Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Ginga GIRI GIRI! The Universe is in Danger! ❯ The Ritual in Darkness ( Chapter 24 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Author's Note: My God, I haven't put these in a long time, ne? Well, anyway, since the
English version of Yu-Gi-Oh! annoys me, this and future Yu-Gi-Oh! references will refer to
their Japanese counterparts.

For instance, the Paradox Brothers are now the Maze brothers, Ma and Ze.
________________________________________________________________________ ____________________

Ginga GIRI GIRI! The Universe is in Danger!
By SSJ Heero
________________________________________________________________________ ____________________

- OPENING SONG: SHUFFLE -

'Koerarenai' 'IRA IRA suru'
HAADORU wo kowashitatte nanni mo kotae wa denai shi

Ayatsurare teru no ka? on the field, daremo ga
Obiezu ni, go away, demo...

Mienai -ashita- no michi
Erabu koto wa dekinai kamo shirenai
Me wo tojite kokoro de kiru, just like cards, kitto
Kiseki wo hiki ate you

---- Recap ----

[Chibi characters of the five appear in the foreground as scenes from the last episode play
in the background. Though, you can't see 'cause this is text. =P]

SSJ: Last time! ON GINGA GIRI GIRI!

Amiko: A short chapter for once! Praise be to God!

Cindy: It was actually FUNNY, too!

DDT: So, in any case, we find a destroyed town, and then somehow end up on the Besaid Isles.

Amiko: After picking up Tenpi.

Tenpi: KWEH!

TM: And then, we faced off against the FF villains.

SSJ: Painful fights ensued. I feel bad for Kuja.

(SSJ, TM, DDT, and Tenpi shudder from the thought.)

Cindy: So... On with the show.

---- Chapter 24: The Ritual in Darkness ----

Not all was peaceful in the mystical school of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
For one, the Triwizard tournament was approaching. For two, the boy named Harry Potter, who
saved Hogwarts twice already, and changed time once, was looking for a girlfriend. Thirdly,
was that Wolverine was duking it out with Sabertooth over in the backyard. Everyone steered
clear from the mutant battle, as they usually did during bad days at the Xavier Institute
next door.

Enter Harry and company, Ron and Hermione, who walked through the halls of Hogwart's, with
many other students pressing around. Harry and Hermione were taking the time to explain to
Ron the wonders of the muggle world.

"We young muggles amuse ourselves with these things called 'video games'," said Harry.

Hermione added, "Yes, they range from 'handheld' to 'consoles' to even on 'computers'."

Ron was silent, all the foreign terms coming together to form no coherent picture in his
head. He knew none of the things Hermione just mentioned. "...Video games? Handheld?
Console? Computer?! WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?!" he asked. Harry and Hermione sighed.

Harry whisperred to Hermione, "If only he'd know the joys of Metroid."

"I feel sorry for him," replied Hermione.

The three continued onwards to their dormitories. Wolverine and Sabertooth stopped
fighting, for now it was tea time. Wolverine spoke in a gruff voice to his once arch enemy,
"Here're some crumpets."

"Thanks," replied Sabertooth as he took a few from a dish.

Several minutes later, they were killing each other again.

***

Now, the boat on which the Crew rode approached the harbor of the mainland. The scent of
the sea filled the Crew with calm exhilaration. Well, except for TM, who was seasick again
from the boat ride.

He was vomiting again from the side of the boat, into the clear, foaming waters below. SSJ
looked down at the mess his friend made in the sea and shook his head. SSJ just said, "You
should stop vomiting so much, TM..."

TM finished his business and wiped his mouth clean. "Well..." He paused for breath. "Not
all of us..." He paused. He then let out a long trail of vomit into the sea. The others
were growing disgusted. TM wiped off his mouth again and continued, "Well, not all of us
are used to the sea."

"Apparently so."

And currently, Tenpi was running along side the ship, for it was a Sea chocobo, after all.
Amiko and Cindy leaned over the edge of the ship and cheered for Tenpi. "Go, Tenpi!" said
Amiko to her blue chocobo.

"You're a fast little chocobo!" said Cindy to spur it on.

As those two were cheering for Tenpi and SSJ was looking down on TM, DDT was busy with
dinner. His dinner, at least. He stood with the captain at deck for the anchor and chain.
He looked at the giant spectacle, ridden with all kinds of vile organisms. DDT just stared
at it with amazement before he finally said, "All these barnacles, dead fish, and rotting
algae for me to eat?! YES!"

The captain shook his head as DDT piled up all the carcasses onto a plate. Rikku and DDT's
golden chocobo were sweatdropping from afar.

