Note: The next (and hopefully last; if not close to last;) chapter of
The Dark Side. Man this story took far too long to finish writing. But
now that it's done I can finally concentrate on All That Glitters and
my other still-incomplete-fics.
The Dark Side: Reliving The Dream
Last time, on The Dark Side:
Yoh's head snapped back over his shoulder to look at Manta as a
sinister grin spread across his face. "'Perhaps I am attacking from the
wrong angle..'" he muttered, though it was loud enough for all to hear
him. "'Perhaps I should be attacking from the starter of whom this body
loves!'"
In a split second, the possessed Shaman had turned to face Manta as his
eyes darkened further.
'This- no! This is just like my dream!' Manta realized as his eyes went
wide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"'Perhaps I should be attacking the loved ones of this vessel to get
the desired results! If I destroy the parent of the body that spirit is
using to fight me with, then the body cannot stay! He will not be able
to be brought into the world! The prophecy requires that you both be
present!'"
As Yoh started forward towards Manta, had Manta not been frightened out
of his wits, he would have caught a dimming of Yoh's eyes and a tinge
of a frown to the wide, sinister smirk raised across his face.
Was doubt clouding over the possession?
"Lord Manta!" Amidamaru called.
"Father! No!" was Starshine's current input. "Amidamaru! We have to
stop him from hurting father!"
"And we will!"
Careful of his aim, Amidamaru took but a moment to launch his sword
forth and knock the sword from Yoh's hands, Amidamaru's own sword
clanking on the ground as Akovara's was sent forward through the air.
Stopping in his tracks, Yoh's eyes fogged up and he shook his head, his
own appeal coming back to him. "What..What happ-" This was as far as he
got, however, as his eyes locked onto the sword that was heading for
Manta, whom was too stunned to allow his brain to connect the
information to his feet he needed to move.
"Manta! No!" Yoh screamed, jumping forward and placing himself in the
path of the sword so that he was directly in front of Manta.
Manta's eyes widened as the scene progressed as if it were in slow
motion, Amidamaru and Starshine's eyes widening as they watched the
sword go closer and closer by the second to Yoh's back, unable to have
enough time to do anything, Yoh's eyes showing nothing but fear and
regret for what he'd apparently nearly done, gripping onto his lover
tightly.
"Yoh! Move!" Manta screamed, though it was too late by the time he had
even gotten his lover's name past his lips. He heard Yoh's breath catch
as he looked up into Yoh's eyes, watching helplessly as the force of
the sword's impact with Yoh's stomach sent his back arching forward a
half inch, brows knitted together in fright and pain as the sparkle in
Yoh's eyes escaped, tears of pain quickly racing to his eyes.
"Yoh! NO!"
"Father!! Mother!!" Starshine screamed.
"Lord Yoh!" came Amidamaru's voice quickly behind Starshine's, which
mingled with Manta's cry of fear and helplessness as he was forced to
watch his lover get injured and knew there wasn't a thing in the world
he could have done to stop the event from occuring.
"Gh'u-!" Yoh spluttered out, shutting his eyes tightly and wincing as
he fell forward against Manta, finding that his limbs refused to move
like he tried to force them to in order to keep himself from falling to
the ground as a sharp pain coursed through his entire body, from his
head to his toes, centered directly at his stomach.
He weakly glanced down to his stomach, breath catching once again as he
caught sight of the sword protruding from his abdomen.
Amidamaru and Starshine rushed to Yoh's side as Manta flipped the boy
to his back after he pulled the sword out from Yoh's stomach quickly so
that the pain wouldn't be prolonged.
"Yoh..Come on you'll be alright!" Manta stammered as the young Shaman
boy's eyes winced shut tighter again before opening, revealing that the
sparkle was gone from them for good as he shook slightly. "M- Manta- I-
I'm s- so sorry-" he started, but was cut off as Manta put his finger
over Yoh's lips to silence the boy.
"Yoh, don't. You haven't done anything wrong to apologize for. You
couldn't help it." Manta said.
"Hang in there, please, mother!" Starshine stuttered while his voice
broke slightly, sobs wracking his chest to be released which he would
allow no such thing to occur. "Please! You must hang in there!"
