The Queen of Water: Thanks as always for the review! ^-^
Aqua Girl 007: Thanks as always for the review! ^-^
Dang another long chapter! Ugh my time to write is going down again. I'm just worried that we might get caught up to where I'm still writing. I think we're still about ten chapters ahead, but still I don't like this at all. I don't want to catch up and then have to put the story on hold because I have like no time since I'm planning a Halloween party, working one job, and training at the other. *sigh*
Kiyomi: Hopefully it should work itself before it gets to that. Feriua doesn't own anything that pertains to Yu-Gi-Oh at all, all rights belong to their rightful owners. She does own her original characters and plot.
~Chapter 37: The First Step to True Balance~
Sounds of battle and screaming monsters echoed in Alara's ears as quick moving blurred images danced behind her eyelids. Her eyes darted side to side as they tried to focus on at least something to figure out what was going on. A sound of whistling wind rang in her ears blocking out most of the sounds of the battle that seemed to be around her.
'What's going on?' Flashes of bright red overcame her vision as a high pitch scream resonated outward before being drowned out by a large explosion that rocked her body. Another flash of red encompassed her vision before being replaced with darkness, and the noise around her quieted down to nothing.
'What was that?' A growing light to her left made her turn her eyes to see what now was going to show up. A single shadow split the light in half as the click of boots echoed around, filling the silent void. Alara's eyes narrowed as she focused on the approaching figure before it stopped just a few feet from her. Her eyes raked over everyone inch of the person, but there was very little details to take in. They were wearing dark clothing, and a long cloak wrapped around their shoulders covering all of their body with the hood drawn up.
"Who are you?" The person tilted their head to the side, but stayed silent. "Tell me now!" The figure shook its head before raising a single gloved finger to where their lips would be. They moved swiftly and stood directly in front of Alara causing her to take a step back in shock. "How did you move that fast? Get away from me!"
'Be prepared,' a voice echoed in her mind as the figure tapped her chest with a single finger. Alara jumped back as pain shot through her chest.
"What've you done?" she gasped as the pain increased greatly as she dropped to her knees. The figure kneeled down in front of her as they slowly looked her over in greater detail as Alara stared into their shadow of a face. Fear began to mix with the pain on her face as she began to think that this hooded figure had come to kill her. She watched as they raised a finger, and it began to move towards her again.
Alara tried to swat their hand away, but the pain was weakening her causing her to only barely push it away. They tapped her chest again as they pain hit twice as hard causing her to double over with a gasp.
With the next jolt of pain Alara jumped awake in a cold sweat as she looked around trying to figure out where she was. As she recognized the familiar surroundings of her bedroom as she started to calm down as the pulsing pain began to fade away. She fell back on her bed as she tried to make sense of what she had just seen. Her hand fell off the side of her bed, and brushed against something soft making her jump back. She looked over the side of her bed, and was relieved to see Isamu fast asleep.
"What the hell is this going to all about now?" Alara sighed exhaustingly. "Can I have at least one night of peaceful sleep without visions, or at least happy dreams that don't include death and dark doubles?" Only the silence of her apartment and Isamu's slow, deep breaths answered her question. She figured Lanea would answer, but taking a second to reach out towards her told her she was resting herself. With one quick glance at her alarm clock to see it was one-thirty in the morning she rolled over to go back to sleep since everyone else was.
Lucky enough her request was granted, and no more dreams plagued her mind. The only thing she had was the gentle brush against her consciousness coaxing her awake. Her eyes slid open towards her clock to check the time once again, and saw it was eleven twenty. She quickly did the math, estimating the time from when she fell unconscious at the mall, and was surprised to find she had slept almost twenty-two hours. Of course she couldn't complain it was needed, but even though she felt well rested she also still felt really drained.
'Good morning my love how did you sleep?' Atem asked gently as he lightly brushed against her conscious again, and pushing her to wake up more. She paused for a second before answering, and decided not to tell him about her dream. She wanted to sit and think about it, and try to figure it out for herself before she told anyone. With as little detail as she got from it there was not much point in them knowing just yet.
'Really good, but I just feel really drained still,' Alara replied as she fully stretched outwards before relaxing with a satisfying sigh.
'Are you sure you're feeling up to starting this today?'
'Yea it needs to get started before something happens, and we get distracted again for Ra knows how long.'
'Alright well everyone is patiently waiting for you here so take your time.'
'I shouldn't be too long I'm just going to jump in the shower, get something to eat, and then I'll be headed that way.'
'Okay we'll see you in a little bit.' Alara got out of bed taking special care not to step on Isamu who had rolled onto his back with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. She smiled and thought about how adorable he looked compared to always looking so serious. Atem's laughter quietly echoed in her mind as she realized she actually let the image slip to him, and grabbed her phone to take a quick picture. With a shrug she turned towards her closet, and quietly put her new things away before pulling out something to wear.
