Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Game Master! ❯ Mello is a Dumbass, too ( Chapter 14 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Final Fantasy 6. Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh, and he doesn't approve of Ryou fighting Atma. SquareSoft owns both Atma and Final Fantasy, and they don't care as long as Atma isn't smeared along the walls.

 

After an hour of searching through the research facility, Matt had managed to find just where they needed to go. It was, quite simply, a very large, long, seemingly endless shaft with old, rusted railroad tracks that never seemed to end, either. When he first showed them, Ryou wasn't too impressed. In fact, he kind of dismissed it at large. After all, Sith never even mentioned just how they'd be getting into the base, and she'd have definitely complained if this had been that way. But when he looked back to see her reaction, she seemed to shrug it off, too.

 

Matt, unfortunately, was adamant. In the end, he convinced all of them, Sith included, into climbing into the shaft and storming through it on their armors. And they all found that, in a greasy, moldy tunnel with no light whatsoever, that was a scary thing to try and do. For one, the only source of light would be from Sith's fire spells. And for two, if she even tried using them, she'd set herself on fire. She had never taken chemistry, but she was four thousand; she knew grease and fire were about as attracted to each other as flies to shit.

 

The end result was simple. They traveled that disgusting shaft as far as they could, ignoring the splotching sounds and the drips of water as they walked. It was a sad, dismal journey, and Sith was quite satisfied to have just set the shaft on fire and create her own way in. The only problem had been Matt: he had gone in before she could set the place ablaze. And as annoying as he was, she kind of liked him, too.

 

“Relax, guys. We'll be there soon!” Matt kept promising. But after the third or fourth promise, even Yugi wanted to haul off and slam the red-head in the face, just to shut him up. Friend or not, no one liked being lied to.

 

Thankfully, though, the shaft ended after Matt's seventh promise of `we'll be there soon.' Sith couldn't have been happier for it, either. Until, of course, she climbed up the chute that ended the shaft. And when she had, she did punch Matt. Right in his face, and she cracked both of his goggles in the process. Because where she had been led, she was horrified to see, was a bathroom. A very dirty, grungy, stinking shithole of a bathroom. And after recovering from slamming into the wall, Matt stood up and stared at her. A normal human would've retaliated and sent her reeling. But Matt? He just laughed, walked over, and patted her on the back as if what she did was perfectly normal.

 

“It's just like home, isn't it?” he teased, and when Sith's look went flat, he said, “Aw, come on! You remember my apartment, don't you!? That hellhole was five times worse than this, and you still lived there!”

 

“That's probably because she didn't have the money to ditch you,” Malik retorted with a snort, and yelped when Ryou nudged him angrily. Sith shook her head in disbelief. No matter how shitty Matt's apartment had been, making a joke about this place was just asking for another smack in the face. But this was Matt. And he didn't take things like bantering and sarcasm too well. Mainly because he never actually cared about what anyone else thought. He shrugged.

 

“Nah, it's `cause she loved me and Mel so much,” he replied casually, as if that fact should've been known to Ryou and his friends, “If she ditched us, Kira might've killed her, and Mello would've gone absolutely ballistic. Trust me, you do not want to be anywhere near him when he's mad.” Ryou had enough personal experience to know that. And Sith wasn't amused by it, either. Her tail lashed.

 

“Matt,” she said gently, and when he grinned and looked over at her, she stomped his foot and said, “Shut up!” His grin faded, but only because pain took over and sent any happiness he felt right down the drain. Malik just snorted again and shook his head, looking toward the closed stall door. Considering that they were in a single stall, he was surprised they all fit in it. He'd have to fix that, because if Sith did decide to hit Matt again, he'd hit one of them as he went flying across the stall again.

 

“Can I open the door now, or are you two going to bicker like the old, married couple you were?” Malik asked, partly sarcastic, partly serious. Sith glared at him for a second. Matt, of course, grinned again as if that statement were as true as the sky was blue.

 

“Go ahead. I don't care,” she grumbled. Malik looked at her for another second, and then shrugged, opening the stall door. And immediately, he regretted it. He looked out for just a second, and decided to close the door, turning and staring at Sith as though she was the one who sent them head-first into danger. She rose a brow, wondering what could've possibly scared him in a single second.