"Lord Yoh..Please..Forgive me.." Amidamaru managed to force out as his
own voice broke and a few tears leaked past Starshine's tightly closed
eyes. "I did not mean for this to happen..I was supposed to protect you
from just such an occurance..I have failed you..Failed Lord Manta..I've
failed everyone.."
"A- Amida- Amidamaru- you hav..Haven't failed any- anyone.." Yoh forced
himself to say as he gently squeezed the samurai and his future son's
hand gently.
"Yoh..Why didn't you let me get hit with it.." Manta gasped out between
sobs that escaped freely as his tears hit the ground.
Yoh's eyes blanked to a dark shade of his normal eye color as he turned
his head to face Manta, the smile forced by pain to transform into a
tight frown as he clinched his teeth in even more pain as his breaths
became more shallow and ragged. "I..Coul- couldn't stan- stan- stand to
w- watch..You get..H- hurt-.." he groaned.
Taking a last breath, Yoh gripped his stomach tightly as the pain came
a last time before he was relieved of all his earth bound stresses.
A moment after, a harsh scream expanded around the group, and a dark
black and red cloud came from Yoh's stomach, screaming various curses
at them before disappearing.
"Y- Yoh?" Manta stammered as he shook his lover's shoulders gently. "Oh
please Yoh..Answer..Please Yoh.."
Amidamaru blinked as he felt Starshine's right arm cover his stomach
and his left hand grip his head tightly. "What's happening?" he asked
as the body of Starshine winced in sharp pains.
'Starshine cannot exist with his method of being born having passed on
from life.' came a dark yet gentle voice from around the small group of
friends.
"What- who is-" Manta gasped out, looking around as he wipped his eyes
quietly on the sleeve of his shirt, still clutching onto Yoh's body for
dear life.
"It's Anubis!" Amidamaru replied. "I recognize the voice even when it
is lacking the voice of Ren in tone to its backing!"
'That I am.' the voice came once again. 'Starshine is dying, both in
body and soul. Though Akovara has been destroyed through the death of
the young Shaman, so has Starshine's method of birth.'
"No! He can't- I can't lose Yoh and my son all in one night! I can't!
It can't be happening!" Manta cried out, tears falling faster than they
had been already as Starshine's grip to his head and stomach tightened.
'I am sorry, Manta Oyamada. It is just a part of life.'
Within a mere moment, the body of Starshine disappeared, leaving the
samurai's ghost in the position Starshine had been in just moments ago.
At the same instant, Jeniq-Da, Resun, and the Oracle's eyes took on the
original color they would've had in life without having been controled
by the Sasi Do Akovara, and the ties around Kaki-Ri, Yeno, and the
Oracle disappeared.
'What has happened..' the Oracle managed to bring himself to ask as he
looked around to get a bearing on his location. 'Where am I..Why do I
feel so tired..?'
Jeniq-Da and Resun accidentally dropped the two young boy's spirits as
they were given back control over their souls. 'What is going on..?'
Jeniq-Da asked in a confused voice before his eyes locked onto Resun,
who was beside him looking around to see where they were. 'Resun!' he
cried happily, locking his arms around the other spirit's waist and
pulling him into a hug.
'What- Jeniq-Da!' Resun gasped, quickly lacing his arms about Jeniq-Da,
hugging his neck. 'Ohh Jeniq-Da..What has been happening?' he asked as
he pulled back, his eyes full of confusion.
Anubis gently placed a hand on the two's shoulders, one on a shoulder
of each of the two, and looked down to Amidamaru and Yoh and Manta, and
then to Yeno, Kaki-Ri, and his former Oracle. 'I will explain.' he said
softly.
And so, the jackle God proceeded to tell the tale of what had happened,
from the start of the story when the Oracle of Death foretold the two
starcrossed lovers Yoh and Manta's union and Starshine's conception, to
the Sasi Do Akovara's role in their lives and afterlives, up past the
death of Yeno and Kaki-Ri, to Yoh's possession by the Sasi Do Akovara,
up till now.
The four Egyptian spirits and the spirit of Anubis' Oracle Priest were
silehnt for a little while in thought as they struggled to take in what
they'd been told.
