Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Wake Not The Guardian ❯ Discoveries ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1 - Discovery

Grandpa met them at the door, grinning happily. " Everything inside is perfect - it's just the outside that needs a bit of renovating. I can't understand how I got it so cheap."

" Maybe it's got a ghost in it…" Joey teased, turning to Téa to see if he got a reaction. She shook her head and looked at him scornfully.

" There's no such thing as ghosts, Joey. They're all in your mind."

Tristan moved past them as Grandpa ushered them in, and stood in the large hallway. " Man, this house is massive!"

" And it's ours," Grandpa reminded him. " I talked to your parents and they agreed that you all are old enough to start learning to fend for yourselves. Knowing that you four are inseparable, I bought this house in the hope that you can start learning how to live in the real world. I will be here, obviously, but you will have to do most of the work."

Yugi walked into the kitchen, which was one of the only rooms with lights on, and was greeted by a warm atmosphere. He looked at the bright décor and turned back to his grandpa. " Didn't they even take out the furniture before they left?"

Grandpa shook his head. " Apparently they got up and left it exactly as it was. The people who lived here before complained they kept hearing things, and there were cold spots at certain points in certain rooms. It probably didn't help that there's an old cemetery down near the woods."

" Cool!" Joey exclaimed. " Can we go and check it out?"

" Not if you don't want to get wet or struck by lightening," Tristan told him.

" You can spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the house, if you wish. You need to choose your bedrooms, and according to the history of this house, there are secret passageways," Grandpa smiled.

Téa stood at the window of her small bedroom, watching the lightening pierce the dark skies, listening to the quietness, split occasionally by the sound of thunder. The storm seemed to be focused round the area of the house - every so often it would quieten down as if moving away, but then start up again, more forceful than before. The room seemed to have no heating, and Téa pulled her sweater round her more tightly. The lights flickered and she glanced behind her for a second, sure she had seen movement in the closet that resided in the corner of the room.

" Téa, are you all right?"

She turned round, startled, and was relieved to see Yami standing in the doorway.

" I'm fine. Just tired."

Yami moved forward to stand beside her at the window. Another fork of lightening split the sky, and Téa frowned, staring at the hill in front of the house.

" Did you see that?" she asked Yami. He shook his head.

" What?"

" On the hill - I thought I saw someone standing on the top."

" No one in their right mind would stand at the top of a hill in the middle of a storm, Téa."

She looked up at him, confused for a moment. " No, you're right. I must be imagining things."

Yami was about to speak when the lights flickered again. Téa moved forwards to her lamp on the table next to her bed, when a spark suddenly appeared and hit her hand, just as the lights in the house went out. She let out a small shriek, and pulled back her hand, which had been burnt.

" What happened?" Yami appeared by her side, and put his arm round her shoulders, guiding her into the corridor.

" It's all right, I just got burnt. Let's go find the others - they're probably downstairs trying to fix the electrics."

Yami led her downstairs, glancing back at the window as he did. Another fork of lightening lit up the hill, giving him a chance to see the dark figure standing there for a split second before all went dark again.

Yugi turned the tap on in the kitchen, using an old candle to give Téa light so she could cool down her burn.

Joey walked into the kitchen, shaking his head. " It looks like the storm has taken down the power lines. We've got no electricity."

Grandpa was following him, his arms full of candles. " Here's a supply of candles for everyone. It looks like these power cuts were quite frequent - there's a store cupboard full of candles by the cellar."

" I found a secret passageway!" Joey exclaimed suddenly. He had wandered over to a corner of the kitchen, and pulled back a tapestry that covered a part of the wall. " It's down here!" Everyone except Téa moved over to where he was standing and looked down in the bottom corner of the patch of wall the tapestry covered. There was a hole, big enough for them to be able to squeeze through one by one, and it opened out into a passageway that people could stand up in.

" I wonder where it goes," Téa said, turning the tap off and rubbing some cream on her burn.

" I'm going to explore it tomorrow," Joey decided. " Anyone gonna come with me?"

Yugi nodded. " It might be interesting to see where these passageways lead. There might be a whole network underneath the house."

" Sinister thought," Téa added. " Who knows what's down there."

" I thought you didn't believe in ghosts," Joey said, walking back to the table and sitting down.

" Not ghosts," she replied. " Maybe people died down there, and their remains are still there, not found so far, or something else."

" Now who's got the wild imagination," Joey replied.

Téa shrugged. " Just saying."

" Hey, Yug, how about a duel?" Joey changed the subject, pulling out his cards.

" Okay," Yugi pulled up a chair and started getting his cards out too.

" And no letting Yami out - this is a friendly game," Joey laughed.

" Deal."

Téa and Tristan moved round to the end of the table and perched on the edge, watching as the game started.

Tristan watched as Téa fell asleep by his side, and nudged Yugi. Yugi grinned, and Joey caught sight of her. " She all right?" he asked. Yugi glanced at his cards, then at Joey.

" Yami says she's uncomfortable in this house."

" I can agree with that," Joey added.

" And that will be my last move," Joey said, laying his cards down.

" Damn. There go my life points," Yugi mumbled as Joey gave a whoop of delight.

" Yeah! I won!"

" Game over - bed time," Tristan joked. Yugi and Joey looked up and noticed the peaceful Téa.

" Still asleep?" Joey shook his head.

" Grab a candle. I need some light to take her upstairs," Yami instructed, suddenly appearing.

" You're not going to wake her up?" Tristan asked.

" No. She's too peaceful. I'll carry her up." He slid off the table and scooped Téa up into his arms. " She's very light."

With Joey and Tristan lighting his way, he carried Téa's sleeping form upstairs and laid her on her bed, pulling the covers over her and closing the door quietly.

Téa opened her eyes slowly, disorientated for a moment. She must have fallen asleep in the kitchen, and the others probably brought her up. She glanced over at the closet, and frowned. She was sure she had closed the door earlier. As she threw back the covers, she thought she saw movement inside. Someone was watching her.

" Who's there?" Her voice seemed loud in the silence of the night. There was a faint swoosh, and she caught the glint of gold.

She changed her mind, pulled the covers back over her, turned to face the wall and shut her eyes tightly, wishing it was morning.

There was a distant rumble of thunder, then all was quiet.