Title: Between Darkness and Light
Characters: Chaos Sorcerer, Haou, OCs (Duel Spirits)
Chapters: 1-1||Words: 4,380
Genre: Drama||Rated: PG
Prompts: YGO GX Month 2022, day #6, no prompt
Notes: Takes place during Juudai's rule of Dark World.
Summary: Chaos Sorcerer is in danger. That's par for the course in Dark World, but this danger threatens to unmake his very essence, if Haou doesn't get there. But Haou doesn't know where he is…
Chaos Sorcerer tested the strength of the chains once again. he'd forgotten how many times he'd done this in the last few hours. But each time the results were the same - no results at all. The golden glow around the bonds didn't lessen, nor did their grip on him. The circles of enchantment surrounding him didn't lessen at all. He had no more leeway to escape from here than he'd had from the moment he'd awoken here.
He considered how he'd come here. He'd done this many times since awakening here and he thought he'd worked it out. An ambush, simple as that. He'd gone alone to scout out what had been rumored to be a stronghold of powerful duelists. Haou-sama had already left to inspect another rumor, one involving that mysterious 'Johan Andersen'. Skull Bishop had gone with him, while Skilled Black and Skilled White would remain at the castle to ensure there weren't any attacks while the master was gone.
As for Guardian Baou - he'd mentioned he had another lead he wished to track down. Chaos Sorcerer had almost wanted the demon to come with him. But the orders came from Haou-sama and no one would argue with him. At least not anyone who held a hope of surviving.
The prison that trapped him was one of glowing, blinding golden light, with tiny flicks of blue and white. The bars rose up all around him, with walls a short distance away. He couldn't move a great deal, so finding out if there were a door behind him was currently beyond his capabilities. But he thought there might be.
This could only be the work of Angels. Which ones he couldn't guess, but he tasted their holy power all throughout this, and only power of that magnitude could keep him bound like this. He didn't even need to worry about why - he knew why. Because he served Haou-sama. Because people didn't appreciate his power or feared it too much. As was right, of course. People should be afraid of what he could do to them.
But if Chaos Sorcerer were to be honest with himself - as he preferred to be - then he did not expect a rescue. If those who held him had any form of sense, they would execute him quickly and be done with it. Risk Haou's vengeance, perhaps, and his rage would be terrible beyond words. But Chaos Sorcerer himself would be dead and unable to see it.
Soft flutter of wings came from behind him and his eyes jerked to the side enough to see a tiny fae creature, no larger than his hand, land on a slender pedastal. Chaos Sorcerer hadn't thought about why that might be there until now. He regarded the newcomer with eyes as dispassionate as he could muster. Regardless of size, this tiny creature might be his jailer or his executioner.
"And you are?"
A merry little trill came from the fairy. "Don't worry about who I am. Worry about who you're going to be - not that you need to worry about it. Once you're changed, you're going to love your new self!"
Chaos Sorcerer didn't allow a fraction of an expression to cross his face. He wasn't going to let whatever they said get to him. He refused to threaten them with Haou-sama. If he couldn't get out of this on his own, then he didn't need to serve his master regardless.
Another trill, a rippling giggle of laughter that echoed against the walls. "The ritual will begin soon. Once it's over, you're going to be one of us."
"You expect me to betray Haou-sama?" Chaos Sorcerer snorted at that. "That will never happen." What nonsense had they filled their own heads with?
"Oh, once you've had your change of heart, then you'll gladly tell us anything that we want to know about your precious Haou-sama," the tiny fairy taunted him, gray eyes gleaming bright and cold and so full of contempt for him. "We're going to bring down everything he's built, and you're going to be the one doing it all."
Chaos Sorcerer pressed his lips together. He knew that someone like this would want him to defy them, to insist that he'd never turn on his master, so that when they took control of his mind, they could mock him and feel superior. He'd seen that sort of attitude many times before with those who could control the minds of others.
Another titter and the fae rose, fluttering behind Chaos Sorcerer and out of his sight. Before silence fell again, they spoke once more. "You have one hour left."