  

“We don't want to know what you saw, do we?” Ryou asked, but Malik didn't even react. His skin was white now. Bakura and Yami exchanged nervous looks.

 

“Malik, what's wrong?” Bakura asked firmly. Malik looked up, and finally managed to scream out what he had seen. It was so huge, so terrifying, so horribly powerful, that there was no mistaking what it was he'd seen out there.

 

“ATMA WEAPON!!” he screamed, and Sith's eyes widened. Without even considering the consequences of her next action, she threw open the door and ran out into the chamber beyond. And there the large, hulking beast stood, looking down at her with its fiery, red, glaring eyes. Its nails, half of which were covered in blue blood, clashed against the stone floor. If Ryou weren't terrified to speechlessness, he'd have screamed for Sith to run away.

 

“I am Atma,” the beast growled, “For five thousand years, I have been sealed away. And now, little Esper, you will DIE!” Sith wasn't afraid. She took out Zealacht, and practically snorted as she considered her new opponent. He was easily almost ten times her size. But she had four thousand years at least of battling experience. And she was the one who instilled fear in the other Espers. Not this beast. She had no reason to fear. But she did have reasons enough to be killed.

 

“T-that's Atma!?” Yugi asked, as Malik watched from behind the door and hissed, “What the hell is she doing!? It's going to slaughter her!”

 

“Go on and fight me as you would Bahamut,” Sith said daringly, and held her sword in a defensive stance, “I am not afraid to die.” Atma hesitated a moment, and then he roared. No. He was the most powerful Esper! This woman, this child, would die in mere seconds from just one blast of Mertron. If his anger didn't melt her instantly first. He slammed into the ground, baring his large fangs at her. She didn't even so much as wince as she saw saliva and bile dribble down to the floor.

 

“You, little one, will die quickly for your insolence!” Atma yelled, and his tail slammed into the stall, taking the door clean off its hinges. It also completely exposed Ryou and the others. Sith nodded toward Matt, and the red-head understood now what her plan actually was. He turned to Ryou.

 

“Come on!” he yelled, and grabbing Ryou's wrist, dragged the boy out and across the chamber as Sith leapt up and slashed at Atma in his muzzle. The hit connected; Ryou heard the splash of blue blood on the floor. He turned back to see, but all he caught was Malik and Yugi running right behind him. Sith was nowhere to be seen now. Chances were, she landed behind Atma. Turning to see what he was running toward, Ryou tried to struggle against Matt. But the older man's grip was strong.

 

“What about Sith!?” Ryou demanded, gasping when he realized how tired he was becoming. Matt didn't slow at all. He didn't even look back to see where Sith was.

 

“Sith'll be fine. She knows how to kill that thing,” Matt said grimly, “And if not… then I guess Mello's going to have to deal with it.” Ryou frowned. Mello wouldn't take Sith's death too well. Chances are, he'd blame Ryou for it, too. But Ryou had no time to ask any of that; Matt didn't even slow as they charged down another flight of stairs, and into the darkness of the sub-basement beyond.

 

Sith wasn't sure how she survived against Mertron. In the old legends, it was said Mertron was a forbidden spell, and that alone, it wiped out the far planes of Todesbereich and resulted in the festering undead in Todeswelt. It should've killed her. It should've reduced the base into a pile of stinking, rotting ash. Yet she survived, and apparently, so did the building. Sure, she had minor scratches and bruising, and one lens of her glasses was cracked, but she survived. And somehow, she knew she shouldn't have been too surprised.

 

Climbing out of the wreckage that protected her from the main assault of the blast, she stood up and looked around the room. It was dark; the spell blew out the candles and knocked the lights down around her. Eyes glowing, she saw that there was nothing in the room with her any longer. Wherever Atma was, he had left. Sith growled; she didn't have time for a coward. But when she walked forward, she winced in pain. Reaching toward her hip, she felt a shard of large metal. It lodged into her when she fell, she guessed.

 

“Damn it,” she said, shaking her head and ripping the shard out with an earsplitting rip, “At least I can't die. Not until I settle the score with Bahamut. And with Rath.” Throwing the metal aside, she strode out of the chamber, and into the dark hall that Ryou crossed just a short while before. All was silent, and Sith was aware that there was a stillness to the wind that wasn't natural. Slits of moonlight shone through the walls where gashes had been made, most likely by a pair of sharp claws. Very large, sharp claws, she saw as she looked. And she snorted.

