''Crap!" Laegil shouted and abruptly stood up. "Either Puppy Boy burnt our dinner or we have trouble."
"What was that?" you asked. The she-dragon took a deep breath in.
"How could I miss them?" she shouted and took off. You put your shoes on and ran after her.
"Miss who!?" you called after her. She was a good distance before you.
"Dragon Hunters!"
You gasped as you waded through the bushes. You weren't even aware that they existed. And why would somebody hunt dragons? Weren't they guardians of Light Magic? You hoped everybody was alright, you just fled from the thieves.
You felt Laegil catching your arm and pushing you behind the tree. You were almost at the camp. The whole area was covered in smoke, you noticed as the she-dragon stifled another cough. The smell was sweet and sour at the same time, a little bit stuffy, but you didn't feel like coughing. It seemed it had some effect on the dragons, because Laegil was covering her mouth and nose behind her cloak.
Even if you couldn''t see behind the smoke, you could hear the clashing of metal. Somebody was fighting, that's for sure.
"What do we do?" you whispered to Laegil. She squinted her eyes and shook her head.
"My nose and eyes are useless for at least an hour, we have to wait till the smoke clears."
You frowned and looked at your hands.
"What if I used my magic?" you asked. She shook her head once more.
"We don't know how much of them is here, we'll make it worse," she replied with a hoarse voice. "Stay put, it'll clear in a moment."
You nodded and narrowed your eyes trying to look through the mist. You heard more noises and clashes. For a moment you wondered why Laegil knew so much about it.
"At least two Hunters," Laegil crouched near you and coughed again. After a few moments, just as the red-head said, the smoke started to melt away. You saw two fighting figures; one without doubt was Atem, the other one was a tall man with a scythe. They exchanged blow after blow in a deadly dance.
You saw Jonouchi in his Gwyllgi form, he was breathing heavily and bled from many wounds. Before him stood a black haired men in a red outfit, the two daggers he held in his hands were soaked in blood. You flinched when you saw Yugi under the net that fixed him on the ground with iron balls. He bled from his shoulder wound and gasped for air. Mako, your griffin, was trapped too and scratched loudly.
Were two humans really able to hurt them so badly? You felt your stomach making a flip at that thought.
In a heartbeat you were pushed aside and fell on your injured arm. You winced but fell silent when you saw a blade of a sword stuck in a tree trunk.
"Quite a quick reaction for a blind dragon," the figure behind you said.
"Why, thank you," Laegil snorted and stood up. She had her dagger in her hand and with a swift move she attacked the swordsman. You watched as the woman pulled out her sword from the tree and blocked the attack. Her blond hair flew as she pushed against the dragon.
You bounced back when the two women jumped through the bushes. You were astonished at Laegil's force, she was fighting blinded, yet somehow stood against the lady warrior.
You shook your head and looked over your companions at the camp. Jonouchi was barely standing and was withdrawing. Yugi still laid on the ground, though now tried to use his plant magic to get himself out of the net. You watched Atem getting the better of his opponent and you sighed in relief.
In the same instant Laegil flew before your eyes, with the blood scattering around her. She clutched her stomach and growled at the lady warrior. You looked at Laegil and felt a sensation in your stomach, as if you were hurt too.
"Laegil!" you helped her on her feet. She pushed you aside as she deflected another deadly attack from the blond woman.
"You're the dragon we're searching for, aren't you?" the lady asked. Laegil was slowly losing and you, without a thought, attacked the woman.
Your Wind Blade was broken as soon as you created it and you felt a powerful kick in your stomach. "I have no intentions of hurting humans, don't get in my way."
You coughed as you watched your friend being beat down. You stood up once again when you felt another pressure on you. Your hands came in contact with bloodied fur as you heard whine of pain from the creature. Jonouchi was laying on his side and his opponent was coming at you.
You stood up with stretched hands. The green eyed man laughed at you and readied himself.
"You want to stop me, little girl?" he asked. You gulped and said nothing. You summoned your wind magic and sent a blast against the man.
You couldn't let him hurt your friends anymore. To your surprise, he stopped the blow and grinned. You couldn't see his movement, but the next moment you were knocked on the ground with a bleeding shoulder.