There wasn't the sound of a door closing, but Chaos Sorcerer could feel the difference when he was alone once again. he pressed his lips together and considered his situation. His options were limited - the restrains kept him from using any spell he knew, as well as his effect, and he couldn't contact anyone outside the cell, let alone turn around to see who else might be there. All that surrounded him was that blinding light.
He'd heard Haou-sama speak of the Light, but he'd never encountered that before, nor did he know if this light was the same one. Perhaps the type of Light didn't matter. What mattered was that these people intended to take over his mind and use him against Haou-sama. He just needed a way to get out of here and back to the castle.
No matter how hard he strained, he couldn't work a single scrap of magic. if he could, he would be able to contact Bewitching Phantom Thief, who could pass along a message to the others. Somehow. Perhaps. Or he could simply escape. He knew more than enough spells to do that. The issue would be in casting them.
Again he strained and again he tried, until sweat dripped down his spine and hunger gnawed at him.
More than anything, he yearned to get out of here, but every avenue he could find appeared blocked in some fashion.
He turned his thoughts to what was claimed they'd do. It wasn't at all impossible for them to brainwash him - he knew full well that Haou-sama possessed that power and had used it before to turn powerful warriors to his side if he deemed them of more use alive than dead. If that was their fate, then he had always considered it to simply be right. They should be grateful if it happened to them, though they never seemed to be.
But now that the chance for him to experience the same fate loomed, it didn't seem to be quite the same. He did not want to lose his own ability to choose whom he served. He'd already chosen Haou-sama and he refused to turn against him.
He didn't have time to think on this very long before footsteps sounded from behind him, and the temperature dropped a little. He frowned; he'd had this sensation before, but only around a few other beings. Then a figure moved in front of him and Chaos Sorcerer could not hold back his surprise.
"Gods of shadows," he murmured, clenching his fingers into fists. "It's you."
There before him stood a being that he'd known before - one that he'd known as Neo Aqua Madoor, a powerful and talented wizard of water and ice. There had been half a dozen of those who served Haou-sama, but one had departed on a mission some time earlier and never returned. Chaos Sorcerer racked his memory for the name.
"Fannar?"
This had to be the one who'd gone missing, but he didn't so much as blink in Chaos Sorcerer's direction. He merely stood there, gazing with impassive pale red eyes. Chaos Sorcerer considered his options, then decided that right now he didn't have any. They'd sent Neo Aqua Madoor here to intimidate him - to show what he had coming for him.
He'd not be afraid. There were minds that even Haou-sama couldn't control. He would resist to the last dregs of his energy.
That last hour flicked by faster than Chaos Sorcerer would have thought possible. Fannar, or Neo Aqua Madoor, or whatever his name was now, didn't move a muscle, but remained standing on guard duty. Then, more footsteps sounded, and the familiar buzzing of wings as the fae creature returned, giggling as they flicked back to the pedestal.
"We're going to do this in front of everyone!" The fae caroled, clapping their hands gleefully. "So let's go!"
The enchantments that kept him hemmed in faded away, but didn't vanish entirely. He'd be able to move but he still couldn't cast any magic. The fae fluttered up to his face and poked him with one tiny finger.
"You think you can resist. So did my friend here." They perched on Neo Aqua Madoor's shoulder. "I can see you know him. Or you did - he's Lightray Madoor now. He's ours now." They caressed the ice mage's ear with one finger. "And he always will be. Our spells cannot be broken. The same will go for you. Unfortunately he wasn't useful for our main cause of defeating your precious Haou-sama. But the same will not be true of you."
Chaos Sorcerer snorted, unable to hold himself back now. "What makes you think that I will do anything to further your cause?"
"The fact that you won't be able to help yourself. You will retain all of your knowledge of Haou and his fortress and how it's defended and all of his plans."
He'd always heard that the smile of the fae was a sight deadly to see. He believed it when this creature smiled now. Even he, who'd committed atrocities beyond numbering, saw no soul in those glittering eyes.
"And you will gladly share with us, when you become one of us, Lightray Sorcerer."
He set his jaw. If they did this, then he would not only fight it, but he would endeavour to ensure that they drained every ounce of their power to make it happen.
