Corruption (Panic Null)

Chapter Three: Four?

Three struggled to his feet after awaking, finding himself in an empty graveyard looking like it was devoid of life. Well, of course; it was a graveyard. Graveyards normally don't have any life in them. He rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of his thoughts.

He suddenly thought of Four. His feet didn't listen to him as he ran off towards where he thought the ruins were. He jumped over tombstones, dodging some rocks of destroyed ones, and leaping over dead tree branches that somehow kept spawning in. He kept running in a straight line, feeling a presence behind him.

Three looked to see the Graveyard Keeper chasing him, easily flying over the debris as the male ran towards the direction he thought was the right way. He growled to himself as he kept running, sliding and jumping over obstacles that the fiend spawned in front of him. He wasn't giving up as the path seemed to stretch on and on.

"I have to find the others," Three said out loud as he jumped over another tree branch that the Graveyard Keeper spawned in his way. He nearly tripped over a broken tombstone as he leaped. His thoughts were focused on finding Four and the others, so no matter how hard the fiend tried, his heart kept him on his feet to find his crew. Even as the creature started to close in, Three slid out of the way, narrowly avoiding the hand of the fiend.

The Graveyard Keeper kept spawning obstacles, the new ones scratching up Three's body as he kept running towards the forest that was rapidly getting near. His heart dropped as he realized that he was nowhere near the ruins anymore. As he dove into the trees and bushes, the Graveyard Keeper stopped, the woodland keeping out the fiend as Three fell on his knees a few feet away. As the male scrambled to his feet, he took one look at the Graveyard Keeper, this being the first time he had seen the creature up close. It looked like the Grim Reaper, but obviously different for some reason.

Three backed away from the forest line as the creature retreated towards the graveyard, leaving the male to run into the woods alone, not knowing what would await him in the forest.

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Uzi and Bakura rested in the woods, both of them becoming increasingly worried as they failed to find Leaf in the forest. They kept calling her name, hoping the cat girl could hear them in the brightly lit forest. Bakura held Uzi on his back as they ran through the woods, calling the girl's name. They hoped that nothing bad happened to her as they found themselves in the city.

Bakura blinked in surprise as they found themselves in the city instead of the Shadow Realm. It must be connected to the dark side of the city, as that was the most vile of the entire town. He walked through the town with Uzi on his back, not daring to call out for Leaf now in case some thugs heard them. Although they both were missing limbs, they still could take on some gang members if it came down to it, yet they didn't want to risk it.

They eventually found themselves at a cafe. Uzi and Bakura exchanged looks as they walked in, sitting at a table and discussing what to do next as the waitress took their order. Uzi looked down at her latte the waitress brought her a few minutes after they ordered, wondering if Leaf found her way out.

"You think she found her way out?" Uzi asked Bakura.

The male shrugged and replied with, "She's a strong girl. She might have found that before we did. I'm just hoping some gang didn't kidnap her after she got out of the Shadow Realm." He paused, thinking as he sipped the tea he ordered. "I think she ran back to the mansion. I hope Three and Four found their way out as well... You think one of them found Meggy?"

Uzi shrugged, but she hoped that all the group was out of the Shadow Realm at this point.

Before the two could continue the conversation, the doors burst open to reveal Leaf. She hid behind the counter as some shadows ran past her, and in one hand, she held a bloodied knife. She was covered in blood and was clearly terrified. No one in the cafe reacted as she ran in all bloodied. At first, Uzi panicked until she noticed that there wasn't a scratch on Leaf's body. The blood came from whatever she attacked. She let out a sigh of relief, and Bakura chuckled.

"Looks like Leaf found herself in a tricky situation," he said with a smirk as Leaf saw them and ran over.

"Oh, thank the stars, I found you guys! Some weird shadow creatures were chasing me, and I have no idea why they were after me. Was this your doing, Bakura? Are you still upset that I declined your offer to go on a date?" Leaf looked pointedly at the thief.

"Why of all things would I send shadow creatures after you because you turned down my offer to go on a date? You really think I'm that sour?" Bakura asked, feeling slightly offended that Leaf would think that of him, but it faded as he realized that she had a point. Bakura didn't like being turned down on an offer, so he would have done that if he was lower than that.

"You could have though," Leaf mutters to herself. Then she kicks him under the table, which causes him to yelp in pain.

"Hey! What was that for?" Bakura yelled.

"For thinking of that," Leaf said. "Anyways, what are we doing now? Have you two seen either Three, Four, or even Meggy? I have seen nothing of them since leaving the Shadow Realm. I haven't even seen them since being separated from you guys!"

Uzi and Bakura looked at each other for a moment before Uzi replied. "We haven't seen them either. We hoped that they might have been with you or somewhere around where you were."

Leaf sighed. "Shit. So, they could still be in the Shadow Realm."

"It seems like it... but let's not jump to conclusions yet! We should get to a safe place to spend the night before we go searching for them. That way we have a place to run to in case things get bad," Ryou says, temporarily taking control before Bakura shoves him back.

"Quiet, Ryou. We can't switch until we are out of here... Who knows what gang we will run into?" Bakura whispers to Ryou through his teeth. No one knew that Ryou and Bakura shared a body at times, and he surely didn't want these people to know about him and Ryou.

Uzi nodded. She too wasn't sure what gang they would find on their way to a safe place. Leaf reluctantly agreed. She knew all too well about the gangs of the area, and she had been kidnapped by the mafia in the area. Bakura growled, knowing what she was thinking about. He didn't want to deal with them again, even though he got the best reward afterward.

After leaving the cafe, Uzi and Bakura explained the predicament about the missing limbs to Leaf as they walked down the sidewalk away from the entrance to the Shadow Realm. As they made their way towards a small house they stayed at in another part of the city, Leaf caught a glimpse of a familiar blue shirt and white overalls. She looked closely, and she thought she saw the male carrying an orange female in his arms. As she stared, a bus drove in between them, and when it was past, the two were gone. She rubbed her eyes, as if she saw a ghost. It wasn't until Uzi called her name that she went into the house with the vampire and the thief.

Before shutting the door, Leaf took one last look outside, and she saw the same figure again. He was watching her from an alleyway. He looked exactly like Four, from the dress to the same body shape and skin tone. As she looked, he locked eyes with her. Her eyes grew wide as her blue eyes locked with purple eyes. Four did not have purple eyes.

Who the hell is standing in the alleyway?