Alara headed towards the bathroom, shut the door, started the water, and then stripped the clothes from her body. She stepped into the steamy water, and let it cascade down her body pushing away the soreness from her muscles. She took her time enjoying the water as she washed, and her thoughts drifted towards what Moru was going to say she was going to have to do. There were so many things she could do, but nothing seemed to fit perfectly. She had heard them mentioning balancing herself out, but she didn't know that really meant.
'Whatever it is it shouldn't be too hard, because I can't do anything like Atem had to do. He defeated his darker self that was causing a true issue, but mine didn't really do anything. I also took care of it before it could get out of hand, and we shouldn't have to see or deal with it any longer so that's out. I guess the only thing I'm hoping for is that this will help me get my outbursts under control, and we won't have to worry about me accidentally hurting anymore. It'll also get me one step closer to unlocking my true power, which makes me hope I don't have to do a lot.'
A splash of colder water brought Alara out of her thoughts as she realized she had been in the shower longer than normal, and the water was starting to turn cold. She quickly shut the water off, and reached out for the towels to wrap around her body and hair. She cleared the condensation from the mirror as she began to towel dry and brush her hair out. Her eyes drifted downwards noticing a dark mark peeking out from under her towel. She ran her finger across it, but it didn't go away as she felt a flicker of pain once again.
'It can't be…' It started to all come back her as she realized why this pain felt so familiar. With quick fingers she loosened the towel, and lowered it as her eyes widen and heart began to race.
"No how is this possible it was gone…all of it…he said none was left…"Alara whispered as she felt her panic began rise as she stared at the scar on her chest that had turned a dark gray once again. "How could I have not noticed it before?"
"Alara what's wrong?" Lanea asked as she appeared next to her when she felt her distress. Alara jumped and instinctively covered herself.
"I don't understand," Alara said as she shook her head, and tears began to gather in her eyes.
"Let me see." Alara hesitated as she looked away before she felt a gentle cool hand on hers. "It's okay…" She nodded slightly, and pulled the towel down just enough so the scar could be seen. "I don't understand why this is happening either, but maybe we should tell Kimi."
"No I don't want anything else to cause them worry, and keep delaying this. We need to get started before it's too late. Besides it's probably from where I've been dealing with my own inner darkness lately…maybe I truly have a…"
"Alara stop your nonsense right there!" Lanea snapped cutting her off immediately. She looked up at the spirit in shock as she had never heard her be that harsh tone except one other time. "Don't even finish that sentence for I heard the end of it in your head. Don't you dare ever think that!"
"Lanea…"
"No, you know that is not the truth! If it was do you think you would be able to do things you're able to or have done in the past? You wouldn't be sensitive to shadow magic, and wouldn't be able to control the bracelet or Tenshi. Did you forget the trial you had to take in order to even receive the bracelet? Your heart and soul was tested to make sure it was clear of any true thoughts or intentions of evil. Right there it proves it."
"But things can change," Alara mumbled.
"Things do change, but do you really think you would really still be alive?" Alara's eyes widened in shock at the subtle threat in the spirit's tone, before she turned her gaze away in guilt that she let her thoughts run wild. "If you had truly turned evil and had a black heart the bracelet would have tried to kill you instantly. Although that vision of the woman showed that with the right extremely powerful shadow magic even the extraordinary power in the bracelet can be overwhelmed and consumed."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Alara asked with a deep breath as she started to get dressed. Lanea closed her eyes in thought as she weighed the few options they had.
"We truly only have two options, and that's to tell or not tell everyone else. If you're still dead set on not telling them then I was just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get any worse. You were probably right to think that it came from your recent issues with your darker half. If that's the cause it shouldn't get any worse, and hopefully start to recede."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then you HAVE to talk to the others about it." Alara nodded her in agreement as it was the only thing they could do at the moment. Without knowing a true cause for it to return they wouldn't know if any intervention would be needed to get rid of it like last time. With a sigh she pulled her shirt over her head, and headed towards the kitchen to make herself something to eat.
'So did you see what happened in my dreams last night?' Alara questioned in thought just in case so Isamu didn't over hear her.
'No, but give me a second to look through your memories.' As Alara patiently waited she set to work making her breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. She plopped down on the couch as she felt Lanea return her attention back to her. 'So what's your opinion?'
'It's hard to say considering nothing could be seen, but it did sound like a battle was going on. As for the cloaked person I have no idea, and when they directed their thoughts to you they kept their voice very neutral. That made it hard to tell if it was a male or female. You're not telling them about this either are you?'
'Nope there is basically no point. We can't get any real information out of it, and I don't think they will either so I see it to be pointless until we can figure out something.'
'I kind of hate to admit it, but you're right.'
'You make me feel as if I'm always wrong,' Alara countered with mock hurt as a playful smirk crossed her lips.
'I never said that I only merely agreed with you on something I would have normally argued against.'
