Yami
by TAFKAE
Chapter 5: That's When I Get Mad
~*~*~
"You don't seriously think this is gonna work?" Tristan asked skeptically.
Yugi closed his eyes and sighed, then opened them again, never taking them off the Puzzle in front of him. "I'm not sure, but I have to try. This might be the only chance we have."
"Well, it better work," Joey stated. "I guess we gotta do what it takes sometimes."
Yugi was already tying the Puzzle around his neck, feeling the turbulent struggle within that was now suddenly in his mind again… He winced and sat down on the sofa. "I'll be back," he promised, but more to himself than to anyone else. And with a quick shift of consciousness, he was back in the middle again.
~*~*~
Yami and the demon were both pretty worn down. Yami was bruised and breathing heavily. It was hard to tell his opponent's condition except for the breathing heavily part. But they were still at it, still at each other's throats, still trying to bring each other down to hell. Téa watched anxiously. Yugi did not.
It was obvious he was trying to control the pain he felt whenever one of the combatants landed a hit on the other, but he stood straight and tall, and looked more like his alter ego than himself. "You have to stop!" he shouted. "This won't solve anything!"
Neither one listened. Finally, the two took up positions opposite each other, and Yami spoke up. "How about one last hit?" he offered, but it was more a statement than a question. "Then we can decide who wins."
"Fine with me," the demon's voice rasped.
"No!" Yugi yelled. "Please, you have to stop!"
Yami's hands were engulfed in a dark red aura. Two pseudopods of the demon were surrounded by a dark blue one. "Let's do this," Yami growled, and at the exact same moment, the bursts of dark light were fired at each other.
It was hard to tell what happened next. One moment there was nothing between the opponents, and the next there was Yugi, arms and legs outstretched, screaming one word that echoed in everyone's minds - "STOP!!"
"Yugi!" Téa shouted, reaching one hand out toward him, then drawing it back to protect her eyes from the flash that followed.
"Fool!" the shadow screeched.
Yami grimaced, shielding his own face from the wind. Yugi…
A few seconds later, all was still. Yugi fell limply to the ground, landing facedown. Téa ran over, her eyes watering. "Yugi!" She kneeled down beside him and rolled him onto his back. She didn't have to look at his face to know…
"You killed him…!" she whispered, then screamed. "YOU KILLED HIM!"
~*~*~
The next thing Joey and Tristan heard were a few stifled sobs in Téa's direction. Joey glanced over. She was curling up into a ball. "Hey, it worked after all!" he exclaimed, though Tristan had already noticed.
Tristan smiled. "Great!" He crawled over (it would have been wasted effort to stand up) and sat beside her. "Hey, Téa, are you all right?"
Téa sniffled and whispered something incomprehensible.
"What?"
"Please, God," she whispered. "Please let this all be just a dream…"
Tristan took her by the shoulder with one hand and shook gently. "Téa, wake up. It's all right now."
Téa looked into his eyes, which widened. Hers was an expression of desperation, of someone who had just witnessed something terrible, something so awful it didn't even have a name…
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She sniffed quietly. "It's Yugi…"
"What about 'im?" Joey prompted.
Téa barely managed to get the words out before breaking into uncontrollable sobs again. "He's dead."
~*~*~
"You bastard," Yami snarled. "That was my friend."
The demon seemed to scowl, even without a face. "He got in the way, of his own free will, a very unwise decision." It waved a pseudopod dismissively in the air. "His sacrifice was nothing more than symbolic. That's why martyrdom doesn't work."
"It worked all right," Yami replied. "You can steal my identity, and you can pretend I'm evil…" He clenched one fist at his side. "…but when you hurt my friends…" His eyes flew open, full of rage, ready to kill. "…that's when I get mad!!"
His entire form this time was surrounded by the same dark red aura as before. "You're going to wish you were never spawned!" he roared. With no further warning, he shot toward the demon with everything he had.
"Fool!" it shouted. "You can't banish me to the shadow realm. Your puny powers are nothing compared to mine!"
Yami was face to face with it now, his eyes flaring with a spark of confidence and two of fury. "You don't deserve to go to the shadow realm," he hissed, his hands raised and radiating with power. "You hurt my friends. Prepare to die."
The demon's eyes went wide, but only for a second, and then Yami's hands were twisted, and then everything was twisted, and then the demon realized that it was because it was twisting, and it let out a scream, and then its darkness closed in upon itself, pulling all its influence out of Yugi's mind with it. Yami shouted and obliterated the small black hole into nothingness.
As suddenly as it had started, it was over.
Yami sat down hard to catch his breath. It was over, and all his friends were safe, now. Then he remembered Yugi… He sighed and lowered his head. Now he was alone…
His attention was caught by a small speck of motion out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see Yugi sit up and rub his head. His eyes widened for a second, then narrowed again with a hint of a smile.
