Note: Ethan & Co. will show up at least once more. Until then, here's now.
Summary: Yugi pays a visit to the flip side of Subreality.
Me, Myself, and Iyla
by Nate
-----------
Yugi tightened the cloak around her shoulders as she flew down the street, trying to look as reserved as she could. If anyone suspected that she was herself instead of Iyla, there might be trouble. She'd even gone through the trouble of having D style her hair into a long ponytail.
Suddenly, Ethan's house came into view. Yugi had never been there before, but something in her gut told her this was the desired destination. It looked like a cross between a castle and a church, ironically enough. She landed on the doorstep and wondered if she should ring the doorbell or knock. Then, upon noticing that there was no doorbell and the door was covered in spikes to prevent anyone from actually knocking, Yugi settled on the leather strap that hung from an upstairs window. She gave it a hard tug, and there was the sound of a large bell ringing off in the distance.
Soon, she could hear footsteps approaching the door. Before Yugi had a chance to change her mind about the whole thing, the door opened, and Iyla stuck her head out. "Didi, you're late aga--" she started to say, but then realized that it wasn't her fellow Muse. Well, Yugi was a Muse, just not the one Iyla had been expecting. Fear registered in her eyes, and she began to slam the door shut.
Yugi stopped the door with her considerable telekinetics. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."
Iyla hesitated for a long moment, then slowly stepped aside.
Yugi quickly walked by her, feeling the other Muse shudder as their arms brushed. She instantly felt bad about their last encounter.
Iyla led Yugi into the kitchen, where she had been making tea. "W-Would you l-like a c-cup?" she stammered, obviously very nervous.
"Not really. Is Ethan around?"
"H-He's asleep," Iyla replied. "I could go wake-"
"No, that's okay," Yugi interrupted. "I was just curious. I'm actually here to talk to you."
"Me? Why?"
Yugi didn't answer right away. Instead, she sat down at the kitchen table. "I want answers."
Iyla sat down across from her. "About what?"
"I want to know why you and Ethan aren't exact opposites of us."
Iyla frowned. "I don't know, Yugi. Ethan and I have been wondering the same thing since we got back here."
Yugi closed her eyes. "I have a theory. I think it has something to do with Ethan being cra--uh, not normal."
Iyla's eyes narrowed slightly. "But around here, Ethan IS normal."
Yugi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but every coin's got two sides. You and I are a coin, but with Nate and Ethan, Ethan's pretty much got his own coin. That's gotta mess things up somewhere."
"So you're saying it's his fault?"
"No, but now that I think about it, you two are the ones that crossed over and tied us up. Even I never would've tried anything like that."
Iyla smirked. "You're here now."
"Only because I want answers to the questions your visit brought up," Yugi pointed out. "Anyway, has Ethan done anything recently that he doesn't normally do? Something that might effect us all?"
Iyla thought for a moment. "Well, he recently took in an anime fictive."
Yugi blinked. "He did? Why?"
"Well, she was underused, and he thought she deserved better treatment. But that's not really strange. Ethan's always been a sucker for a pretty face."
"And just what fictive was this?" Yugi asked.
"Well, a Madison Taylor. Is that important?"
"I have no idea. But we took in a fictive a while back." She smiled slightly. "Although he's not really a fictive anymore..."
* * * * *
Madison was still a little nervous about being alone with Ethan, even when he was asleep. At least, she thought he was asleep. But since Ethan had no pupils in his eyeballs, it was difficult to tell sometimes. All the time, really.
Normally, Didi would be the one to leave a glass of water on Ethan's nightstand, but Madison had insisted on helping out around the house. She'd tried to make them all new outfits, but her fashion sense just wasn't Gothic enough for them.
She had just placed the water on the nightstand when Ethan rolled over in bed, his empty gaze coming to rest on her. The blood ran cold in Madison's veins as she forced herself to remain still.