'Why Lanea I think I'm really starting to rub off on you,' Alara joked as she turned on the news before returning her dishes to the kitchen.
'Funny I guess I have to look forward to becoming extremely hard headed,' Lanea smirked proudly in her head.
'I think you've got a pretty good start already.' She let out a huff of air as she fell silent, and Alara let out a chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Isamu yawned as he walked into the room.
"Lanea finally finding out how I've been rubbing off on her, and she's became a little on the hard headed side."
"You two are as different as each side of a coin, but yet you're so similar you could easily pass as twin sisters." Alara laughed at the truth of the statement as she felt Lanea start to pout, and trying not to agree.
"As we continue our coverage of the story of the large fire in America that started just five days ago we've finally received some finalized details," the reporter on the TV said immediately catching their attention.
"Did you know about this?" Isamu asked.
"No I don't watch TV that much anymore."
"A large fire started six days ago in the main building, and spread to most of the dorms at the world renowned dance school, Jalltin Academy."
"Isn't that…" Isamu started as he glanced at Alara.
"That's were Tea's going to school!"
'ATEM!' Alara screamed in her head.
'By the gods what was that for, and was it absolutely necessary to scream? I almost covered Tristan in my drink!'
'YES IT IS IMPORTANT TURN THE NEWS ON RIGHT NOW!' Alara focused back in as pictures of the school appeared on the screen showing the destruction that had been caused.
"It has finally been confirmed that a little more than two dozen individuals have perished in the fires, and a couple dozen more were severely injured. Currently the school has been shut down, and all students are returning home until the severity of the destruction has been examined and the source of what started the fire is found. Hopefully they hope to decide on what they are going to do for the rest of the school year, and for the future while repairs are completed."
'Atem…did Yugi see it?' Alara asked gently. She stared at the TV as the news continued, and she waited for a response.
'Yes right now he's just staring at the TV. We're all kind of watching him to…never mind he just started panicking and kind of having a mental break down.'
'Try to calm him down, and see if anyone can get a hold of Tea. I'm going to get ready, and I'll be over there momentarily.'
'We're on it.' Alara rushed towards her room to grab her shoes and a light jacket before sitting down on the couch. As she pulled her shoes on her thoughts raced through her head as she half listened to what they were discussing now on the news.
"In other news the police are still searching for the eleven missing people that began to disappear four months ago as the numbers of missing continues to grow every day. They are baffled that each person's disappearance is not leaving any clues behind to their whereabouts could be. The police are now reaching out to the public to help with this growing case. If you have any information or clues that would aid in their search please contact the police headquarters downtown."
"That seems odd," Alara mumbled under her breath as she turned the TV off, and ran out the door. She didn't know why, but something about those missing people stroke her interest and made worry began to grow in her heart. A few minutes later she bust through the door to the game shop, and went towards the living room where she could hear frantic shouting.
Alara came to stop as she saw Yugi pacing back and forth with panic etched into his face as tears gathered in his eyes. He looked as if he was about pull his hair out as everyone kept trying to calm him down and listen.
"She's dead…she's dead…no wait she can't be…no she is," Yugi mumbled.
"Yugi you must sit down and calm yourself," Solomon tried to reason with him. "We don't know if that's the case."
"No…it's true…she's gone…"
"I'm guessing he's not listening to any reason at all?" Alara questioned grabbing everyone's attention briefly.
"No, he's not listening to anyone," Atem sighed as Yugi began to pace even faster, and his mumbles became more incoherent.
"Well we need to try to calm him down before he starts trying to do drastic things."
"Do you really think he would go to such extremes?"
"It's possible," Rikku commented. "He's just heard tragic news, and is in state of denial as he tries to process everything."
"But Yugi has never had thoughts like that," Atem said.
"Well like they say you do crazy things when you're in love, and his heart is breaking as he continues to assume she is dead."
"I'm still getting voicemail," Joey sighed as he hung up his phone.
"That's proof…gone…"Yugi rambled as he came to a stop in his pacing, and became silent instantly.
"That proves nothing Yugi get it through your thick skull," Alara yelled. Yugi slowly looked up at her as a single tear ran down his cheek as his eyes slowly widened. Kimi let out a small sigh as a smile crept across her lips from where she stood up against the wall. His legs grew wobbly before he's knees collapsed, and he fell towards the floor. Atem threw a hand up quickly as shadows projected up from the floor, and caught him before his head could hit the floor.
"Why did he just pass out like that?" Tristan asked as Atem easily lowered him to the floor.
"Not sure," Atem answered.
"Would someone mind to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Everyone turn towards the voice that came from behind Alara to see Tea standing there with confusion written on her face.
"TEA!" Tristan and Joey yelled as they ran towards her and grabbed her in a tight hug.
"We're so happy you're okay," Alara sighed with relief. "Now we know why Yugi probably passed out."
"Of course I am why wouldn't I be?" she asked as she quickly blinked her eyes.