Yugi groaned. "What happened? I feel like I've been hit by a bus…"
"You died," Yami stated simply. "Welcome back."
Yugi's face showed an air of confusion. "Back…? How did you…?"
"I didn't." Yami closed his eyes. "To be honest, I don't know how it happened." He opened them again and looked at Yugi. "Get some rest. You'll need it."
"Yami?"
Yami cast him a questioning look.
"For a while there, I was… I was really afraid I'd lost you." Yugi looked down and to the side.
"So was I," Yami admitted in a tone that said he didn't like admitting things. "I felt like I'd lost a part of myself, until I realized we're not a part of each other…" He trailed off, as though he wasn't done talking. When Yugi didn't respond, his counterpart stood and closed his eyes. "We are each other."
Yugi looked up. Something in his expression showed understanding. "Yes… that almost makes sense. Both of us…"
Yami laughed quietly. "So how about telling your friends you're alive?"
~*~*~
"Gone…?" Joey still couldn't believe it. No way, no how, could Yugi be dead.
Téa had mostly stopped crying now. "I don't know… what…" and she broke into tears again.
Just then, Yugi's fingers quivered. The hand that was hanging off the sofa curled slowly, almost imperceptibly, into a fist. Tristan was the first to notice. "Hey guys…" He pointed.
"Alive?" someone asked, either Joey or Téa, or maybe both.
Yugi almost heard the voices, but not really. He couldn't seem to climb out of the crevasse of his own mind, but finally, he reached the surface and gently opened his eyes.
"…Yugi?" Joey ventured.
Yugi managed a small smile. "Hi," he replied weakly. "I need… to tell you…"
A drop or two of joy fell down Téa's face. "Tell us what?"
"I'm not… I'm not dead…" Yugi whispered, and then his eyes closed, and the world was silent again, except for the relief and gratitude his friends were feeling inside…
*/CHAPTER*
*/STORY*
The story is over, the battle's been won,
But the war that they're fighting, now that's far from done.
Stay tuned for the sequel, I'm giving 'em hell!
(Same bat time, same bat chann-ell.)
Oh, by the way, please read and review…
That's how I know if I should write a part two.
~*~*~
Yu-gi-oh Philosophy: Inside every good guy is a bad guy screaming to get out… if the good guy has a Millennium Item, that is.
by TAFKAE
Chapter 5: That's When I Get Mad
~*~*~
"You don't seriously think this is gonna work?" Tristan asked skeptically.
Yugi closed his eyes and sighed, then opened them again, never taking them off the Puzzle in front of him. "I'm not sure, but I have to try. This might be the only chance we have."
"Well, it better work," Joey stated. "I guess we gotta do what it takes sometimes."
Yugi was already tying the Puzzle around his neck, feeling the turbulent struggle within that was now suddenly in his mind again… He winced and sat down on the sofa. "I'll be back," he promised, but more to himself than to anyone else. And with a quick shift of consciousness, he was back in the middle again.
~*~*~
Yami and the demon were both pretty worn down. Yami was bruised and breathing heavily. It was hard to tell his opponent's condition except for the breathing heavily part. But they were still at it, still at each other's throats, still trying to bring each other down to hell. Téa watched anxiously. Yugi did not.
It was obvious he was trying to control the pain he felt whenever one of the combatants landed a hit on the other, but he stood straight and tall, and looked more like his alter ego than himself. "You have to stop!" he shouted. "This won't solve anything!"
Neither one listened. Finally, the two took up positions opposite each other, and Yami spoke up. "How about one last hit?" he offered, but it was more a statement than a question. "Then we can decide who wins."
"Fine with me," the demon's voice rasped.
"No!" Yugi yelled. "Please, you have to stop!"
Yami's hands were engulfed in a dark red aura. Two pseudopods of the demon were surrounded by a dark blue one. "Let's do this," Yami growled, and at the exact same moment, the bursts of dark light were fired at each other.
It was hard to tell what happened next. One moment there was nothing between the opponents, and the next there was Yugi, arms and legs outstretched, screaming one word that echoed in everyone's minds - "STOP!!"
"Yugi!" Téa shouted, reaching one hand out toward him, then drawing it back to protect her eyes from the flash that followed.
"Fool!" the shadow screeched.
Yami grimaced, shielding his own face from the wind. Yugi…
A few seconds later, all was still. Yugi fell limply to the ground, landing facedown. Téa ran over, her eyes watering. "Yugi!" She kneeled down beside him and rolled him onto his back. She didn't have to look at his face to know…
"You killed him…!" she whispered, then screamed. "YOU KILLED HIM!"