 

“Where are you, Atma?” she asked with a sardonic smirk on her face. For once, the screen into Ryou's world was no longer behind her; she couldn't even ask Bakura where Atma had gone. But it no longer mattered. As she followed the path of the raked slits, she saw something glittering on the floor. It was a ring. And as she bent down, she saw it was Ryou's engagement ring; it had been crushed to pieces by something. And she knew what it was.

 

“…NO!” she screamed, and looked down the hall, “God damn it! He's gone after them!” She pocketed the ring and her glare worsened as she thought of what might happen to Ryou now. Behind her, she heard a laugh, and she turned just in time to see Mello jump down from the ceiling. And he was grinning.

 

“Relax a bit, babe. Ryou's fine,” Mello said, and walked closer, shrugging, “Hey, don't believe me?”

 

“Atma is the most dangerous Esper among us! He's going to murder all of them, Matt and Ryou included!” Sith exclaimed in alarm, and then she suddenly stopped. And she stared at Mello very suspiciously. “Which begs the question of why you're not with him.”

 

“Heh,” Mello's grin widened, “Isn't that a good question?”

 

“What did you do, Mello?” Sith demanded firmly, her grip around Zealacht tightening, “I demand your answer!” Mello's grin looked feral for a moment. Then he relaxed when he saw she was serious about hurting him. He stopped just inches from her, and took her wrist before she actually struck at him.

 

“I did nothing, Sith. I just watched the whole thing transpire,” he said gently, and with more vehemence, he added, “Including the fact that Ryou left you to die.” Sith's eyes widened a bit in shock, and then her ears lowered. Ryou… left? He didn't even try to help her? No, that wasn't the Ryou she knew. She shook her head.

 

“Matt dragged him away,” she reasoned, but Mello shook his head, even as she said, “Matt's stronger! Ryou wouldn't have been able to…”

 

“Wake up and realize the truth of the situation, Sith,” Mello said, suddenly sounding not quiet so amused any longer as he stared at her, “Ryou left and didn't even try to fight Matt.” Sith wanted to argue. She wanted to say that Ryou would never have done such a thing. He was just defending himself, and she was buying him time to do that! But… he left her behind. He left her behind! Mello saw this, and frowned further as he said, “Truth hurts bad, doesn't it?”

 

“Why are you doing this?” she asked him suddenly, and glared up at him, “Why are you doing this to me!? What have I done to you!?” Mello looked down. He wasn't trying to hurt her. He just wanted her to see where this was going to lead, later in life. Without warning, he grabbed her and hugged her, burying his face in her hair.

 

“Because if I don't, it's going to kick your ass later,” he said, and let go of her, “And I can't let that happen.” Sith stared at him critically. She couldn't even begin to understand what he was talking about. She told Ryou to run away. But… wasn't there some small level of truth to Mello's words? When push came to shove, Ryou left most of the bad stuff to her. She could handle it, though. She was four thousand, for God's sake. He wasn't even nineteen yet. She looked down.

 

“Mello,” she said slowly, taking long breaths to try and calm herself before she went berserk and hit him, “What do you mean? What's going to hurt me? Ryou?”

 

“He refers to us,” came a gravelly voice, and Sith spun around. And her mouth dropped. Standing there, or more, lying in the doorway, was Atma again. But this time, he had no look of malice in his eyes. He looked amused as he studied Sith. At first, she was terrified. But the terror left quickly; she looked up at him with curiosity.

 

“Why would Espers want to harm me? I'm among you,” she stated, and frowned, “I'd be more afraid of humans than I'd be of you.” Mello actually laughed. Considering that Atma was some thirty feet tall, that was a bold thing for Sith to say. The Esper in question just snorted, eyes narrowing.

 

“There are many who would wish you dead, lady Sith,” Atma told her, and looked at her with one large eye, “Humans included. Not all, but many of them do.”

 

“But why!?” Sith demanded, and her sword flashed angrily, “What have I possibly done!? And why Ryou? Why does Mello insist on keeping me away!?” Mello was about to answer, but Atma was faster. The old Esper let out a weary sigh. If only Sith hadn't slashed his chains. He had more stamina, when he was kept imprisoned.