"The fire at your school," Atem pointed out.
"Oh yea well I'm sorry I couldn't get ahold of you about that. I do need to tell you what happened so you don't have to worry anymore."
"We should probably wait until Yugi wakes up so he can see you're actually alive, and he didn't see only a spirit. Which is why I'm assuming he passed out," Alara said with a shake of her head.
"I got this," Sorran smirked deviously as he raised his paws into the air. "Aqua…glaciem…" A bubble of water appeared over his right paw as a small pile of ice cubes showed up over his left.
"What's he doing?" Tea asked.
"Just waking our sleepy head up." His tail flicked and the ice disappeared as the water floated over Yugi's head before dropping down, and busting all over him. He let out yell and jumped up, and shook his head sending water flinging in all directions. He froze and his eyes widened before letting out another yell, and frantically jumping up and down. His hand dove into his pants, and began to pull out the ice cubes that had magically appeared. Sorran couldn't help it as he fell over, and rolled side to side in a laughing fit.
"Only Sorran," Alara mumbled as she shook her head.
"I got this," Moru mumbled as he snapped his fingers. Sorran stopped his laughter as he heard a small spark, and sniffed the air as a weird smell hit his nose. Everyone covered their mouth trying not to laugh as they waited for him realize what was happening.
"Is something burning in here?" Sorran asked.
"Yea you!" Rikku said as he lost control of his laughter. Sorran looked back and let out a small yell when he saw that his tail was on fire. He took off running in circles trying blow the fire out, but it didn't bother the small flame at all. He made a sharp turn for the pile of melting ice that Yugi had finally finished pulling out of his pants. He pressed his tail down quickly and let out a satisfied sigh as a hiss come from the extinguished flame, and a thin smoke trail curled upwards.
"Nice," Tristan laughed as he high fived Moru.
"What makes this even better is you just stuck your tail in the ice that was just against his balls," Joey snickered. Sorran's eyes widened as he pulled his tail out, and began rubbing it on the ground. With a huff of air and a scowl on his face he ran up the stairs towards the bathroom mumbling about having to bath in the sink.
"Now before this gets anymore weird, awkward, or you start to freaking out again Yugi," Alara sighed. "Tea is here alive and just fine." Yugi turned away from where the ermine had disappeared to see his girlfriend definitely still standing there.
"TEA!" He yelled as he ran forward, and pulled her into his arms. "I'm so happy that you're okay. I was afraid that something really bad had happened."
"I know and I'm sorry I didn't make contact with anyone beforehand. It just got really chaotic after the fires started."
"Why don't you tell us what happened?" Kimi said as slid down onto the floor. Tea nodded as she moved towards the couch to sit down, and Yugi followed not letting go of his death grip on her hand.
"The fires started almost a week ago in the main building. Luckily I had gone into town that day to get some things I needed from the store since my first class had been cancelled. Had I been in that first class there is a high chance I wouldn't have made it out." Tea flinched as she felt Yugi's grip tighten as he stared down at the floor. "Yugi…you're hurting my hand."
"Sorry," he smiled weakly as he lessened his grip.
"Most of the main building, two smaller dorms, and only a small part of my dorm were destroyed. But everyone that was killed and those that are still severely injured is the greater lost. No source externally or internally has been found to start the fire. I would have called you sooner, but I had a lot happen over the next three days after that. Once my end of the building that received the least amount of damage was cleared to be safe I had to get in, and get as many things I could salvage out. One of the things I couldn't find at all was my phone charger so it's been dead since that day."
"What're you going to do about school since they're closed now, and will be for a while?" Solomon asked.
"I'll actually be attending another school I happened to get a letter of recommendation in the mail the day before the fire."
"So you'll be leaving again?" Yugi asked sadly. She had just returned safe after this disaster, and he was worried that if she left for another school she might not be so lucky this time.
"Yes and no, I'll actually been attending a private school in Tokyo."
"Wait why didn't you apply there in the first place?" Joey asked.
"Well when I say private school I mean private. They don't take students directly out of high school or anywhere else, but other colleges. They only send out requests to some of the best dancers that have been excelling in all of their studies, and have a very high potential."
"You just happened to catch their eye at the right moment," Atem commented.
"Right so I've been busying getting everything set up at the school, and finding an apartment that was an even distance between there and Domino City so I can easily come and visit."
"Well congrats and hopefully everything works out for the better there," Alara smiled happily, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"So what's with the party here right now?" Tea asked looking around. "I'm not guessing everyone came rushing over when you saw the fire on the news."
"We just happened to come over and visit to see how everyone was after yesterday," Tristan replied.
"Yesterday?"
"Long story, short there was a big Daemonia fight," Yugi explained.
"Did you get it?"
"No it got away," Alara growled as her anger sparked over how she could let that happen.
"There was nothing you could have done," Atem said trying to calm her. "Besides we'll get it next time for sure."
