Chapter 11

SK honestly didn't believe things could get weirder if they tried; the way both of his cousins were acting was simply beyond belief. The fact they couldn't see him either wasn't helping matters much. Not that Tristan appeared particularly concerned with any of it. After being convinced to stay, he'd taken up a position as far away from the others as possible and just stood there watching. SK felt he could better protect his cousins if he was closer to them, but Tristan's distance left him feeling more than a little cold.

It was almost a strange kind of relief when the doorbell sounded. Without a word Kaiba went to answer it and a few minutes later he returned with Yugi in tow.

'Tristan you're here too?' Yugi stared at him for a moment.

'Yeah, I noticed that,' Tristan pulled a face, 'SK came to me this morning telling me he was worried about Mokuba. Well he was right to be worried about Mokuba, but unfortunately for me both of the Kaiba boys seem to be a little bit insane right now. I'm free to go, but they'd really rather I wouldn't.'

'Uh... okay...' Yugi cocked an eyebrow at him, 'and where's SK now?'

'He's still here, but apparently I'm the only one who can see him, which is, you know, typical.' Tristan folded his arms. 'I'm really starting to wish crap like this would stop happening to me.'

'You're a Guardian now Tristan, I think stuff like this is going to follow you around whether you want it to or not,' SK sighed.

'Of course it is.'

'Of course what is?' Yugi frowned at him.

'Nothing, just something SK said.'

'He's one of us, why isn't he ready yet?' Mokuba shot a look in Kaiba's direction.

'I don't know,' Kaiba tilted his head to one side, 'maybe it's because he's the wrong one.'

'Well I guess that makes sense. It would be different with him, wouldn't it?'

'Err...' Yugi stared at them.

'Welcome to my morning,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'stick around a little bit longer and watch as your mind explodes.'

'Okay... why do I suddenly get the feeling I shouldn't have bothered coming here this morning.'

'Don't say that, you had to come,' Mokuba slammed his hands down on the table in front of him. 'We have to tell the story, it's important. We wouldn't go through all this if it wasn't. So bring out the other one already, it's him we need not you.'

'Should I do what he says?' Yugi shot a look in Tristan's direction.

'Do what you want,' he shrugged, 'it's not as though my day could get any crazier at this point.'

'I wouldn't be too sure about that,' SK's tongue skated across his lips as he pulled a face. 'If I'm working this out right, then Joey's probably going to turn up pretty soon. He has to be the last one they're waiting on in order to tell their little story.'

'Really? You don't think I hadn't figured that out for myself.'

'I...?'

'Come on SK, you're supposed to be the Helper, that means you're supposed to be a good three steps ahead of me, not the other way round.'

'I'm only the Helper because you're still alive,' SK turned his gaze away. 'I know I'm just about the worse person they could have chosen, but it's not like they had much choice in the matter.'

'Right. Right.' Tristan's voice was tight. 'Of course they didn't. I'm still alive because they want me still alive, right? Because I'm more useful to them alive. Alive is how I'm needed.'

'Tristan...' a weird feeling shifted through the pit of SK's stomach, 'you... you don't want...? You're not...?'

'Forget it,' he turned his head away, 'it doesn't matter. Joey will be here soon, let's just focus on that shall we?'


Yugi wasn't totally sure what the hell was going on, but he knew throwing the Pharaoh into the mix right now wasn't necessarily the right thing to do. He had to wait for Joey to arrive and hope things didn't become more complicated before they became less.

'We want the other one,' Mokuba glared at him. 'You're not needed for this story, he is.'

'I... I want to wait for Joey,' Yugi tried to sound more confident than he felt. 'I don't feel right making Tristan the only one not participating in this story.'

'I'm not the only one, SK's here too,' Tristan rolled his eyes. 'Just because I'm the only one who can see him doesn't mean he's not here.'

'See, you have no excuse,' Mokuba held his gaze. 'The story needs to start soon and we all need to be on the same page. Bring the other one out. Bring him out so we can all be ready.'

'When did you become so impatient?' Kaiba glanced towards him.

'Death changes people and I was the first to become restless.' Mokuba tilted his head to one side. 'I've been restless for a very long time; I want this to be over soon.'

'The story will take however long it takes to be told, you can't rush it.'

'But I don't want him slowing it down either. I want the story to start soon.'

'And it will,' Kaiba placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, 'just be a little bit more patient; this isn't about the beginning.'

'I know,' a strange smile filled his face, 'this is about the ending.'


Even before the party was over, Nima had started feeling sick. To begin with she just thought it was the shock of what she'd found out about Kayma, but as the evening wore on and the sickness within her developed into a sharp feeling of pain she knew was something much worse. All her life she'd shared her mother's ill health. The same ill health which she'd known for a long time would eventually go on to kill her. The symptoms she had now were exactly those her mother had the day she died. The sickness followed by the pain and the slow feeling of coldness seeping in through her body.

As her husband helped her into bed a soft smile pulled at the corner of her lips. She'd never loved him more than she had in that moment. His light, his energy, all the love in the universe he had inside of him. He was special and she thanked the gods she'd been lucky enough to be loved by him.

'It is alright,' her fingers gently traced the outline of his face, 'I am not afraid to die.'