The Dark Side. Man this story took far too long to finish writing. But
now that it's done I can finally concentrate on All That Glitters and
my other still-incomplete-fics.
The Dark Side: Reliving The Dream
Last time, on The Dark Side:
Yoh's head snapped back over his shoulder to look at Manta as a
sinister grin spread across his face. "'Perhaps I am attacking from the
wrong angle..'" he muttered, though it was loud enough for all to hear
him. "'Perhaps I should be attacking from the starter of whom this body
loves!'"
In a split second, the possessed Shaman had turned to face Manta as his
eyes darkened further.
'This- no! This is just like my dream!' Manta realized as his eyes went
wide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"'Perhaps I should be attacking the loved ones of this vessel to get
the desired results! If I destroy the parent of the body that spirit is
using to fight me with, then the body cannot stay! He will not be able
to be brought into the world! The prophecy requires that you both be
present!'"
As Yoh started forward towards Manta, had Manta not been frightened out
of his wits, he would have caught a dimming of Yoh's eyes and a tinge
of a frown to the wide, sinister smirk raised across his face.
Was doubt clouding over the possession?
"Lord Manta!" Amidamaru called.
"Father! No!" was Starshine's current input. "Amidamaru! We have to
stop him from hurting father!"
"And we will!"
Careful of his aim, Amidamaru took but a moment to launch his sword
forth and knock the sword from Yoh's hands, Amidamaru's own sword
clanking on the ground as Akovara's was sent forward through the air.
Stopping in his tracks, Yoh's eyes fogged up and he shook his head, his
own appeal coming back to him. "What..What happ-" This was as far as he
got, however, as his eyes locked onto the sword that was heading for
Manta, whom was too stunned to allow his brain to connect the
information to his feet he needed to move.
"Manta! No!" Yoh screamed, jumping forward and placing himself in the
path of the sword so that he was directly in front of Manta.
Manta's eyes widened as the scene progressed as if it were in slow
motion, Amidamaru and Starshine's eyes widening as they watched the
sword go closer and closer by the second to Yoh's back, unable to have
enough time to do anything, Yoh's eyes showing nothing but fear and
regret for what he'd apparently nearly done, gripping onto his lover
tightly.
"Yoh! Move!" Manta screamed, though it was too late by the time he had
even gotten his lover's name past his lips. He heard Yoh's breath catch
as he looked up into Yoh's eyes, watching helplessly as the force of
the sword's impact with Yoh's stomach sent his back arching forward a
half inch, brows knitted together in fright and pain as the sparkle in
Yoh's eyes escaped, tears of pain quickly racing to his eyes.
"Yoh! NO!"
"Father!! Mother!!" Starshine screamed.
"Lord Yoh!" came Amidamaru's voice quickly behind Starshine's, which
mingled with Manta's cry of fear and helplessness as he was forced to
watch his lover get injured and knew there wasn't a thing in the world
he could have done to stop the event from occuring.
"Gh'u-!" Yoh spluttered out, shutting his eyes tightly and wincing as
he fell forward against Manta, finding that his limbs refused to move
like he tried to force them to in order to keep himself from falling to
the ground as a sharp pain coursed through his entire body, from his
head to his toes, centered directly at his stomach.
He weakly glanced down to his stomach, breath catching once again as he
caught sight of the sword protruding from his abdomen.
Amidamaru and Starshine rushed to Yoh's side as Manta flipped the boy
to his back after he pulled the sword out from Yoh's stomach quickly so
that the pain wouldn't be prolonged.
"Yoh..Come on you'll be alright!" Manta stammered as the young Shaman
boy's eyes winced shut tighter again before opening, revealing that the
sparkle was gone from them for good as he shook slightly. "M- Manta- I-
I'm s- so sorry-" he started, but was cut off as Manta put his finger
over Yoh's lips to silence the boy.
"Yoh, don't. You haven't done anything wrong to apologize for. You
couldn't help it." Manta said.
"Hang in there, please, mother!" Starshine stuttered while his voice
broke slightly, sobs wracking his chest to be released which he would
allow no such thing to occur. "Please! You must hang in there!"
