[ Medieval Yugioh ] [ Chapter 1: The End of the Common Era ] Rex Raptor had lived alone all his life. He had never known his parents,
and made sure never to be in an orphanage. But he had known one thing.
He was destined to guard the millennium grail. It had many powers that
he never thought could even be possible, until the one day that would
change his life forever. Yugi awoke with a start. There was something strange going on. Espa Roba was a bit confused by this medieval change, but wasn't alarmed
by it. Maybe it was because his history class teacher had assigned
him to do a report on the middle ages. "WHAT! Wait. This is a waste of my time; no one will help me.
I'm on my own."
"ROBA!!!! YOU DO NOT HAVE A *hack hack* SWORD!" steamed
Rex. Serenity loved her new gold cup. She had picked it up, and she had meant to give it to Bakura, but she was transported far away from her friends. As she looked around to try to find out where she was, she spotted someone with a red hat, long brown hair with purple bangs, and his head was down. Hello there!" Serenity said.
"What do you mean YOUR cup! And by the way, if it's in pieces I can restore it!" Said Rex. Seto Kaiba flicked a small gold coin between his fingers. He may have
failed to get some bigger gold (planning to sell it at some antique
site for big bucks), but he was expecting a visitor. The door opened
slightly, and the CEO shot to attention. It was Yugi. Kaiba smiled
slightly, but he was nowhere near being in a good mood. " Hollered Yugi. Kaiba paid no attention. He was going to duel all right, but not the kind of dueling that Yugi was used to. Ryou Bakura opened his eyes. He then gasped. Was he in England? If
he was, he had gone back in time. He soon realized he wasn't, for Joey
was looking at him. Clicki-tick! Clicki-tack! Clicki-tick! Cliki-tack!
"What happened?" asked a puzzled Ryou. Rex Raptor sensed that some of the pieces of the millennium grail
were in the temple in front of him. He also knew that Serenity was
searching for them, as she had stated it in his face. He wandered in,
in an ungainly fashion, to see that there was a perfectly crafted crossbow
in there. He wanted it, and it would fit with the medieval theme. He
jumped and glided towards it with a hang glider. Suddenly fire shot
out at him. "Tell me what have you done now Yami!" said Ryou. "I'm
pretty sure you've been after the millennium items again!" Noa Kaiba longed to be outside of the prison of his computer. He hoped
some traveler would come and fall into the ocean so he would have a
body to reside in. But this thought only made him more determined to
get out. He wanted a cheese sandwich really, really badly. Noa pushed
a few buttons on the chair he was sitting on, making the computer move
underwater like a submarine to the closest boat. Maximillion Pegasus was having a tea with Marik. Pegi was having tea
and crumpets, while Marik was having sugar and coffee. Isizu and Shadi
were watching 'Pamypom' on TV. In the shadow realm Bones woke up and found that he was in wooden
cage, surrounded by tiny bug monsters. Clickitick-clickitack! Mako was at the domino shire! But right now
he was viewing a very strange sight. He had seen Rex Raptor scramble
out of an old ruin, and there was a noise somewhat like the gnashing
of a wild animal's teeth, as Rex tried to hold the door shut. There
was another dragon! Mako was amazed when he saw what looked like a
dragon trying to get out. Mako saw that Rex had a crossbow clenched
in his sweaty hand, and Mako grabbed a large stick, walked up to the
door, and thonked the dragon right on it's head. The beast fell down,
knocked out. Joey came trotting down the road, when he saw Mako and
Rex. He also saw the crossbow. But where was Weevil at that time? He had wandered off, to a cave,
after following a bug monster. At the cave, he saw insect queen and
many other bug monsters, and they were surrounding three guys, tied
to poles, over a fire pit. But the fire wasn’t going. One bug creature
that was in his deck saw him.
Mako was socializing with Rex, as they walked away from the temple, and into Domino Town. They were wondering how the others were faring, when it hit them. "Rex, have you seen Weevil around here? He was following me before." Asked Mako. "No, I haven’t seen him all day." Answered Rex. "What? The little weed must have gotten lost. I’ll scold him for wandering off later. I’m his bodyguard for now because his parents are on a business trip." "Oh. But where did Joey go?" "He ran off to Domino Town." As they entered the town, evil plots were going on elsewhere….