***

The Yu-Gi-Oh villains were having a fine time enjoying the sea and making their way to
Hogwart's. Ma and Ze were busy reading Robert Frost in order to come up with rhymes. In
fact, they ran out of rhymes, since they talked like that all the time.

Ma began, "I say, our rhymes are as sweet as an orange!"

Ze added, "I agree brother! For our rhymes..." He paused. He thought for a bit. "...Uh...
...Nothing rhymes with orange."

"No, it doesn't!" spat back Ma, breaking out of rhyme. Yes, they needed plenty of work.

And while the Maze brothers were struggling to fix their rhymes, Malik and Bakura were busy
beefing up their decks for their oncoming battle. Malik pondered as much one can over a
silly card game. "Hmm," he thought aloud. "I'll need life point gaining cards for my combo.
Then, Ra the Sun Dragon will be unstoppable."

Bakura rubbed his chin and thought of a deck of his own. He said with the expertise of an
ancient card player, "And I need card drawing and magic negation. Only then will my Ouija
Board work well enough."

At this point, Bakura looked at the screen and stuck up the middle finger. He said almost
to no one, "English Yu-Gi-Oh! players, don't you dare complain about the card names,
either."

***

The boat reached harbor, slowly drawing into the docks. Within fifteen minutes, the Crew
were off the boat and in the port city of Cerulean City. DDT, of course, dragged his
chocobo along, and partially felt at home. All around, people were masquerading through the
city, showing off their prized Pokemon. The author won't list names, because the list is
currently 350, and the author only knows the original 151.

SSJ just looked all around at the cute, fuzzy things, and he felt a wave of purely, cleanly
intense hatred come upon him. He looked at every one all around and muttered, "All these
little animals make me want to eat a dog."

Amiko just looked at SSJ, eyes narrow as she joked, "You'd eat dogs anyway because they
annoy the Hell out of you."

And then, Yuzuriha called from her bishie-ball, "But not Inuki!"

"Of course," said SSJ as he looked about the city.

Just then, as if Fate was testing SSJ, a small Poochyena, a dog like Pokemon, trotted up
to SSJ's leg, and waited. SSJ looked down at it, as did the rest of the Crew. They saw it.
It saw them. It then let out a river of urine onto SSJ's boot. SSJ blinked. His face didn't
change. Cindy thought, "Wow, he's taking that we-"

SSJ, keeping silent, and with eyes twitching, suddenly punted the dog with a powerful kick.
Cindy quickly took back all she said as the pokemon, with a yelp, went flying away and into
the sky. Amiko and Cindy gasped, but then stopped. It was SSJ, after all. The city seemed
to stop, and everyone looked at SSJ. "Damn bitch," said SSJ, quite sure that the pokemon
was female.

There were boos, hisses, and randomly thrown bricks from the Pokemon trainers. To rid
himself of the cursed water, SSJ dipped his boot into the water, careful not to let any
splash onto himself. He then, along with the others, dashed away from the trainers, and out
of town. They stood outside, panting with fatigue as TM stayed behind to fetch directions
to the magical school.

SSJ said between pants, "Damn dogs piss me off."

"So, where to now, leader?" DDT suddenly asked.

SSJ paused. He then looked at DDT and asked, "Since when was I leader?"

"Well, you are the one who can use plot holes-"

SSJ interrupted at that point, making DDT glare. He clapped a closed fist into an open
hand. "That's right! I did!"

"-and you're Dark self is the person we're chasing. You're the reason we went and found
Hiko, and the reason Amiko, Cindy, and yourself fought the Fourth Tyrant. Not only that,
but you were the only one who knew of Zemus, the apparently most powerful of the FF
villains."

Cindy then added to DDT's statements, "Don't forget about that one town where you met me..."

"Meria," corrected SSJ.

Cindy nodded. "Uh huh. You were taken by the dictator, who called you the leader. You
single-handedly get rid of Kerberos, and ditch us constantly."

SSJ rubbed his chin in thought. "Hm... I guess you are right," he agreed.

There was a silence. In classic fashion, a tumbleweed tumbled past. TM then entered the
scene, smoke coming from all around him. He had directions to the magical school in hand.
Amiko noticed him and asked, "Okay, shall we go to Hogwart's NOW?!"

"KWEH!" Tenpi chirped from Amiko's arms.

TM just stood amidst them and said, "Okay, Hogwart's is over in..." He looked down on the
paper and pointed. "That direction..."

TM pointed North-East and clearly saw the towers and black walls of the school of
witchcraft and wizardry. It was clearly seen, for it was only fifty meters ahead. TM stayed
silent for a minute, pointing at the school. Finally, he swore, "DAMN IT!"