"Oh we will."
"As for the rest of us we're going to be working with Alara to balance out her power, and hopefully unlock it fully," Kimi said.
"Which we need to get started if you're ready," Moru said turning to look at Alara, and Sorran quietly bound down the stairs leaving some droplets of water behind him.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Okay please sit down on the floor, and I'll begin to explain everything." Alara did as she was told, and glanced to her side when Lanea appeared sitting next to her. Everyone grew quiet as Moru placed his hand on her forehead, and it started to glow softly. A few seconds later he let out a hum and removed his hand. "It's as I assumed."
"What? The suspense is starting to kill me," Alara sighed annoyingly.
"Every time I've healed you I've been checking your energy levels. With each passing time the levels between the two energies within you has been growing farther and farther apart, and in turn is throwing them out of balance," Moru explained. He opened his hand, and his staff appeared before he tapped it once on the ground. It flashed brightly once then one small orb of light shot from the bracelet and another from Alara's heart. They grew to shape themselves similar to Alara, but it could be seen that the golden light was shining much brighter than the silver.
"The gold light represents your magical energy, which is the source of your magic," Moru continued. "While the silver light represents your spiritual or physical energy, which is the overall source of power to both your physically body and your magic."
"Makes sense," Alara nodded looking between the two lights.
"As you can see you have more power in your magical energy. Your physical energy is what is supposed to help keep that in check by being in balance so it doesn't start to overwhelm you, but since you haven't been unable to unlock that power fully it is building up on itself. Whenever something happens to you intentionally or not that makes its grip slip and this when you have your uncontrolled outbursts." The silver light faded out completely as the gold light flashed brightly before fading back down, and the silver returned. "Since you can't positively control or predict these outbursts we must work on getting these energies brought back into equal balance to stop them. I would have hoped during some of your battles it would help as you're using your magic, but even with some of your most powerful attacks you've never released enough magical energy to try and bring down that level."
"Do you know any ways I could positively control these outbursts?"
"I do not know of any ways that could work in such an extreme case as yours. Any time we've dealt with it just releasing some magical energy has been all that was needed." Sorran rubbed his chin thoughtfully as various ideas ran through his mind. There could actually be a possibility of something that could help, but that was just something and someone he just didn't want to have to deal with it. Besides it's not like it was a foul proof plan that would work fully if at all.
"Sorran you look like you have something on your mind," Kimi said.
"A small idea, but it's nothing," he sighed waving his paw in the air.
"Wait a minute there was that one time I remember down in the basement with Hotaru where her eyes turned silver instead of gold," Atem pointed out.
"I think that was just a fluke or something she may have been thinking about that gave her more physical strength before her outburst happened a few moments later."
'I highly doubt me thinking about my possible impending death gave me strength,' Alara mentally sighed to Lanea.
'You may not have noticed, but I did feel it gave you a little more strength. Your determination grew slightly to try, and find another way than that ending,' Lanea responded as she cast a worried glance her way.
'Maybe it did deep in my heart, but I feel no different.'
"Do you think if there's a chance that if we don't work fast enough I could have outbursts that could never be pulled back under control?" Alara asked moving the conversation along. She had a feeling she knew the answer, but she just hoped she could be proved it wrong. She didn't know what she would do with herself if she actually ended up hurting any of her friends or anyone else.
"There's a chance, but hopefully that's not going to happen."
"We believe that once your energy is in perfect balance once again, and can be kept that way, within a reason, you'll finally unlock everything," Rikku added as the two lights shined equally. They combined and swirled together in what seemed to be perfect harmony.
"So what do I have to do?"
"Meditate," Moru answered as the lights disappeared.
"You're kidding me," Alara said as her jaw dropped in disbelief. "You may it seem like it's going to be this super hard task, and meditate is all I have to do."
"I'm not kidding, your energy flow throughout your body is being blocked which is causing everything. So you must meditate to open your chakra gates."
"So I sit here, calm my mind, find these blocks, and just open them piece of cake."
"It's much harder than you really think. There are many different versions of the chakras even though they're all placed in the same area. What is causing them to be blocked and the steps needed to clear them is different from person to person, and based a lot on their life experiences. Most of yours are open, but there are five that are blocked."
"Do you know what they are, and what is blocking them?"
"What you need to open is the Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Pain, Gate of Heart, and the Gate of Death. Each gate has one of more things that you must accept that will happen, might happen, or has happened that is not entirely or not your fault at all. You withhold a lot of guilt on many subjects, and I know much of it is unknown to everyone here. When I first discovered this I only found the heavy guilt, but I didn't look in any further out of respect and privacy. "
"Thank you"
"You don't have to voice anything to any us if you don't feel comfortable, but I speak for us all when I say we'll support you the entire way with whatever you choose to do." Everyone nodded with smiles of encouragement as Alara looked around them. She looked down as everything sunk in, and memories that she banished to the back of her mind came creeping back. She had a feeling on some of the things that she was going to have move past, and it surprised her a little that it would be something that coming back to haunt her like this. But she needed to be strong for the sake of everyone here and the world so they were not plunged into an enteral darkness in the end.
