AN: Thank you all so much for the reviews thus far. I had a bit of trouble with this chapter, but I think in the end it came out well. I'm sorry if it gets a little confusing whether Mana or Yami!Mana is talking. Most of the time it's Yami!Mana talking, especially when she's talking to someone other than herself, (if that makes any sense...)
Chapter 6
"Atem will never fall for your tricks," Mana growled up at the darkness. She was growing more and more frustrated by the moment as she could only sit by and watch the trouble that was being caused. "He knows me almost better than I know myself. He'll notice something's wrong instantly."
Well we'll see just how well he really does know you, won't we? And even if he does know something's wrong with you, would he actually risk hurting you just to get rid of me?
She vanished in a flash of black light, focusing on finding Atem. Almost instantly, she reappeared behind a column in time to see Atem walking a few feet away, "Atem," She said in a soft voice. In her mind, Mana cringed at just how much the darkness sounded like her. Even Atem seemed to realize it as he turned around.
A smile came to his face as he breathed a sigh of relief and half ran back to her, "Mana! You're back! When did you... are you alright?" He reached out and touched her cheek, but a nearly painful jolt passed through his arm as he did so. His brow furrowed a bit as he looked deep into Mana's familiar blue-green eyes, and even something seemed off about them. "Mana...?"
Mana nuzzled against Atem's hand before she kissed it softly, "I'm fine," She said with a nod. She reached out and took Atem's other hand, giving it a soft squeeze. Atem had to do everything in his power to not jerk away from Mana, whose hands were like shards of ice as she held his own. Something was wrong with her, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He shook his head. He was just overtired; there was nothing wrong with Mana, it was all in his head.
"Mana, I'm so sorry," Atem said honestly. He squeezed Mana's icy hand back before he brought it to his lips and kissed it. "I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did, or at least handled it differently."
"It's alright, Atem," Mana said with a shake of her head. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did either." She reached up and ran a finger along the dark circles under Atem's eyes. Atem closed his eyes as a chill shot through his body, "I kept you up all night by leaving, and for that, I am sorry. I should have heard you out, I should have listened..."
"I think we're both partially at fault here, Mana," Atem said as he opened his amethyst eyes, a smile coming to his face. He sighed in relief, happy to have Mana back with him, even if he felt like something was slightly off. Then again, he thought he himself was also a little off, considering he'd had no sleep the night before.
Atem, help...
Atem tilted his head, "What did you say, Mana?" He realized then that the words hadn't come from her lips. He felt like he was definitely going crazy at that point. That, and he needed sleep badly. Now that he knew Mana was safe, maybe he could manage to get a few hours in before the next crisis struck. But as the thought came to his mind, he heard the banging of the gong that made up the palace's alarm. "What could possibly be going on now?" He asked, looking around.
"It's Madam Isis! Madam Isis has been hurt!" An approaching guard said, completely out of breath as he approached Atem. He bowed in respect before straightening up breathlessly, "My apologies, Pharaoh, but Isis has just been found unconscious in the throne room. Though she is unconscious, she screams and talks to apparitions no one can see. Akhenaden fears she might have somehow gotten sent to the Shadow Realm."
"What?" Atem demanded, his eyes narrowing. He followed the servant back to the throne room, and Mana's darkness growled softly.
"Always such a do gooder," She growled under her breath. "Here I was hoping that I was about to get our precious Pharaoh all alone..." Her voice trailed off as her head was silent, "Mana?" She said, tilting her head to the side. "Oh, Mana, you finally gave in to me? I knew you were the weaker one. Shameful, and you're supposed to be the big strong holder of the Millennium Ring. Speaking of that... I really must get that back from him. I'll need it if I want to keep existing in this world."
She followed after Atem back to the Throne Room, shaking her head as she went. She would make sure that she wasn't going anywhere, and neither Mana, nor Atem, would stop her. She walked back into the Throne Room in time to see Atem kneeling beside Isis, the eye of the Millennium items glowing on his forehead, the puzzle around his neck glowing as well. He was speaking in a low tone, and even the darkness wasn't able to make out what he was saying. But as she watched him, she could tell Isis was returning to normal. Within moments, Isis was waking up, and the mark vanished from Atem's forehead.
"Isis, are you alright?" Atem asked, helping the Sacred Guardian get to her feet. She looked around, completely confused as she took in the scene around her.
"My Pharaoh, what happened?" Isis asked, her hand on her head. "What was I doing on the floor? Wasn't I supposed to be helping you find..." Isis looked around and her eyes landed on Mana, "Mana, you're back!"
Mana nodded once, "I just got back a few minutes ago," She said easily, feigning her concern with ease. "I just needed some time to myself. What happened to you, Isis?"