TM kicked the ground, and then sighed. He then turned back to the Crew. "I'd say enough
time has been wasted," he suggested to the rest.

"I agree," said Cindy. "I do not want another needlessly long chapter..."

Cindy then glared at SSJ. SSJ sweatdropped. He then pleaded, "I tried to make those
chapters shorter!"

"Yeah... Whatever." Then they went on their way, towards the school in the vicinity.

***

The Crew stood in front of Hogwart's massive double doors. The doors, they knew, would
lead into the main hall, and from there the dining hall. They saw the various towers, each
filled with dormitories.

With a loud clang, TM rapped on the wall with the sheathe of Hiko's sword. The Crew waited
a while before the familiar janitor, Argus Filch, answered the door, "What is this?!"

Filch then looked at the Crew, seeing the five kids, Tenpi, and Mokona. He was positively
puzzled at their appearance. Filch demanded, "What do we have here?"

"We need to get in," bluntly stated SSJ, his plans qutie obvious to the Crew.

Filch just snorted at that comment, "Get in! Why, if I let random children into Hogwart's
all the time, we'd be in trouble!"

And just then, three familiar kids walked up behind the janitor. All were clad in wizard
robes. One was a boy with a lightning-shaped scar. One had red hair and a cheap, worn robe.
The last was a girl with bushy hair. They were clearly Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and
Hermione Granger.

Ron stepped up from behind Filch and asked quite casually, "Filch! What's happening?"

Filch turned and glared at the three students. Yes, they were not his favorite students.
"That's MISTER Filch, Weasley!" he spat back. "Get yourselves to class!"

While he yelled that line, he had moved from the door and allowed the three children look
through the door. It was then that the three clearly saw the Crew through the open doors.
Their mouths dropped to the ground. Harry screamed, "MY GOD! IT'S THEM!"

The Crew's eyes narrowed, and they all spoke with the same dumbfounded voice as they
uttered, "Huh?!"

Hermione was the one to proclaim to approaching students, "It's the Outlaws! This is
incredible!"

Each of the Crew looked at each other. They shrugged and looked at Filch, who reluctantly
let them through. DDT looked about for the direction of the nearest Chocobo Forest and
pointed in the general direction.

Devimon led DDT's chocobo away, followed by Mokona and Tenpi. Amiko could only sigh as she
saw her little chocobo leave her for a while. Filch then stuck his head out the crack in
the doors, looking this way and that. He then shut the doors with a loud boom.

***

Five hours after arriving, the Crew found themselves in the common room of Gryffindor.
Within the common room of Gryffindor tower, there was a ruckus about. Everyone temporarily
forgot about the Triwizard Tournament and was huddled around the Five that just arrived.

They were prodding the Crew with questions, one after another. One asked, "What's it like
living against the law?!"

Ginny Weasley asked, "Have you succeeded in finding Rantmon?!" in quite a wistful voice
when thinking of the five's fame.

"What happened at Osseke?! How did you escape?!" Colin Creevey asked them, camera ready and
already snapping photos. This annoyed the Five to the point that SSJ smashed it with a
fist. He sat back in his seat as more and more questions were piled on them.

Silent, the Five waited patiently for everyone the shut up, sweatdropping. Cindy turned to
the others and whisperred, "I didn't know we were famous..."

"Nor did I!" added Amiko as she looked at each of the eager faces.

DDT sat down, eyes twitching with annoyance. Then, he finally bursted and got to his feet.
He then yelled at the top of his lungs, "SHUT UP, EVERYONE!"

Quickly, everyone stopped talking. Everyone turned towards DDT, who looked around the
room. He then began, "We're not here on a friendly visit. We've got business-"

DDT then looked at TM, who was busy hitting on Parvati Patil and Padma Patil. He just
glared at the three as he heard TM speak, "So, yeah! I took out seven villains at once,
each stronger than the next! Not even Sephiroth or Kefka could defeat me!"

DDT fumed at that. He screamed at TM, "TM! Don't you remember why we are wandering?!"

TM looked back from the girls and sighed. SSJ then spoke, sitting down in a cushioned
chair, "Living against the law is not very easy. We have to rely on theft in order to live,
and we are constantly in battle. And about the second question, we've currently abandoned
Rantmon and are chasing a different goal. So, no. And thirdly..."

It was at that point that the bell for dinner sounded. Everyone flooded out of the room,
murmuring about their guests. A small crew crowded around the Five, consisting of Harry,
Ron, Hermione, the Patil twins, and plenty others. Harry strolled up to Amiko and began
conversation, "How about I show you around school?"

