Crosswise 02

The mingling emotions of awe and fear showed clearly on Joey's face as he watched the blade over his head, then confusion leaked in as the bade rose higher above him before swinging around to stop behind the Monster. It clicked into place on hooks in the Monster's back plate.

The warrior shifted from his kneeling position, lifting his left hand up, pulling Joey up with the motion by his arm. The other massive paw like hand came back down to wrap around the slender youthful ribcage. This time the awake teenager didn't wiggle-struggle as he was picked back up and cradled into those powerful arms as the being made a strange inhuman almost animalistic sound came from the Monster. Joey was still reeling from seeing the not quiet man from the Shadow Realm again… again…

Fact fit into fact, and a spare fact flittered into his mind as well to join the other two.

Joey will admit, but only quietly and to himself or to Yugi, that he wasn't really the fastest bird in the flock. Every now and then he can figure out a problem (mostly mechanical ones) first. Though as his other best friend that loved to point out, most of the time it took time for Joey to figure stuff out. A little more so when all this magical crap going on in his life right now.

The darkness around him, the chill in the air and heat sucking, living shadow that attacked him and left Joey feeling weak. Not the level of weakness like one felt after working too hard in P.E. or out running a person of authority after doing a Stupid Teenage Moment. No, this what Joey was feeling like as he stared at the chest plate of the swordsman that was walking again; what he was feeling was the shivering, bone aching and stomach emptying weakness that comes from being right in the middle of the flu. Right now the only warmth came from the Monster's large frame, almost radiating heat like a living fire.

The meaning of Flame Swordsman would never be the same.

But that fact from before remained, Joey was in the Shadow Real as far as he could tell. He couldn't remember how he got here, so that was worrying, and the teen was pretty sure his whole body, not just his sol alone was in this other world.

A rumble vibrated around the young man as the swordsman shifted the youth, "Do not fear my little master, you are protected for now." The Monster gave Joey a light squeeze around his knees.

The voice was far deeper than any adult man that Joey knew, and given how tall the Monster was it wasn't that much of a surprise. The swordsman had an accent Joey didn't know, not his fathers, or mothers, not American or Japanese. Nor was it exactly like Yugi's other half, not Egyptian, er, ancient Egyptian. Through Joey had learned some interesting words and phrases from Yami, he hadn't quiet fully picked up a fourth language; the third he spoke was Spanish, as fluent as his other two 'native' ones (both his sister and he learned it on their own to keep conversations away from their parents either in person or on the phone).

"You're… the flame swordsman." Joey said creatively, a strange mix of Japanese and Egyptian words. "…hi."

The Monster chuckled against him, "Hello at last my young Master." He almost purred down at Joey as he shifted the boy.

"…master?" Joey puzzled over that, making his unseen guardian angel slap a hand to its face before slapping the boy. His fingers twitched to his Deck, hidden in an inside jacket pocket, "Wait…"

"Yes, I am the same one that you were bonded to that night," The Monster said, giving another squeeze to the teen's legs. If he noticed the stiffness in his passenger as the swordsman walked, he didn't comment. He had a destination and mission in mind and nothing short of a blue eyed, white scaled creature on silver wings would divert him… even then it would be a hard job since the whispers from the shadows hinted that every draconic form was currently suffering from, what the modern and old worlds alike knew all too well; hang overs.

"What's your name?"

The completely unexpected question had the Monster almost stopping his long stride to stare down at the once more nervous teen. The human master, young and so new to casting that he keeled over in a faint after experimenting... was kind enough to want to know his Monster's name?

"…Tonga." The sword master said slowly.

"Hi Tonga, I'm Joey." The teen said, waving awkwardly with the free hand that wasn't pinned against the armor clad chest against his right. Since the Monster had proved to be, if not entirely 'friendly' than at least and ally (and Joey didn't want to think about that link he had to his Flame Swordsman card and when that first solidly formed), "Can, um, where the hell are we going?"

It was almost a full minute later when the deep voice said, "To the only one that can keep the shadows from you."

"Yami?" Joey blinked, as strong as he know his friend was become in his personal magics, the dark spirit that Yugi hosted was just stronger in the control of the Shadow Realm. Not to mention he had a lot of years of experience.

"No, not the desert king." Tonga shook his head, then smirked as he spotted something. "The Pharaoh's talents lay in the shadow's themselves. You though my little Master, you need your fire re-sparked after what the Shadows where dong. Drawing it out." Before the teen could comment or question him, the Monster stopped and almost swung the human down to the ground.

Large hands gripping Joey's shoulders not only kept him upright as he staggered, but also kept joey from falling over as he instinctively reacted to seeing a predator that out classed him.

A wave of heat washed over both human and Monster, paused long enough for the truly massive frame to inhale before exhaling in time with another wave of heat.

"Holy Ra shit." Joey blurted out, the filters between his brain and mouth failing once more.

Even the shadows in this night time world paused subtle movements, everything staring at the teen, baffled at the very odd curse. The dragon turned its red eyes to meet Tonga's gaze as if wondering what the sword master had brought.