"_____!" you heard Atem's shout. The next instant you saw a large scythe falling down on him and heard your own scream. Through your blurred vision you saw Atem kneeling with his sword raised above his head, blocking the scythe. You wailed more as your shoulder throbbed in pain.
"Hmpf, it's so easy to distract you," the man with the scythe said in a haughty voice. "Prepare yourself!"
You saw Laegil laying down with narrowed eyes. She was looking at you as the lady warrior came to stand before the man with daggers. He was adjusting his red bandana over his head.
"Otogi," she addressed the man. She pointed at Laegil. "That's the dragon we've been searching for."
"That girl?" he said. "You sure, Mai? I thought it was that guy who fights with Kaiba."
"I'm sure, tie her up," she commanded. "We'll be taking her."
"No...!" you said. Both Hunters looked at your crawling form. You were powerless, but you couldn't let them take her away. Since you were eleven, she was a constant presence in your life. You surprised yourself with how much her injuries affected you.
The woman called Mai walked over you and peered at your face. Clutching your shoulder you sat on your knees. Another loud clash resounded through the forest, you looked over at Atem and your heart clenched in pain. As he was having an advantage earlier, now he was being cornered. You tried to stand up, only to be caught by the blond woman. She pulled out a small dagger, that painfully dug into your neck.
"Please, no..." you sobbed.
Through fuzzy eyes you saw Jonouchi's movement, he was quickly put on the ground again. You yelped yourself. You watched as Otogi tied Laegil up. You watched stuggling Yugi. You watched as Atem was slowly loosing against the scythed man and the tears fell from your eyes when he was pushed on the ground by a powerful blast. Blue blood splattered on the grass.
You felt useless, being held once again as a hostage, unable to do anything but watch as everybody you came to care about so much was tossed around. You were again reminded that you were just a human, just a little girl without any knowledge about the world. You cried in anguish, no longer aware of, if it was from the wound on your shoulder or pain in your heart. You didn't want to be useless, you didn't want to be protected, you didn't want to be a burden.
S I N G ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFQMvKkq5M8 )
You heard in your mind a voice you knew. You smiled bitterly, it was the last thing you could do.
You let your hoarse voice utter a melody you didn't know. You watched Atem's figure before you and you focused solely on him as you continued your song.
"Huh?" Mai said.
Your voice started to clear and you slowly stopped feeling pain. You closed your eyes. You let your emotions overflow within the notes and the melody that suddenly showed up in your mind. You didn't want to be a burden. Not to Laegil, not to Yugi, not to Jonouchi. Not to Atem. Him especially, he already did so much for you. He healed your loneliness. You wanted to be with him, always by his side. If you could, you would do anything to help him, you didn't care how much you would be hurt or wounded, you didn't care if you were to die.
If you could, you would give up your soul if it meant helping Atem.
Mai's confusion let you stand up, no longer feeling pain or exhaustion you could make your voice vibrate with power.
In your mind you stood before the White Doors. Now you knew what you felt about Atem. Without hesitation you pushed the doors open. A light blinded you, at the same time, sudden pain pierced your heart, as if it was tearing apart your soul, but all you did was sing with even more power.
With the last notes in the air you finished your song. You sighed and smiled, oddly content and calm.
When you opened your eyes you saw a black creature just a few steps before you. The light of the afternoon let it's scales shine with a purple glamour, blood between them dropped on the ground. Your eyes met with amethyst ones.
You stumbled towards the dragon, the pain and exhaustion coming back to you. You saw the Dragon Hunters on the ground, the scythed man was unconscious under the tree. You felt hot breath on your face as the scales at his neck glittered with hidden fire. He watched your every move, as you walked towards him, with wary eyes. He lowered his face and you brushed your hand along his horns.
You wrapped your arms around his scaled neck, you felt warmth emitting from him.
"I'm so glad...!" you said with new tears on your face. You could no longer stand straight, so you instinctively leaned more on the dragon. You could feel as he took a breath and a slight tremble. "You did it, Atem..."
The world started to get fuzzy. The pain in your shoulder was unbearable and your whole body shook. In a blink of an eye, the enormous dragon changed back into human again, and you both fell on the ground. Darkness surrounded you and you no longer felt anything at all.
.
.
.