[ Chapter 2: Plots and Beginnings of Quests ] Weevil jumped off the cliff and onto the roc. He was hoping the giant bird wouldn’t make any sudden movements, knocking him from the roc’s back. That was when he noticed that the insects below him weren’t silent with awe, but were jittering with laughter. Weevil soon found out what they were laughing at. The baby bug was just a robotic bug, meant for Weevil to chase after. Weevil was infuriated with them making him look ludicrous up they’re riding the huge raptor, trying to save a robot. Weevil tried to think of an idea to make their plan backfire. The roc swooped down, to catch a bug for a snack, when Weevil thought of it. Weevil carefully crawled up the bird’s back, took a rope from his pocket, and stuck it in the bird’s unsuspecting beak, then pulled back on it. The roc was under Weevil’s control now. He ordered it to land with a swift kick, and slowed it down with a bop on the head. The insects were touched with his bravery, and hooted with joy. Their biggest enemy had been defeated. Insect queen strode forward, and bestowed him with a beautifully crafted spear. "For you." She said in perfect English. Weevil walked away with his spear, and his pride. Bakura had an evil plan, which he was now pondering of a way that he could start it. His plan was to kidnap loved ones of some of the people in the area, and the ransom would be as many millennium items as they could muster up. But he wouldn’t stay at the shire, he would take the hostages across a deeply thought up slave trail to a kingdom where Bakura would reign as king, and they would work as slaves unless they gave him the millennium items. It would take a while, maybe even at a party to get his hostages. He had already made a list of who to take and who to leave, but he needed a celebration, so he could drug the drinks, making them fall asleep, giving him time to kidnap, and chain up the slaves. That was when a mailman came up to him, and handed him a letter. It said, Mr. Seto Kaiba would like to invite you to a party at Kaiba castle. There will be feasting, and games, as well as a dance. Please arrive at sunset, for Mr. Seto Kaiba is having an important joust at the moment. Thank you for your time. ~ Mokuba Kaiba Bakura read the letter, and was overjoyed. They were playing the game exactly how he wanted them to. Now to get ready for it. *** Seto Kaiba loomed over Yugi, who had lost the joust. "Now this is my kind of dueling, you so called "king of games"! I should do this more often!" He laughed. "KAIBA!" Said Yugi. "I believe you should just go home and get ready for the party tonight. I expect you to be with Tea, am I not correct?" "Kaiba, stop gloating. You have been doing so for over an hour. Your party has already started!" Seto rushed inside, leaving Yugi to get home by himself. And poor Yugi was still in those embarrassing pajamas too. Inside the castle, everyone was feasting at the long table. Bakura went into the kitchen before the drinks were served, and then came out. "A toast to Kaiba for inviting us to the castle!" said Bakura. Everyone raised their drinks, and guzzled them down. Suddenly, Kaiba felt very sleepy, as a glazed look came over him. Hours later, Seto opened his eyes. He was outside of the castle, in the chill of a summer night. He shivered, and tried to get up, but there was something cold and metal holding him down. He looked at his arms and legs, when he realized, he was chained up. He looked around and saw that there were others chained up around him. "Ha! It looks like Kaiba has finally come to! Well the others better wake soon, for we are to be moving very soon, my slaves!" Laughed an evil voice. Kaiba knew this could only be Bakura. Besides Kaiba, there was 3 of Espa Roba’s brothers, Mai, Bones and his group, (who had gotten loose from "all mighty Weevala"’s commands), Serenity, Yugi, and a fellow who was Mako’s dad, but Kaiba was oblivious to this. Bakura pulled out a whip, and lashed it across the backs of the others, which were still asleep. They woke up instantly, swelling pain on their backs. "Ugh, what happened?" Said Mako’s dad. (I’m going to call him ‘Maelstrom’ for now. Don’t have the slightest idea of what his real name is, and if you have better ideas of a name for him, throw them at me) "Where’s Espa? I’m scared! Why are these chains on me?" Squeaked one of Espa’s brothers. (I’ll call him Nomad) "You all better get up and start moving swiftly before I send this whip across your backs again!" Shouted Bakura menacingly. All of the prisoners obeyed, as they jogged away from the domino shire.
At Kaiba castle, there was pandemonium everywhere; with all the people missing, people were getting worried. "I have my baby brother, but I have no clue where the rest went! It’s not like them to run off like that!" Said Espa. "Serenity! Where are you!" shouted Joey, Duke, and Tristan all at once. "Uh, guys, Mai and Bakura are missing too!" Said Yugi. "Mokuba!" Kaiba called, but there was no answer. "I’m sure I saw my father here, but now he’s gone again!" said Mako wearily. Suddenly, there was a thud on the door to the castle, and some guards opened it to see, Marik, Isis, Pegasus, Shadi, and Odion, riding on a dragon at the door. They hopped off of the dragon and walked in. "We have come to seek shelter from the storm out there. Pegi’s castle was besieged by monsters!" said Ishizu. "You can stay at Kaiba castle as long as you need to." Said Mokuba. "Hey! I have information on our missing ones! They were kidnapped, look at this note!" Weevil yelled as he stumbled in, tripping on a pasty, as he tumbled head-over-heels at Yugi’s feet, dropping the note on the floor too. "Well, even though he’s usually a pain, Weevil can sometimes be helpful." Sighed Joey as he took a look at the letter. It said: Greetings, Yugi. As you have seen, many of the people you care about are gone. They will be my slaves forever unless you hand over the millennium items you have. You will have to follow me due northwest until you catch me, or find my castle. If you fight me, you will lose no matter what armies you bring with you. I have left 2 hours ago, with those people, so if you want them back, you better be quick.
