Author's Note: On the name of good kind Ahkenamkahnen, I am so sorry! This chapter had already been written by my good friend Dreamer of Legends, but the shiny things distracted me SO many times. Let's just say, I will NOT take this long to update again!
This is my FAVOURITE chapter. DreamerofLegends wrote it, as you read above, so if you love it like I do, be sure to give her a shout! She's on my favourite author's list! I'm sure she would LOVE the appreciation! Also, please give me feedback! I really want to know what you think of this chapter!
Kaiba paced back and forth in his living room, the glow of the fire casting his jagged shadow upon the wall. His head was full of many confusing questions that tormented him endlessly.
Why would Yugi want me to believe there are two of him? he thought to himself. Why, after all these years of pestering me to buy these ancient Egyptian fairy-tales, would he suddenly give me the option of choosing for myself? It doesn't make any sense... unless this is a trap.
He stopped pacing suddenly as the logic clicked into place. That must be it. Reverse psychology. By suddenly changing his tactics he's hoping to throw me off balance, and make it easier for that hocus-pocus nonsense to sink in. Well it's not going to work. Now that I'm on to him...
Suddenly his train of thought was blown off of its tracks when a bright light erupted from behind his eyes. It was another vision, these things had been becoming increasingly more common since Battle City. He groaned in frustration and tried to hold off the sight with his force of will, but the vision was persistent and soon it overwhelmed him.
He was in a dark wood, and that one difference was significant in itself. For once there were no endless plains of sand, no towering pyramids nor crumbling ruins. For the first time, it seemed he was not being taken to the past, but rather to the future.
There was a long and straight path that stretched the entire length of the forest, coated in shadows and darkness. A man stepped onto the path hesitantly, as if he was unsure whether or not to continue. To Kaiba, the answer was obvious: stay off of the path. But the man hesitated again, and then started forward, glancing back and forth nervously.
Doesn't he see the shadows? Kaiba asked no one in particular. Can't he feel the evil?
Obviously not, for he continued along with no inclination of turning his path. The darkness edged steadily closer. For some reason, this made Kaiba uneasy. He sensed that if the shadows were to reach the man, then something terrible would occur. With the completion of that thought, the light flashed again, and he found himself staring absently into the fire.
"Great." He mumbled. "Now I'm starting to sound like those geeks."
But for all his ramblings, there still remained a small grain of doubt implanted firmly in his mind. It grated against him constantly, like an itch that needed to be scratched. What if that vision would come true? What if something terrible did happen?He could not know, and it frustrated him more than a little. He was bothered immensely by this strange event, but what bugged him the most was perhaps the fact that in order to get the answers he wanted, he knew he was going to have to ask more questions.
Which meant that he was going to have to accept the ugly truth, that people were not actually lying about all of this stuff.
Kaiba could not suppress a shudder.
XxxxxxxxxxX
The lonely hoot of an owl reached his ears from far overhead. The close-growing trees and brush made the going slow, but Yami tackled it with steadfast determination. The events of the night were turning around in his mind ceaselessly, constantly bombarding him with answerless questions. He kept seeing Yugi's face, his somber, solemn face. His empty eyes plagued Yami's thoughts; they were dark and devoid of emotion, as though he had already given up.
Yugi knew better than anyone what kinds of torture Yami's spirit would go through without him. Having your other half suddenly torn away from you threw your whole personality off balance, and Yami, without that inner guiding light, could only wonder how long it would take for the darkness to rule him. But Yugi would never give up, he would fight on to the bitter end. But could Yami do the same?
He could not know the answers to these troubling questions, and so he put them to the back of his mind for now. In truth he did not much care what happened to himself, so long as Yugi was back where he belonged. Yugi never deserved any of the craziness that was constantly thrust upon him, but he accepted the burdens willingly to make certain that others did not have to.
I will get you back Yugi. Yami vowed silently with all of his heart. No one will ever be able to keep us apart, I swear.
The night was quiet, and the moon was blotted out by the canopy of gnarled branches overhead; so he pulled out a small flashlight to guide the way. Despite the warnings that Argeth had given him, Yami felt his guard relaxing on its own as time wore on, for the silence was peaceful and serene. He had been walking for a long while, yet had seen nothing that would give any indication of a threat. He pressed onward, and soon enough he broke out of the mess of plants and found that he was suddenly crunching hard packed dirt and rock under his boots. A road stretched straight and true in the direction he was headed, and he gladly stepped onto it, savoring the now easy going journey.
He had only taken a few steps when a slight gust of wind sighed through the trees, and he thought he heard a low moan riding through the breeze. He stopped and listened for a moment, but there was nothing to be heard. After a second he shrugged and continued on down the path. The snap of a twig a second later made him whirl around, aiming the beam into the bushes on the side of the road. Something darted away before the icy blue light could spot it, shuffling through the leaves with a bestial grunt.
Just an animal. Yami convinced himself, but now his guard was back up and his steps were weighted with caution. Some sort of sixth sense was pulling at him softly, urging him to be ready. Ready for what?
