EchoGirl: Hey, me again, anyway, this is going to be my last chapter for the next few days since I'm going on a school history trip to Germany which should be fun - and I hope Goldfish doesn't attempt to conquer the world in that time - but I should be back soon. Anyway, for this chapter I decided to focus some more on the drama in the story and look a bit more in depth at Destiny and Akiza. Enjoy!
Goldfish: EchoGirl319 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
A Rose in the Stars
Chapter 19
It was late, almost midnight, as Destiny sat cross-legged on her bed; there wasn't a sound except the quiet whistling breeze just beyond the window. Besides that, the night was completely still.
The pale, eerie glow of the pearly moon streamed in through the open curtains, illuminating an object in the girl's hand. A mask: smooth and cracked, as if it had been pieced back together from ruins; white and phantom-like, with only two red streaks passing over the eye indentations and a pale lilac circle on the forehead to distinguish it. A truly haunting piece of attire – it was the key, the secret, to unearthing a world of secrets, of memories of pain and misery. A key to the past.
The mask of the Black Rose. Her mother's mask.
Carefully, Destiny traced the cracks and lines that marred its ghastly perfection. It brought her no peace, no comfort, just those awful voices whispering in her head, all jumbled together, making absolutely no sense.
Touching brought her voices, wearing brought her images, duelling brought her visions and memories; yet the young, dark-haired duellist could not help but wonder, what would dreams bring her?
Would they bring her nightmares; visions of darkness and horror? Or would they connect her to the one woman that she longed for most?
Her day had been stressful to say the least. Shopping was not her forte. At least she now had a dress; her eyes flickered to the silky black material flung over the back of a chair. She had been longing for a good night's rest, she wished for nothing more. But once the idea that had formed in her mind grew more dominant, her ability to sleep vanished.
So here she was, contemplating whether or not to go ahead with it. There was always the possibility that nothing may happen, but then again, something may.
All right, she concluded, whatever happens it can't be that bad. Let's go for it.
"You with me, Red Destiny?" she asked, reaching for her favourite card, which lay beside her on the bed.
A low growl sounded within her mind.
"I'll take that as yes," she gave a small smile before slowly slipping on the mask and adjusting it to her face and laying her head down on the pillow, letting sleep take her, Red Destiny still grasped tightly in her hand.
Akiza was shocked. She didn't know where she was or why. One moment she was having a perfectly nice dream and now she was standing in the middle of well… nothingness.
If limbo was ever to have an appearance, this is what the magenta-haired woman would have imagined.
She was standing on anything, nothing except air, yet she was still upright and perfectly mobile. She glanced around, confused, everything was just shadows. Spirals of dark, moving shadows.
"Where am I?" she whispered, it was then that she heard an oh-so-familiar roar. She spun around to see her beloved partner, floating behind her in all of its dark, petalled glory.
"Black Rose?" she whispered, reaching out with one arm as her dragon lowered its head. They touched for a moment.
It was then that Akiza noticed her attire. On her arm was not her familiar elbow-length fingerless gloves, but instead an old, ratty purple sleeve – her cloak – and on her face she felt a weight that she had not felt in years.
She reached up with her hands to touch her face, but instead of encountering flesh her fingers brushed against something hard, finely carved and solid.
My mask, she realised, both hands now rapidly exploring her face, moving upwards to feel the rough material of the cloak's hood.
The Black Rose, her mind recoiled in shock, I'm the Black Rose!
She sprung to attention at the sound of another roar – different from that of Black Rose's – she felt her dragon move into attack position beside her.
Squinting her eyes, she made out two figures in the shadows. One winged, tall and serpent-like, a draconic being and now doubt the owner of the fierce roar, the other a small and slight. A person.
"Who are you?" Akiza yelled at the two beings, Black Rose roared and beat its wings to reinforce her question. "Show yourself!"
After a moment of hesitance, the two creatures, dragon and human, moved forward into her line of vision. She stumbled backwards in shock as she saw their appearance. Another witch. Looked like her, dressed like her and the dragon was unmistakable.
The Witch of Dark Destiny.
Destiny hadn't known where sleeping while wearing the mask would take her, but this shadowy limbo had definitely not been within her expectations. She glanced down to see that she was dressed in her mother's old Black Rose clothes.
What on earth? She thought just as a roar sounded beside her. It was Red Destiny, under the guise of Dark Destiny, much as she was as the Witch of Dark Destiny.
"Hey," she greeted it, "took you long enough."
As she stretched out her hand to welcome her beast proper beast properly, a female a voice sounded from the shadows just ahead.
"Who are you?" it screamed, a dragon's roar joined the voice, "show yourself!"
She shared a glance with her dragon before they both moved forward. They kept approaching until they were standing not twenty feet from the woman and beast that had called out to him. She looked up, preparing to speak, but on sight the girl gasped and raised a hand to her hidden mouth.
Before her stood an older version of herself, albeit the hair was different – violet instead of black streaked with violet. She turned her gaze to the dragon that stood beside its mistress and almost fell over in shock.
Black Rose Dragon.
Her gaze returned to the woman. Same outfit, same mask, violet hair, and the final Signer dragon.
Was it possible?
The woman's arm began to glow a bright red. A claw mark illuminated from beneath the heavy cloak.
The back claw mark of the Crimson Dragon, Destiny realised.
This was it. This was her.
"Black Rose?" she whispered hoarsely.
Mother?
"I know you," the woman gasped, clutching her glowing right arm, "you're the Witch of Dark Destiny. Tell me where we are. Where have you taken us?"
