Whispers in the Dark-Epilogue

“Are you sure that they would be here tonight?”

“Of course I’m sure! I got the information personally from Tea herself!”

“Did anyone remember to bring the napkins?”

“I got ‘em!”

The Wheelers, the Taylor-s, the Ishtar-s, the Bakura-s and Mr. Solomon Mutou were all gathered at Yami Forest, clattering and chattering about as they tried to set up the picnic, laying out the food, drinks and utensils on the huge widespread picnic cloth while Tea Gardner was on her way in her expensive steel blue SUV to meet up with the lot. The moon was full and high in the skies and the stars illuminated the night sky, as if knowing that they were preparing for the big event and helping them by giving them whatever light they could muster for them to see, although the camping lights they set about them were good enough to help them visually. A few minutes later, Tea’s SUV drove past a distance and parked her car along with the others’ and got off hurriedly with a big thermos pail.
“Hey, guys! Am I too late? Are they here yet?” Tea yelled as she came close to the group.

“Nope, you’re early,” ‘Mrs.’ Taylor replied. “They’re not here yet.”

“Thank goodness,” Tea sighed in relief. “I hope you guys like 1982 Sauvignon.”

“Ah, liquid of the Gods, they’d say,” Mr. Ishtar said as he took the pail from her and inspected the wine bottle.

“It’s still hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since they left,” Solomon lamented as he helped Mrs. Wheeler to lay out the main course.

“Yeah,” Mr. Bakura agreed. “And it’s hard to believe how much our grandkids have grown.”

“I was shocked when I woke up from this weird dreamless sleep and hearing Joey said he had come to say his goodbyes,” Mr. Wheeler grinned. “I almost thought he was going to do something stupid, but I guess my son truly loves his ol’ Seto so much to make this decision.”

“I was a little upset at first,” Solomon agreed. “I thought Yugi was making a rather brash decision, forsaking everything to go live a life that was absolutely foreign to him, but when Lord Seth performed the transformation and Yugi did nothing to hold back, I knew I couldn’t keep Yugi forever.”

“I’ve always thought of Lord Seth to be a no-nonsense, no fun kind of guy,” ‘Mrs’. Bakura said. “I didn’t think he’d be the one to actually suggest this sort of deal. But I have to admit, unable to be part of our kids’ future lives is definitely a big setback.”

“At least we were allowed a monthly visitation,” ‘Mrs.’ Taylor said, “even if it is only for a day.”

“I guess you’re right on that. I didn’t take Ryou to be such a romantic. He’s always been the goody-good boy and the studious little geek in the family. I guess kids these days are just full of surprises.”

“I thought my son never had a soft side,” Mr. Ishtar laughed. “My ‘wife’ and I were constantly worrying our heads off over whether or not is he ever going to marry a decent man with such ego and ferocity of his. I swear he got that from his Egyptian warrior ancestors. To think that he would actually succumb to that Whisperer lad with such a submissive level, it’s hard to decide whether we should be relieved or not about this new him.”

“I was also surprised to receive the news about them joining the Night Clan as well,” Tea said. “You should’ve seen my face when those middle men quads Fortuno, Charlie and Bickford, and Snipes announced to me that Joey, Yugi, Malik, Tristan and Ryou are no longer considered a citizen of Domino Island and requested that I erase them from the citizenship registrar records. Miho said I looked like someone just died or something, and seriously, I thought that they’ve done something really crazy and got themselves banished or something!”

“People have been hounding me with questions about my kid’s whereabouts after they didn’t see him for more than two weeks after the confinement period,” ‘Mrs.’ Bakura said, “and my daughter had been curious, but it didn’t take long for her to understand without having me explaining where her twin brother has gone, and she was fine with it. She did us a great favour to spin some sort of romantic white lie to those who asked about my Ryou meeting a prince charming while he was emotionally healing and said that this ‘prince charming’ had swept him off his feet and brought him to his hometown to marry. I swear the fairy tales I used to read to her when she was a child definitely come in handy.”

“Where is your daughter anyway?” Solomon asked. “She’s not joining us this month?”

“Got her sights set on the new kid in town. She’d rather date him than see her brother, saying that she sees his brother every month anyway. She sure is a free-spirited girl.”

“So what did you explain your son’s disappearance to your friends, Rishid?”

“I had to tell my friends my son decided to go on a self-discovery pilgrimage to help cope with the loss of his son,” ‘Mrs.’ Ishtar replied. “During the one month confinement, they understood that Malik did not want visitors, but, like Hector’s situation, I had to tell them something after everyone noticed that he stopped going to school. They were sympathetic when I mentioned Malik was devastated when his son was announced Whisperer-dominant and didn’t ask any further. Well, technically, we weren’t lying, coz Malik did look like he wanted to just jump off the building and die. What did you tell your friends, Solomon?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell them anything,” Solomon replied. “It was Tea who helped me spin the tale, although her boss and the rest of the girls in the department—Mai included—knew the truth. I just confirmed whatever she said after she gave me the heads-up.”