Then came the whispers. He was not sure how long he had been subconsciously listening to them, but now his ears were picking up on many teasing words sliding through the night. At first nothing more than random words floated to his mind, but after he listened long enough they began to form patterns. Dark patterns. Like some sort of twisted chant, the kind that the Shadow Realm was known for. He unconsciously sped his pace as they began drilling into his head.
For the powers that you seek, Be not humble, don't be meek. Come and take what you deserve, The darkness we have in reserve,
For you. For you.
Take blade in hand and strike him down, Let go of your heart and turn around, For the path of Darkness has always been found,
In you. In you.
Then the shadows literally erupted; twisting, twining figures dancing at the edges of his vision. He spun around, his hand automatically flying to his belt. But as soon as his hand closed around the hilt of the knife it burned him, sending shooting pain through his body. The shadows cackled and sang louder, knowing that the very blade he sought to use was forged from the blackest of shadows, and so it could not be used against them. They began begging for him to succumb to their seductive cries and take their burden upon himself, to accept their dark powers and add them to his growing evil strength. He clapped his hands over his ears and ran; the shadows gave chase, hooting with insanity. The call grew ever louder.
By Darkness born and by Darkness killed, By Light no more shall you be filled, Reach out for our gifts and partake of our strength, Let go of the hope and banish your faith.
For us. For us.
We'll raise you up and hold you high, You'll destroy the Dark One with hardly a sigh, Or save the one who chains you down, Who has taken away the Ra given crown.
From you. From you.
"No!" Yami yelled, but his protest was swallowed up as soon as it left his lips. He ran as hard as he could, but the path stretched on endlessly before him, and he could feel the darkness gaining on him. Hot breath rushed down the back of his neck, and claws tugged at his jacket sharply. He jerked to get out of the way and overbalanced, sprawling off of the path. The flashlight went flying out of his grasp as he spread his hands out to catch himself. But to his surprise, where a moment before he had seen solid ground, a steep decline edged away from the sides of the road. He hit the ground hard and slid down to the bottom roughly, he could feel the skin tearing off of his palms and his clothes getting ripped by the sharp rocks. When he finally bounced to the end of the rough ride and looked up, there was no path at all. The whispers were softer now that he was away from the shadows, for they seemed reluctant to step down to his level. Almost as though they could not leave the area where the road had been.
Not bothering to wait and find out, he sprung up again, ignoring the pain in his body and rushing as far away from them as he could. For a moment the only sound was his heavy breathing, coming in great gasps as the adrenaline coursed through his body. But then, slowly, the chanting started again.
Come take what you deserve, Let go of your heart, turn around, Reach out for our gifts, partake of our strength, Destroy the one who chains you down!
Screams chased after him, startling him enough to make him trip and go flying to the ground again. He grunted and struggled to get up, but the strength would not come. He looked into the shadows, and saw the figures begin to move closer, closing in on his weakened form. Four very familiar faces emerged from the darkness, their expressions twisted in snarls, their soulless eyes glowing bright yellow.
Tea, Tristan, Joey and Kaiba all opened their mouths at the same time and spoke, taking one step forward with every word.
Take us. Use us. Wield us. Guide us.Live us. Breathe us. Be us.You are one of us.
... One of us.
They closed in on him, their dark and poisonous words seeping into his head easily. He began shaking, trying so hard to ignore the many implications of their words.
I could take the darkness. Said one soft inner voice. I could use it to avenge Yugi.
No. Another voice argued. I must not lose myself to the anger, not again.
It's too late. The dark voice shot back. Look at yourself, you've already begun to lose your way. Even now your inner most desire is only to kill, you care nothing of what happens to Yugi, or any of the others!
It's not true! He argued, but his voice grew softer from lack of conviction. I don't want to be a killer, I want to save Yugi! He needs me, and I need him!
The other voice laughed, sounding disturbingly similar to the laugh he had heard in the graveyard. But you don't need him anymore, you have a body of your own, so the vessel is no longer needed. Admit it, you only want him back so you can use him again!
"NO!" Yami roared, and a bright light erupted from his belt. The shadowy forms of his friends hissed in protest, and when the spots before Yami's eyes cleared he gaped up in wonder and awe at what he beheld.
Dark Magician stood protectively over his master, his staff raised threateningly.
Go! He shouted down. I will hold them for as long as I can.
Yami was off and running before he had even registered the words, his mind whirling too fast to make heads or tails of anything within it. Bright flashes of light burst through the trees behind him every few seconds, illuminating the immediate area.
He knew that the Dark Magician would not last much longer against the horde of... whatever they were, and so he tore through the trees as swiftly as he could.
Please. He begged silently. Please let it be here.
Branches whipped at his face and cut him, but he paid them no attention. He could feel his heart growing heavy with the knowledge of impending doom, and just as he was about to give up the search a huge white, pyramid-shaped building erupted out of the trees in front of him. Stumbling forward as fast as his legs would carry him he rushed up to the huge double doors and tore them open, bursting into the bright room.
A cold whisper danced after him.
...One of us...
A/N: Ooooh... Like I said, my favourite chapter! Sorry for the long A/N above, but I had a lot to say, and haha, I didn't want to make it longer by saying that. Also, please click the pretty button that has the nice word review taped on it. It would make me happy!