Lightray Madoor took a firm grip on Chaos Sorcerer's arms and urged him out of the cell. He found out that he'd been in a tower chamber as he was wrestled down the stairs, stumbling over and over and kept upright only by Madoor's rough hands or those of one of the other guards who'd come with the fae.
Down the sitars and through a few corridors and then out to a broad garden area, with blinding light that shone from above. He'd heard tales of the sun, but this didn't seem to be that. It was simply bright light that came and he could not see from what.
Madoor dragged him to the center of the garden, a paved courtyard with an elegant fountain spouting water into the air to fall back down, creating a rainbow as light sparkled through it. This area faced an area of the castle they'd just left, and Madoor saw someone standing on a balcony. He didn't recognize this person, but he recognized a leader when he saw one, especially with broad wings and that kind of stern face.
The fae hovered before him, bobbing in a form of obeisance. "Milord Michael," they announced, "we have brought before you the one known as Chaos Sorcerer, who will be transformed this day into Lightray Sorcerer, and enable you to bring down the evil reign of the one who calls himself Haou. He will be your most loyal and devoted servant, from now until the end of time."
I doubt that, Chaos Sorcerer sneered, not relenting for a moment. If they had to rip the free will from his mind, then so be it. He'd not give them the pleasure of giving his will over to them freely.
The angel before him raised both armored arms and began to intone an incantation. Chaos Sorcerer knew very well now to ward his mind and did so with all speed, even as he could feel the enormous power battering against his defenses. It was strong - nearly as strong as Haou's - and if he let down his guard for even a moment, then he would not even have time to regret it.
It took only those first few moments for him to be certain that his resistance couldn't last forever. Try as he might, these enchantments would rip apart his inner walls and shred his mind to nothing but ribbons and shards of what it had once been. All he could hope for was that he resisted enough to either make it not worth the effort, or to buy enough time for Haou to realize that he'd not be returning and relocate.
Again and again the spells wrapped around him and he fought them off, each time taking a little more of his strength and energy with it. When he could spare the seconds to see, white crept up from the edges of his robe, overwhelming the natural colors. He fought that back as well. He would not do what they wanted. He'd made his choice - he would serve Haou-sama, now and forever!
A blinding pain struck the back of his head. He stumbled, snarling as he stuttered over the words to his defensive spells. He'd suffered far worse pain to attain mastery in his craft, but those few seconds were enough and more so - he could feel tendrils of light starting to grip more firmly onto him. He shook his head over and over, but now he could hear words shaping themselves inside of his mind, the voice that spoke them deep and rich and oh so easy to listen to.
He won't come for you. He has no need of you. You are nothing to him.
Chaos Sorcerer ground his teeth together. He wasn't going to listen to this. He didn't dare listen to this. A single moment could bring down all of the work he'd already done so far to keep himself as himself.
Give in. Accept us. Be one of us. You will have true allies, friends who will not abandon you to your enemies. Why would you desire anything else?
So many reasons leaped to mind. He'd made his choice. He'd believed in what Haou-sama wanted to do. It would bring him great honor and great skills. He could not - would not - believe in any word that they said. Haou-sama had spoken of the Light as his enemy. Surely this light was no different.
Let me in. Become my Lightray Sorcerer. You have seen that we have caused no harm to Lightray Madoor. You were always meant to be one of ours. How could you be anything else? You have always been ours. It is Haou who took you away from us.
No. No, that couldn't be true at all. He recalled every moment of his life. He vividly remembered hearing of Haou-sama's new campaign, shortly after the death of Brron, and deciding to go see what all the fuss was about. He'd watched through a scrying crystal at first, but when that didn't show him enough, he'd gone to see in person.
What he'd seen there encoruaegd him to approach Haou-sama personally, leading to joining him and rising quickly in the ranks to become one of the fierce warlord's Death Duelists. He remembered that!
Do you? Or is that something that Haou inserted into your mind? You know he controls minds. Has he not controlled yours?
He wanted to deny that. He truly did, but he'd always known about Haou's tendency to turn those who would stand against him into his staunchest supporters. What if - what if that had happened to him? What if he had been someone else and Haou changed him?