"Lord Yoh..Please..Forgive me.." Amidamaru managed to force out as his
own voice broke and a few tears leaked past Starshine's tightly closed
eyes. "I did not mean for this to happen..I was supposed to protect you
from just such an occurance..I have failed you..Failed Lord Manta..I've
failed everyone.."
"A- Amida- Amidamaru- you hav..Haven't failed any- anyone.." Yoh forced
himself to say as he gently squeezed the samurai and his future son's
hand gently.
"Yoh..Why didn't you let me get hit with it.." Manta gasped out between
sobs that escaped freely as his tears hit the ground.
Yoh's eyes blanked to a dark shade of his normal eye color as he turned
his head to face Manta, the smile forced by pain to transform into a
tight frown as he clinched his teeth in even more pain as his breaths
became more shallow and ragged. "I..Coul- couldn't stan- stan- stand to
w- watch..You get..H- hurt-.." he groaned.
Taking a last breath, Yoh gripped his stomach tightly as the pain came
a last time before he was relieved of all his earth bound stresses.
A moment after, a harsh scream expanded around the group, and a dark
black and red cloud came from Yoh's stomach, screaming various curses
at them before disappearing.
"Y- Yoh?" Manta stammered as he shook his lover's shoulders gently. "Oh
please Yoh..Answer..Please Yoh.."
Amidamaru blinked as he felt Starshine's right arm cover his stomach
and his left hand grip his head tightly. "What's happening?" he asked
as the body of Starshine winced in sharp pains.
'Starshine cannot exist with his method of being born having passed on
from life.' came a dark yet gentle voice from around the small group of
friends.
"What- who is-" Manta gasped out, looking around as he wipped his eyes
quietly on the sleeve of his shirt, still clutching onto Yoh's body for
dear life.
"It's Anubis!" Amidamaru replied. "I recognize the voice even when it
is lacking the voice of Ren in tone to its backing!"
'That I am.' the voice came once again. 'Starshine is dying, both in
body and soul. Though Akovara has been destroyed through the death of
the young Shaman, so has Starshine's method of birth.'
"No! He can't- I can't lose Yoh and my son all in one night! I can't!
It can't be happening!" Manta cried out, tears falling faster than they
had been already as Starshine's grip to his head and stomach tightened.
'I am sorry, Manta Oyamada. It is just a part of life.'
Within a mere moment, the body of Starshine disappeared, leaving the
samurai's ghost in the position Starshine had been in just moments ago.
At the same instant, Jeniq-Da, Resun, and the Oracle's eyes took on the
original color they would've had in life without having been controled
by the Sasi Do Akovara, and the ties around Kaki-Ri, Yeno, and the
Oracle disappeared.
'What has happened..' the Oracle managed to bring himself to ask as he
looked around to get a bearing on his location. 'Where am I..Why do I
feel so tired..?'
Jeniq-Da and Resun accidentally dropped the two young boy's spirits as
they were given back control over their souls. 'What is going on..?'
Jeniq-Da asked in a confused voice before his eyes locked onto Resun,
who was beside him looking around to see where they were. 'Resun!' he
cried happily, locking his arms around the other spirit's waist and
pulling him into a hug.
'What- Jeniq-Da!' Resun gasped, quickly lacing his arms about Jeniq-Da,
hugging his neck. 'Ohh Jeniq-Da..What has been happening?' he asked as
he pulled back, his eyes full of confusion.
Anubis gently placed a hand on the two's shoulders, one on a shoulder
of each of the two, and looked down to Amidamaru and Yoh and Manta, and
then to Yeno, Kaki-Ri, and his former Oracle. 'I will explain.' he said
softly.
And so, the jackle God proceeded to tell the tale of what had happened,
from the start of the story when the Oracle of Death foretold the two
starcrossed lovers Yoh and Manta's union and Starshine's conception, to
the Sasi Do Akovara's role in their lives and afterlives, up past the
death of Yeno and Kaki-Ri, to Yoh's possession by the Sasi Do Akovara,
up till now.
The four Egyptian spirits and the spirit of Anubis' Oracle Priest were
silehnt for a little while in thought as they struggled to take in what
they'd been told.