The Sky Sage: I'm extremely sorry for the delays and for the poor quality of the chapter. It's been hard to keep up and writing a depressed character is even harder. Thankfully, things are clearing up. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

The Butterfly Effect

Chapter XXVI: Goals Reset

"Ever thought that your soul wasn't stable to begin with?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Bakura?"

"Well, I - you - you said it yourself, Megumi. You landed in a body with no memory of its past and, if the information you've given me is correct, you have absolutely no clue who the real Megumi was. So you are basing yourself on the facts that you are given by family members and your own emotions and reasonings. That means that, no matter what, you can't match Megumi completely.

"Plus, you - you have not let go of who you were before your death. You can't. You know all those things and who you have become as Megumi won't let you go because, as Megumi, you would do anything to help those you care for, hence the need for the information.

"Unfortunately, it also creates a conflict. You can't be two persons at the same time and, along with that, you aren't who you say you are. You're going on information, not a soul. It's not enough and it's draining you."

"..."

"Megumi, are you alright?"

"... Just keep going. I'm two... people living in the same body. Why did my soul tear with the Eye and not the Ring?"

"Well, that comes down to what I've read. You know that magic is basically will and sentiment given power, right? Well, if you are right on what you've said of the Spirit of the Ring, then he would have wanted you alive. He might toy, but he - he wants an audience. He wants someone to watch and admit his greatness. That's why you lived with your soul intact. He wanted you alive, so he put your soul in a bubble and transfered it elsewhere so that you could admit that he was stronger, that you were inferior.

"Pegasus... must not believe in that. He treats the world as a toy and played with people's souls. He doesn't care for an audience, he just wants... something -"

"His fiancée."

"His fiancée?"

"Long story. Keep going."

"... Alright. He just wants his fiancée back and will stop at nothing to get her back. So, instead of a bubble, it was the equivalent of a hook that grabbed at someone's soul. It caught yours and, well, because of the conflict within you, you just -"

"Broke."

"... Yes."

I'll spare you the tears that followed that explanation. I'll spare you the fact that I barely slept on the boat, thinking, cursing myself over something that I couldn't have helped. And I'll spare you from the fact that, when I did sleep, I dreamt of my first conversation with Shadi all over again. No, the only thing I'll say is that that night, that night as everyone barely slept in anticipation of the next morning because things were about to change again, I had the worst night in years because all I could feel was the weight of everything come crashing down on me.

The next morning was not any better, either. I took me too long to get myself going and, with the fact that Bakura didn't want to stray too far from my side along with the questions that I recieved from the entire group, I could safely assume that I probably looked like a mess.

Then again, when your biggest hope is currently to not live your last few minutes in pain, I guess that your perspective in life isn't exactly bright.

I could feel my mind running a mile an hour, trying to find someone to blame, to pin the guilt on as Bakura coaxed me forward, to the introduction of Duelist Kingdom that I knew I couldn't miss, although I couldn't remember why. I forced my racing mind to shup up with a shout as I tried to remind myself that, no matter whose fault it was, it didn't matter. It didn't matter because it wouldn't change the fact that my soul was now near split in half and continuing its way to complete destruction, after which my death would follow. There was nothing I could do, not anymore.

"Can you feel him?"

"Feel who?"

"Mokuba. You wanted to come here for him, right? Is he in there?"

... Right up until Bakura spoke, making me blink and look up at the who looked concerned, but gave me a nod of encouragement before I turned to Pegasus who was rambling on about the rules of the tournament, feeling my senses search beyond the nauseating man, rush throughout the castle and find something that felt like a light to my senses. Something, someone that made tears fall as I smiled.

I was an idiot. A stupid, blubbering idiot.

I couldn't do anything. Not for myself. But how dare I forget that there was one last life left that I had to help? How dare I forget about Mokuba, the one who was stuck up there but still dared to hope that we were out there, trying to find him?

I was going to die. But, like I'd said to Bakura, I wanted this life to be worth something, dammit.

"Thank you," I whispered as I heard Pegasus wish the participants luck, watching Bakura nod before the others neared us.

"Megumi, you okay?"

And Anzu asked a question I could only nod to before motionning to the castle, watching everyone's gaze follow it as I said, "Mokuba's in there. He's looking for an escape while waiting for us. He's... hoping."

"Then let's not let him down, right?" I heard Jonouchi say, making me chuckle a bit. "We'll get him back, don't worry about it."

"If he breaks out, he'll be hunted," I still couldn't help but add, though. I remembered that way too well. The fight with the Ventriloquist leading to him getting kidnapped again because everyone had been too busy with cheering Yami on to see that Saruwatari was taking him away.

But, as a hand sunk on my shoulder, making me look to my brother, maybe, just maybe, things would go differently.

"We'll keep an eye out, and if you see anything, you warn either Jonouchi or me, got it?"

"Got it."

I was going to die again, and knowing what caused it made no difference. Only that mattered was the fact that I didn't plan on going silently into that goodnight.