Falling Stars
Part One
Tattered Wings
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.
I do own Anna(Estel), and any other original characters that might appear in this fanfiction.
I also own a teddy bear named Blue Bell, a very nice bus pass, and three cup-o-noodle.
But I will hide them if you sue, and you will never get them!!!
On with the story!!
This is Part Three of the Tingilya Arc.
I highly recommend that you read the first two parts, Hidden Truths and High Twilight before reading this fanfic.
Think it might make just the tiniest bit more sense.
~~~~~Twelve Years Later~~~~~
Once more, time has passed upon the spinning set this tragic story has the unlucky fortune to take place. Twelve years have come and gone, both Elendil and Anna, formerly Estel, have grown to the age of seventeen, young adults in their own right, teenagers by trade.
One in Japan, his nightmares dotted by the fear that he caused his sisters disappearance, one in America, living with the forever longing for her home, and foster family. And both none the wiser that what they wish is what they desperately will truly never want.
And so, as the stars take their place on stage once more, we leave it to the reader to judge for themselves when to laugh, when to cry, and when to sigh in utter disgust, the only hope of the writer is to have a truly satiated audience in the end, when the stars fall......
~~~~~In Domino~~~~~
Elendil tossed and turned in his sleep, sweat soaking his pajama's as his breathing came in strangled gasps, clutching a tattered and faded Nuhta to his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks, red streaked hair plastered across his face. A shrill cry sounded throughout the inky darkness as he bolted upwards, shaking.
And, as the clock chimed two, his tears fell freely, the image of his sister dancing in his eyes, a shy, pale five year old, crying out for her older brother, alone, in trouble.....
~~~~~In Seattle(9:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 AM Japan Time)~~~~~
Anna listened as the rain streaked against the window, pale light streaking in through yet another winter storm. It seemed to always be raining in Seattle, the clouds hovering in every corner of sight, never leaving a person for long.
"Anna?" Bakura asked, opening the door quietly, looking in on his daughter, coming to stand behind her. Anna made no move, a tear streaking slowly down her cheek as Elendil woke up, breaking the fragment image she had gained of her brother.
"Yes, Father?" Anna whispered, wiping the droplets from her face as she turned to face the albino man.
Bakura sighed, sitting down next to her, looking around the room. It was neatly arranged and organized, almost solemnly laid out. Much like Anna, quite and hidden, forever a whispering wraith in the sight of strangers. Anna's amethyst eyes gazed at her father, giving nothing of what she might be thinking away. Her soul was a locked box that, through the years, even Bakura had been unable to unlock.
"Philip's on the phone for you, downstairs." Bakura smiled, Anna standing up with a curt nod, tugging on the edge of her simple blue sweater.
"Thank you, Father." Anna whispered, picking up her extension as Bakura closed the door behind him.
"Hey, Anna!!" Philip's jovial voice flouted across the line, and Anna couldn't help but grin.
Philip was still very much like the five year old she had met so many years before, the first day she had seen the house. Of course, since then, he had only become more hyper, and at times annoying. But she had grown fond of him, and wouldn't trade their friendship for the world.
Even if he had pushed her out of the tree because she had gotten a better English grade, in third grade.
"Hey, Phily, what's up?" Anna asked, her voice ever polite. She could hear Phily roll his eyes on the other end.
"Well, Miss Manners, Lucky(1) has proclaimed a challenge we cannot refuse!" It was Anna's turn to roll her eyes as she rolled over on the bed, staring at the white cracks running through the ceiling, thanks to the earthquake a few years back.(2) Lucky seemed to think up some kind of challenge every few minutes.
Of course, Lucky always seemed to lose the challenges as well, but that was beside the point.
"What now, Phily? And I swear, if it includes swimming, I am so out!" Phily laughed heartily as Anna groaned, remembering the challenge to swim across Green Lake a few summers back. One of the stupidest things a person could do, she had had leeches attached to her for days afterwards.
Not to mention a Father trying to kill Lucky for endangering his precious little girl. He had become quite overprotective over the years.