Haou could easily do so. It would take him less than no effort. He'd practically revived Freed the Brave Wanderer from the dead, reborn as Freed the Dark General. How much easier would it be to reshape him into the person he was now?
Yes. That's it. That's who you. Who you've always been. Mine. My Lightray Sorcerer.
Fighting exhausted him. He'd done it for so long and it never seemed to end. He needed to rest.
But at the core of him, he could not let go of the shadows that were Haou-sama. He ground his teeth together and shook his head. "No," he hissed out the word, pushing away all of the light before it could get a permanent grip on him. "I won't. I'm not - not yours."
"No." The voice rang against his mind and he clung to it as if he were drowning and this were a lifeline. "Chaos Sorcerer belongs to me."
Hard on the heels of those words came an explosion, and the world shook around them all. For a few seconds, Chaos Sorcerer saw nothing but bright light and deep shadows, and he had nothing that he could hold on to. Not until a firm armored hand rested on his shoulder and when his sight cleared, Haou stood there next to him, visor down, revealing nothing.
But he was there. He'd come. Against all hope, against all sense, he was there, and Chaos Sorcerer suspected in the back of his mind that it was only by the sheerest of good luck that he didn't fall over at that moment.
Then other arms came from behind him, and it was Guardian Baou helping him to his feet. Haou turned to face the ones who now stood against him, the high-powered angel in front of them. That one took a step forward, the most arrogant of expressions revealed now.
"You were not invited into our home, Haou. Leave this place."
Haou didn't move. Chaos Sorcerer suspected if he lifted his visor, then all of those here would be treated to the sight of eyes shining bright as gold.
"I need not be invited to take back what is mine. You struck against me, by abducting my warrior and attempting to turn him to your cause and use him against me."
Chaos Sorcerer wasn't sure at first of how Haou knew this, until he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps 'someone' would be a better term - he knew Bewitching Phantom Thief when he saw his assistant. So that explained a great deal. The ghost spirit caught his master's eye and nodded ever so slightly in confirmation.
"You have killed so many and taken the minds of others yourself! How dare you claim that you're better than us?" The fae creature snapped, hovering between them.
Haou paid them no mind whatsoever. But he wasn't just standing there. Under normal conditions in Dark World, the shadows that obeyed him could only rarely be seen. Here, in misplace of far too much light, Chaos Sorcerer saw those shadows cast by the unrelenting light rise up and shift around, circling around all of those who stood against his enemies.
Lightray Madoor made a sudden movement, only to find himself held firmly by shadows that rose up from his very feet. Haou regarded him for a few seconds, before setting one armored hand on Madoor's chest, fingers sinking inside of him. A heartbeat later, Haou jerked his hand out, a writhing mess of tendrils of light struggling in his grip. He stared down at it impassively, before he tightened his grip and more shadows crawled all over it, crushing it down to nothing.
Madoor stood frozen, before the white cape turned back to a far more fitting dark gray and purple, and all that was blue became red. He blinked slowly, looked around, and saw Haou. At once he dropped down to his knees, groveling.
"Haou-sama! I'm sorry! Please, forgive me for any wrongs I've done against you!"
Haou dismissed him with a flick of one hand. Chaos Sorcerer smiled a tiny, tight smile as the ice mage scurried back, avoiding the bright lights and soaking up the dark power that Haou exuded as easily as he breathed. Their overlord regarded everything around them, then even as the ones who'd inflicted this on so many attempted to protest, shadows crept up from all around, from under everything and everyone, the shades cast by the angels joining those cast by demons, crawling up the walls and encircling everything, tugging it all down, joined by thick tendrils of Haou's power.
Chaos Sorcerer enjoyed watching the display. He'd always been fascinated by destruction and the way it could turn all around it into - it was in his very name - chaos. He relaxed, allowing himself to do so for the first time in far too long. Haou-sama would put everything to rights, as he always did.
I wish Hunter could see this. Chaos Hunter, however, was far from there, on some mission of her own. He wouldn't even be able to contact her for some time. But he had faith she would return sooner or later, and then he could display for her what had happened in her absence. She loved a great piece of carnage as much as he did.