"Okay, who wants to go after this guy?" Asked Mokuba. "I am because I have to save my big brother. I have a double-headed axe that I found in the castle to use for battles." "I’m going, because my little brothers depend on me! I have a sword." Said Espa. "I’m going, because Serenity needs me! I have a…. I need a weapon!" said Joey. Mokuba handed him a bow and a quiver full of arrows. "I’m going, because Mai is our friend!" said Yugi. "I found a cutlass!" "I’m going too, for Mai." Said Rex. "I have a crossbow and arrows." "I’m going so I can finally see my father again! I found a mace while walking through the woods!" said Mako. "I’m only going because I need to be a hero. Even though I already saved them once, it won’t hurt to save Bones and his friends again. I have a spear." Said Weevil. " So it’s settled! Those who have volunteered may go, but the rest will stay to guard the castle from enemies!" said Mokuba. All nodded, as the brave warriors walked outside, into the cold, unforgiving world to look for their loved ones. The quest had begun! The captives of Bakura trudged through the rain, some, calling out for their family and friends to save them. Others were mumbling of their defeat. Bakura wasn’t alone with his scheme; for he had gotten some of Marik’s former rare hunters to being on his side by torture. There were too many for him to watch by himself, and he needed someone to cover his tracks, as he left in the storm, which made the dirt road into mud. Bakura wasn’t getting wet, however. He had stolen a carriage to carry him, for now. A rare hunter was covering the tracks of the slaves, and Bakura drove his carriage another direction, leaving the tracks behind as a decoy. He would meet them at the end of the shire, covering his tracks as he went away from the carriage. The slaves however, had their own opinion about his evil plans. Though most had never met before, the prisoners quickly made friends. "I’m Mai, and I want to know why Yugi’s friend Bakura is acting so evil?" said Mai. "Mai and I already know eachother, but I’m Serenity." Said Serenity. "Most of you should know me as Seto Kaiba." Said Kaiba. "We have decided not to tell you our real names, but our nicknames. I’m Lobo, and this is Nomad and Zealot. We’re Espa’s little brothers." Said Lobo. "We’re bandit Keith’s old assistants, Bones, Sid, and Zygore." Said Bones. "I’m Maelstrom Tsunami, and I’ve been looking for my son Mako for a long time now." Said Maelstrom. All shook hands quietly, as one of the rare hunters, Lumis, strode up to them. "What’s the big idea bubs? You need to keep silent; it’s my boss’s orders! We can whip you with our leather whips if you disobey." "I listen to no one!" said Kaiba defiantly, as he tried to leap on Lumis. Even though he failed, Kaiba remained angry for the rest of the night, especially when Bakura came out of the woods as they looked back at the shire behind them. They continued to jog, and run away, very far ahead of the rescue team. For once, Kaiba wished Mokuba would come and save him. With their backs numb with pain, the slaves ran towards the shore. Back at Kaiba castle, Ishizu was cuddling the baby Roba brother, Hemos. Marik was training himself to use a makeshift weapon, a knotted rope, for combat. Odion and Shadi were trying to make weapons for battle, for they had heard from Pegasus, that there were more monsters traveling by boat towards the mainland, armed to the teeth with weapons. They constructed scythes and poles, but not very quickly or finely. There were also weapons in the castle that employees were training themselves to use, but there were way too little to go around. Pegasus had found a trident to use, and was watching the warriors leave, in the lookout tower. He wished that his darling Cecilia was not dead, but merely missing, so he could bravely go out looking for her, fighting battles, but he knew this was merely a fantasy of his. He turned suddenly, as the door opened. It was Tea, who had brought him some dessert. "Pegasus, do you see anything unusual out there?" she inquired. "No, but I’d like to see myself eating right now." Pegi answered. Tea brought forth the tray, which had two petite fours, a glass of warm spiced cider, and a sweet plum pudding on it. "Didn’t get much to eat after trying that shrimp stew. For some reason Bakura didn’t have any. Something in it made me very sleepy. But it was very good while I was still awake." He said after he finished swallowing a bite of his pudding. "Pegi! You genius! You’ve figured out who did it! Bakura drugged the shrimp stew! I recall that he was in the kitchen before the drinks were ready, which was when the stew was being simmered! He must have done it then, and everyone except him ate the stew!" Shouted Tea. They had solved the mystery. But there was a battle coming their way… Not far off of the coast of Japan, was a shipload of monsters, armed with weapons. Their leader, Sergeant Jinzo, was ready to besiege a castle. He had spotted one nearby, and by the looks of it, it would be a grand castle for him. His ship was nearly docked, for the water was getting shallow. He could not wait to own this castle. He had come from places afar, where no mortal had been before. Jinzo took a look at the countryside. All looked peaceful, as the storm faded away; except for the scuttled boat, and the slave line he saw. Maybe this land wasn’t so peaceful, he thought, as his ship stopped moving, and everyone go out. He didn’t care if it was stolen or scuttled, as long as Lord Red eyes, his rival didn’t live in this castle. Jinzo’s army of machine monsters began to set up a small camp on the shores. He would own that castle someday… With the storm subsiding, the rescue party was thinking that they would have a good chance of tracking down the thieve, with no rainwater to wash away muddy footprints. They were now following some wheel tracks obviously made by a cart sometime in the storm. While Yugi and Joey wanted to follow the tracks, Espa thought it was a trick to lead them in the wrong direction, for the tracks led east, and the note said to go northwest. Rex thought that both were a trick, and that they had to go the way excluded by the note, and the cart; South. But with the world being so dangerous, and the rescue team being so small, they could not afford to split up. "Let’s take a vote! Raise your hand if you want to go east!" said Yugi. Joey, Yugi, and Mokuba raised their hands. "Raise your hand if you want to go Northwest!" Espa