When Ethan hadn't moved after several minutes, Madison began to relax. Noticing that the blanket had been tossed aside, she carefully drew it over him and turned to leave.
That was when the hand had seized her wrist. While the firm grip didn't really hurt, Madison's only desire at that moment was to get away from it. She tugged harder and harder, trying to free herself. But Ethan was obviously a lot stronger than she was.
Without warning, one of Ethan's large fingers prodded her arm.
Madison watched in surprise as the finger pointed down, as if indicating something beneath them. Realization came quickly.
"Downstairs...?" she guessed. "Something's downstairs?"
Ethan nodded and picked her up, setting her firmly beside him on the bed.
"I should stay here?" Madison asked weakly.
Ethan nodded again and pressed a finger to her lips. Then he tilted his head, as if listening.
"Is something wrong, Ethan?" Madison asked softly. "Is...there danger?"
He paused, nodded again, and pressed a hand to his heart.
"Iyla? Iyla's in danger?!"
Ethan began to nod, shrugged instead, and indicated she should keep her voice down. He touched his heart again, then mimicked pulling it from his chest.
"You're...in pain?" Madison whispered.
He nodded, then shook his head to indicate that while she was right, it wasn't what he'd meant. Ethan clasped his hands together tightly, then drew them apart.
"Separated? Something's broken...or split?"
He smiled eerily at her, then touched his heart again.
Madison thought for a long moment. "Iyla...? Iyla's been split?"
Ethan held up two large fingers.
"Two...two Iylas? Sisters?"
Ethan shook his head, then held up a finger, one on each hand. He drew them apart very slowly, then indicated himself and his heart again.
"There's...two of you and Iyla...like...your counterparts?"
Ethan patted her head, as if congratulating her.
"Then...Iyla's counterpart is HERE? Isn't that bad?"
He shrugged, then pointed to a clock on the wall, which was broken.
"We're going to be here a while. Waiting?"
He nodded and settled down against his pillow.
Madison sighed, then carefully rested her head on his muscular arm. Within seconds, she was asleep.
* * * * *
"So then I told Gamer that if he EVER helped D with a project that involved her doing anything nude, that I'd have to hurt him. Badly. With unseen forces and large crystal shards in his private places."
Iyla winced.
"Well, it worked," Yugi murmured, smiling into her mug a bit. "He even burned the clothes he'd been wearing during the whole fiasco."
"He sounds...very devoted to you," Iyla noted. "Like Ethan is to me."
"Yeah," Yugi agreed softly, staring at her.
Iyla looked away. "I...I'm glad you came to make amends, Yugi. But I'm not sure Ethan would be happy to find you here."
"Can't you tell? Y'know, through your link?"
"Strangely, no," Iyla admitted with a frown. "He's...blocking. Ethan never does that. He must know you're here."
Yugi shrugged. "Well, he hasn't come charging down the stairs. That's good, right?"
"For now. But Didi will be back soon, and I can't promise your safety. I don't want anyone to get hurt...again." Iyla smiled sadly. "Please go home, Yugi. I promise I'll let you know if I figure anything out about...you know...us. All of us."
"Well, at least take this." Yugi pressed a small, blue crystal into Iyla's palm. "So you'll have something to contact me with. I don't think you should strain yourself sending mental messages into Subreality."
"And you can have one of mine," Iyla agreed, handing a violet one to Yugi. "So you won't have to risk running into anyone else. I'm the nice Muse here."
"You say that like I'm not," Yugi replied, grinning.
Iyla smiled. "If we can get along...maybe there's hope for Ethan & Nate?"
"Maybe. Next time, I'll see if I can talk D & Gamer into letting Deemon come. You'd like her. She smells like cookies."
Iyla looked shocked. "Madison smells like cookies..."
Yugi gaped. "Really?"
"Well, yes. She bakes. Quite often."
Yugi's face fell, and she headed to the door. "Oh. Right. Well, I better get back."
Iyla stopped her and gently touched her cheek. "May the Lords of Chaos keep you safe in your travels, sister."