"No, no, nothing like that. Actually, he's filming a movie. And he sorta needs us to meet over here, in an hour. You still got that old elf costume? You know, the cool one?" Anna giggled, and nodded, quite aware that he couldn't see her nod. A movie, directed by Lucky? That would be worth every second of fitting on her over styled elf costume.
"I'll be there in a few minutes. One question, why now, and why the elf costume?" A rare shard of lightening danced across the sky, framing the over sized oak tree in all its majestic wonder.
"I don't know. Something about the weather being just right, and.... uh..... you're sorta the stunt double." Phily hemmed as Anna glared across the street. She had taken many, many, many years of gymnastic training, and had picked up more than a few moves from Bakura. But it didn't mean that she was going to be a stunt double her entire life.
"I'm. A. What?" Anna hissed, Phily gulping loudly.
"Well, just for this one scene. You're the character too, but he sorta needs you to do a stunt. Nothing big, but it sounds cooler, you know, stunt master Anna!" Anna sighed, and groaned, tossing her braid behind her back. She simply couldn't disagree with Phily for long.
"Sure, but I swear to god Phily, people suffer greatly if I'm a puff puff princess!" Anna made her point with a slight snip snip sound, and Phily groaned.
A Darwin Award was ample enough threat for any guy.(3)
"No puff puff, I swear, or I'll let you at him myself!" Phily swore. Anna grinned, and hung up, throwing open the doors to her closet.
Like the rest of her room, her closet was prim and proper, everything in its place. And there, next to her miscellaneous dresses, was her famous elf costume. She had spent three months designing and stitching the thing together, draping sheer sapphire blue over midnight. Waves of night, she called them, sewn in empress style over the black velvet dress. She had even gone through the trouble of embroidering the hem with a faint, barely visible, black silver leaf pattern.
And Bakura still claimed that it was a waste of time and money, seeing as she had only worn it once, for Halloween. But she still planned to wear it to prom, if Phily ever gathered the courage to ask her out.
She wrapped it carefully in a spare plastic bin, sealing it off against the elements as she grabbed her green raincoat. She would probably have to swim across the street, the way the rain was coming down.
"Hey Dad, bye Dad!" Anna smiled, walking through the living room, box at her side. Bakura glanced up, his face grim, looking outside.
"And where do you think you're going, on a day like this?" Bakura demanded, standing up as Anna reached the door.
She turned, and glared him down, her eyes sparking. She had the stubbornness of her father bred into her, and nothing was going to stop her, once she made up her mind. The albino swore under his breath for ever letting her even talk to Phily as she ventured out into the rain, leaving him to close the door as she crisscrossed the empty street.....
~~~~~In Domino~~~~~
"Estel, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry......" Elendil sobbed quietly on his own, clutching the limp kitty plushie as if his very life depended upon it, the silence encroaching around him, a light switching on in the darkness outside the door as footsteps paused, a hand rapping quietly.
Once more, Seto had been disturbed in his sleep by the sobbing teen. No amount of counseling or drugs would calm him down, and fade away the armies of ever tormenting nightmares.
He saw no other choice, there was nothing left, no other option. In his hands, he held a golden container, filled with tiny puzzle pieces. Pieces that held the soul of one who might be able to help the small boy, Seto hoped.
"Yes?" Elendil choked, his eyes red and bloodshot as his foster father opened the door. Seto had told him years before of what had really happened, and who his real parents were. Minus the part about spirits.
"Elendil, I thought it was time you had this. It was your mother's, she would have wanted you to have it." Seto whispered, handing the box to the boy, and leaving.
No matter what Elendil needed right now, Seto needed a good night's sleep. He had an important meeting tomorrow, and Elendil was old enough to understand that responsibility came first. Besides, if he successfully assembled the puzzle, Yami would be able to help him, he hoped......
~~~~~Seattle, Ten Hours Later (7:00 PM)~~~~~
"You want me to do what!?" Anna demanded, shifting elegantly in her dress as she peered outside, the rain still beating against the widow panes, the sun long since hidden by a veil of night.
