I'm back!

Clo: And as idiotic as ever

JC: 'Hits cloe' Quit that. It's not nice

Clo: Who said I wanted to be nice?

Me: NEwayz, I've got nothin' to say, so on with the fic!

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Domino or Bust!

Chapter 16: The Test

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Harry surveyed the area. Everyone was there. Every house, every year, everyone. They were inside the Great Hall, and were seated on the floor; the smaller in front, the taller in back. A large screen of some sort was floating midair up near the head table which was set up as always, and sitting up there was the teachers, and the Japanese guests.

"If you will calm down please," Dumbledore said as he stood at the podium; everyone hushed in an instant. "We shall begin shortly." As soon as these words were said, Yami stood, and approached the podium; bowing slightly to Dumbledore as he took his seat. "What you are about to see, is the Shadow Realm, which we have been learning about for the past few weeks." He said.

"Two of you will be sent into the realm, and shall be tested on whether you'd be able to withstand it's magic ... The participants have been chosen, and not out of favoritism, but out of the fact that they are most experienced at handling the Shadow Realm without an experienced Shadow Wielder¹ with them. They shall arrive shortly, so please be patient"

Walking away from the podium, he took his seat next to Yugi. "Good Job." The smaller man said with a smile as he clasped the ex-pharaoh's hand with his own. "I'm surprised you were able to stick to the script, Pharaoh." Bakura taunted, and the red eyed man glared at him. "I doubt you could do better." He challenged back.

Bakura was about to retort, when a tug on his collar brought him crashing down to his seat, where Ryou slid from his own seat, to the spirit's lap so that he's be quiet and sit still. All he did then was pout. Yami smirked before bringing his attention back to the hall. Everyone was whispering; wondering who had been chosen. Some seemed envious, while others seemed glad, both for the same reason.

They hadn't been picked.

A glimpse to his right, and he could see Seto and Jou sitting in complete silence; common for Seto, but unusual for Jou. Usually, the blonde would be bouncing with happiness and anticipation at the upcoming duel, but there was a problem with that statement.

He wasn't going to be dueling Rosa.

"Atemu," Seto said. "She'd better not be in any danger.". "I have planed none, Seto, so do not worry." He said before turning to watch the crowd again. They should be coming in, in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ...

The room fell silent as the doors inched open, and then the whispers started up again. Rosa and Thorn emerged, looking quite ready to do whatever had to be done. They approached the front, silent the entire way, and stood in front of the staff table.

Rosa had chosen a pair of shorts that went to her mid-thigh, and a long sleeved green shirt that folded low in front, with a third crossing under the two, this one going horizontal. Under her shorts was a pair of blue stockings, and on her feet was a pair of lace up red shoes that stopped at her mid shin. Around her neck was her Scarab which gleamed beautifully. Along side it, was her wand; handing from a string.

Thorn wore a pair of baggy jeans with a long, brown belt that looped around her waist twice before looping a third time, around her left leg, falling as low as the ankles where the pant legs were rolled to show her black tennis shoes with black and white striped knee socks. Her shirt was a black spaghetti strapped top that hugged her chest and showed her midriff The straps had a white line running through the middle, and tied at the hem on both sides of her torso. On the front, was a white rabbit with the letters ABC under it, and two hearts, above it's hands, in red. Around her neck was an identical scarab, though this one seemed to gleam ... darkness.

"Are you ready?" Yami asked, and the two nodded. "Hand over you're wands." They complied; Rosa pulling hers from around her neck, and Thorn grabbing hers from her back pocket and tossing it onto the table carelessly. Yugi handed them each a duel disk, and they attached them to their arms; a smile etched on each face. Rosa was smiling because of the familiar feel of it on her wrist. Thorn was smiling, because she hadn't seen this thing in years and she was itching to duel again, even if it was just some wimp shadow monster that innocently crossed her path.

She was almost cackling with excitement, albeit quietly, and the look made the teachers cringe, and Bakura smile proudly. Jou and Seto gave them each a hug, before they were led to the back wall where Malik and Marik were standing; ready to conjure the Shadow Realm, which they did, and as soon as the two walked through, the portal closed.

It was then that they appeared on the screen.

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Rosa opened her eyes and smiled. It had been so long since she had been able to walk through the darkness. She shivered; it was much colder than she had expected. "Cold?" Thorn asked, and she shook her head. "I'm fine. Just not used to it.". The older nodded, and shoved her hands into her pockets before walking ahead.

They took their time, not knowing how long this test would take or what they faced. After about 20 minutes of walking down the shadow path, they came to a small hut that looked almost ready to fall apart.

/--/ Should we go in'?' /--/

: It'd be best :

The two headed for the hut, and were just about to open the flimsy doors, when a green dragon flew from the hut and swooped down upon them. They ducked out of the way and landed before scrambling to their feet, and looking for a place to hide. The hut was down, and the dragon was circling in the sky. "Whadda we do?" Rosa asked, and as soon as she did, it came down upon her, and she had to jump out of the way again; barely getting her arm severed in the process.

: Damare! It's the Blackland Fire Dragon. It's hearing is really great, so it reacts to sound'!' :

/--/ Then how do we beat it'?'!'/--/

Thorn thought about this. How were they going to beat it? She thought hard a minute before and idea popped into her head.

: Alright, here's what we do ... :

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Everyone watched the screen as the two battled the dragon. "Rosa!" Thorn called. Before she could even finish her sentence, the dragon came dashing at her. The hall gasped collectively; believing it the taller's end, but they were surprised to see the dragon had stopped in it's tracks and was being held by a glowing circle.

