YA: so I have a feeling that my style has changed since the last chapter I wrote

Yami: oh my Ra!!! Y ou call this drabble a chapter?! What have you been doing?! I know you're in University now but come onyou can't expect your readers to accept this terrible drabble as a stroy can you?!

YA: You don't have to be so mean!! Are you on your period or something?

Yugi: Yeah...... on with the story!!

YA: Hey!! you can't do that without my permission!! I'm the writter-

Disclaimer: come on, the author of the original probably writes better than this, so of course I don't own it (although if I did I'd probably be able to pay for university!!)

Chapter 6: A Bit of Misfortune

            I examined my scorched hand, it stung to touch but for the most part didn’t hurt, that was when I realized it did spell something.

‘Your first task: obtain a chunk of obsidian’

“Obsidian,” I tried the word out, enjoying the way it played on my tongue.

“What did you say?” Yami, who had been taking me back to the palace, stopped and looked at me.

“Obsidian,”

“What’s that?” he questioned, I stared in disbelief.

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Yami looked around him, as though the answer could be found drifting on the current, before shaking his head.

“But I think I know where we can find out!” he smiled, taking my hand and leading me along quicker than our previous pace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            We were approaching the palace quickly, but instead of making a beeline for the door we left through Yami swerved off to the right. Coming around to the other side of the palace he began a quick decent to the very base of the large coral structure.

            I shot after him, following him into the large entrance and down a long shaft. At the base was an elaborately carved door made of the same giant glowing pearls. The door glowed with the same light and had panels of gemstone inlaid to lessen the brightness. A brilliant paua shell formed into a butterfly rested next to a circle-shaped ruby reminiscent of a bubble. I traced the butterfly with my finger, awestruck by the brilliant detail and care apparent in the work.

            “It’s a butterfly,” Yami stated, I looked at him.

            “I know, I’ve seen them before,” the resulting reaction was a look of complete surprise.

            “They’re just a myth!” he stared some more.

            “Well, technically so are you.” I shot back and watched him trace his hand on the carving.

            “You’ve seen one exactly like this?” he proclaimed, doubt flooding his features.

            “Not exactly the same, they were different colours of course.” Yami’s shock knew no bounds as he continued to take this information in.

            “Will you show me?” He asked once his initial surprise subsided.

            “Of course Yami, I’ll show you anything you want!” he smiled and took my hand before reaching out to the door.

            “Enough talk, the answers you seek are waiting.” Pushing against the door we advanced into what Yami called ‘the salvage room’ and what I would soon call Atlantis’ hidden treasure.

            Behind the door was a long hallway arching upwards so much so that it felt as though we were in the very tip of the tower.

            Once through the passageway we came upon what looked to be the surface of a lake, only from the bottom, breaking through the surface proved that this was a whole underwater cavern. In the midst of it all were bookshelves filled to bursting with books and other trinkets.

            “This is where we place everything that is salvageable from human wrecks. Anything that can be easily moved is brought here and examined by the leading magicians and then passed on to the second class magicians to see if they can be duplicated and used in everyday life.”

            I looked on in fascination, so this was where it all went, from shoes to watches, pieces of jewelry, cell phones, light bulbs, articles of clothing from different generations even a bell with ‘S.S. Titanic’ embossed on one side. All this stuff lay in seemingly unorganized stacks and piles on bookshelves, tables and the odd chair across this great cavern. For a brief moment I wondered if this was where all the missing socks went, but I put that thought out of my mind as an old Parisian carpet came flying towards us from somewhere in the cave.

            Sitting regally on top was a tall, lanky merman with strait brown hair and purple fins. Curled beside him, obviously his accomplice, was a brunette with an elaborate pink tail.

            “Yami! I haven’t seen you in a while! Where in the ocean have you been?” the brunette called out enthused.

            “Mana that is not how you greet our prince!” scolded her elder as the carpet dipped partially into the water, therefore allowing us easier access.

            “Oh don’t be ridiculous Mahad, we’ve been friends since we could swim in a current! Who’s your friend Yami?” She asked motioning toward me with a delicate, fin framed hand.

            “This is Yugi,” Yami hauled himself gracefully out of the water before turning to help me onto the rug. “Yugi, this is Mahad, one of the royal families’ leading magicians, and his pupil, Mana,”

            “Nice to meet you!” Mana grasped my hand and started shaking it earnestly, so much so that I feared it would come unhinged. When she did stop I smiled back sheepishly, feeling slightly overwhelmed as that familiar shy feeling played through my head.