"Erm...yeah." Yugi blinked a few times and patted Iyla's cheek in return. "And...may Delirium keep your fishies...swimming." With that, she was gone, zooming into the night with her cloak billowing behind her.
"These counterparts of ours continue to amaze me, love," said a wary voice in her head.
"I agree, Ethan," Iyla replied through their psychic link. "But every time I see my...sister...I can't help but think that maybe they feel the same way about us."
"And do you really believe we were meant to coexist? In the same plane?"
"Maybe not permanently." Iyla smiled a bit. "But maybe that's why everyone looks forward to family reunions. They always have to end..."
* * * * *
"GAH! GET BACK!" the Writer cried in alarm.
"It's ME, Nate. I just went to visit Ethan & Iyla."
"But...WHY?!"
Yugi freed her hair from the ponytail. "Apologies, explanations, that sort of thing. Maybe Ethan's crazy because he's you and Gamer combined. Ever consider that?"
"Maybe he's crazy because he's in love with a version of you..."
"I HEARD that, D."
* * * * *
Didi was the first to notice the door leading to the attic. Except that there was no attic in Ethan's house, so logically, nothing but open sky would be beyond the door.
On the one occasion Didi did take a peek, there was certainly nothing open or even remotely sky-like about what she saw. Whatever it was, apparently it satisfied her curiosity, or scared her half to death, because she never found cause to look again.
For some reason, Iyla could never seem to find the door, especially when she looked for it.
Ethan had no opinion at all, as long as whatever was beyond the door stayed on that side of it. He had quite a few demons living in his head, and didn't really care to have any living in his home.
Not surprisingly, as a result, Iyla never told Yugi about the door (there was, literally, nothing to tell), and Yugi would never find out about it. Neither would D, Deemon, or Nate himself.
Gamer is another matter entirely...
* * * * *
Disclaimer: Madison belongs to CLAMP, everyone else resides in a little place known as My Twisted Imagination. Bwa ha ha.
Summary: Yugi pays a visit to the flip side of Subreality.
Me, Myself, and Iyla
by Nate
-----------
Yugi tightened the cloak around her shoulders as she flew down the street, trying to look as reserved as she could. If anyone suspected that she was herself instead of Iyla, there might be trouble. She'd even gone through the trouble of having D style her hair into a long ponytail.
Suddenly, Ethan's house came into view. Yugi had never been there before, but something in her gut told her this was the desired destination. It looked like a cross between a castle and a church, ironically enough. She landed on the doorstep and wondered if she should ring the doorbell or knock. Then, upon noticing that there was no doorbell and the door was covered in spikes to prevent anyone from actually knocking, Yugi settled on the leather strap that hung from an upstairs window. She gave it a hard tug, and there was the sound of a large bell ringing off in the distance.
Soon, she could hear footsteps approaching the door. Before Yugi had a chance to change her mind about the whole thing, the door opened, and Iyla stuck her head out. "Didi, you're late aga--" she started to say, but then realized that it wasn't her fellow Muse. Well, Yugi was a Muse, just not the one Iyla had been expecting. Fear registered in her eyes, and she began to slam the door shut.
Yugi stopped the door with her considerable telekinetics. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."
Iyla hesitated for a long moment, then slowly stepped aside.
Yugi quickly walked by her, feeling the other Muse shudder as their arms brushed. She instantly felt bad about their last encounter.
Iyla led Yugi into the kitchen, where she had been making tea. "W-Would you l-like a c-cup?" she stammered, obviously very nervous.
"Not really. Is Ethan around?"
"H-He's asleep," Iyla replied. "I could go wake-"
"No, that's okay," Yugi interrupted. "I was just curious. I'm actually here to talk to you."
"Me? Why?"
Yugi didn't answer right away. Instead, she sat down at the kitchen table. "I want answers."
Iyla sat down across from her. "About what?"