"Do you know exactly what I must overcome for each one to be unlocked?" Alara nodded as determination shined in her eyes hiding the fear behind it.
"On a general basis yes, and I'll help you as much as you wish me to."
"Then let's get started."
"The Gate of Opening should be the easiest one to unlock while the Gate of Heart will take the longest and will be the hardest to unlock; the rest fall in between them. What you must do is look deep within yourself with your thoughts directed towards finding the specific gate you are looking for. It shall reveal itself to you, and show you what you must accept to open it."
"Alright let's do this." Alara closed her eyes, and took slow deep breaths to clear her mind. She chuckled slightly as she remembered the last time she had truly done this was when she would put up her barrier against seeing spirits. Now she let it out freely since it helped so much. After a few minutes she felt all thoughts drain away from her mind, and everything became absolutely quiet. "Gate of Opening"
Alara felt something pull at her mind, and quiet whispers began to sound around her. Her faced scrunched up in frustration that no one was being quiet so she could focus. She opened her eyes to say something, but was shocked to see nothing but darkness with small flecks of light floating everywhere.
"Hello…where am I?" Alara called out softly. The whispers cut off before increasing in volume as various words began to jump out at her.
"Death…fear…darkness…pain…..alone…rejection…failure…" The words echoed in her mind as images of the fight from yesterday began to flash in front of her eyes. Her darker half had spoken of some of the same things although pinpointing them to more specific things. She squeezed her eyes shut as she blocked the voices out, and focused everything to the task at hand. It seemed to take forever, but slowly they voices grew distance until nothing else could be heard.
"Alara…" She opened her eyes to see Lanea standing in front of her with a gentle smile on her face. "You've blocked the voices of deception from leading you astray from your path. Now you must look into your chakra pool to face your fears and accept them."
"Wow Moru was right to say this would be the easiest one."
"Hearing your fears is one thing, but facing them head on is another. I know you'll not want to accept all of your fears, but I must say it's something you have to do."
"Wait, you're not going with me?"
"No," Lanea shook her head gently. "I'll be here waiting for you to return and supporting you, but this something you must do alone."
"But everyone said they're supporting me."
"We are, but we can't influence the way you move past what troubles your heart the most. Besides we both know there are fears that you don't wish to share now if ever at all with the others. Whatever you see or may feel just remember it's not real, but only illusions as your heart speaks to your mind. I believe that you'll be just fine, and it will all work out. You are my reincarnation and the chosen Queen of Light for a reason."
"Thank you," Alara smiled as courage began to build in her heart. "Where's my chakra pool?"
"Just a few feet into the darkness, you'll be able to feel its bond to you within no time as it pulls you towards it."
"Okay I'll see you back in the shop in a few minutes."
"Good luck," Lanea smiled as she faded away. A thought occurred to her after she had fully disappeared, and it was the fact she didn't know which direction to walk. With a heavy sigh she took a couple of steps forward, and immediately felt as if she was going the wrong way. She kept turning in different directions until she had the comforting feeling that she was headed in the right direction, and knew exactly where to go.
As she continued to move deeper into the darkness the only sound Alara heard was the echoing of her footsteps. Finally dancing shades of blues and greens begin to appear in the distance, and the sound of moving water filled the air. Alara took off in a slow jog to quickly close the distance as the pool grew in size. She stopped at the edge of the calm pool of water, and looked down at her reflection. She waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened as the water gently moved on its own.
"What am I supposed to do?" Alara whispered as she kneeled down at the edge. She hesitantly reached out to the surface to touch it, but it was so calm and serene she didn't want to disturb it. "I'll never get anywhere if I just keep holding myself back." With one quick motion she dove her hand into the water sending ripples outward across the surface. The water rippled away from her hand changing the clear images into those that represented her fears.
Alara watched as her death happened in various ways in front of her eyes, her friends dying by her hands on accident or by others on purpose, Atem turning his back on her and leaving, the darkness overtaking the land, a battle with Zorc with him destroying everyone and everything in seconds, and so much more. She turned away from the scenes as tears began to gather in her eyes.
"No I have to face all of this with a strong heart or I'll never to be to accomplish anything. I just can't keep running away from my fears, and hope that they'll go away on their own," Alara said as she forced determination in her voice, and turned her gaze back to the pool. "Just because I fear these things doesn't mean that they'll actually come to pass exactly like this or at all. The fact that I have fear in my heart of the unknown shows that even though I may wield strong powers I'm still human. When the time shall pass that I may have to face any of these fears and problems head on I'll do it with courage and confidence in myself and the others to help me. I'm not in this alone, never have, or never will be as I'll find the best solution to what must be done to overcome everything with the least amount of damage to anyone or anything around me. I accept my fears!"