“Well, what did you tell them, Tea?” Mr. Taylor was curious.

“I told them that after the pregnancy and the birth, Yugi’s powers he had inherited from his exorcist parents finally came into full bloom and decided to pursue his late parents’ career,” Tea said. “And I told them he arranged with me to send him on private exorcism tutelage in a remote third-world country. No one was the wiser. Besides, no one doubts an Immortal, well, not much anyway. What about you, Bobby?”

“Pretty simple, actually,” Mr. Taylor replied. “Since my little Tristy is a crazy adrenaline jock junkie, everyone was not surprised that told them that he decided to quit school to join the athletic field and pursue a career as a professional athlete, although they were rather surprised that he would leave at such short notice. I even told them that he went off to seek some of the most seasoned retired athletes to train him and said that he wished to return home a champion and refused to tell us where he would be undergoing his training. Many of his jock underlings were rather sad to hear him go though, for they would never find anyone else capable in sports like him. I guess that’s something I can be proud of.”

“But he still couldn’t get over his love for cuddly things,” ‘Mrs.’ Taylor chuckled heartily. “On the day he left, he insisted I go back home to get him his favourite frog plushie and his favourite kitten Puddles with him. No matter how that Duke fellow tried to coax him out of it, he wouldn’t listen, and he wouldn’t leave without them even though Lord Seth told him to grow out of those things. You can imagine how fast and how much speed limit I broke just to drive home to get them and come back to the hospital again.”

“Glad my son doesn’t have any annoying attachments like yours,” Mr. Wheeler chuckled, “although I did discover his hidden stash of porn hidden up in the ceiling tiles.”

“I heard from everyone that your son decided to transfer to an elite school in Romania to pursue a career in business and become a CEO of the gaming industry,” Mr. Ishtar said. “Did you really tell that crazy tale to everyone?”

“Actually it was my idea, Ted, not Al’s,” Mrs. Wheeler raised her hand and grinned sheepishly. “I’ve always seen my Joey being exceptionally talented in games. Why, remember that Chinese kid Feng Long who challenged Joey into an arcade game duel when Joey was only 9? He practically rocked the socks off him with an almost perfect score and won the 1,000 dollar cash prize, and that kid was about twice his age and had been known to be the games prodigy in his hometown.”

“Oh yeah,” Tea grinned, remembering the day he decided to treat his friends to a lavish teppanyaki dinner after the duel. “We definitely remember that, Linda.”

“Usually it’s the closer friends that took a rather hard blow of their disappearance,” Mr Bakura said as he lit the final lamp and replaced the glass cover back on before putting it beside another lamp on the grass. “We do miss them from time to time, but other than that, life seemed to go on normally. Everyone else seemed to be OK with them gone.”

“You don’t say,” Solomon sighed. “I had to handle Yugi’s not-so-secret admirers, demanding where I ‘hid’ Yugi and crying and begging me to tell them his true whereabouts so that they could go there and look for him. Kids these days. Yugi doesn’t even realize how attractive he is to his fellow human men.”

“But then he wouldn’t have met up with the love of his life now, would he?” Tea smiled warmly at the old grandfather.

“Now that is the best I’ve heard all day, Tea dear.”

As they put the finishing touches to their picnic dinner, they would occasionally look around to detect any presence, may it be the arrival of their VIP guests or unwanted prying eyes. The last thing they’d want happen would be some random people finding about their monthly night escapades. They could do without having to create any hubbub and unwanted attention in the island.

“Our kids seemed to be very at ease with their new physical looks now, and their fluency in Whisperer language astounds me every time I hear him speak with their mates and kids,” Mr. Ishtar said in pride, reminiscing the day he and his ‘wife’ first saw the changes in him as if it were yesterday.

“I assume you, Bobby and Al have received the news I got from the human middle men,” Tea noted, earning a happy nod from Mr. Ishtar in reply.

“Oh, what news? Pray tell,” ‘Mrs.’ Bakura was interested.

“I thought I told you,” ‘Mrs.’ Ishtar replied. “We’re going to be grandparents again. Malik, Tristan and Joey are pregnant again. Malik would be expecting twins, and Tristan and Joey a baby each. It is not known of their gender or dominance, though.”

“Well, that’s fantastic!” Mr. Bakura exclaimed and clapped Mr. Wheeler on the back. “Congratulations, Al, Linda!”

“I do hope it’s Human-dominant this time,” Mrs. Wheeler said hopefully. “It’s nice to have a baby around the house again.”

“True, but then it’s still our kids’ decision whether to let us look after them or not,” ‘Mrs.’ Taylor agreed. “After all, they are the parents.”

“Shush!” Tea hushed everyone, drawing their attention. “I think I hear them coming!”

As everyone quiet down, they could hear the ever familiar slight muffled rumbling noise and sparks of static they anticipated every month of the visitation day. Everyone crowded to the spot where the usual vortex supposed to appear and waited impatiently. The first people who jumped out of the vortex were, of course, their little grand-pups. All of them tottered or crawled towards their grandparents, calling them in baby-talk.