~*~*~
The next thing Joey and Tristan heard were a few stifled sobs in Téa's direction. Joey glanced over. She was curling up into a ball. "Hey, it worked after all!" he exclaimed, though Tristan had already noticed.
Tristan smiled. "Great!" He crawled over (it would have been wasted effort to stand up) and sat beside her. "Hey, Téa, are you all right?"
Téa sniffled and whispered something incomprehensible.
"What?"
"Please, God," she whispered. "Please let this all be just a dream…"
Tristan took her by the shoulder with one hand and shook gently. "Téa, wake up. It's all right now."
Téa looked into his eyes, which widened. Hers was an expression of desperation, of someone who had just witnessed something terrible, something so awful it didn't even have a name…
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She sniffed quietly. "It's Yugi…"
"What about 'im?" Joey prompted.
Téa barely managed to get the words out before breaking into uncontrollable sobs again. "He's dead."
~*~*~
"You bastard," Yami snarled. "That was my friend."
The demon seemed to scowl, even without a face. "He got in the way, of his own free will, a very unwise decision." It waved a pseudopod dismissively in the air. "His sacrifice was nothing more than symbolic. That's why martyrdom doesn't work."
"It worked all right," Yami replied. "You can steal my identity, and you can pretend I'm evil…" He clenched one fist at his side. "…but when you hurt my friends…" His eyes flew open, full of rage, ready to kill. "…that's when I get mad!!"
His entire form this time was surrounded by the same dark red aura as before. "You're going to wish you were never spawned!" he roared. With no further warning, he shot toward the demon with everything he had.
"Fool!" it shouted. "You can't banish me to the shadow realm. Your puny powers are nothing compared to mine!"
Yami was face to face with it now, his eyes flaring with a spark of confidence and two of fury. "You don't deserve to go to the shadow realm," he hissed, his hands raised and radiating with power. "You hurt my friends. Prepare to die."
The demon's eyes went wide, but only for a second, and then Yami's hands were twisted, and then everything was twisted, and then the demon realized that it was because it was twisting, and it let out a scream, and then its darkness closed in upon itself, pulling all its influence out of Yugi's mind with it. Yami shouted and obliterated the small black hole into nothingness.
As suddenly as it had started, it was over.
Yami sat down hard to catch his breath. It was over, and all his friends were safe, now. Then he remembered Yugi… He sighed and lowered his head. Now he was alone…
His attention was caught by a small speck of motion out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see Yugi sit up and rub his head. His eyes widened for a second, then narrowed again with a hint of a smile.
Yugi groaned. "What happened? I feel like I've been hit by a bus…"
"You died," Yami stated simply. "Welcome back."
Yugi's face showed an air of confusion. "Back…? How did you…?"
"I didn't." Yami closed his eyes. "To be honest, I don't know how it happened." He opened them again and looked at Yugi. "Get some rest. You'll need it."
"Yami?"
Yami cast him a questioning look.
"For a while there, I was… I was really afraid I'd lost you." Yugi looked down and to the side.
"So was I," Yami admitted in a tone that said he didn't like admitting things. "I felt like I'd lost a part of myself, until I realized we're not a part of each other…" He trailed off, as though he wasn't done talking. When Yugi didn't respond, his counterpart stood and closed his eyes. "We are each other."
Yugi looked up. Something in his expression showed understanding. "Yes… that almost makes sense. Both of us…"
Yami laughed quietly. "So how about telling your friends you're alive?"
~*~*~
"Gone…?" Joey still couldn't believe it. No way, no how, could Yugi be dead.
Téa had mostly stopped crying now. "I don't know… what…" and she broke into tears again.
Just then, Yugi's fingers quivered. The hand that was hanging off the sofa curled slowly, almost imperceptibly, into a fist. Tristan was the first to notice. "Hey guys…" He pointed.
"Alive?" someone asked, either Joey or Téa, or maybe both.
Yugi almost heard the voices, but not really. He couldn't seem to climb out of the crevasse of his own mind, but finally, he reached the surface and gently opened his eyes.
"…Yugi?" Joey ventured.
Yugi managed a small smile. "Hi," he replied weakly. "I need… to tell you…"
A drop or two of joy fell down Téa's face. "Tell us what?"
"I'm not… I'm not dead…" Yugi whispered, and then his eyes closed, and the world was silent again, except for the relief and gratitude his friends were feeling inside…
*/CHAPTER*
*/STORY*
The story is over, the battle's been won,
But the war that they're fighting, now that's far from done.
Stay tuned for the sequel, I'm giving 'em hell!
(Same bat time, same bat chann-ell.)
Oh, by the way, please read and review…
That's how I know if I should write a part two.
~*~*~
Yu-gi-oh Philosophy: Inside every good guy is a bad guy screaming to get out… if the good guy has a Millennium Item, that is.