Amiko smiled at Harry's offer. "That'd be fun," she replied.

***

An hour later, the Crew sat at the Gryffindor table, with all the students watching the
Five eat. SSJ was swallowing a large portion of chicken, while TM was busying himself with
pasta. Cindy and Amiko both made healthy servings of chicken, fruits, vegetables, and
grains. DDT, as usual, was busy burning his food to a crisp before eating it.

As the Five ate, Albus Dumbledore stood, and gave a loud, resounding clearing of his voice.
Everyone stopped their tasks and looks up at Dumbledore, and at the small Goblet of Fire he
put onto a small table at the head of the room. He announced, "Well, it appears that our
young guests have been enjoying themselves."

The Five nodded at the seemingly far off wizard as he continued, "Well, you have come in
time to witness the drawing of the names for the Triwizard Tournament. This is a spectacle
to see, I assure you."

With a flash of light, the Goblet spat out a piece of paper. Dumbledore caught it in his
hand, and opened it to read, "Viktor Krum."

With cheers from Durmstrang's students, as well as Hermione, Krum bowed and followed
McGonagall into the backroom. The Goblet of Fire spat out another name at that point.
"Fleur Delacour," read Dumbledore.

As the champion of Beauxbatons stood, cheers from every male, save SSJ and DDT thanks to
Amiko's Death Glare™, sounded throughout the hall. The Patil twins weren't quite happy with
TM, cheering for the Veela girl. She was led into the backroom, and then the third name was
shot out. "Hm," uttered Dumbledore as he read the name. "As expected, it is Cedric Diggory."

With cheers from everywhere, including Cho Chang, to Harry's disappointment, Cedric was
led into the backroom. Dumbledore then stood tall before everyone and announced, "Well!
Those were the three! I think this shall be a very exciting..."

When Dumbledore looked down, he saw the flame of the Goblet was blue again. It then spat
out the fourth name. Everyone was silent. Slowly, he opened up the folded paper, and all
the staff watched in surprise. Dumbledore paused, thinking of the name. Finally, he said,
"Harry Potter..."

Everyone was silent. No one moved or stirred. Everything would have followed the fourth
Harry Potter book, if not for the FIFTH name being shot out. Dumbledore, worrying, took
that one as well. He opened the paper, wondering how this happened. And he was taken aback
and yelled, "This can't be right!"

Dumbledore turned and looked back to his fellow Hogwart's faculty. They deliberated for a
while, before SSJ stood and finally demanded, "Who is it?!"

Amiko dragged him back down to sit at the table. Dumbledore turned and looked back at SSJ.
He gulped, ignoring SSJ's rudeness. He just said, "It said 'Amiko'."

There was a silence. No one spoke, but everyone looked at SSJ, who rose to his feet and
subsequently knocked over several plates of food. His eyes were wide, and so were Amiko's.

SSJ looked up at Dumbledore with surprise. He muttered, "But that's..."

"Impossible!" finished Amiko. But Dumbledore wouldn't lie. She looked up at the old wizard,
wondering how her name got in there.

A silence clasped onto the room and did not dare let go. Silently, Harry Potter, followed
by Amiko, stood and looked about the room. They then looked at each other, and silently,
the two left the room into the backroom.

TM, DDT, and Cindy looked up at SSJ, who was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. SSJ turned to
the rest and asked, "Who the Hell could have fixed up the Goblet of Fire with Amiko's
name...?"

Simultaneously, the other Four came to the same realization. In cool anime-split screen
action, they all yelled at once, "A minion of Rantmon!" It had to be! There was no other
explanation!

Not much more was spoken afterward. A long silence held the room. No one dared to speak,
until finally, Dumbledore did. He just told everyone, "You are all dismissed."

***

Away from the crowds out in the school, SSJ sat in front of the fireplace of the Gryffindor
common room, casting a dark shadow upon the center of the room. He sat in deep thought
about the riddles, wondering who could have fixed the Goblet. TM and Cindy sat nearby in
chairs, and DDT leaned by the hearth.

They were silent for a long while before DDT finally asked, "So, what shall we do?"

"This is the work of the false Moody, Crouch," SSJ just muttered. "It has to be."

TM added, "I don't think there is anyone else."

Cindy put in what the others were thinking: "He's under Rantmon's council." Everyone nodded.

SSJ just looked straight at the fire. He felt the heat and warmth, though he didn't feel
any more comfortable. He just thought aloud, "We'll see sooner or later."

