Inner Apocalypse

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or its characters! I only own my OC's, and the fanfic! I'm not getting any money out of this! Ok, back to the story…

Rated T for violence at times… Just in case.

Chapter 3- True Fear, Arsonphobia

Roxanna

All of us ran towards the area from which the scream came from. It was a clearing in the forest area, where a dueling platform stood. Mai was being lowered from the arena, and a large man wearing a blue hat walked towards her. Just seeing it caused me to fill with rage… Not the person. The hat. Seeing it brought up some unpleasant memories… Oh how it mocked me.

"Mai, are you ok?" Yugi asked.

"You're too late." Mai sighed.

"Too late for what?" Tea asked.

"Is this sideshow freak giving you a hard time?" Joey asked.

"That's right, just like Pegasus pays me to do, root out all the dueling filth on this island, and dispose of it!" the man grinned, causing me to dislike him even more.

"Doesn't that make you a garbage man?" Tristan mused.

"This is no joke, Panik's one of the island's Eliminators and if you don't get out of here, he's going to do to you what he did to me!" Mai insisted.

"What's an Eliminator?" Yugi asked.

Panik grabbed Mai's dueling glove, and raised it in the air.

"Look this is what she means, check out her dueling glove, not a star chip left." Panik grinned.

"But that would mean she's been disqualified!" Tea realized.

"You're out Mai?" Yugi gasped.

"I am… It all happened so fast. The way Panik duels… I just lost it." Mai looked at the ground.

By now I was shaking with anger. This guy's personality is a mix of everything I hated in a person.

"She was one of my easiest victims yet!" Panik laughed, and pushed Mai towards us.

"You creep, there's no excuse for pushing a girl!" Joey was going to run at Panik, when Bakura and Tristan held him back.

"Calm down Joey, I know how you feel, but that guy's more than twice your size!" Bakura reasoned.

"I could take him!" Joey growled.

"You know, I wish I could snap his neck in half…" I scowled, and subconsciously reached for the knife in my shirt sleeve.

"Ah, you must be Roxanna Hylkio. I've heard a bit about you from Pegasus. But ever since that tournament… You've changed a lot haven't you?" Panik smirked, and my eyes widened for a second, caught by surprise. But that soon turned to anger. Oh, that did it. The thin strand of patience I had snapped. I lunged at him, my knife in my right hand, but was held back by Joey and Tristan. The knife fell to the ground.

"Let me go!" I growled.

"Hey, Rox, don't stoop down to his level." Tristan insisted. No, I would be doing a lot of people a favor by killing him.

"Roxy, fists aren't the answer, violence won't solve anything." Yugi said. Oh, it sure would! "I've dealt with a lot of bullies in my life, and I'm afraid there's only one way to deal with them." Yugi continued. Beat the ever loving crap out of them? Yugi walked forward. "You have to stand up to them!" His puzzle glowed, and in that blinding flash of light, Yugi had changed. Just like I did with my hourglass.

Yami glared at Panik. "Now let's see you try your intimidation tactics on me, Panik! I don't scare easy especially when I'm standing up for my friends, so let's duel!" Yami stated.

"I still say I should beat the crap out of him…" I pouted, my anger subsiding a little. "

You twerp, I'll eliminate you, just like I did her, tell him how I trounced you!" Panik grabbed Mai's arm once more.

"Please, Yugi!" Mai said, a pleading look on her face.

"Let her go, Panik! If you're looking to bully someone, try bullying me! Playtime is now over, Panik, it's time to duel!" Yami commanded.

Yugi got up on one side of the field, and Panik the other.

"Alright, Yugi, show Panik how we deal with thugs like him!" Joey cheered.

"Yugi, huh? It must be my lucky day, Pegasus has promised a generous bounty to the Eliminator that defeats you. Which reminds me…" Panik pressed a button, and a metal cage popped out of the arena, and clasped itself around me, before moving onto the middle of the field.