“Oh, goodness! My, my, how you have grown, kids!”

The next people to come out soon followed. First, out stepped Ryou Bakura and Bakura hand in hand, followed by Duke Devlin and Tristan Taylor, after that Yugi Mutou and Yami Atem, then Malik Ishtar and Marik, and finally Joseph “Joey” Wheeler with Seto Kaiba at his wake before Seto closed the vortex with his Millennium Rod. They all look the same as they were since the day they left Domino Island and their human lives for good, but the only difference was that Joey and the gang were wearing what female Whisperers wore back when they existed and they were sporting huge bat-like wings that spread as wide as a Halfling like Duke Devlin would, and when they spoke, it came out either silky or husky, depending on the person.

“Hey, Ma. Hey, Pa,” Joey said as he came and hugged his parents. “How’s life treatin’ ya?”

“Lovely, sweetie. Just lovely, now that you’re here,” Mrs. Wheeler reciprocated. “How’s the baby doing?”

“Fine,” Joey smiled as he unveiled the robe to show his slightly protruding tummy. “Imma ‘bout 3 months along now, but I dinna think I’d git knocked up again so soon.”

“You and your articulation, son,” Mr. Wheeler sighed in defeat. “Even as a Whisperer, you still speak worse than your Grandpa.”

“Am not!”

“Puppy dear,” Seto said as he approached Joey with an arm around his waist. “You don’t seem to be able to get by without at least having to clash tongues with your father once, do you?”

“But he started it,” Joey whined in Whisperer Tongue to his beloved.

“Remember what the Royal Medics say about your hyper emotions, Puppy dear.”

“Yes, luv. I dinna forget.”

“So, son,” Mr. Taylor said as he came to Tristan. “Looking a little pudgy, I see?”

“Dad! I am not fat!” Tristan protested as he punched his father’s shoulder softly. “I’m only 3 months along!”

“Keeping you fairly awake now, didn’t he, Duke?” ‘Mrs.’ Taylor asked slyly as he noticed the dark rings under his Halfling son-in-law’s eyes.

“He is rather ‘frivolous’ at times, Father, not that I really mind,” Duke grinned, earning a death glare from a very blushing red Tristan.

“Look what I’ve got for all of you,” Solomon said as he took out a huge pouch and opened it for all the pups to see. Their eyes sparkled at the sight of the content. “It’s your favourite jellybeans!”

Snow, Destiny, Hope, Night, Dragon, Naga, Winchester, Tenenbaum and Shuu cooed in unison as they reached their hand into the pouch to take their share of jellybeans and giggled as they compared colours with each other.

“Don’t eat too much, children,” Yugi said as he picked Destiny while Yami picked Hope up. “You don’t want to spoil your dinner,” Yugi then spoke humorously in Human Tongue, “I hope Tea hasn’t worked you to death.”

“Oh, don’t you worry your socks off, Yugi,” Solomon chuckled. “I’m as strong as an ox!”

“And I did not work your grandpa to death,” Tea protested. “I’ve been very lenient to him these days, thank you very much.”

“Ah, Tea, frisky as always, aren’t we?”

“You’re still the little squirt I always know. Don’t you forget that!” Tea grinned as she gave Yugi a noogie, earning a hearty chuckle by Yugi, Solomon and Yami.

“How Marik treating you?” ‘Mrs.’ Ishtar asked. “Not bruising you again, I hope.”

“And miss out mind-blowing sex? You’re kidding, right, Mom?” Malik grinned naughtily, earning his ‘mother’s rolling eyes of defeat as a reply.

“Please keep your private bed life to yourself, son,” Mr. Ishtar groaned. “And don’t overdo it. You have twins to think about.”

“Don’t worry, Dad. Marik’s been very gentle,” Malik replied. His parents definitely did not want to know his definition of ‘gentle’.

“So how’s working under Lord Katz been for you?” ‘Mrs.’ Bakura asked Ryou who was carrying Shuu.

“It was fine so far,” Ryou replied. “Who would’ve thought that a Whisperer would be pregnant for exactly a year? It was a rather big hubbub when we first set foot into the Sky City as Whisperers after we consummate the deal and chose the transformation. He just collapsed all of a sudden and the birth took almost 4 hours.”

“Yeah, I remember you telling me that he almost died of blood loss or something,” Mr. Bakura said as he cuddled Winchester and Tenenbaum. “So are he and his three pups still alright?”

“Oh, they’re fine. Fit as a fiddle, I’d say. They’re really best friends with our kids, and being Lord Katz’s personal assistant handling all his paperwork was a breeze, although I’m still trying to get the hang of reading Whisperer language.”

“Guys! Come on! Dinner’s gonna be cold if you don’t hurry up and tuck in!” Tea called as she popped the wine bottle open and poured everyone’s drink.

“We’re coming!” Solomon replied and invited everyone to have their picnic dinner.

As everyone chattered and ate merrily, the moon and stars continued to shine diligently for them, allowing them to savour the night of family togetherness before the morning sun makes it appearance to see them off home for another month.