***

Hours passed, and everyone headed to their rooms. SSJ was left alone in the room, for TM
and DDT made their way to Potter's room. Cindy found her way to Hermione's. SSJ fell to his
back and lay, facing the ceiling. He sighed, and thought aloud, "If it is as simple as
Rantmon's doing, why am I so worried? ...And how long does it take for them all to get
their wands weighed?!"

He then thought about that. 'Well, it'd take a while, considering Amiko doesn't HAVE
one...' It was then that SSJ heard a rapping on the window. He jumped up, looked at its
direction, and sprinted to the window. He opened the lock and shoved open the window, but
saw no one there.

SSJ muttered "What the..." as he looked about the window. SSJ jumped onto the windowsill
and poked his head out the window into the cold night sky. A cold chill blew in his face as
he looked about.

At that point, the doors to the common room opened, right when SSJ stepped out and onto the
roof. Amiko and Harry stepped into the common room, quietly chatting, and found the window
open. Amiko looked at it and turned to Harry, "Did someone leave that open?"

"It's cold, don't you agree?" asked Harry.

Amiko shivered. She agreed, "Yeah."

Harry walked up to the window and nearly closed it, if not for SSJ crossing the threshold
and entering the room again. Harry nearly fell over from fright, but Amiko caught the
wizard. Then, loud enough to wake up half the school, she yelled at SSJ, "DON'T SCARE
HARRY!"

"I DID NOT!" SSJ yelled back just as loud.

***

Three days passed over Hogwarts without event. Well, except for the Triwizard tournament
quickly moving along. The first day, the five chosen ones had to deal with a dragon in
order to get to the egg. Amiko solved the problem by having Cloud cast Stop on the dragon
and waltzing to claim the egg. She passed through the second task quickly enough. Touching
the water transformed her into her Nightcrawler form, much to Nightcrawler's glee over in
the Xavier Institute. With that, she teleported into the depths of the sea, rescued her
Vincent from the water. Now, time was fast approaching for the last event, but that would
not take place for another six days. The tournament was sped up for Amiko to leave all the
faster.

And while Amiko was busy with the tournament, the other Four were busy searching for clues
of Dark. Hermione grown quickly to be SSJ's friend, for they sat together at the tables in
the Hall and constantly talked about various Muggle things. Once again, SSJ, TM, DDT, and
Cindy found themselves in the common room of Gryffindor, pondering about a secret they may
have missed. Hermione and Ron were there to help.

Cindy just sighed and sank into her cushioned chair. She complained, "We have checked
Whomping Willow, the Chamber of Secrets, under Fluffy's trapdoor, and in every tower!"

"We've looked everywhere!" complained DDT. "There is simply no place where Dark can hide."

SSJ sighed at all their statements. He thought of all they had done and couldn't stand the
fact that they had lost Dark. He just fell back and lay on his back as he just agreed, "I
think so as well..."

There was a silence as everyone thought hard about the situation. Suddenly, a realization
dawned on TM. He then turned to everyone, "Hey, why haven't we checked Crouch's lab?"

Everyone was silent. No one knew why they didn't think of that earlier. How stupid were
they?! Ron finally broke the silence, "If 'Moody''s really a part in the plot, what would
we look for?"

Hermione just thoughtfully said, "I don't think we should go in his lab..."

***

Not long after, they found themselves in Crouch's laboratory. Vials and flasks lined the
shelves, as did books on Dark Arts. All around, there were desks and tables. The six kids
sauntered to the backroom, searching about the room in wonder. They reached the room and
found a bed, his desk, and a large box.

SSJ turned his head to look around the room. "There's got to be something here," he
muttered. Everyone then went their own way, searching throughout the room. They knew what
to expect in the box. They didn't bother with it first hand.

TM walked up to the desk and sifted through the papers as the others searched through the
room. He read all that came up, "Boggarts... Rules on playing Go... Dementors... Savings
account of Bill Gates... Voldemort..."

Ron and Hermione choked at the sound of the name. SSJ began searching through Crouch's
luggage. He was stopped when TM asked everyone, "Hey, who is this Black Mistress?"

Everyone dropped what they were doing and turned to face TM, who was clutching a sheet of
paper. He explained, "This Black Mistress is where Crouch's allegiance lies." He trailed
off. There was a silence and a sudden change in his breath. He said in a disturbed voice,
"What's this?!"

Everyone shuddered, worried about what he could have found. He continued, "This... Can't...
Be..."

And with that, TM revealed what he saw. He pulled out a Yu-Gi-Oh! deck. He proclaimed,
"These teachers are paid well! Look at this! The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Everyone
facefaulted at that.

As they got up, Cindy just asked, "He's into Yu-Gi-Oh?!"

DDT then turned to Cindy and asked, "Who? TM or Moody?"

"Both. I never knew either were into it."

