not earn yourself a visit to the Shadow Realm.”

:Oh, I’m scared.: Kaiba thought, not realizing he had sent it. Set gestured, and suddenly Kaiba was surrounded by darkness. Monsters brushed past him, barely seen, and slimy things wrapped around his legs. Kaiba fell, and stared with wide eyes, as a large creature headed for him, its huge mouth open to swallow him whole. He shut his eyes and cowered. After a few minutes of silence, he opened them again and stared around the security room. Set was watching the display again.

“Next time, I might not be so forgiving.” He warned. Kaiba gritted his teeth to keep from shuddering. There was no way he was going to let this damned powertripper see any of his weaknesses.

:I already know them all, Dragon.:

“Now who is that?” He pointed at a blue light and the hall appeared on the monitors, showing the black-haired boy that walked down it. “A friend of yours?” Kaiba shook his head.

“No.” He answered quickly.

“Hmm, I’d better keep an eye on him, whoever he is.”

******

D’Ceandre: Hmm, maybe Set’s not so bad as everyone’s made him out to be. Or maybe he is. And just who is the boy?

Trouble: There you go with the questions again.

D’Ceandre: *Gestures and Trouble disappears. She returned a moment later.*

Trouble: You can’t trap me in the Shadow Realm.

D’Ceandre: Points for effort?