 

“Long ago, you severed the power of magic and split it into two opposing arts. Because of that, the Mystics have been able to flourish,” Atma explained gently, “But do not think they are thankful. They are the `evil' side of our magic, Sith, and they want revenge for what you've done. And as for Ryou…” Atma frowned, and said quietly, “He does not believe in you, not truly. He, in his own way, is keeping you bound here, unable to fulfill that which you know has to be done.”

 

“That isn't true,” Sith growled angrily, and looked away, “He's helped me destroy two of the Mystic lords already, he'll help me kill this one, too.” Atma's expression softened. It wasn't often he saw an Esper in denial before. But Sith obviously wasn't handling this well.

 

“He will only go so far before he decides magic isn't worth it,” the old Esper warned her, and she looked up at him quickly, “He is mortal, Sith. Humans… most humans, can never understand what it is about magic that is worth its incredible cost. They only see the death it can bring. Ryou is no exception.” Sith looked down. She had nearly forgotten that he was only human. Perhaps she had taken his patience too far. But what could she have done? She hadn't asked to be pursued like this. In fact, she made it clear that if he wanted out, all he had to do was let her go, too. But if that was so… why did this hurt so much?

 

“And so by staying with him, I can never reach my full potential unless I want to kill him,” she concluded, and Atma nodded, “Then it's no surprise our marriage is at a standstill.”

 

“That is not your fault, Sith,” Mello interjected, and Sith turned, “Ryou's the one who's pulling this bullcrap. It's true that you and I…” He stopped himself and let the sentence hang. Sith was glad he did; she couldn't hear that she actually loved him, once. For a moment, Mello looked as if he'd lose control. Then he straightened and said, “Ryou wasn't even thinking about your feelings when he proposed to you. You had just lost your power, and you were sure you would never see me again. Did he honestly think putting a wedding on you was the answer?”

 

“What do I do!?” Sith demanded in exasperation, and for once, there were tears in her eyes, “Damn it all, Mello. You told me to live my `new' life, but now… what do I do?” Mello's eyes softened as he looked at her. In all honesty, he wasn't sure how to even answer. He had always done what he wanted. That was what led him to Sith in the first place; he never regretted a single move after that.

 

“What do you want to do, Sith?” he asked, “What is it you want?”

 

“…” Sith looked away again. She could not begin to even answer that; she hadn't actually thought about what she wanted. Slowly, she said, “I want to know who I am, and nothing more.”

 

“Then you do that and nothing more,” Mello said gently. Sith nodded, and glanced around them for a second. As much as the thought of doing whatever she wanted appealed, she realized that she couldn't very well just leave Ryou there. She took a breath and whistled lowly.

 

“We'll need to get out of this place first,” she said casually, almost amused, “Any ideas?” Mello shook his head. This was his first time here, after all. But Atma, having been imprisoned for so long, knew the secrets and exits of the fortress. He provided a much better answer.

 

“There is a mine shaft none too far that should take you toward the interior of the Imperial palace and away from this factory,” the old Esper said, “Lady Sith… I advise caution. The forces of darkness do gather and they seek to kill you and your allies.” Sith just snorted. She had been through scores of hells and worlds full of monsters past. Darkness no longer scared her, and hadn't for centuries now. She patted Zealacht.

 

“I am not afraid,” she said firmly, and turned to Mello, “Shall we?” He grinned, twirling his pistol.

 

“Babe, I thought you'd never ask,” he replied, and clapped her shoulder as they set off down the hall. Atma watched them both leave. And then he let out a sigh. After so long, after so many years, he finally met the Esper Bahamut had spoken of. But… was she really Sith Winchester? At first glance, he was quite sure the woman he had just spoken to was a child. Just who on earth was she?

 

Mello knew where he was going. As Sith let him lead them down the hall, back toward where Matt and the others had run, she had to credit him that. He knew where they had to go, and without so much as a word, he had found it. It wasn't difficult at all. And that's partially what scared Sith as they descended a winding staircase toward a lower floor, perhaps the lowest floor of all. She couldn't see anything, but she knew enough. There was a very strong scent of earth and rust in the air. They must have found another way into the mining shafts that seemed to honeycomb underneath Vector's base. Just as Atma said.