SSJ sighed and began searching through Moody's box. He came to the third lock, and opened
it to reveal a slew of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. He silently stared at the cards, blinking
occaisionally. He finally said, "I think Crouch has been paid too much."

Hermione then appeared beside him. "Anything useful?" she asked.

SSJ began looking through the cards and making a deck exactly like his own, taking out
cards and putting more in. "Nope."

Hermione sighed.

***

After an uneventful hour, absolutely nothing was found in Crouch's room, save for the real
Moody himself, to the surprise of Ron and Hermione. SSJ was done searching through the box,
and had a 46 card deck of Yu-Gi-Oh. TM was also done sifting through the papers and stuffed
his pockets full of gold coins while he was at it.

Everyone faced Moody as SSJ spoke, "I don't think you should show yourself just yet, Moody."

"Not until we find out why Amiko is wanted," added TM.

"Yeah," added Cindy. "And whoever is the Black Mistress..."

Moody nodded and rubbed his chin. He said with intelligence, "I think so, too. Something
big is happening, and we might be found if I'm out."

DDT bowed to Moody and clapped his hands together with apology. "While it will be
uncomfortable, would you mind staying in the box for a few more days?" he asked.

Moody sighed, and nodded. Hermione thanked him in reply, "Thank you, Mr. Moody."

Hermione nudged Ron with her elbow, and he bowed as well. "Thanks!"

***

SSJ and company slowly returned to the Gryffindor common room, saying nothing to each
other. SSJ was in deep thought; TM was looking through Moody's Yu-Gi-Oh deck; Cindy and
Hermione were wondering who the Black Mistress; DDT and Ron simply followed in silence.

Hermione walked up beside SSJ and kept in step with him. She began and asked, "Any idea who
this Black Mistress could be?"

"Not at all," replied a frustrated SSJ.

Cindy then guessed to the best of her abilities, "I've seen a lot since I've come to this
world, but nothing about a Black Mistress. I bet she's another of Rantmon's lackeys." That
had to be it. She could think of no one else who would do all this.

At that point, their path led to the main hall of Hogwarts, where their party met with
Amiko and Harry. Amiko and Harry had just finished their training for the third task and
were tired to the point of sleep. Amiko looked at them all as they approached and asked,
"Found anything on Dark?"

Cindy sighed, "Nothing at all."

Amiko then looked at TM, who was still checking through Moody's deck. She sweatdropped and
asked, "Where'd you get that deck?!"

TM looked up and at Amiko. He looked back at his deck and replied, "Moody had it."

Amiko sweatdropped. "You're kidding."

"Sadly, he is not," Hermione added. "SSJ made a deck as well."

SSJ kept silent as he was still in deep thought. Amiko walked up to SSJ and looked at his
stern face. She then began, "SSJ?!" No reply. "Are you there?" He said nothing. Amiko then
looked ahead. She suddenly started, "WATCH OUT! YOU'RE GONNA FALL INTO-"

With a splash, SSJ fell into the lake of Hogwarts. The Crew had passed through the halls
and were outdoors, obviously. Amiko slapped her forehead when Kero stepped out, pissed as a
dragon. He just muttered to the rest, "I hate this curse."

Amiko gave him some advice, "You should watch where you are going." Hermione was silent.
TM, DDT, and Cindy could not resist laughing.

***

The day of the Third Task arrived, and all over Hogwart's, people were excited and full of
wonder and fear. Every nook and cranny of the magic school was sifted through, and still no
sign of Dark was found. Amiko, Harry, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were all prepared and
waiting for the last task to start, nervous and anxious.

Harry saw Amiko shaking just before the task would begin. He asked, "Excited, Amiko?"

Amiko tried to stop her shaking knees and buckling ankles. She just tried to say, "I guess
so..."

Another conversation began as the stadium began filling up with people. All around,
students of Hogwarts filled the seats and cheered excitedly for their favorite champion.
Not long after, SSJ, in his human form again, and company arrived and sat close to the
maze. In fact, they were all but fifteen feet from the competitors.

Cindy yelled over everyone as she waved to them, "Good luck, Amiko!"

Amiko turned to Cindy and smiled. DDT, TM, Hermione, Ron, and SSJ followed Cindy.

"Hope you do well," DDT told her. Amiko gave him a thumbs-up.

"I'm sure you read the book more than I!" said TM with a grin. Amiko grinned as well.

"This won't be a problem for you!" announced Hermione. Harry looked up at his friend and
gave her a peace sign, as did Amiko.

"Yeah!" cheered Ron. "Especially if Harry is there to help!"