and Mako raised their hands. "Raise your hands if you want to go south!" Weevil and Rex raised their hands. "Then we go east!" Little did they know, they were doing just what Bakura wanted them to do as they wandered off following the tracks of the carriage, into the forest. *** An hour later, it was getting dark and chilly, as our heroes finally found the cart. But the cart was empty, so our heroes set off northwest, towards the shore. But the sound of metallic voices scared them into the bushes, as Sergeant Jinzo tromped past with his armies. "I’m telling you, ironmouth, I want to get to that castle by morning, is that clear, you knutlung!" Said the sergeant angrily. "But bosses, I’ve never been to a land like this before! I’m scared!" said the robot knight called ironmouth. "Shut up you useless oil can! I don’t want to hear any of your screwheaded excuses!" "But bosses!" "Is that all your programmed to say, dipstick! No wonder you’re called ironmouth, you talk too much!" The rescue team could hardly keep themselves from laughing. "Looks like somebody’s blown a circuit!" giggled Espa. Joey could barely hold back his laughter. "No, he’s just cranky because he has a virus!" Laughed Joey "Would you two quiet down before those robots blast us to bits! With your laughing, they’ll track us down in no time!" Scolded Yugi. "C’mon Yug, we’re only having some fun!" said Joey. But the robots were ignoring them. They had more important things to be doing. Our heroes snuck away before Jinzo could get a whiff of them. Both had their own plans and quests. Bakura looked over his fine sailing craft the rust bucket as the machines had called it. They had given it to him willingly, for they had plans of the castle and its kingdom being theirs. He chuckled at how he believed the fools would react when they found out they were to be brought down by machine monsters. He was not too far out on the water, but he was moving away from the land at a quick pace, for not only his slaves, but his slave drivers were doing so also. The land looked peaceful at a distance, but it soon would be full of sorrow and misery, as the machines took over. If the fools had not sent out a rescue team, then Bakura would have to come back to get the millennium items himself. Bakura was beginning to get hungry, for the feast was small. It would have been longer if it weren’t for his tricky plan. He went down to the rare hunters who were not rowing. "Alright you urchins, I have a job for you. You must cook some food! If you do a good job, you get to have some, but if not, the slaves get extra instead of you. Is that clear?" He growled. "Yeah boss!" Moaned the crew as they began to cook. *** Later that night, right before everyone went to bed, there was food served. Bakura didn’t exactly think the soup was the best, but it would have to do. The slaves whispered to eachother as they ate their food. "So where do you think he’s taking us?" asked Nomad. "It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s far away." Said Kaiba. "Well, wherever we’re going, they’ve probably sent out a rescue party to save us by now." Said Zealot. "May the sea guide Mako and his friends towards us." Said Maelstrom. "Amen to that." Said Mai. "Actually, I’m doubting that Mokuba will be able to help. The little guy is bound to get hurt, and I don’t want to let that happen. I just hope that he’s safe." Said Kaiba. "Saying that makes us think of our big brother, Espa." Said the little Roba brothers. "He’s always there to save us, but when you say something like that, we feel less hopeful." Soon the slaves were sniffling in sadness, remembering the people they knew. "Well, Yugi and his friends might be after me." Sniffled Mai. "There’s no one out there looking for us." Sobbed Bones and his friends. "Well, what do we have here?" asked Umbra, who had just noticed their crying. "You’re going to have to stop that sobbing, unless you want me to give you a reason to cry, you big babies!" Laughed the rare hunter evilly. "For I’ll give you a severe whipping. You’ll never see your loved ones again, so get used to it!" "No! You’re wrong! They will find us, and when they do, you’re going to be the first ones they kill!" shouted Lobo angrily. "You just wait and see!" "Can we be too sure?" laughed Umbra, pulling out his whip. Kaiba clenched his fists. "I should slug you." He said. "Well, let’s just see you try." Laughed Umbra. The whip slashed across the backs of the slaves with a sickening CRACK! Kaiba leaped onto the rare hunter and began pounding at him madly. "AAAH! Lumis! Help me, a slave is clobbering me! Help!" screamed the alarmed rare hunter, as Arcana tugged Kaiba away from him. "Oh, keep ‘um chained in the brig for the rest of the night!" The slaves were escorted to the brig, with the rare hunters laughing at them. *** The next morning, Jinzo and his troops were at Kaiba castle, pondering of a way to get across the moat. If they touched the water, they would short circuit, and none of them could fly. Jinzo was infuriated by this, and immediately ordered his troops to construct a stair tower to get them over the moat. Even when the troops used ranged attacks to try to weaken the castle walls, there was always retaliation, for the defenders pelted them with slingstones and arrows. Jinzo got in a very bad mood because of this, and rampaged around, destroying those who were off task. The robot army got the idea quickly, and started gathering supplies for the stairway. None of them dared to get on the bad side of their boss, for if they did, it would be fatal. Meanwhile, inside Kaiba castle, Marik and Pegasus were pondering of ways to stop the foolish robots from attacking. They had already proven their strength with the arrows and stones, but if the robots managed to get inside the castle, there would be head-to-head combat, and the weapons so far, were mediocre. Odion and Shadi, along with a lot of other people were trying to make the best weapons possible, as quickly as possible. "Maybe we should use javelins to stick those robots." Said Marik. "That idea would never work, we’re working with robots made of metal, not flesh and bones." Said Pegi. "You’ve just given me an idea! You see how they don’t go near the water? Well, that will be our weapon! We’ll pour barrels of water over their heads so quickly and unexpectedly, that they won’t have time to move out of the way!" "That’s brilliant! Let’s tell the others about the plan, and we’ll have it done in no time!"