Lucky and Phily exchanged glances, chuckling nervously. They had just asked Anna to stand on the roof for a brief shot. Lucky's movie was to be an odd collage, and he needed a few scene's of darkness, sort of like, as he had explained to Anna earlier, an angel in darkness. And Anna, with her pale complexion, was the only perfect candidate.
"Please, Anna, it'll only be a few seconds! Just a few, and then you can get down, no trouble. You wouldn't have to do anything at all, really! Just stand there, nothing else!" Lucky begged, and Anna sighed, ruffling his red hair. She couldn't deny him what he claimed would be his masterpiece.
"But, if I fall, I swear, I'm going to castrate you myself!" Anna hissed merrily, walking out into the storm, her hair, freed from her braid, flying around her. She groaned. Standing on the roof of a two story house in the middle of a lightening storm. She was begging for something bad to happen.
'Then again, I could get lucky, and have a great view of watching Lucky get struck b lightening...' she thought to herself, standing out upon the roof, the wind and rain fighting to push her off, the two boys setting up the camera down below.....
Bakura, sensing something odd, chanced to look out the window, his eyes going wide as he realized the figure embroidered against the night sky was none other than his daughter, hale beginning to beat down upon her. He ran to the door, sprinting into the storm to call her down, drag her off the roof, and keep her from whatever stupidity she as up to....
A final gust, its fury clearly visible, shook the house as Lucky's camera began to roll, lightening raking across the sky as Anna, waves of fabric whipping at her, began to fall. White hair blocking her view, preventing her from seeing until it was too late, the silk of her train sprouting behind her like a pair of shredded wings, as if she were a fallen angel.
Phily looked on, horror written clearly across his face as he the sickening thud echoed through his ears, Bakura screaming in the background.
His precious angel had fallen.......
~~~~~Domino(Noon)~~~~~
Elendil slipped the last piece into place, the golden artifact in his hands beginning to heat and glow. He dropped it suddenly, watching the puzzle land softly on the bed, a pair of hands picking it up with a soft smile.
"Who, who are you!?" Elendil asked, shocked. Standing before him was a mirror image, the same hair, the same outfit, but his eyes were so different than his own.
"I am Yami, the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle." Yami smiled, staring down at who he knew must be Elendil, looking around the room. Estel was no where in sight.
"Where's Estel?" He asked, curiously. He had specifically told Seto to give the Puzzle to both children.
Tears slipped down Elendil's face as he looked away, choking back a sob.
"She.... she's gone....." Elendil hiccuped, standing up to reach for the faded photograph sitting on his dresser, of two cheery eyed children.
Yami sat down heavily, staring at Elendil, Yugi's son, in horror. He had lost his precious aibou, and now he had lost a girl he had cherished so well. He should have known, he reasoned with himself, after she never contacted him again. But he had always assumed that there were other, better, happier reasons.
And now he knew there were none.
The frame clattered against the carpet, Elendil collapsing slowly into Yami's arms as the spirit reached out for the boy, shrieking his name. An angel floated across the young boys mind, with amethyst eyes and a pair of tattered wings streaming out behind her as she fell, a tear trailing down his face as his mind slipped into the blackness where she, too, now resided.......
~TSUZUKU~
And so begins the first part of the third part of the Tingilya Arc....
Explanations:
1: I actually know, knew, a guy named Lucky. He was one of my best friends, and he could talk me into doing stupid stuff like this, he was that cool.
Please, don't try pulling a stunt like that off at home, it isn't well advised!!!
2: For those of you who didn't know, Seattle had a 6.8 (Richter Scale) Earthquake in early 2001.
It was fun, and, amazingly enough, no one died.
3: For those of you who don't know what Darwin Awards are, check out www.darwinawards.com
Let's just say guys wince if you mentioned some of those stories.....
Well, R&R, and have fun with the angst that is only now beginning to truly unfold!!!