And finally, SSJ just muttered after a silence, "Do good." Everyone looked at SSJ for that.

"Is that all?!" demanded Cindy.

"You can come up with something better than that!" yelled TM.

"It doesn't matter. Dark isn't here, and we'll leave after this," SSJ just coldly spoke
back. Everyone sighed, and SSJ said no more. Amiko stood there, under their sights and
smiled. Everything was just stressful, that was all. Then, with a loud boom, the last task
began, and the competitors rushed into the maze of darkness.

***

The all-but-forgotten villains of the episode sat in the graveyard of Voldemort's cauldron.
They all sat around, waiting for the time to come. Gravestones, freakishly bent trees, and
the occaisional random fog didn't deter the Yu-Gi-Oh villains from their resolve. Malik had
a stopwatch in hand. When the time arrived, he shut its cover and announced, "It's time."

Bakura and the Maze brothers couldn't help grinning at their ingenious plan. Malik turned
to the house of Tom Riddle nearby, specifically to a tree. In the twisting branches, a dark
figure sat. It looked like a girl with long, pale brown hair. Her green eyes were dark as
the night, and her skin was white as snow. She turned to face Malik as well, with her
complex robe billowing in the wind. It had straps, and was worn over a simple black shirt
and shorts of the same shade. Boots rounded off the look, giving her a dark, magical feel.
Malik bowed, followed by the other Yu-Gi-Oh villains. He just said, "We'll be off, Black
Mistress."

The Black Mistress kept quiet. She just seemed to stare off at the moon until she finally
replied, "So be it. I expect you back quickly. The Ritual needs to begin soon."

Malik couldn't help but evilly smile with his Millennium Cane held tightly in his fist.

***

With great speed, Amiko and Harry ran through the maze of terror. The crowd cheered as
their competitor overcame a challenge and hissed at opponents who hindered their progress.
Not much longer, many dark shadows ran across Hogwart's fields, heading towards the
Quidditch Stadium. These were the shadows of Malik, Bakura, and the Maze brothers, who
arrived via a hidden portkey. Malik yelled to Bakura, "Bakura! You know what to do!"

"Yes!" yelled Bakura in reply.

Quickly, Bakura separated from the group of villains and jumped into the crowd of
spectators. Malik and the Maze brothers were fast, and quickly slipped through the faculty
of Hogwarts and entered the maze of terror as Bakura reached the crew.

Bakura casted a shadow over them dark enough to catch their attention. They all turned and
looked at the new figure in surprise. Bakura then said with a smile, "Nice to meet you all."

TM suddenly blurted out in surprise, "Bakura?!"

"What the?!" screamed DDT.

"Eh?!" Cindy uttered as she saw Bakura move.

Before anyone else could speak, Bakura grabbed Cindy by the arm and lifted her to her
feet. He clasped on hand over her mouth and leapt into the maze, dragging his captive
along. He was too fast and too sudden for anyone to react, save for screaming afterwards.

"CINDY!" SSJ screamed from the stands as he got to his feet. He looked and saw Bakura
disappear into the maze below.

"What the Heck just happened?!" Hermione asked as she looked around.

Without saying another word, SSJ leapt after Bakura, to the surprise of the nearby
spectators. TM followed after SSJ, yelling, "SSJ! Wait!"

"Bloody 'Ell!" Ron couldn't help but swearing. "What's going on?!"

DDT then got to his feet as well. "Wait for me!" he yelled.

And he would have jumped into the maze then, if not for another voice calling him from
behind, "Stop right there!"

DDT froze. He turned and looked up at the direction of the voice. Clearly, he saw Draco
Malfoy, and behind him, the clear figure of his malevolent father. Lucius gave an evil
grin, as did Draco Malfoy. DDT's eyes widened in surprise. Draco spoke to Hermione and Ron,
with Crabbe and Goyle at his side, "The Black Mistress tells us to hold you off. We won't
just hold you off, we'll kill you!"

"We won't disappoint her, nor will we disappoint Lord Voldemort!" his father, Lucius
Malfoy, proclaimed.

***

In the maze, Amiko heard the rustles of leaves as if the hedges were shaking. She, as well
as Harry beside her, saw the distinct figures of Bakura and Cindy fly overhead and deep
into the center of the maze. They were not far, Amiko knew. They stopped when they saw SSJ
and TM as well flying overhead.

Amiko was taken aback and couldn't help but utter, "What's going on?!"

"Why were they there?!" Harry asked, but Amiko couldn't answer.

Amiko and Harry ran ahead, and saw SSJ and TM stopped by the sphinx. SSJ was clearly
agitated and more impatient than usual. TM was similarly hasty, and he screamed, "Get out
of our way!"