The images immediately disappeared from the water as a pillar of light shot up into the air, and a gust of wind pushed Alara away from it. She pushed herself to her feet as she shielded her eyes, and her hair whipped wildly around her. She stood there wondering what was going to happen next as the light began to fluctuate between various shades of silver and gold. She took a step towards the pillar as she felt her strength began to increase and encouraged her to move faster into it.
"I thought you said this was going to be a quick and easy one," Joey yawned as he glanced at his watch noting the hour that had dragged by.
"It should be, but we all know that our fears tell us things about our soul and heart that we don't wish to fully admit," Moru stated calmly. "Aren't there things in your heart that others may not know about that you fear?"
"Well yea there are a few things."
"Put on the spot would you quickly accept them?"
"It would be quite hard to, but if the lives of my friends were on the line I would have to."
"Now you see what she has to work through in a short amount of time. She may not have these peaceful moments that she can meditate undisturbed to get past what is blocking her at the moment. Something that may be very challenging to her to move past might have to be overcome and accepted in the blink of an eye."
"Now that you put it that way that does seem really stressful and challenging," Joey sighed thoughtfully as everyone else nodded their head. They began to put themselves in Alara's position, and questioned themselves if they could overcome some of their worst fears in a moment's notice.
"I know this is the first time we've ever done this, but should that be happening," Rikku pointed out. Everyone looked up to see the bracelet pulsing with a gold light, and a similar silver light pulsing over Alara's heart.
"I'm going to assume that something good is happening," Kimi said.
"Assume or be absolutely positive?" Atem questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm going to say absolutely positive," Moru cut in. "I can feel a slight shift her energy levels." The lights cut out as Alara's eye shot open, and she looked around at everyone.
"I kind of was expecting something more dramatic to happen like usual," Yugi said.
"So how do you feel?" Solomon asked.
"Not all that different really," she answered with a shrug. "I mean I feel like I am a little bit more in control and balanced then I was earlier, but it's nothing to really brag or get hyped up about."
"Well that just shows that gate did not have as much influence over the balance as the others might," Kimi said. "The more important thing is you've opened one of your chakras without much of an issue. The others will probably prove to be much harder, and in the words of Yugi we'll probably see a more dramatic change."
"So will each of the gates easily show themselves to me, and what I must overcome as this one?" Alara asked turning towards Moru.
"I'd assume not. I think you must realize all parts of the gates before it fully reveals itself to you, and you can accept it."
"But I thought you said you knew on a basis of what each thing I need to accept for each gate, and you would help me with them."
"I do and I will, but this is something you have to figure out on your own as well. It's almost like cheating if I told you everything, and besides it helps you to discover a little more about yourself."
"Then why could I easily access this gate then?"
"You've already been thinking through many of your fears, and with the fight with the Daemonia yesterday they were all basically brought to light."
"So then I could easily see them, and that's why you said I could easily overcome this one. Half of the work had already been done without me realizing it."
"Correct, and don't get too disheartened about the others. You may not even realize it, but you already on the way of discovering them." Alara nodded with a small smile as she turned towards Sorran.
"Sorran where you able to figure out those spells we discussed yesterday?" Alara asked. He took a second to remember what she was talking about before nodding his head.
"Yes I was able to figure it out, and during everyone's down time I practiced a couple of times. They worked out just fine so I think we'll be in the clear."
"Okay if that's the cause then we probably need to leave tonight. With that Daemonia running around free I don't want to try and wait for some perfect time to head back, and never get it because everything comes crashing down."
"Wait, where are you going?" Tea asked as she looked at Tristan and Joey who just shrugged their shoulders.
"It's not where just I'm going, but where Atem, Yugi, and I are going."
"You're just leaving all of a sudden?"
"We'll when we planned it yesterday we didn't know you were coming back, and didn't really know everything that happened with the school," Yugi ducked from Tea's hard glare. "We're going back to the alternate dimension Alara was trapped in to check on everything."
"Since that was the first time I used the purifying spell I want to make sure that everything has worked out for the better like it has for Atem," Alara explained. "Based on the time here we'll only be gone for two days, but spending a week there." Tea nodded quietly in understanding as she turned away.
"Now that the three of you are in on the loop that the three of them will be gone you have to promise us something," Rikku said.
"What?" Tristan asked as he exchanged glances with Joey and Tea.
"We need to you come over here, if you can, for the next two or three days until they get back. We need to keep up the illusion that they're still here, and everything is still normal here."
"What about Alara?" Joey asked.
"I was going to pretend I was sick so it could be mentioned, and maybe act as if you're coming over to check on me," Alara answered. "At that point if you wouldn't mind to check on Nanu it'll keep up the illusion I'm still there since every time I'm gone for an extended period of time Nanu always shows up here."