"Oh great, I'm stuck in a cage." I groaned, and then I remembered my vision. I dug into my pant leg, and pulled out a card, The Swords of Revealing Light. Yugi might need this… "Catch!" I yelled, and threw the card at him. Yami glanced at it, before giving me a confused look, and placed it into his deck.

"Pegasus also offered a large sum of money if an Eliminator could get rid of you, Roxanna." Panik smirked.

"Panik, let Roxy go." Yami demanded.

"Sorry, but she's part of this too!" Panik grinned.

"Fine, I wager all of my star chips, to win Mai's back, and to set Roxy free." Yami offered.

"It's a deal, if you win, I'll give you all eight of your star chips, and let Roxanna go, the bet makes no difference to me." Panik said.

"What do you mean?" Yami asked.

"What I mean Yugi, is that when you duel against Panik, you're putting much more than just your measly star chips on the line." Panik pressed a button, and metal shackles chained themselves around Yami's legs. "Much more!" And some sort of flamethrower spewed flames at him. My eyes widened with shock, my voice disappearing. Tears started welling up in my eyes, as I racked in sobs. The flames disappeared, and Yami seemed unharmed, but I was still crying, unable to stop myself. The others yelled my name, over and over again, trying to get my attention, asking if I was alright. But nothing, nothing could comfort me now. Not when these giant flames reminded me of that day… That horrid, terrifying day.

~Flashback~

I walked into the house, pleased with myself. The tournament had been so much fun! I couldn't wait for my next! That's when something felt wrong. Usually my adoptive father would call my name, knowing exactly when I would be home.

"Dad!" I called, guessing he was busy with work. But no answer.

"Anna… I told you. This is your punishment." A familiar, chilling voice laughed, and I gasped.

"Dad!" I yelled again, and received no answer. I ran up the stairs, to his work room, and the door creaked open. My eyes widened, and I let out a scream, full of horror, agony, and pain. Words couldn't describe how heartbroken I felt. My adoptive father was sprawled on the floor, his usually neat clothes were drenched in blood, a deep gash on his throat; it looked like he had been stabbed there. His eyes were lifeless, his hand still in a position, like he was writing a note, his mouth curled in a frown. The entire room was trashed, the desk broken into pieces, files and papers were everywhere. And right there in the corner… Lucifer. He stepped out, a smirk on his face, a knife with blood dripping from it.

"L-Lu- Luke? You did this?" I gasped, unable to process anything. No, it must be some mistake. Not my best friend, he must have just found the knife here, and would help me catch the murderer…

"Who else would?" He adjusted his blue baseball cap, before he took out a ligher. He clicked the button, and it ignited, the tiniest little flame, and held it in front of my face, making it feel hot. No, he couldn't have… This is just a nightmare… But I knew better.

"You see, you took something from me, well a lot. So I intend to get you back. I already took that precious gemstone your father got you… And well it's pretty evident what else I took away from you." Lucifer dropped the lighter on the floor, and the entire room was soon in flames. "And, Roxa? If you really want to get that gem back, then when there's another Duel Monster's tournament, then I'll duel you for it…"

Lucifer walked out of the room, laughing. Tears streamed out of my eyes, and smoke filled my lungs. I ran out of the room, and quickly into mine, grabbing all the belongings I could carry. Then, I just ran. As far away from the house, from my dad, from Lucifer, from my past. I just didn't want to think about anything. And to think people always used to tell me, 'Trust your friends, they'll help you in times of need', and that Lucifer was one of my best friends.

How ironic, it was my best friend that ruined my life, and left me feeling like this. I glanced back once more, at the burning house, and I felt instead of sadness, a searing hate formed inside me. I tore off the hairbands that held my hair into pigtails, and threw them towards the burning house. My hair whipped around me, and some sparks got caught in it. But I didn't care. I had a too many things I wanted to scream out. "Luci, I hate you! And when I finally beat you, I'll make sure you feel even more broken than I am now! I was a fool to ever believe you were my friend!" I closed my eyes, and even though I wanted to cry, no tears would come out. My eyes were dry, because I had no more tears to shed that day.