You opened your eyes and you found yourself drifting through the water. You guessed it must be the water. You blinked as you saw millions of small, shiny sparks flowing around you. You reached your hand and grasped the spark. It stung. You opened your palm, only to find tiny drops of blood dissolving into the water. They were glass like shreds.
You felt a pressure behind you. You turned around and your eyes met another pair of deep blue orbs. The enormous, white creature pierced you with its gaze. You looked over and saw a second serpent, to your surprise its violet gaze held sadness. You frowned.
"Why are you sad?" you tried to ask, but all that came from your mouth changed into bubbles. You fell silent. The violet-eyed head came closer and its muzzle touched your hands.
"Keep the Key safe," you heard its voice inside your head. You blinked. You wanted to ask, what Key, but yet again only bubbles of air came out. You grew frustrated.
Suddenly your head grew heavy and you had trouble focusing on anything. The two serpents glared at each other and you tried to reach for them, but a pain in your shoulder stopped you. Your vision began to blur and a stinging sensation pressed on your heart. Your eyes closed.
.
.
.
You whimpered as you woke up. You were in an unfamiliar room, confused and in pain.
"_____! Thank God, you woke up!" you heard a voice, that you recognized. You looked over to see a boy with wild hair. What was his name? Ah, Yugi, you thought. You only gave out a grunt, as your throat was dry. He looked relived. He reached beside him and took out a glass of water.
"Here, drink some."
With Yugi's help you were able to drink the water. You thanked him and sighed. You looked around the room, it reminded you of your room in the inn in Nagaram City. Small, with wooden furniture and a window on the opposite side of it.
"Yugi, what happened?" you asked. You sat up with the half-dragon's help. Your memory was fuzzy, in your mind you saw smoke, red and blue blood, a woman with a sword and a scythed man. It didn't make sense.
"Y-you don't remember?" he blinked surprised. You shook your head, only causing nausea in your stomach. With Yugi's explanation you were able to remember what happened. You put your hand over your heart, when you recalled that sensation when you sang. "How did you do that?"
"Huh? What?"
"You changed my brother into a dragon. He was able to defeat that Dragon Hunter with the scythe with only a few blows."
"Oh... I- I don't know," you frowned. All you did was to sing. To sing, because you didn't want to feel useless, because you wanted to help.
"Weird, when you sang I felt so much better, my wounds started to heal. And Laegil's too!" he scratched his cheek. "Oh, and later Jonouchi's little sister, Shizuka found us. With her husband, Honda, she was on her way to find Jonouchi. We're so lucky Honda is a medic, we didn't know what to do with you and Atem. You both just collapsed."
You gulped. "How's he?"
"Atem?" Yugi asked. You nodded and looked at him with a worried gaze. Your heart pounded wildly in your chest as you searched for an answer in his eyes. "He is still sleeping in the next room, but he is fine. I just checked on him."
You sighed in relief and beamed at Yugi. Only then you noticed his hand clutching yours. You grasped his hand and Yugi's face flushed red with surprise.
"That's great!" you smiled and quickly stood up. Chasing away the dizziness you missed the half-dragon's disappointed gaze. With determination you marched out of your room and walked to, what you assumed, was Atem's room.
"Wait!" you heard Yugi, as he stayed behind you.
Paying him no mind you barged into the room. Atem was sitting on his bed, messaging his head. You grinned when he looked over at you. You leaped through the room and wrapped your arms around his bandaged torso.
"_-____?" he said in surprise.
"I'm so glad!" you hugged him tighter. You felt him take a shaky breath, then slowly embraced you. He ran fingers through your hair. He sighed and put his head on yours.
~~***~~
I'm doing an experiment with adding links to the story, so if this doesn't work when you click on "S I N G", there you go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFQMvKkq5M8
This is definitely my favourite chapter so far! And something for you guys, since I played around with some kind of makers, I created Atem's dragon form (Yugi's would be pretty much the same), Laegil's and Jonouchi's Gwyllgi form. Here are the links.
ATEM: http://files.tinypic.pl/i/00716/fgof3xaip5ch.jpg
LAEGIL: http://files.tinypic.pl/i/00716/0jd08ufon00g.png
JONOUCHI: http://pics.tinypic.pl/i/00716/gwcbn7h6iq82.png
I see that links aren't working, so if you guys want them please PM me, and I link it to you. And all pervious links too.