"That shouldn't be too much of an issue, and very easy to do."
"Sorran will be around the whole time creating random realistic spirits of Atem and Yugi that'll show their face at appropriate times. For example he may have Atem walk with you guys to my apartment to check on me."
"We'll each stop in periodically as well to add to it since we're here constantly," Kimi added in.
"When exactly are you leaving?" Tea asked.
"If everyone agrees with me I wish to leave around midnight tonight. It'll give me the chance to rest some more so I have enough energy, and we'll be leaving at the dead of night like it was suggested earlier."
"I'm okay with that," Yugi nodded as everyone else joined him in agreement.
"Alright then I'll head home myself, and pretend to start to feel sick just in case anyone may be watching the shop. Atem come and get me around eleven thirty, and we'll get this show on the roll. I just suggest the both of you get some rest as well just in case I need to pull any energy from you." Atem nodded as he followed towards the door to walk her home.
"I've missed way too much in the short time I last saw everyone," Tea sighed. "It's good to actually be back home."
Alara pulled a black t-shirt over her head as she headed towards the living room. She filled all of Nanu's bowls to make sure she would be set for a while before sitting down to cuddle as she waited for Atem. She glanced at the clock with a yawn to see it change to eleven thirty, and knew he would be there any minute. Her head bobbed slightly as she fought to stay awake.
"Even though you got quite a few more hours of sleep you're still quite drained of energy," Lanea quietly pointed out. "Are you sure you're going to able to handle this? You know it took quite a bit of energy to teleport yourself here, and now you have to worry about two more people."
"That's why I told them to get some rest so they wouldn't feel such a draw on their energy if I needed it. Which at this rate I'm going to need it so hopefully we should be fine."
"Do you have any kind of plan for when we arrive? Do you even know where you're going to set the portal?"
"I'm going to place the portal at the sacred place we left from, and since there is so much energy in that area I was going to use it to restore my own. That way we'll be able to head toward the palace immediately, and hopefully find a way to gain an audience with the Pharaoh without getting arrested this time but I doubt it."
"I hope your plan works," Lanea sighed as she turned towards the portal that appeared, and Atem stepped through it.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"As ready as I'm going to get," Alara answered as she took his hand, and followed him into the portal.
Sorran and Kimi, as a cat, watched closely hidden in the shadows of the shop in the backyard. Alara took a step forward, and looked toward the sky. Atem and Yugi stood just behind her as they watched her closely, and waited patiently for her to start.
"Let's hope I don't screw this up," Alara whispered quietly so no one else could hear her. She turned around to look at the boys as she took a deep breath. "Both of you will have to hold onto my hand tightly, and don't let go so we don't lose you."
"Well that's comforting," Yugi chuckled nervously.
"What do you expect this is the second time I've done this and the first with other people? If you can channel a small amount of energy to me until I tell you to stop. I want to make sure this doesn't make me pass out or maybe kill me if I use too much."
"Yep very comforting," Atem agreed as his eyes widened in shock.
"Thanks for the support and for believing in me guys," Alara sighed annoyingly as she grabbed both their hands, and turned back around.
"We believe in you," Yugi blurted out as he glanced at Atem who nodded in agreement. Alara smiled as she took a deep breath, and began to imagine every single detail of the sacred area including the giant stone in the sand. She imagined the sand beneath her feet, the heat of day beating down on her from above, and the gentle desert breeze. When she felt she was ready she tapped into her magic causing the bracelet to grow brightly giving Atem and Yugi their cue to begin channeling energy to her.
The puzzle and crystal began to glow as well as Alara felt the rush of energy began to course through her veins. When she felt she was ready she released the magic, and within a few seconds a medium oval of light appeared. Not wanting to waste a moment the group of three rushed forward, and jumped into the light putting their trust in her that they would end up in the right place.
"Good luck," Kimi sighed as the portal disappeared plunging the yard back into darkness. "I wish you safe and quick travels there and back."
"They'll be fine I have faith in her skills," Sorran said as he began to head into the shop.
"I do too, but I…" Kimi stopped short as a fit of coughs overcame her. Sorran turned back to look at her with genuine concern on his face.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes," she replied rubbing her throat before falling in behind him to head inside. "My throat's just a little sore nothing more, and I've never heard you so concerned over someone before."
"What can I say being stuck around all of you so much just made you grow on me a little," Sorran said turning his head to hide the blush that crept across his face.
"It's nothing to be shy or embarrassed about it," Kimi teased as she flinched slightly at the increasing pain in her throat. "It's good to know that you really do care about all of us under that tough guy exterior."
"Yea, yea," he mumbled with a wave his paw.
Aqua-water
glaciem-ice
Yay one chakra open and four to go. Plus now we've got some mysterious things starting to pop up! Also we're moving back to the past I wonder what all is going to happen there. Guesses on anything?
Kiyomi: Until next week please favorite/follow/review!