"You taught me an important lesson though… Friends can never last forever…" I whispered, and at last, I ran too far away from the house to see it… But the image would be forever burned within my memories. That's the day I decided… I could never trust a friend again. They'll just end up breaking your heart. So I surrounded my broken heart in a thick wall of ice. But broken hearts can't heal fast, and definitely not like that…

And now, that scene kept replaying, and I kept crying until I ran out of tears. The crying turned into whimpers. "See, even your friend has started to panic, and she's not the one in your position." Panik smirked.

"Roxy, are you ok?" Yami asked. I looked up, my eyes were red from crying, but I put on a brave smile. "Yeah, don't worry about me…" I managed, but what I really wanted to do, was to curl up in a ball, and block out everything.

"Stop stalling, it's time to duel!" Panik started to grow impatient.

Panik placed his Castle of Dark Illusions onto the field, and it shrouded Panik's field, so that Yami couldn't see the cards Panik played, but Panik could see Yami's.

"Panik, that's weak hiding in the shadows just so you can win? You're nothing but a coward!" I yelled, all of my fear had converted to anger by now. I couldn't see his face, but I was guessing he was puh-retty mad, by the way he was breathing heavily.

"You little pest, I'll show you to mess with me!" Panik growled, and flamethrowers spat flames at me.

My eyes widened, and I felt myself freeze, unable to do a thing. Before the flames made contact, I closed my eyes, and heard the faint yelling of my name, and Panik's laughter. Then a faint glow could be seen from the part of my eyes I didn't close fully.

R

I opened my eyes, to find myself unharmed, other than my hair, which was singed at its tips. I brushed the tiny flames away, and glared at Panik, before turning to Yami. "You can do this, just remember the card I handed- er, threw to you! It'll help! And don't you even think about being scared at a time like this, I'm in the middle of the field where all the holograms are going to appear for crying out loud!" I yelled.

Yami nodded, and seemed relieved that I was alright, but at the same time confused. How could I be the same person who was terrified just by seeing flames before? Because I wasn't. But I didn't really know myself either...

I watched, as Yami's Life Points dropped, and Panik's remained untouched. When Yami insulted him, he just smirked, and pressed a button, causing the flames to almost burn Yami. "You uppity little creep, perhaps you should think twice before you insult someone who can scorch you with the touch of a button! You're afraid, Yugi, you're lost and alone in the dark, and I'm the big bad boogeyman, about to leap out, and give you the scare of your life!" Panik laughed.

And in response to that, Yami started laughing.

"If you could see what I have in store for you, you wouldn't be laughing!" Panik growled.

"But that's why I'm laughing. Because I can see right through you. You are the boogeyman, Panik, scaring children into being afraid of the dark. Until they realize the dark is nothing to be afraid of, like you." Yami smirked. "And I have just the card to lift up the shadows you cower behind." Yami continued.

"What's that?" Panik asked.

"It's just a little thing that'll teach you a lesson in broad daylight." Yami smiled, and held the card, so that Panik couldn't see the picture.

"You almost had me there, but we both know that card's nothing but a bluff! Prove me wrong, go ahead, let's see you give me my tough lesson!" Panik jeered.

It's the card Roxy handed to him, I just know it… "Here it is, the Swords of Revealing Light!" Yami turned the card around, so Panik could see the picture. If Yami gets to actually activate that card, the darkness will be lifted, and Panik can't attack for three turns… Just the card he needs!