"Bosses, the base is done, do you think some of us could walk over it and climb the castle walls?" said a robot called Bronzecap. "It better work." Growled Jinzo. Bronzecap shrugged, guessing that it was his boss’s way of saying yes. Part of the army was just climbing up when the water hit them. They were in so much shock that they fell from the walls into the moat, too wrecked to move, much less fight, ever again. Jinzo now even more infuriated with his armies, decided to take them to another part of the land to train up until they were strong again. Then, they would march up to the castle walls, and bring the humans down. "We won! We won!" Triumphant cries of the kaiba castle goers shook the castle. "Any enemy should know better, To fight against the ishtars, In any kind of weather, The victors will be the ishtars." Sang Marik, Ishizu, and Odion together. "Any emeny shoo no bedder, To vigh aganst da istars, In any kin’ ov wedder, Da vickers’ ‘ill be da’ istas." The baby tried to sing. Ishizu giggled at Hemos’s attempt to sing, and cuddled him. Pegasus gave Marik a high-five, and they rubbed their stomachs, thinking of breakfast. It was nearly noon, and the summer sun was shining brightly on the woodland. Warm smells were coming from kaiba castle, as breakfast was being made. All was peaceful, at the kaiba castle area. But at the edge of the sea, the rescue party was having a hard time pursuing Bakura more, for they had no way of getting onto the ocean. "Someone has scuttled my boat!" Said Mako. "Even if we had it, it wouldn’t be nearly large enough to fit us all." Sighed Joey. "If only we had a typewriter…" sighed Rex. "Now is not the time to be irrelevant, Raptor!" Shouted Espa. "Perhaps we can build something," said Mokuba. "That’s a good idea, but what are we going to use? The driftwood? I think not!" said Yugi, who was in a bad mood. "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me…" said a far off voice. "Huh? Who said that?" said the confused rescuers. "It must be pirates. Get in the bushes!" warned Mako. The team jumped in the bushes and peeked through to see some pirate monsters pushing a ship out of a river, towards the sea. "Perhaps we can steal their ship when their not looking." Suggested Espa. "Good idea, and all of them seem to be moving to land and starting fires and cooking. Maybe they’re having a party?" said Mako "We should wait until nightfall, for the pirates will probably be drunken and high by then. Then we’ll sneak onto the ship, fight any pirates up there, and hijack the ship!" Said Yugi. *** That night, just as our heroes predicted, the pirates had had too much to drink, and were lolling about the beach, moaning nonsense words occasionally. The rescue team looked at the edges of the river, which were guarded by non-partying pirate monsters. "It looks like we’re going to have to swim underwater in order to get past them." Whispered Mako. Rex glanced queasily at the dark water, and then at how far they were from the ship. "There’s no way we’re going to be able to swim that far without any air." He sighed gloomily. Mokuba searched his pockets, and found that he had some bendy-straws in his pockets enough for everyone. "We could use these as snorkels." He said hopefully. "Great idea, Mokuba!" said Joey. Everyone grabbed a straw, stuck it in their mouth, and dived in. The whole world went black, as Espa discovered that he was not good at swimming underwater at night, especially when the others were kicking up mud from the bottom of the river. It was also wet and cold, and he could not see. Well, he could see a dark shape ahead of him, and grabbed at it hopefully. Suddenly, he realized that he had foolishly grabbed the tail of a large fish, and it slipped away from him. Suddenly, there was a sharp tug on the end of Espa’s straw, and he was now not able to breathe, for a pirate had snatched the straw away. He swam desperately through the darkness, and suddenly, he bumped against something solid. Espa went up for air, and found out that he had made it to the ship. The others were a few yards away, and he swam towards them. Murkstrom, the rootwater, took a gulp of seaweed ale, and looked around the deserted ship. The others had gotten it easy and had gotten to party on the beach all day, as a celebration for the recent treasure they had discovered. He was left on the ship because the cap’n Legendary Fisherman had said that Murkstrom was worthless, and couldn’t kill a fly if he wanted to. Murkstrom had been left to guard the ship from enemies, but that didn’t mean that he was missing out on the drinks. The sneaky rootwater had snuck a couple of barrels of drinks, one full of seaweed ale, and the other full of fizzy fruit cup. A sudden noise sent Murkstrom to attention. He began to patrol the ship. He cautiously looked around, and sidled against the walls. A pair of hands closed around his neck, and shook Murkstrom. Then, he was carried to the edge of the ship, and dumped him over the side. Bakura smiled an evil smile, as he held the accursed bat in his hand. In order for his plans to work, he needed this creature to use its ability to transport them to anywhere in the world, in the blink of an eye. "Do you wish to be free again?" asked Bakura. "What is your price?" said the bat. "I wish for you to send this ship to the Mediterranean Sea." "Yes, but I may not be able to send only your ship." Bakura released his grip on the bat, and it flew into the air. A brilliant light began to engulf the ship. Bakura grinned. They were departing. But they were not the only ones who left. The ship holding Mokuba and the others was also taken. Not too far away, Jinzo, riding a griffin spotted the light. He was confused about this, but he continued to ride the griffin to the island where his old messmate, Serpent Night Dragon was residing. Miles away, Hemos spotted the flash. "Biggylight!" he said. Ishizu hadn’t noticed the flash, just patted Hemos