            “To what do we owe this unexpected visit?” Mahad asked Yami once Mana’s eagerness had subsided.

            “We’re here to, well what was it called again Yugi?” Yami turned his crimson orbs on me yet again as he tried to recall what I had asked him this morning. I examined the palm of my hand, having almost forgotten myself.

            “Obsidian,” I spoke that strange word again “we were wondering what it was.”

            Mahad stared at me for a moment or two before making a decision and nudging the carpet gently down one of the many corridors.

            We passed many a strange item on the way to our destination. Some so ancient that I had only seen them in museums, others the latest and greatest that had only just been advertised for the week before. They were organized by colour, shape, size even age. Some had been in the water longer and had more of a worn look to them, while others were so new they hadn’t even been out of the package yet.

            I marveled at it all till the carpet stopped in front of a large bookcase, the only one actually filed with books. And a great many books at that, soft cover novels swollen from the amount of water they had absorbed and released, hard cover dictionaries also swollen and puckered from the elements, even the occasional incomplete encyclopedia set.

            Mahad reached up and plucked an encyclopedia from its shelf and began flipping through it rather quickly, before replacing it and reaching for its brother. This went on for a few moments and we all stared expectantly in anticipation before something occurred to me.

            “Mahad?” I queried, breaking the silence, “can you read?” He turned one of his chocolate brown orbs on me.

            “What does that mean?” Was his reply.

            “Well, the markings on the paper,” I paused as I contemplated the right words before continuing. “Can you translate them into speech?” He continued to stare before slowly shaking his head.

            “No, none of our magicians could ever figure it out, we’ve kept them on hand because the images can be useful in explaining things. But no one has ever been able to comprehend the markings.”

            “May I try?”

            “By all means, yes, but I doubt that you could be successful where others before you have failed.” With that he continued on his rampant search. Yami gazed at me, a twinkle in his eye suggested he knew I could prove Mahad wrong, Mana only stared, looking unsure.

            I sighed before grasping the thick binding of a dictionary and shuffling through the pages. Upon finding the word I discovered that what I was searching for was some kind of volcanic stone, but that wouldn’t help me. I noticed then that Yami was peering over my shoulder intently, I placed the book back on the shelf and noticed Mahad’s triumphant look, Mana lay down on her portion of the carpet. He though he had won, but I wasn’t finished yet, I reached up and closed my fingers around an encyclopedia marked Mouse-Opal, and began my search anew.

            Finding the word again only proved as futile as the dictionary, this wouldn’t help, I needed a visual aide. It was then that I noticed the illustrated children’s dictionary, maybe, just maybe.

            “I found it.” Mana sat up and Mahad only stared, Yami gazed over my shoulder and I pointed to the image of a beautiful black stone, almost like glass in the way it reflected the light of the camera flash.

            “I’m surprised I didn’t realize it before,” Mahad was still staring yet something in his look had changed. “You are not native to the ocean, are you? So how did you come to be here human?” I almost flinched at the word, yet it was not said with the same contempt Yami’s mother had used.

            “The power of the stars has bent to his will,” Yami stated as he nuzzled at my ear.

            “So you can, what was the term you used? Read?” I nodded, enjoying the way Yami’s breathe felt on my nape.

            “And you also know the purpose of these objects?”

            “Most of them yes,”

            “Could you teach me?” I glanced at Yami who smiled warmly at me and nodded at the question in my eye.

            “I suppose.”

            “It will give you something to do while I cannot be with you.” I stared at Yami in shock. “Yugi, being a prince is not all fun and games.” I blushed a little at the remark but nodded.

            “Now are you going to explain what obsidian is, or do I have to learn the art of reading and find out for myself?” I laughed at the image that conjured as I read the description aloud.

            “Well that about settles it,” Yami nodded, a satisfied smile on his face. “Are you ready?”
            “What do you mean?”

            “Come now, you have to see something in real life in order to truly experience it, or is reading about it enough for you strange creatures?” I didn’t know how to respond to this, back on land it was different, there was more to it then just going to see something. Planning was key especially if it was far away, like a landmark of sorts, other things were a lot harder to come by and needed money and other such things to view, like works of art.

            “Okay, lets go see,” I responded slowly.

YA: well this was mainly for Dreamyhearts, cause she enjoys this and I haven't updated in a while. this is just to say I haven't forgotten about it and am not about to give it up!!! ^.^ have a happy Halloween!!!!