 

The only thing was that no one else was in sight. Sith glanced at her watch. It had stopped working as soon as she was forced into this world, but she had guessed that not much time had passed at all; if it had, Mello would have said something. If only for Matt's sake. But as they began to trek down the passage, she saw clearly that it was as if no one had come down period. She should've seen their footprints in the ground. But the earth was undisturbed.

 

“Mello,” she began very slowly, and he looked back at her, “Are you certain that Ryou is safe?” Mello nodded grimly. He didn't want to admit that fact, but it was truth and Sith deserved to hear it.

 

“As long as Matt isn't too arrogant, I'm sure they're fine,” he replied, and frowned, “I'm much more worried about Aeon. If these Mystics find a way to harness his power, it's all over for you, Sith. They'll finally be able to erase you forever.” Sith nodded, but said nothing. What could she possibly say? She technically couldn't blame them. If what Atma said was true, she was the reason they even existed. And their existence was seen only as a curse. Why shouldn't she be blamed for it?

 

“I wish I remembered what happened then,” she said after some time, and Mello looked at her again as they walked, “Mello, did I even talk about my past?”

 

“All I knew was that you had a brother and you were on the run from Bahamut,” the blonde told her quietly, and let out a sigh, “You wouldn't talk much about it. I figured it must've been bad, and I didn't have a past either, so I never pushed.”

 

“But Aeon knows,” Sith concluded. Mello gave a firm nod.

 

“He'd have to. He's a time-keeper,” he said, and snorted, “If you ask me, maybe that's why he was caught in the first place.” Sith stopped for a moment, and stared. That had never occurred to her. Aeon may have known her, but he also knew Rath as well, then. Which meant he could prove that it wasn't Sith's doing that caused the Mystic race; it could have very easily been Rath! And he could tell Sith all of it, if he so chose. Her fists clenched. And she pushed past Mello.

 

“We have to tell Ryou,” she said plainly, as Mello followed close behind, “Damn it, Mello, why didn't you tell me any of this earlier!?” She spun around to scold him, and he was more than prepared to take it. But as she opened her mouth, there was an explosion further down that shook the entire foundation of the shaft. Mello grabbed Sith as rocks and soil crumbled and fell to the ground.

 

“What the hell was that?” he asked, and eyed Sith suspiciously, “What did…”

 

“It wasn't me, idiot,” Sith growled, “But I bet I know what it was.” Mello watched for a long moment as Sith pushed him away and ran down the tracks. He had a feeling he knew what it was, too. And as much as he wanted Ryou dead, he knew that might just break Sith's resolve. He ran after her.

 

Sith quickly learned three things as she ran down the shaft, trying her best to find signs that Ryou wasn't currently lying in a corner, dead somewhere up ahead. The first, she learned, was that Vector would have collapsed in about two more years. The second was that Atma wasn't the only thing living in the ruins. As she ran, she was nearly pinned with a flying sickle that came from out of nowhere. A very large, throbbing, vein-covered purple sickle that had one blinking eye on it. Sith sidestepped, and heard Mello's gun go off about ten seconds later. Whatever that thing was, it pinwheeled and reversed its direction, heading right back where it came from.

 

And the final thing she learned, as she ran out into a huge cavernous intersection, was that whatever was living here was mean as hell, and as huge as the cavern itself. Sith came screeching to a stop. Mello slammed into her a second later, and after rubbing his nose to help his new injury, he stared up at the hulking, massive thing that was currently towering over them both. It looked almost humanoid, at one time long ago, but now it was a gigantic beast that easily threw both Mello and Sith into shivers; both of its equally massive arms ended in those throbbing sickles.

 

“What the fuck is that thing!?” Mello demanded, eye twitching as he loaded his pistol. Sith took out her sword. She wasn't sure how much damage they could actually do, but if Ryou was even close to them, she was going to ensure he'd be safe. She spat.

 

“Another toy for Falnika, no doubt,” Sith replied, and grinned, “Let's go. Blitzdonier!” Aiming her sword like a conductor, Sith shot out three waves of lightning, each striking a different part of the monster's body. It roared, but the bolts seemed to simply bounce off its mound, slamming into the walls instead. Mello risked a glance to Sith. She was pale now.

 

“Losing your touch, babe?” he teased, and laughed as he shot every bullet his gun had. Unfortunately, he did even less damage than Sith had. All he did was piss the monster off. Its response was fairly straightforward and highly self-explanatory: it slammed its fist down on the ground between them, attempting to crush them. Sith and Mello dove toward the ground.