"I want to know why you and Ethan aren't exact opposites of us."
Iyla frowned. "I don't know, Yugi. Ethan and I have been wondering the same thing since we got back here."
Yugi closed her eyes. "I have a theory. I think it has something to do with Ethan being cra--uh, not normal."
Iyla's eyes narrowed slightly. "But around here, Ethan IS normal."
Yugi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but every coin's got two sides. You and I are a coin, but with Nate and Ethan, Ethan's pretty much got his own coin. That's gotta mess things up somewhere."
"So you're saying it's his fault?"
"No, but now that I think about it, you two are the ones that crossed over and tied us up. Even I never would've tried anything like that."
Iyla smirked. "You're here now."
"Only because I want answers to the questions your visit brought up," Yugi pointed out. "Anyway, has Ethan done anything recently that he doesn't normally do? Something that might effect us all?"
Iyla thought for a moment. "Well, he recently took in an anime fictive."
Yugi blinked. "He did? Why?"
"Well, she was underused, and he thought she deserved better treatment. But that's not really strange. Ethan's always been a sucker for a pretty face."
"And just what fictive was this?" Yugi asked.
"Well, a Madison Taylor. Is that important?"
"I have no idea. But we took in a fictive a while back." She smiled slightly. "Although he's not really a fictive anymore..."
* * * * *
Madison was still a little nervous about being alone with Ethan, even when he was asleep. At least, she thought he was asleep. But since Ethan had no pupils in his eyeballs, it was difficult to tell sometimes. All the time, really.
Normally, Didi would be the one to leave a glass of water on Ethan's nightstand, but Madison had insisted on helping out around the house. She'd tried to make them all new outfits, but her fashion sense just wasn't Gothic enough for them.
She had just placed the water on the nightstand when Ethan rolled over in bed, his empty gaze coming to rest on her. The blood ran cold in Madison's veins as she forced herself to remain still.
When Ethan hadn't moved after several minutes, Madison began to relax. Noticing that the blanket had been tossed aside, she carefully drew it over him and turned to leave.
That was when the hand had seized her wrist. While the firm grip didn't really hurt, Madison's only desire at that moment was to get away from it. She tugged harder and harder, trying to free herself. But Ethan was obviously a lot stronger than she was.
Without warning, one of Ethan's large fingers prodded her arm.
Madison watched in surprise as the finger pointed down, as if indicating something beneath them. Realization came quickly.
"Downstairs...?" she guessed. "Something's downstairs?"
Ethan nodded and picked her up, setting her firmly beside him on the bed.
"I should stay here?" Madison asked weakly.
Ethan nodded again and pressed a finger to her lips. Then he tilted his head, as if listening.
"Is something wrong, Ethan?" Madison asked softly. "Is...there danger?"
He paused, nodded again, and pressed a hand to his heart.
"Iyla? Iyla's in danger?!"
Ethan began to nod, shrugged instead, and indicated she should keep her voice down. He touched his heart again, then mimicked pulling it from his chest.
"You're...in pain?" Madison whispered.
He nodded, then shook his head to indicate that while she was right, it wasn't what he'd meant. Ethan clasped his hands together tightly, then drew them apart.
"Separated? Something's broken...or split?"
He smiled eerily at her, then touched his heart again.
Madison thought for a long moment. "Iyla...? Iyla's been split?"
Ethan held up two large fingers.
"Two...two Iylas? Sisters?"
Ethan shook his head, then held up a finger, one on each hand. He drew them apart very slowly, then indicated himself and his heart again.
"There's...two of you and Iyla...like...your counterparts?"
Ethan patted her head, as if congratulating her.
"Then...Iyla's counterpart is HERE? Isn't that bad?"
He shrugged, then pointed to a clock on the wall, which was broken.
"We're going to be here a while. Waiting?"
He nodded and settled down against his pillow.
Madison sighed, then carefully rested her head on his muscular arm. Within seconds, she was asleep.