"I'm not sure," Isis said honestly. She rubbed her forehead with her palm as she continued "All I remember was you walking away from me before, Pharaoh, and sending Spiria to go look for Mana. But I do not feel so well. I'm sorry, my King, but now that Mana has returned, would it be alright with you if I were to rest for a while?"
"Of course," Atem said with a nod. "I'll have one of the doctors come see you soon." He watched as Isis walked off and he sighed. It was worrying to him that Isis had, indeed, had her mind transported to the Shadow Realm. Not many people could use power like that, and Atem had thought he'd destroyed the last person who could.
"Atem," Mana said, walking forward. She gave him a reassuring look and smiled at him, "Come, there's nothing you can do while looking dead on your feet," She said, giving his hand a soft squeeze. "Why don't we both try to get some rest before the world really starts to fall apart again?"
Atem looked Mana up and down, his head cocked slightly. Something just seemed wrong with her, and it was bothering him that he couldn't figure it out. Mana was his oldest friend, and though she looked fine, he could tell something was off, "Mana, why don't you go ahead?" He suggested with a smile. He squeezed her still-icy hand back before he released it. "I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."
"Okay then," Mana said with a nod. She started to walk off, unaware of why Atem had wanted her to walk ahead of him. Once she was a few yards away, Atem put both his hands on his Millennium Puzzle as he closed his eyes and the symbol appeared on his head once again. As he felt the energy rushing through his body, he opened his eyes and looked at Mana, his heart racing as he saw a black aura surrounding his best friend.
I knew it. Something isn't right here, He thought as he released the puzzle and the mark on his forehead disappeared. I should have realized it instantly; Isis getting hurt and her reappearing at the exact same time. But what exactly is going on here? I'll have to figure that out...
He followed after Mana and returned to his room with her. Though he knew something was wrong, he wasn't going to let her know that. Not yet, anyway. He slid onto his bed, and smiled at Mana as she joined him, "Mana, can I ask you something?"
I hope you're listening, The darkness thought to the imprisoned Mana. And watching. I wouldn't want you to miss me playing around with your Pharaoh... "Sure, Atem," She said with a nod. She cuddled up to him, putting her head down on his shoulder. "What's up?"
"What's my favorite color?"
It was then that the darkness heard Mana laughing in her head, Good luck with that one... He told me that when we were kids. Can you remember that? Or can you only remember the pain from when I was that old?
The darkness narrowed her eyes as she rubbed at her head, "Atem, why do you ask...?" She asked, trying to cover up for the fact that she very well didn't remember his favorite color.
"That's not an answer, Mana," Atem said, sitting up slightly. He held onto Mana's arms as he sat up, "What's my favorite food?"
The darkness felt her cheeks burn, as she looked back into Atem's eyes and she balled her hands into fists, He knows... She knew that had to be it. Why he was asking her such random questions...
Atem's eyes narrowed as he stood up, "Now, why don't you tell me who you really are, and why you're controlling Mana?" He asked.
The darkness laughed a sinister laugh as she looked up at Atem, her eyes flickering slightly, "I'm surprised, Pharaoh. I really underestimated you. I wasn't expecting you to figure out something was wrong until at least tomorrow. But what makes you think I'm not Mana?"
"For one, Mana would never hurt anyone," Atem said with a shake of his head. "And it was too much of a coincidence that you turned up right before Isis was found with her mind in the Shadow Realm. Mana's not the only one with magical powers in this palace. And, my Mana would never forget the answers to such simple questions like my favorite color or favorite food, because she actually genuinely cares."
"Well you made it quite clear that you didn't care about her, Pharaoh," the Darkness responded. "You left her alone in Egypt while you returned to the future with your reincarnation. You didn't care when she was up at night crying after being yelled at by Isis, all you cared about was your future. You could have had an amazing future right here with Mana, but what did you do? You left."
"I did what I had to do to save the world," Atem said, his eyes blazing slightly. "And I can stand here from today until tomorrow explaining my reasons to you, but what good would that do me? I'd prefer to say them all to the real Mana."
"Oh, she can hear you," The darkness said with a roll of her eyes. "Just her trying to communicate with you takes her a lot of energy, so she doesn't really bother with it. You might as well get used to talking to me, Pharaoh; Mana doesn't have the strength to overpower me."
"And how would I get rid of you?" Atem asked. He was growing tired of the darkness very quickly. There was just something in the way that she spoke that made him feel as if each word were a taunt, and that got him annoyed rather quickly.
Mana smirked as she sauntered forward, her eyes never leaving Atem's, "If you want to save your poor, sweet Mana from me, dear Pharaoh, and let her have her body back, without me ever coming back, there's only one thing you can do." She reached up and slid a finger along Atem's strong jawline, making him glare at her and flinch away, "Take your dagger and run it through her heart."