 

“Don't mistake my error for carelessness, Mello,” she growled, “Do you remember our special, little attack?” Mello snorted, smirking at her.

 

“Do you?” he retorted. Sith's lips went flat, and he knew he was pushing his luck. They both stood, and Mello aimed his gun he had, making sure to load up six special shells in the process. As soon as his gun was ready, Sith leapt and landed atop it, and in a split second, she was gone again. Mello grinned, and unleashed five of the shells in a star pattern, as Sith came crashing down on the beast with Zealacht's full power. Rebounding back into the air, Sith snapped her finger and let loose a powerful blast of energy as Mello aimed his final shell.

 

In one blow, the monster went down. The end result was beautiful, like nothing Mello had ever seen in his life. Sith's fire spell was resilient; light spilled in all directions, revealing every crevice and cranny in the cavern. But what caught his attention to its fullest was the monster. It had been set like an oil-soaked match, and it burned into a massive fireball, spewing the very last of its life force before it finally died. Almost like a miniature sun, but within moments, the fire died entirely. Sith landed, watching it silently as Mello clapped and gave a harsh laugh. Their special move had been completed so harmoniously. He felt it was only indicative of the fact that Sith should have been his.

 

“Think we trashed it?” he joked, knowing the answer too well. But Sith wasn't smiling. She was looking down the passage far ahead.

 

“What worries me is that it did not appear to have stopped Ryou's group in any way,” she said distantly, as if Mello hadn't spoken, “Was it meant only to stop us?”

 

“Wouldn't put it past them. We are looking for Aeon, and they want to stop you for good,” Mello reminded her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, “The only way to do that seems to be to destroy you in the past.” That brought no comfort to Sith. If that was true, Aeon really would be the very end of her. He could very easily get into the past, to where she had been, once. For that matter, was he actually her friend?

 

They followed the shaft due north. At least, Sith thought it was north; it'd been some time since she knew where they were going, and Aeon was the one who always had a good sense of direction. At the very least, she knew they were inside the fortress now. The factory was well behind them, and so was the monster they killed. But the shaft, as far as she could see, stretched on for some time. Even with the distance they covered, it seemed to have no end.

 

“Where the hell could they have gone?” Mello asked, his voice bouncing down the empty corridor as he looked around, “There's one damn road, and they're not on it.”

 

“Is there another way to get out of here?” Sith suggested. The walls, after all, were quite old. Any blast might cause the entire cavern to fall. But Mello shook his head.

 

“If there is, they sure hid it well,” he remarked, and frowned, “But seriously, where could they be? I can't believe they'd have gotten so far.” Sith hummed. That was a hard endeavor indeed. Then she remembered something: the Magi-Tek armors. They had been left somewhere in the mines, and if there was a way to retrieve them, she knew Matt would do it. And there were tracks under them. If there had been a cart, Matt would've used that, too.

 

“They're up ahead, and that's good enough for now,” Sith simply stated. But what worried her was just that. Falnika was possibly ahead as well, and only she had the power needed to give the woman a decent thrashing. Without another word, she continued on. And for a moment, Mello watched in mild confusion.

 

Eventually, the shaft ended. The trek had been grueling, and the worry had caused Sith to feel slightly ill by the time they made it, but within the hour, they had reached the end of the tracks. And literally, it ended at a cliff that separated the actual base from the factory. Sith just stared. There was a cart that had half-fallen off, tipped as it was, it was a miracle it still stood. But there was no Ryou anywhere in sight. That was not a good sign.

 

Walking over, Sith bent to examine the cart. Perhaps it was an old cart that hadn't been used for years now. But that wasn't the case. It had been used, and it wasn't rusted over. It simply crashed into the scant rocks that tried to serve as a buffer for the damn contraption. Sith looked from the cart, to the chasm between her and the Imperial base. It was a long space - nearly seventy feet - but it wasn't impossible to get across. Anything with wings could've easily done it; anything with enough physical force and velocity could've probably cleared it, too. She glanced up at Mello, who was standing behind her.

 

“What do you make of this scene?” she asked him, and he laughed. Her tone said she already had a good guess as to what happened. He humored her anyway.