(I'm skipping most of the duel, cause it's very boring writing duels... Sorry! )

Swords of Revealing Light cut through the dark, revealing all of Panik's monsters, and stopping them from attacking for three turns. Panik activated his chaos shield, and combined it with his Castle of Dark Illusions, to make a strong barrier around all of his monsters. If Yami doesn't think of something, then he can't attack any of Panik's monsters…

Yami combined his Gaia, the Fierce Knight, and the Curse of Dragon, to make Gaia, the Dragon Champion. After one more turn, then Panik's monsters would be free. Panik placed Metal Guardian in front of the barrier. Yami placed his Catapult Turtle onto the field, and placed the Dragon Champion on it. The Dragon Champion was launched at the castle, and the flotation ring on it collapsed to the ground, but the castle remained floating in the air. The Dragon Champion was sacrificed, and Yami's life points went spiraling down to 300. Panik was going to attack, when he noticed that the Swords of Revealing Light was holding the castle up… And then the castle collapsed on his monsters, when the swords disappeared. The Chaos Shield caused the monsters to be unable to run, so Panik's monsters were destroyed, and his life points reduced to zero.

"Nobody beat's Panik! Nobody! I may not have defeated you, but I can still eliminate you!" Panik smashed the button, and flames shot at the two of us.

But me and Yami were unscathed, our Millennium Items protecting us. The same eye symbol appeared on both of our heads. A tall ring of fire surrounded the arena.

"You guys survived? But how can it be, it's impossible!" Panik gasped.

"My Millennium Item protected me from your cowardly assault, but nothing will protect you from… Oblivion!" Yami held up his hand, Mind Crushing Panik.

Roxanna

Yami helped me out of the cage.

"Thanks." I mumbled, still a little shaken up by the whole 'fire' thing.

"Thank goodness you two are ok!" Tea smiled. I feel like I relived a nightmare, so no, I'm not ok.

"I guess." I shrugged, but felt myself start to tear up again. But apparently nobody noticed, so I just wiped the tears away.

Yami walked up to Mai, and held up Mai's starchips, telling her to take them. "I'm sorry, but I can't take them." Mai smiled sadly.

"There's no point in arguing, she's way to stubborn. But if she'd rather be booted off the island, I'll take them!" Joey grabbed the star chips out of Yami's hand, and laughed.

"You think me losing all of my star chips is funny Joey Wheeler?" Mai yelled, obviously angry.

"I thought you didn't want them, Mai." Joey shrugged. Mai reached for the stars, and Joey held them up high, so she couldn't reach them.

"Give them back!" Mai demanded.

"Course you can have them, their yours." Joey placed the stars in her hands.

"Really, Joey?" Mai asked.

"Didn't you learn anything from this duel? You can't always keep your defenses up, cause it'll just get between you and the other people who are trying to your friends. So can't you let your shield down, just this one time?" Joey asked.

"Hmph, friends… See where that's gotten me in life! My best friend murdered my adoptive father, destroyed my house, ruined my life, and shattered my real personality…" I mumbled, feeling my hate for Lucifer grow even more.

"What did you say?" Joey asked.

"Eh, nothing." I shrugged.

"I'm such a sensitive guy!" Joey stretched and walked away.

"When you're not being a pain." Tristan joked.

"Which is most of the time." Tea added.

"Correction, 99.999999% of the time." I smiled, a smile that didn't go as high as the ones I used to make… But this was the widest I could muster.

"Ah, my adoring fans…" Joey sighed. Tea, Tristan, Joey, Yami, and I walked off.

"Yugi wait, I'll repay you for what you did today. You're the one that won these, so as far as I'm concerned, I still owe you. More than I've ever owed anyone… And when we finally duel, it'll be an honorable one!" Mai promised.

I winced. That last sentence she said… That was the same exact thing Lucifer said to me, at the tournament… A little bit before he took away everything I ever cared about. Which leads me to what I also learned from him: You think you know your best friend, but they only show you the side of them they want to show…

Author's Notes: Yeah... I was absolutely depressed when I came up with the plot for most of the story... You confused? That's cause I haven't explained most of what happened between Roxy and Lucifer. But you'll understand sooner of later Anyway, hope you like the story, Reviews are appreciated. Thanks again. Arsonphobia is fear of fire…