[ Chapter 3: The Trek ]
"Land. Our first chance to escape." Breathed Mai. Serenity had heard this, but she had doubts, and worries. What if they couldn’t escape? What if they tried to but were killed? What if Joey wasn’t searching for her? She nearly burst into tears at the last thought. Meanwhile, the other slaves were planning for escape themselves. While no one was looking, Maelstrom began to whisper. "Maybe when we get to land, we can sneak away from them while they’re sleeping!" "No, the noises of our chains would wake them up." Sighed Seto. Suddenly, Nomad took something out of his pocket. All of them gasped at the dagger. "Zealot and Lobo found it when they were cleaning the cabin. One of those meanies must have dropped it." He said. "We could open the locks with it." They smiled and nodded. *** Later that day, Mai and Serenity could notice that the shore had no beaches, but it was a rocky coastline. It almost looked gloomy. Bakura strutted onto the deck, looked at the land, and smiled. They would dock soon, at the land of Greece. Sergeant Jinzo got off of the griffin, and began to walk towards the Serpent’s castle. This isle looked like it had been peaceful once, but Night Dragon had transformed the look of the place to his liking. All sorts of small dragon and dinosaur monsters patrolled the area, but one look at Jinzo made them sure that they didn’t want to have any business with him. Jinzo started up the steps of the castle. He would have a talk with his old messmate. Noa Kaiba was confused. Some light from above the water had engulfed his computer, and now he was in slightly warmer temperatures of it. Noa told his computer to go to the surface, but it wouldn’t listen to him. Infact, the computer began to play the song "hot hot hot" instead of listening to its master. Noa suddenly was blasted to the top of the computer, actually, right on top of it. He was outside of the computer. Noa looked around. He was in his own body! But how… was it something that the flash did, or was it something else? Noa had no time for questions though, for he saw a sailing craft coming his way. He waved his arms and called for the ship, which came directly at him. Unfortunately, this ship, was the rustbucket. The rescue team wasn’t as confused as Noa, for they had no idea that they were between Egypt, and Greece. The only thing they were confused about was the light… and how Mako got to be such a good cook! Mako had served the ship’s crew with a shrimp stew with salmon bread on the side. Everyone was basking in the warm sun, sometimes diving into the sea, but overall, it was peaceful. It was Joey (puking from too much fizzy fruit cup) and Yugi (also puking, except his was from seasickness) who discovered land on the horizon. "Land *hurl* Ho!" they shouted together. Mokuba scrambled on deck. He hoped Seto was Ok, but he had his doubts. Also, he hoped his friends were okay too, but mostly his big brother. If only he could just hear Seto’s voice again, Mokuba knew he would have the strength to bring him through. "You miss your big brother, don’t you." Said a voice from behind Moki. Mokuba turned around, and saw Espa Roba gazing into the ocean, behind him. "And you’re probably hoping that your brother’s are doing ok also, Roba." Said Mokuba. "I have twice the problems as you; for 3 of them, Lobo, Zealot, and Nomad are who knows where, while the baby might be mutilated right now, back at kaiba castle!" snorted Espa. "Ha! Your worst worries of mutilation that will come true back there are plushy mutilations!" "But I still have worries about those robots we saw. I swear I saw Jinzo with them. I hope Jinzo isn’t being a naughty boy; or else I’ll have to send him to stand in the corner!" Both laughed as if they had been friends forever. None of them knew of the perils that lay in the land ahead of them and the battles of blood that they would have to fight. *** Bakura docked his ship the next morn. Noa was the newest slave in the slave line, and he was very crabby about this. Bakura led the rare hunters onto the land, followed by the slaves. There wasn’t far to travel, before they had found cliffs, engulfed in mist. Bakura took out a whip, and shouted: " Climb fools! Climb!" All began to climb except for Bakura who motivated them with his whip. The grueling traverse up the steep slope had begun! The slaves weren’t too pleased about this, though. "How are we supposed to (oww…) climb this monster with these chains on?" asked Noa. "Don’t ask me, but if we stop, I have a feeling that we’re not going to live much longer." Answered Mai. "Noa, I have a question for you. If you’re dead, then how are you climbing with us?" asked Seto. "Yeah! That’s what we want to know!" growled Serenity. The other slaves, who disapproved fighting, were quietly singing or humming songs to themselves. For example, the little Robas were humming 80s songs to themselves to cheer them up. (Lobo was humming "It’s still rock and roll to me", Zealot "She drives me crazy", and Nomad "What I like about you") Bones and his pals were singing (rather poorly I might add) random songs. (Bones was singing "The beat goes on" Zygore "I feel so pretty" Sid "Kung fu fighting") Seto joined in singing disco songs, along with Serenity, Mai, and Noa (Seto and Noa did a duet of "More than a woman" Mai sung "If I can’t have you" and Serenity did "Heart of glass"). Soon the cliff was teeming with music, infact, a few of the rare hunters joined in. By that time, Bakura was climbing also, so he couldn’t whip them. When they were done climbing, they were all flustered, and Bakura rewarded them with a severe whipping. "Oh my god." Breathed Espa Roba, as he looked up at the misty Cliffside. The ship had not docked yet, but the sight of the cliffs from offshore was enough to crush your hopes. "How are we supposed to get up there?" said Espa. "I don’t know, but if we are going to save our loved ones, then we must." Said Yugi. "I’ve already climbed up enough cliffs this week!" said Weevil. "When?" asked Joey. "When I was rescuing the pompous fools Bones, Sid and Zygore, I had to climb up a cliff to save a robot bug from a roc." Espa, Mako and Rex nearly burst into tears laughing at this statement. "Whoohoohahahaha! No more, or else I’m going to die laughing!" said Espa. "It’s true." Scoffed Weevil. "We’ve stopped." Said Moki. "What do you mean?" asked Joey. "The boat stopped moving." Said Mako. "And I can see why, because we’re at the shore." Everyone got out of the ship. It was daybreak, so they didn’t bother to start climbing, instead, they set up camp. Everyone told tales of their life around the campfire as they ate. "We’ve heard a lot about everyone, except Weevil, Rex, and Espa. Would you tell us about your lives?" asked Yugi. There were murmurs from the three boys, and then a silence. "Anybody?" asked Yugi. More silence. "Well, I’m just going to call on someone! Let’s see whom should I pick? Hmm… Let’s draw straws!" The winner was Rex. "Well, I was like, in the desert, and I like, don’t have a clue, and there’s this grail, that I like, watch for no reason, and I like, don’t have no parents, and stuff, you know what I’m saying? And then, like after years, and stuff, I like, found a stack of, you know what I’m saying? Then I like played duel monsters, and lost and won, and you know what I’m saying? And then, I like, was watching the grail, and this weird dude, you know what I’m saying?" Explained Rex. "The only people here that don’t have a clue are me and you, Rex. Me because I don’t have a clue what you’re saying, and you, because you don’t have a clue that you’re not making sense!" said Mako loudly. "I’m sorry, I’ll explain it better. The farthest back I can remember, is when I was in some kind of city. I could hear gunshots, and screams, and then it went black. When I woke up, I was in the desert. An old couple came and raised me, but they died when I was only eight. I lived alone, and guarded the grail, which was the only thing that was left with me. I found some duel monsters cards, and made a deck from them, then I played with them, hoping to be the champion someday. I was defeated, several times, and then, after Battle City, I returned to guard the grail. One day, I was taking a bath, when somebody with spiky, white hair, came, did something with his gold thing, and ran off with the grail! He also turned the world into this, medieval-type land." Said Rex. "How sad!" said Yugi. "Now it’s your turn Espa." Espa Roba took a deep breath, and shouted, " Need you know! ‘Tis torture for my mind to tell my story! There’s nothing you can do to make me tell you!" "OK, then it’s your turn Weevil." Said Yugi. Silence. "Weevil?" More silence. Yugi looked over at Weevil, and discovered that he had fallen asleep! Jinzo, in a business like manner, marched up to the dragon king, Serpent night dragon. The spoiled dragon was gnarled with jewels, gold, silver, and platinum. A smile came across the spoiled dragon’s face, as he saw Jinzo. "Ah, yes, my old messmate. Have you finally come to your senses, and decided to surrender?" He grinned. "Of course not, you sheepish windbag! I have come, to ask you to help me take over a grand castle." Snarled Jinzo. "So, you’re great armies can’t handle the humans! I laugh at you!" "Say it to yourself. The only reason you could take over this castle is because it only had a few of the measly bunch in it. You couldn’t handle even the thought of you against a real army, which is what I’m against!" "What makes you think that I’ll help you?" "Because of this." A cart was rolled in, with a box on it. The box was hurled open, and precious valuables poured out. The greedy dragon could not resist. "’Tis a deal, messmate!" The next morning was hot and dusty, and the slaves soon found this out, as they walked through a field. "Hey… that… looks…like…a…acropolis… ahead…" panted Seto. "It’s bloody hot out here! I don’t see how Bakura keeps walking ahead, looking rather confident!" said Mai angrily. "We better keep quiet… we’re wasting valuable energy talking, and it’ll be a lot worse if you get tired, for not only will it hurt to breath, but they’ll whip you if you slow down." Said Bones, licking dust off of his lips. Bakura smiled. His first safe rest spot was ahead, and it contained his best whip. They would be there by midday. Jinzo led ahead a double force of armies, alongside him, his messmate Serpent Night Dragon. The army of dragon, dinosaur, and machine monsters had a chance of defeating the humans. They were on the mainland, ahead; they spotted a horde