Title: Get Up, Daddy
Characters: Edo, Mr. Phoenix
Chapters: 1-1||Words: 500
Genre: Family||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing, YGO GX, canon, A70: single canon scene
Notes: Pre-canon. Tiny Edo. Deceased father.
Summary: One shouldn't play in broken glass. So why won't Edo's father get up?

Edo's father told him often that broken glass was dangerous, that Edo should never touch it and always call his father if anything broke. Edo, being a good boy, always obeyed that.

But now he stared, trembling, not entirely believing his eyes. Tiny pieces of glass cracked and crunched underneath his feet and Edo stopped. A tiny word squeaked its way out of his throat. He wasn't sure what the word was. He tried again, a bit louder.

"Daddy?"

What was that smell? A little like copper. Too thick and there was something spread all around his dad, something that Edo didn't want to get any closer to. He'd never smelled anything like this before and it wasn't right. None of this was right.

Edo wanted to take another step. His dad shouldn't be laying in broken glass. If it was bad for him, then it had to be bad for everyone, right? But his dad lay there and his dad didn't move, and Edo wanted to scream, wanted to rush over and wake his dad up.

The window had been broken. That was where the glass came from. A chill wind tossed the curtains and sent even more shivers down Edo's spine. He couldn't see anyone else. But there had to have been someone else, because windows didn't break themselves and his dad wouldn't be laying down in the glass just because.

In the deepest part of his heart, something stuttered, trembled, and then crashed to a halt. Edo swallowed and tried again.

"Dad? Are you okay?"

Stupid question. He knew it. His dad wasn't even close to okay. But it was all that he could do right now. His legs weren't moving. His heart beat and his lungs worked but that thick stench stuck in his throat. He would spend the rest of his life associating that scent with terror, fear, and helplessness.

Never, ever did Edo want to feel this helpless again.

He closed his eyes. Maybe if he did that, it would all go away. This would turn out to be an incredibly real nightmare. He would wake up in his bed and his dad would rush in and comfort him and tell him stories about the new Destiny Heroes he was creating and how he looked forward to seeing Edo rise up to the very top of the Pro Leagues.

That was the future that Edo wanted. So many times he'd fallen asleep to the stories his dad told him about great duelists of the past and some of the up and coming ones. Surely one day Edo would duel them all and win. Even up to Mutou Yuugi or Kaiba Seto. His dad believed in him, and Edo believed in his dad.

That smell remained. So did the soft crunch of glass under his feet as he shifted. He screwed up his eyes, clenched his fists, and threw his head back, wanting to wake up, wanting so much that he wouldn't have again.

"Daddy!"

The End

Notes: Poor Edo. At least he's going to have Saiou and Mizuchi after this?