Note: Chapter 19..Told you this would be a long one. And here I had

hoped that I'd get done in like seven chapters or something. Go figure

about it.

The Dark Side: To Dream Of A Battle Of Survival

Starshine flew back as the blast of glowing black Dragon's Horn energy

attack made contact with his stomach, his eyes closing tightly with the

pain flooding thorugh him.

'"Uh!" Starshine grunted, his back making contact with an invisible

wall behind him.

Akovara grinned wickedly as he saw the effect of his attack on the

youngling before him. This was the child destined to destroy him when

he took complete control of Yoh?

'Though you're handsome, Starshine, you're young and weak when compared

to me, a Lord of Destruction. You do not stand a chance, even with the

warnings from Anubis and the samurai's spirit energy aiding you now.'

Akovara said, chuckling as he walked to Starshine, almost leering at

him.

'"Keep- keep away from them-"' Starshine mumbled, struggling to stand.

'Oh but I can't. You see, if I let you be, you'll destroy me. In

order to prevent that,' Akovara said, leaning closer to Starshine and

looking into his eyes, 'I must defile your Shamanic father's purity, at

the same time as I am destroying yours!'

'"You won't be allowed to succeed! I won't allow it!"'

'But the samurai will next time he integrates with your father. I'll

be right there waiting for that moment. When he comes, he's mine to

use for energy. The more energy I receive, the stronger I become, the

weaker you will grow.'

'"Then I am lucky you have not had the chance to absorb any yet!"'

'Oh, but I have. Any form of body contact or spiritual contact with

Yoh, and I absorb energy from the one making the contact. It's quite

amazing how inevidable everyone finds making contact with him being.'

'"Your plan is well thought out."' Starshine mumbled.

'Indeed, that it is.'

Starshine stood on his feet weakly, gripping tightly the sword which

bore a strong resemblance to Amidamaru's in his hand, wipping off the

drop of blood falling from his cheek where he'd been cut.

'Your blood is intoxicating. The more I see, the more I want to

spill.' Akovara mused. 'Let me see how it tastes. Maybe it will be

good enough to take the place of your Shaman's soul.'

Starshine jumped at Akovara in the blink of an eye, pinning him angrily

to the ground. '"Father and Amidamaru will both see to it with me you

don't take more lives!"'

'If only that were true.' Akovara said in a mocking tone of voice.

'But the samurai yojimbo of yours and the Shaman will quickly see the

truth. I wager that when he sees the life of your father depends on

your death, he'll aid me.'

'"Wel- wha-?"'

'You see, your father is destined to be the ruin of your Shamanic one.

However, the samurai is destined to be the death of both you and your

Shamanic father. It's ironic. The protector kills the protected.'

'"Lies will not make me weaken."'

'Lies? Hardly. I'll merely trick him the same way I tricked the

pharo's son all those years ago.'

'"What are you going on about now?"'

'It is Kaki-Ri's doing that I'm even able to be brought here with a

Spell of Summoning. He came running into the bedroom, crying to my

statue that the Royal Advisor had given his father that the one he

loved was exiled the moment he saw him.'

'"You're saying-"'

'Don't you wish? He awoke me in the name of love for Yeno-Da. They

were both killed. What's more, they were killed by each other's

fathers. Your guardian was killed for his love of his friendship with

the blacksmith, he'll die again for good for the love of your fathers

and yourself. They all fell victim to death because of love. Your

Shamanic father himself will be killed. And it's all in the name of

love. To spare your pitiful father. Thus also killing you. And all

of this is possible because Kaki-Ri fell in love with someone

originally forbidden to him.'

'"No one will die by you. Just as no one has lived by you."'

'Oh, on the contrary. For a long time now, your Shamanic father has

depended on me to keep him alive. He fought a losing battle. As did

the weakling Resun-Do.'

'"What do you mean he fought a losing battle?"'

'He lost.'

'"Lost? When? And where?"'

Stepping aside from Starshine, Akovara smirked as he watched the look

on the boy's face palen. 'Before you were conceived, he fought

valiently to keep me from taking most of his control. Until your

father stepped in and distracted him. If he hadn't decided he needed

to feel him again the night you were conceived, I wouldn't have been

able to take advantage of the distraction and win the duel over.'

Starshine stared, horrified, at the image before him as Akovara moved

aside. How could it happen?

A pale blue form was bound before him, which looked paler than the

moon.

'"Dad-"'

'Yes. One of your fathers.'

The pale blue figure of Yoh hung limply forward from a black mist

behind him, mist-made shackles cuffing his wrists, neck, and ankles,

his usually bright eyes closed, bangs covering them, a wound to his

stomach the obvious reason for his unconcious state.

'"You- you did this to him!"'

'That I did. The battle between us raged on for a while. In the end,

your father couldn't contain his urges and started to take this body.

Fortunately enough, it gave Yoh's soul a jolt of confusion which

distracted him. The anger towards me mixed with the love this boy has

for- what was his name?-' Akovara paused, putting his right hand to the

pale Yoh's heart- 'Manta-' he continued, absorbing enough memories to

know the name, 'provided the perfect mixture to confuse him, the overall

production of which was a distraction.'

'"You took the advantage dad unknowingly gave you and killed his soul!"'

Starshine accused.

'I haven't killed his soul. I've put it in a dream-like state. He

regains control of his body when he's awake unless I see fit to do

otherwise. When he's asleep, however, I take over. If I didn't still

have a purpose for him, I would only have to sever the soul.'

Akovara put his right hand under Yoh's head so that Yoh's chin rested in

his palm gently yet limply. 'I would have but to only slit his pretty

little neck,' Akovara traced a line across the pale Yoh's throat with

his left hand's pointer finger, 'and he'd die.'

'"For the time, however, you do need him!"' Starshine retorted, not

really entirely sure that was a good thing or a bad one at the moment.

'Yes, that I do. However, you, I do not need.' the Sasi replied as he

stepped away from Yoh's soul.

'"Yet you cannot get rid of me. I have a duty to serve here. My

fathers need me. You won't stop that. In the end, you will lose."'

'On the contrary. The Dark Mist you surely must see behind the Shaman's

soul which restrains his sleeping spirit is slowly consuming his soul

into the darkest corner within it. Upon completion of this, you and

everyone else what stood up against me, will be out of all hope. By

that time, he will be my mere puppet, living under my own command!'

'"You disrespectful, ancient bastard!"' Starshine shrieked, leaping

forward towards the unsuspecting Sasi, sword extended, catching him in

the side.

'You're pitiful. As long as I am merely part of this body, not in full

control of it, I do not feel the pain. Your Shamanic father does!'

Starshine's eyes widened as Akovara's laughter filled the space around

the two.