of fishlike creatures, led by the legendary fisherman! Jinzo smiled. He would scoop up some more armies. The humans would regret the day they fought against him! Of all the people who had climbed up the cliff face, Mokuba was the fastest. Scampering up the Cliffside was no problem for him, except once, when he used loose gravel as a foothold, and slipped. Luckily, he landed on Weevil’s face, saving him from a fall that would have shattered his bones. Unfortunately, for everyone else, it took most of the day to climb the massive wall of rock, and there were no large areas sticking out of the rock to rest and eat on. Yet, even through the difficulties, the whole crew survived the steep climb. At the top of the cliffs, our heroes made camp for the night, unaware of what else they would have to face in their journey to Bakura. Meanwhile, Bakura and the slaves had come to a sort of temple, where unknown to the slaves, was a pitstop for them, and a trap for everyone else. Only Bakura knew of a terrible demon fighting force that lived in the depths of the temple. One that could wipe out Mokuba, Espa, Yugi, and their friends completely. Bakura left the slaves to the rare hunters, as he began to trek down to his treasures. The slaves thought this time without Bakura as a perfect time to mourn about the people they loved. "Moki will be alone without me." Weeped Seto. "We…we…miss…Espa!" The Roba brothers sobbed. "Joey, I hope you’re still out there…" Serenity cried. "We’re all alone!" sniffled Mai, Sid, Zygore, and Bones. The rare hunters were amused. They liked the sound of pain and misery, so they began to laugh at the pain of the slaves. Only one of the slaves hadn’t spoken up at all, for he was sneaking up on one of the rare hunters. The rare hunter known as the silent one, let out a scream, as he fell. The rare hunters turned to see the silent one dead on the floor, strangled to death. Near him stood Maelstrom Tsunami, smiling. "Evil does not deserve to live." He stated coolly. Arcana the rare hunter’s face was a mask of fear, as the fisherman, now holding a knife, unlocked his chains, and pointed the knife at him. Suddenly, Maelstrom toppled over in pain with a cry of surprise. A wound in the shape of a dotted line was now in his back, with Bakura standing 3 yards away, a cruel, yet mad grin across his face, as he showed off a new, whip. The difference with this whip was that it was barbed. "Chain up the slave now. He is not dead, fools." Stated Bakura. The rare hunters, in terror did just that. Now they knew by proof that any false move would mean death. *** The next morn, all the questors were still asleep, after the tiring process of scaling the cliff. Now in a wide prairie, only Espa was awake. Something about this land was homely to him, yet he didn’t know why. Perhaps something in the past…a home he had never known…No! It couldn’t be! He had lived far from this area in his past days, in a painful life. He was not from where the others thought he was from, for it was a lie to hide his disturbing past. Afraid that he would be overcome with battle fury, he kept his past to himself; after all, how was it any of their business?
Yugi awoke in a cold sweat. Startled from his horrific nightmare, he pinched himself to make sure he was awake. He turned, to face the ration pack, which had been set near a rock on the far side of the camp. There, he saw Espa, with his dark green eyes that showed no emotion standing on the rock, facing away from the camp. The violet-eyed boy couldn’t help being curious. "Espa, what are you doing up this early? Stealing vittles is something I’d only expect from Rex, Weevil, and Jou!" said he. Not bothering to turn and face Yugi, Espa replied, "You shouldn’t be worrying about me stealing food, I haven’t had a bite to eat all day. I could hear you screaming in your dreams. If you have to know what I’m doing, I’m patrolling; you don’t want to be taken captive while you’re sleeping, do you?" Yugi somehow sensed that Espa wasn’t telling the whole story to him. He sighed, and began to make a fire. " Guess I might as well prepare some food, we don’t want to be eating the wildlife." Espa didn’t reply. He looked in the distance, and saw and acropolis-like temple. There was a faraway and clouded look in the teen’s dark eyes. The past troubled him, and it wasn’t even his past. "Zealot, what in the hell are you doing!" shouted Noa. Zealot was walking towards a column, with the broken blade of the dagger that Maelstrom had used to slay the rare hunter the night before. His chains clanged together as he trotted to the column, with filmed eyes, as if he was sleepwalking. Noa was confused and worried, and awoke Lobo as he saw Zealot stop, and cut his arm open. "Hey, why did you wake me up Noa?" yawned Lobo. "Just take a look at what your brother is doing!" hissed Noa. It took Lobo just one look at Zealot, for him to panic. "Holy crap! Zealot what are you doing to yourself! Quit rubbing your blood all over that column! What is that you’re writing? Zealot! Wake up!" As soon as Zealot was finished engraving a message in the column with the broken dagger, right on the blood he had rubbed on it, he seemed to snap into reality. "Now you’re finally awake! What did you think you were doing!" scolded Lobo. A look of confusion came across Zealot. "What? What did I do?" he asked. Noa and Lobo exchanged wry glances. Zealot had been possessed! [ To be Continued….. ] [ back ]
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