"That is an example of keep yourself alive." Yami smiled. It was really a good move. The spellbinding circle was a good card, but as to whether using it this early in the game was favorable, was a whole other point. 'They may need it later.' He thought before his eyes returned to the screen. Thorn had summoned Blue-Winged Crown and proceeded to destroy the Dragon, before the two checked the hut out, and continued on their way.

About five fights later, Ryou asked a very important question. "How many monsters do they have to defeat this time?". "Twenty." Yami replied. Oh yes, he expected a lot out of his students, and every move they made was critical to how they got through this test. He, of course, knew they'd do fine.

Figtht after fight passed, and soon, they were all done. "Fantastic." Bakura smirked. He was surprised at how well the girls had done. The temperature had been lowering since they had entered, and they had yet to acknowledge it, though Rosa was turning a bit blue. "Time to bring them home." Yugi chirped, and Malik and Marik opened the portal.

Or at least they would have had they been able to get their rods to work.

"It's not working!" The smaller Egyptian said frantically as he tried to get his rod to work. "Whadda ya mean it's not working'?'!'" Jou yelled, and Seto glared at Yami. "I'm not doing this." Yami said, a worried look on his face.

"Atemu ..."

"I told you! I'm not doing-"

"Why of course you're not"

The last voice made everyone cringe. "Oh no." Ryou cried. "It can't be ..." Yugi trailed off. Rosa and Thorn faded away on the screen, and two females appeared. They were around 32, and had sugary sweet smiles on their faces. "Oh Kami-sama." Seto said as he took a deep breath. "I'd hoped we were rid of them years ago."

"You're not gonna get rid of me that easily Seto-kun!"

"Just shoot me already." Malik said before gagging. "Who are these girls?" Andre asked. as his Boyfriend pulled him through the crowd of Gryffindors; having come over from the Slytherin side and began pulling him up to the front table. "They're Anzu Mazaki and Carlatta O'Shey." Jayson informed; brushing off the glares and yells from all the Gryffindors and ignoring the wands pointed at him.

"They're stalkers of Yami and Seto." The pale boy continued as they reached the table. "Why can't we get Rosa and Thorn back'?'!'" Jou yelled; infuriated with the fact that his daughter was able to be harmed by ... those things. "Because were stopping them." Carlatta smiled before glaring at the man. "And I'd shut up if I were you or something might happen to them."

A large scream erupted from the background.

"Rosa!" Several of the group called; the others stayed; glares fixed 0n the two women. "You have no control over the realm right now." Anzu smirked. "And as soon as they're dead, we'll be able to come back and claim what's rightfully ours!". They let out identical laughs, before their forms faded away.

"Dammit!"

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Rosa and Thorn stood back to back; their breaths heavy, and their bodies tense. /--/ What're we gonna do'?' /--/ Rosa thought desperately. They were separated by monster upon monster, and all they had summoned so far had gotten destroyed before they could cause any damage. They life points had dropped form 4000 to 250 and 460, and there was a heavy toll weighing down upon them.

: I- ... I'm not sure : Thorn thought back. This situation was hopeless. Those points she had thrown away summoning had brought her down to 2500, and protecting Rosa had cost her 2250 until the girl had undone whatever trance had been placed on her. For once, she couldn't do anything. She was completely helpless, and she wanted to know what the hell the Pharaoh was thinking.

/--/ Yami isn't doing this /--/ Rosa thought to her. /--/ He wouldn't do this to us. Not with our family back together, not ever'!' /--/

: Rosa'!' :

Rosa looked over to see a Dark Witch hacking her way into the fray with a Harpie Girl in the air, and a Dark Scorpion - Meanae the Thorn, and a Dreamsprite on the ground. Rosa smiled, and was soon being whisked out of there with Thorn right behind her. "It's good to see you're alright." Azote said as she maneuvered through and out; steering the others in the correct directions. : Are you hurt'?' : Sue asked. "I've got 460 and Thorn's got 250" Rosa informed before taking Thorn's hand. She didn't want to lose her in this forest the darkness had become.

"We know just who can help." Tori smiled as she came sailing down next to them. "Follow me." Hex said as she also came down; taking the lead and speeding off.

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(A/N:)That's all for now! Sorry for the shortness, but I have to be in bed within the hour and I still want to read Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction. SanoxKen Rocks!XD.

Thank you for being so loyal my reviewers! I've been so mean to you all, and I'm sorry! And to people out there who are reading but not reviewing, Review! It makes me feel special and that gets chapters out!

OI have no clue how long this story will be. It's drawing to a close, but I can't end it without a good snowball fight. Nope. If I do, I want someone to smack me, ok? Onto the review responses!

Tashi - Thanks for the cookies! ;munch munch;(the strange thing is, when I read this review, I was eating cookies. Oo)

Vampwriter - Not what you were expecting, was it? For the fight I mean. It may seem a bit boring, but I'm running out of ideas and I need to refresh my well. Yes, waking up Thorn was very fun. XP. I live in Florida, and we're targeted for hurricanes all the time. I should know; my brother's paranoid and keeps thinking if we have hurricanes we'll get hit by tornados like on the movie Twister Oh, and I've been asking for a laptop for three years. Haven't gotten anywhere. Nope.

Ok! Lets see, am I forgetting anything? ... Oh yeah! The song Thorn was singing last chappie was For Fruits Basket from the Anime Fruits Basket(which is awesome!XD). I own nada.