The sphinx merely pranced around their path, showing its fangs. It clearly wasn't in the
mood to move out of the way. It spoke, "Hasty people, you are. You'll have to answer my
riddle-"

"Spider," SSJ interrupted. "Now let us through, asshole!" The spider was taken by surprise.

Reluctant and angry, the sphinx moved aside, wondering how SSJ knew the answer so quickly.
SSJ then turned back and saw Amiko. Saying nothing, he turned back to his path and sprinted
ahead, followed by TM.

Amiko yelled after them, "WAIT! What's going on?!"

"Come on!" Harry yelled to Amiko as he dashed ahead. "Let's go!"

Amiko and Harry chased after the faster SSJ, eventually reaching the center and stopping.
SSJ and TM stood still as well. Around the center, Fleur, Viktor, and Cedric stood as well.
Amiko and Harry did not know why everyone was frozen. They looked at the center and saw why.

Around the Goblet were Ma and Ze, with their dueling systems in hand. They surrounded the
Goblet of Fire, and subsequently, Bakura, Cindy, and Malik. Bakura and Malik were
conversing as they arrived. Cindy saw everyone, so she broke free from Bakura's grip and
tried to run towards her friends. "Amiko! SSJ! TM!" she screamed.

With speed, Bakura caught Cindy and pulled her back. He and Malik quickly finished the
conversation. Malik commanded, "Let's go! To the Black Mistress!"

Bakura answered, "Yes! She shall be very pleased!"

TM wouldn't have this. No, he wouldn't let them take Cindy. TM rushed forward, breaking
through Ma and Ze's defense and grabbed the Goblet at the same time as Malik and Bakura.
Within a second, they were gone, leaving only the competitors of the Triwizard tournament
and SSJ with the Maze brothers.

And Ma and Ze weren't going to be compliant with their demands. Ma began a rhyme, "In order
to pass, you must win."

"But the chances of that are very thin," rhymed Ze.

Ma prepared his own Duel Disk system, the ones used in Battle City. Its lights flashed,
and the blade came together to form the space for the cards. "The duel shall be a
two-on-two."

Ze did the same with his own Duel Disk. "And we shall gain victory, through and through."

Ma threw one Duel Disk at a seething SSJ, who caught it in his left hand. Ma continued as
SSJ prepared his Duel Disk, "YOU CAN NOT WIN, NO MATTER HOW YOU HARD YOU TRY!"

Ze threw another Duel Disk at Amiko, who caught it in both hands. She put it on as well
and prepared it. "DON'T BOTHER TO, FOR YOU ALL WILL JUST SIMPLY DIE!" Ze screamed.

SSJ took out his premade deck and slammed it into the slot of the Duel Disk. Amiko,
similarly, pulled her own out of nowhere, and slammed it into her own slot. SSJ grinned as
he looked at Amiko from the corners of his eyes. He asked, "You brought it with you?"

Amiko grinned back at SSJ. "Oh well, who cares," she just said.

Amiko and SSJ then faced Ma and Ze. They all exchanged glares. The two heroes spoke at
once, "It's time to duel!"

"One who challenges us is a fool!"

They all drew five cards, and began their duel in darkness. Blackness crept around them,
fought only by the many torches. All around were the grass and hedges. The wind blew a cold
note, causing everyone but Ma and Ze to shiver.

---- To Be Continued ----

- ENDING SONG: ANO HI NO GOGO -

Tooi tooi mukashi ni mo koko ni ita youna ki ga suru
Yuuhi ga irotta houkago no kyoushitsu
Kiri sugita maegami o yubisashi warau minna to
Sukoshi zutsu toki wa nagareru
Maegami boku no mabuta ni
Fureru koro mo kitto kawara nu
Yuuyake ga minna o tsutsunde
Boku ga boku de aru tameni to
Nanika o samishi tsuzuketa
Taai mo nai kono jikan ga
Kotae dato shitta, kore kara mo zutto...

---- Preview ----

[Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! Preview music plays in background. The five appear as chibi style, and
random scenes from the next episode play, though you can't see because this is text. =P]

SSJ: NEXT TIME! ON GINGA GIRI GIRI!

Amiko: The Duel in Darkness begins!

Cindy: I am to be used for the Black Mistress' plans!

TM: What is the Black Mistress? Where did she come from? Is she hot?

DDT: All these questions and more answered in the next episode!

(Amiko mutters.)

Amiko: ...Which will be a lot funnier than this.

(SSJ sighs.)

SSJ: ...Anyway...

All: Next! On GINGA GIRI GIRI! "The Power of Teamwork"!

----