 

“Seems like shit Matt would attempt to clear,” Mello replied with a shrug, “He's crazy. If he thought he had enough power to clear that gap, he'd do it even if it killed him.” Sith's eyes narrowed.

 

“That's what I'm afraid of,” she said, and shook her head as she turned from Mello, to the chasm. Unfortunately for her, her wings hadn't grown back in yet. She couldn't fly across. Nor could they use the cart. It'd take way too long to get it back to a point where it could vector the rocks. Ears lowering, she asked, “Now what?”

 

“Aw, babe, come on!” Mello complained, slapping his forehead, “You were in the mafia! What the hell happened to all your improvising?”

 

“Twenty years is a long time, Mello,” she mumbled, not appreciating the reminder. Mello, however, wasn't in the mood for her grumbling attitude. He walked over to the cart, and for a reason Sith just couldn't understand, kicked the rusted thing right over the edge. It fell with a terrifyingly loud crash; if Mello was hoping to make a ruckus, he magnificently succeeded. Sith stared blankly at him. Was he always this ridiculous?

 

“And what was the point of that?” she asked flatly, half of her not even wanting to know what the blonde could be up to. Mello just grinned.

 

“No one can follow us now. I have an idea, and we don't need that piece of shit to do it,” he told her, and grabbed her hand, “How combustible are Espers?” Sith's eyes widened. She did not like where this might be leading.

 

“Why the hell does that matter!?” she asked, as Mello dragged her to the edge and took out what looked like a very large, powerful rocket launcher, “W-what are you doing!? Stop!!” Mello, however, was never so easily convinced to abandon his ideas. He shook his head.

 

“Relax, babe. We'll be flying high in two seconds,” Mello said, pulling her close, “Or we'll be burning. Either way, just sit back and enjoy my genius.” Sith's eye twitched. And violently, she began to struggle. She didn't care how much danger Ryou in was. For the moment, she was inevitably in the most.

 

“Are you crazy?! You're going to kill us! Let go!” she screamed, smacking him over the head, “Damn it, where did you get that, anyway!?”

 

“Don't you worry about technical bullshit. Just trust me,” Mello replied with another mischievous grin. Sith was ready to lose it. In about twenty seconds, she was going to be deep-fried and burnt to a crisp. Silently, she wondered if Mello was immune to lightning bolts. Ten seconds passed, and she felt the sweat run down her face. The damn idiot was taking his sweet time unloading his new ballistic. Five seconds; maybe she could escape. But his grip was more powerful than she thought. Three seconds… two… one…

 

The explosion was unbelievable. As Sith and Mello soared through the air, all either could see were blasts of red and yellow, white and orange. And both were surprised that they lived through it; at the very least, Sith hadn't actually expected to make it. But they did, and it was over before Sith could even fully understand what had been done. They flew across the chasm, flew across the hundreds of pointy stalagmites that sprouted from the ground below, and landed with a crash on the other side. Rocks and gravel flew away in a flurry, and the whole time, Sith kept her eyes shut. When she finally opened them, she felt dazed.

 

“We… lived,” she whispered, and then turned sharply to Mello, “I cannot believe you just did that! What in hell was in your head!?” Mello looked down at her, acutely aware of her annoyance and enjoying every second of it regardless. He patted her back.

 

“Well, I do want to find Aeon before he's dead, so I did have that,” he said jokingly, and then sobered as he added, “And I do have a score to settle with that Bakura brat you seem so attached to.”

 

“Mello, don't do anything foolish,” Sith warned, and when he rose a brow, she added, “I can kill you as easily as I can kill the Mystics. Don't tempt me.” He frowned. Suddenly, what he said wasn't so funny in his mind anymore. Sith was serious.

 

“Why do you even care about him?” Mello asked her seriously, “Sith, he's not going to understand you. And he doesn't actually tolerate you.”

 

“It isn't about that, Mello. If you had any responsibilities beyond what you wanted to do, you'd understand this,” she replied gently, and walked forward, looking at the gaping hole in the far wall that had been made, “Come on. Our path's clear.” Mello nodded, and followed her. But he found he didn't want to. Not this time.

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

After finding Atma in the channels along the factory, Sith takes it upon herself to lead him away from Ryou. And when she did, it's now up to Matt to get her friends out of danger. Can he succeed, and will Ryou accept him? Or has Sith's actions produced far worse effects than that? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!