'Don't say that,' his eyes glistened with tears, 'You're not dying, this is just another illness, you'll get better soon.'

'No,' she shook her head, 'this is it, I can feel it. I can feel the life running out of me. But its okay, I'm ready for this.'

'No,' the word choked its way out of him, 'you can't die, what will I do without you?'

'You will manage, after all you did before you met me.'

'I was dead before I met you.'

'You were never dead,' her fingers traced along his lips, 'you could never be dead. The life you're filled with is so beautiful. I can see it now; you were always meant to live and I was always meant to die.'

'I don't want to live without you,' he gripped her hand in both of his.

'It is not our choice to make,' she sighed. 'Destiny has chosen for me to die and you to take care of our daughters. Our beautiful daughters.'

'No, please, I can't... I won't go on without you. How can I go on without you?'

'Shh,' she hushed, 'you cannot change what has already been written. It is my time.'

'No, it's too soon.'

'But it is my time,' her already cold body began to feel heavy. 'Love them for me. Love our daughters like no father ever has. Love them for both of us. Never, ever let them forget that they are loved. I was so proud to be their mother, make sure they both know that. They were both my daughters, always.' She closed her eyes. 'I'm so tired.'

'No, no, don't die, don't… please don't die. Nima you can't die. You can't leave me. Not now. Not like this. Please... please don't leave me.'

'I love you...' the words came out of her with what little air remained in her body, 'always... forever... my soul mate...'


'No,' his voice broke with tears, 'no you can't die, Nima, you can't die.'

He placed his ear against her chest but everything was still. No heart beat. No breathing.

'No, no, no,' he squeezed his eyes shut and listened as hard as he could, 'you can't be dead. Please don't be dead. Please... Nima... you can't be dead.'

Still there was nothing but silence and an absence of life. Pain welled up inside of him; he felt as though someone had reached inside his chest and pulled his heart out. It was too much. Losing her was too much. She was everything to him and he didn't know if he could go on without her.

A shuffling near to him made him look up. Stood in the doorway were his daughters and both of their eyes filled with the same tears he knew was in his own. Within seconds Annu had thrown herself sobbing into his arms. Everything in him clung to her, wishing something or someone would come along and make their pain go away; bring Nima back to them. As Annu sobbed, his eyes turned back towards Kayma. She was still stood in the doorway, her body rigid with emotions. For a long time she did and said nothing, then her eyes met with his for a single moment before she turned and fled the room.


'Khi, Khi,' her voice cracked and strained with every call of his name, 'Khi,' she threw herself into his arms and sobbed, 'Khi.'

'She's dead, isn't she?' Khi wrapped his arms around her, wishing he could protect his cousin from the pain.

'How could she do this to us Khi? How could she leave us like this? Why... why now?' Kayma buried her face in his shirt. 'Why couldn't she fight this? Why did she choose to die?'

'I... I don't know,' his grip around her tightened, 'I wish I could tell you, but I just don't know.'

'How can she be dead Khi?' Kayma sobbed. 'Please... please tell me how.'


Joey wasn't surprised to see Yugi there already, but Tristan and SK's presence made him hesitate a little bit. They didn't need to be here. Neither of them was in the story so they didn't need to be here. For a moment his brain felt a little bit fuzzy. The fuzziness made SK's image withdraw into a translucent state and it made Joey's head hurt when he already had far too much to think about.

'He's here now,' Mokuba focused his attention on Yugi, 'so you can bring the other out.'

'I...' Yugi turned his gaze towards Joey.

'The spirits are restless,' Joey met Yugi's gaze, 'this is all about the ending.'

'People keep saying that, but I don't understand what it means,' Yugi shook his head. 'Why is the ending so important?'

'Because it is,' Kaiba shrugged, 'none of us knew. None of us knew how important this story was. None of us knew how important the ending was. We're all to blame for what happened.'

'Things are different this time,' Mokuba leant across the table towards them, 'so the ending can be different this time. The potential won't be lost this time. It can't be lost this time or else everything we've done will have been for nothing.'

'We have to learn,' Joey moved towards the table, 'we have to learn from the past to make sure the story will be different this time.'

'The story has already started this time,' Mokuba took a seat, 'the details are different, but the story is the same.'

'Right now the story is the same,' Kaiba took a seat next to his brother, placing a faceless ragdoll down on the table in front of him as he did. 'The more the details change the better the ending will be.'

'But if the details don't change, then neither will the story.'

'We have to learn,' Joey took a seat opposite the Kaiba brothers, 'the ending has to change.'

'I...' Yugi's voice sounded strangely uncertain.

'We need the other one,' Mokuba flicked his gaze towards him. 'He is in the story and we have to tell the story now.'

'Why now?' Yugi shuffled towards them. 'What's so important about now?'

'We've told you.' Kaiba tilted his head to one side. 'We've told you more than once.'

'The story has already started,' Joey focused his attention on the doll.

'If you don't learn now then the details won't change.'

'And if the details don't change...'

'Neither will the ending.'

'And this is all about the ending,' Mokuba repositioned the doll in the centre of the table, 'whether you know it or not, whether they know it or not, this has always been about the ending.'

'The truth, the ending and... the child.'