This was indeed magnificent carnage. The buildings around them tumbled down, though not a single one of the broken pieces landed anywhere near Haou or his servants. It seemed that he'd come only with the other four Death Duelists. Not even Neo Aqua Madoor was harmed. In point of fact, he slipped up a little closer to Haou and waited patiently to be acknowledged.
"Haou-sama, I would like to deal with some of these myself. If you allow it."
Haou regarded the other silently before two words came from behind the helmet. "Which ones?"
Luckily, at least in Chaos Sorcerer's mind, the ones that he wanted weren't the ones who had been tormenting him. He had his own plans for them, if Haou-sama would be so kind to him. The more he watched everything they'd had come tumbling down, the better he felt about everything, until he stepped away from Guardian Baou's support and approached his liege.
"I have a request, Haou-sama. Those two," he nodded towards the tiny fae, who flitted here and there in terror and could not escape the dome of shadows Haou held over the entire area, and to the great angel who could not escape the binding spell cast by Skilled White Magician and Skilled Black Magician. "I would like to deliver punishment to them - or have a suggestion as to what it should be."
"Speak."
Chaos Sorcerer gathered his thoughts as quickly as he could. "That one," again he indicated the fae, "I would like to join my service alongside of Bewitching Phantom Thief." He indicated the greater angel, whom he thought he now recalled was named Michael, "And I believe he would make an excellent gift to Fallen Angel Lucifer-sama."
He'd heard more than once that the Lightlords and the Fallen Angels did not get along. This would make an interesting situation.
Haou regarded the angel, who returned the look with such blinding hatred that Chaos Sorcerer wondered how he didn't become not an angel based off of that alone. Then slowly, the dark conqueror nodded.
"Skull Bishop," Haou spoke, words holding the weight of the world, as always. "Send a message to Fallen Angel Lucifer at once in regards to this situation."
"Of course, my lord," Skull Bishop agreed at once. Chaos Sorcerer smiled for a brief second before Haou reached out to catch hold of the little fae, who struggled helplessly in the steel grip. The warlord stared down at the creature, and there was the faintest flash of brilliant gold light.
The fae ceased struggling at once, slumping down over Haou's fingers. For a few moments, there wasn't any movement at all. Then they raised their head and turned towards Chaos Sorcerer.
"My lord," the fae murmured, bending their head submissively. "I am Ayanna. Command me and I will obey."
Chaos Sorcerer grinned, thoroughly enjoying the words. At a quick gesture, Bewitching Phantom Thief joined him. "This is Bewitching Phantom Thief. His words will be as my words to you."
"As you wish, my lord," Ayanna nodded quickly, and once Haou released them, they fluttered over to sit on the spirit's shoulder.
Haou returned his gaze to what had been a shining white building all around them. Now it lay in ruins, without a shred of light anywhere. Those who had been taken captive were still being held by the twins' magic.
Skull Bishop stepped forward and bowed. "It's all taken care of, Haou-sama," he reported. "There are no prisoners left here and not one stone remains on top of another."
Haou nodded slightly, then turned on his heel and stalked away. Everyone began to follow, Chaos Sorcerer making certain to keep up, regardless of the fact what he really wanted to do was sit down and have a deep, refreshing nap. But he would do that when he returned to his quarters and could do so in true safety.
His gaze shifted over to Haou. He'd truly not expected this at all. He'd not expected Haou-sama to come deal with this. He'd expected either to die in battle, to be executed, or even brainwashed, once he'd seen that as an option. Haou-sama had a world to deal with. Why would he come for a servant who'd been so foolish as to be captured?
An unexpected kind of warmth flooded through him at the thought of Haou caring. He knew it could only be for his use as a warrior. Nothing else made sense. But he would make certain that Haou-sama never regretted that decision, no matter what he had to do. Whomsoever needed to die for his master's goals, Chaos Sorcerer would see to it that they fell.
The End
Notes: This was originally written for GX Rare Pairs Week but I never properly finished that so I decided just to use it for this.