She was referring to herself and her dragon.
Destiny had to struggle to keep her knees from giving way. Her mind screamed for her mother, but she forced herself to keep focus. Akiza evidently didn't know who she was.
She flinched, even despite the fact that both were decked out in completely concealing clothing, she couldn't help but feel saddened at the fact that her mother didn't recognise her.
Considering her mother's question, she glanced around the shadows that surrounded them and, thinking back on what she had done just before falling asleep, came to a conclusion.
"This is the realm of the mask of the Black Rose," she announced. "It must be."
The original Black Rose inhaled sharply and stood up straighter, glancing around, one hand on her dragon's neck.
"This is last place I wanted to return to," her voice was filled with distress, "why have you brought me here? This place brings nothing but sadness and misery, to all those who dare to wear the cursed mask of the Black Rose."
"I didn't know where the mask would bring me," Destiny retorted, "it wasn't my fault."
"Never mind that," the violet-haired, masked woman snapped, "who are you? Truthfully."
"I'm…" Destiny opened her mouth to tell her who she really was, your daughter, but the words would not come. It was as if they were frozen behind her lips, her tongue refused to pronounce the syllables; not by will, but by force.
She was bound not to say anything.
It was that moment that she remembered the words that Akiza had just spoken.
"This place brings nothing but sadness and misery, to all those who dare to wear the cursed mask of the Black Rose."
It's brought me here to taunt me, Destiny realised, to show me what I most desire yet to dangle it just out of my reach.
It was then that she wished for nothing more than to break the mask and watch it shatter into a thousand pieces.
"…someone," she finished lamely, glaring at the ground, tears threatening to spill.
Akiza was anything but impressed with the girl's reply. She had asked for the truth and what she had got was a measly attempt at a lie.
Pathetic, she thought, yet, as she looked down at this Witch of Dark Destiny, she could not help but be taken by surprise.
Looking at her now, she looked different than she did in the pictures in the paper. She looked so young. At first she had thought perhaps sixteen or seventeen, but now she thought thirteen/fourteen. And she looked so… sad. Heartbroken. She could swear that she heard the sound of sobbing beneath the girl's mask.
She reached out for her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" she asked gently.
She recoiled from her touch.
"I can't tell you," she whispered back.
Children were not Akiza's forte, and she had absolutely no idea how to deal with this broken young teenager.
Think of Luna, she tried to think back to the young Signer – she would be in her twenties now. Somehow though, when she looked at the young psychic, she couldn't picture Luna in her place.
Only one other thought came to mind.
Destiny.
How would she comfort her daughter in this situation? With a sudden thought she realised that the daughter that she had only ever seen as a newborn baby would be just about the same age as the sobbing girl standing only a few feet away from her.
With a sudden bout of compassion, she wrapped her arms around the child and held her close. As if on cue, Black Rose Dragon began to touch its snout to that of Dark Destiny Dragon.
It was nothing short of a strange sight – and embrace of two very different dragons and two identically dressed, masked females: one a grown woman and one a mere child.
Destiny relaxed into her mother's embrace. This was all that she'd ever wanted. Yet it would not last – the mask was a cruel thing – and she knew that time was fast running out.
This moment will remain precious to me always, Destiny decided as she felt herself begin to fade away, even if I wake up believing this was just a dream.
She held tighter onto Akiza, never wanting to let go.
The mask is taking us back, mistress, she heard her dragon growl within her mind.
Then let it take us. Remaining in this torture will rid me of all sanity.
Akiza, noticing that the girl was disappearing, began to loosen her grip – mostly out of shock. The girl shook her head.
"Don't let me go," she whispered, clutching Akiza tighter.
The former witch complied, and returned her hold on the young teen.
"Who are you?" she asked again, her voice quieter this time and not filled with irritation, but instead gentleness.
The Witch of Dark Destiny only shook her head – for about the millionth time.
"The mask's cruelty knows no bounds," was all she heard before the girl and her dragon disappeared, leaving the magenta-haired woman alone with Black Rose in the mask's world of shadows and horror.
Destiny awoke with a gasp and tugged the mask off of her face, throwing it away from her and holding Red Destiny close to her chest.
"Why co you taunt me with dreams?" she asked the white, inanimate object.
She thought momentarily of Akiza – her mother – dressed in the cloak and mask of the Black Rose.
She had been so close, yet so far away.
"Akiza!"
Akiza awoke with a start to Jenna shaking her sweaty form. It was then that she remembered.
"What?" she asked breathlessly.
"You scared me," Jenna told her, "you were having a nightmare of some sort. You kept tossing about and muttering really loudly.
"I was having a nightmare…" Akiza murmured, recalling the girl that was the Witch of Dark Destiny, her sadness and pain. And what she had said about the mask just before she vanished.
"The mask's cruelty knows no bounds."
"You kept saying something about a mask," Jenna informed, "are you sure you're okay? I mean, I think I've got some sleeping pills or something if you want any…"
"I'm fine," Akiza interrupted, "it was just one nightmare."
"Okay then, if you insist," Jenna slowly got up and made her way out of the room, leaving Akiza to dwell in her thoughts.
That dream – nightmare – as vivid as it was, had left her only more curious about the Witch of Dark Destiny, who she was and why she wouldn't, or couldn't, answer her question.
I'm thinking too much into this, the violet-haired woman thought as she lay back down, it was just a dream, after all.
EchoGirl: So, is it okay? I wanted to have them meet, but not officially, so I thought that putting them in their witch gear and Destiny not being able to tell the truth to Akiza was a good idea. Tell me what you think!