* * * * *
"So then I told Gamer that if he EVER helped D with a project that involved her doing anything nude, that I'd have to hurt him. Badly. With unseen forces and large crystal shards in his private places."
Iyla winced.
"Well, it worked," Yugi murmured, smiling into her mug a bit. "He even burned the clothes he'd been wearing during the whole fiasco."
"He sounds...very devoted to you," Iyla noted. "Like Ethan is to me."
"Yeah," Yugi agreed softly, staring at her.
Iyla looked away. "I...I'm glad you came to make amends, Yugi. But I'm not sure Ethan would be happy to find you here."
"Can't you tell? Y'know, through your link?"
"Strangely, no," Iyla admitted with a frown. "He's...blocking. Ethan never does that. He must know you're here."
Yugi shrugged. "Well, he hasn't come charging down the stairs. That's good, right?"
"For now. But Didi will be back soon, and I can't promise your safety. I don't want anyone to get hurt...again." Iyla smiled sadly. "Please go home, Yugi. I promise I'll let you know if I figure anything out about...you know...us. All of us."
"Well, at least take this." Yugi pressed a small, blue crystal into Iyla's palm. "So you'll have something to contact me with. I don't think you should strain yourself sending mental messages into Subreality."
"And you can have one of mine," Iyla agreed, handing a violet one to Yugi. "So you won't have to risk running into anyone else. I'm the nice Muse here."
"You say that like I'm not," Yugi replied, grinning.
Iyla smiled. "If we can get along...maybe there's hope for Ethan & Nate?"
"Maybe. Next time, I'll see if I can talk D & Gamer into letting Deemon come. You'd like her. She smells like cookies."
Iyla looked shocked. "Madison smells like cookies..."
Yugi gaped. "Really?"
"Well, yes. She bakes. Quite often."
Yugi's face fell, and she headed to the door. "Oh. Right. Well, I better get back."
Iyla stopped her and gently touched her cheek. "May the Lords of Chaos keep you safe in your travels, sister."
"Erm...yeah." Yugi blinked a few times and patted Iyla's cheek in return. "And...may Delirium keep your fishies...swimming." With that, she was gone, zooming into the night with her cloak billowing behind her.
"These counterparts of ours continue to amaze me, love," said a wary voice in her head.
"I agree, Ethan," Iyla replied through their psychic link. "But every time I see my...sister...I can't help but think that maybe they feel the same way about us."
"And do you really believe we were meant to coexist? In the same plane?"
"Maybe not permanently." Iyla smiled a bit. "But maybe that's why everyone looks forward to family reunions. They always have to end..."
* * * * *
"GAH! GET BACK!" the Writer cried in alarm.
"It's ME, Nate. I just went to visit Ethan & Iyla."
"But...WHY?!"
Yugi freed her hair from the ponytail. "Apologies, explanations, that sort of thing. Maybe Ethan's crazy because he's you and Gamer combined. Ever consider that?"
"Maybe he's crazy because he's in love with a version of you..."
"I HEARD that, D."
* * * * *
Didi was the first to notice the door leading to the attic. Except that there was no attic in Ethan's house, so logically, nothing but open sky would be beyond the door.
On the one occasion Didi did take a peek, there was certainly nothing open or even remotely sky-like about what she saw. Whatever it was, apparently it satisfied her curiosity, or scared her half to death, because she never found cause to look again.
For some reason, Iyla could never seem to find the door, especially when she looked for it.
Ethan had no opinion at all, as long as whatever was beyond the door stayed on that side of it. He had quite a few demons living in his head, and didn't really care to have any living in his home.
Not surprisingly, as a result, Iyla never told Yugi about the door (there was, literally, nothing to tell), and Yugi would never find out about it. Neither would D, Deemon, or Nate himself.
Gamer is another matter entirely...
* * * * *
Disclaimer: Madison belongs to CLAMP, everyone else resides in a little place known as My Twisted Imagination. Bwa ha ha.