Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, Digimon 02, Digimon Tamers, Record of Lodoss War, Card Captor Sakura, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Legend of Zelda, Dark Cloud or Escaflowne, or any of their characters. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and I am not getting any money off of this. If you try to sue me, you won't get anything because I don't have anything. Thank you.
Summary: An evil goddess, her heart filled with malice, launches an attack upon Earth and many other worlds, killing everything. Divine powers manage to save ten youths, but with them not powerful enough and the gods unable to intervene, how will she be stopped?
This is a rewrite of a story I started about half a year ago, called Changing the Past. I fell into a slump after the second chapter, but thanks to the Angel Abi's review, I'm going to attempt to rewrite it. The plot will be a tad different, a few more characters have been added, and hopefully, my writing skills have improved. The plot will be darker, as will the romance. Anyone who enjoyed the romance from CtP will be happy to learn that those couplings will remain.
Enjoy.
Dark Night of the Soul
By: Lady Dragon
Chapter One: Diminuendo
The air was still, but deathly cold. Not a thing moved, or breathed, or lived. It was a ghost land, a wasteland.
It was the Earth.
Everything was dead, gone, destroyed…
"As it should be."
A figure stood over the ruin, dark eyes narrowing as she stared at it.
"Beautiful, isn't it? Quiet, unspoiled beauty."
"If you enjoy the beauty of death, Zehiirana."
The figure – Zehiirana - whirled around to come face to face with another figure, this one of a man. His eyes, weary of life, pain and suffering, surveyed her intently. Zehiirana laughed.
"Ah, Morkai, you amuse me. Why do you care for these pathetic mortals? They were ants under our feet. Not worthy of the life given to them!"
"That is no excuse for your devilry, Zehiirana," stormed Morkai. "The blood you have spilt this day will come to haunt you ten, no, a THOUSAND times over. You will feel the pain they felt, the burn, the sting of death!"
Her eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat, Morkai?"
He straightened. "Perhaps. But retribution will not come from me, but from another source. There are powers greater than mine in this universe."
"The gods? The ones greater than you or I? They will not care for the deaths of foolish and weak mortals. They would have died anyway. I merely sped up the process."
"Arimakine would care. So would Mariiemyeia."
"THEM? You state all your hope for revenge and the spilling of MY blood on THEM! Do you believe that they would care?
"Yes, I do."
"Even if they did, you know it is against our laws for a god, even one of the great gods, to spill another's blood. For shame Morkai, you know our laws better than anyone, even me."
"Be that as it may, I believe that an exception…"
"An EXCEPTION!" Zehiirana threw back her head and laughed. Morkai shuddered. "Oh, Morkai, you make me laugh! There are NO exceptions to the laws. Believe what you want, dreamer. No retribution will fall upon me for the death of mortals and the destruction of these petty worlds. No one will miss Earth, Digiworld, Hyrule, Gaea, Lodoss, or any of them. You are out of luck, Morkai. They will not help you. You are alone."
And with that Zehiirana vanished. Morkai was alone in the world. He shuddered, feeling the emptiness and the pain of the earth.
"Ugh…" There was a soft groan from somewhere underneath Morkai. He froze momentarily; jumped off the pile of rocks he had been standing on and began shifting them, trying to reach whoever had been under them.
Could it be? Could someone have actually survived Zehiirana's attack? It seemed impossible, but…maybe.
Morkai shifted the last rock to reveal the body of an incredibly short young man, horribly bloodied and mangled. His hair, which was tri-colored red, black and gold, was covered in dust, as were his clothes, which resembled a Japanese school uniform. Around his neck was a strange golden device, like an upside-down pyramid with a strange symbol on it, like an eye.
Morkai shook the boy. "Young man, young man, are you alright? Are you alive?"
"Yes," whispered the boy in a feeble voice, "I-I think so." He sat up groggily, blinked a few times, then turned to stare at Morkai. "Who are you?"
Morkai paused. What should he tell him? "My name is Morkai," he said finally, "I am a spirit, sort of like a demi-god."
The boy continued to stare. "A-A d-d-demi-god? Am I dead?"
"No, but…you may be the only living thing left."
"What do you mean?"
"A few hours ago, an evil goddess, named Zehiirana, destroyed all life on Earth, as well as a few other places. Her heart was filled with malice, and to her, mortals, like you, are not worthy of life."
The boy closed his eyes, because of both grief and pain. "Kuso, t-t-they're all dead? All my friends, my family, all of them, all because some damn goddess had a hissy fit?"
Morkai hung his head, as if he was to blame. "Yes, it's true. But, now to more pressing matters. We had better get you some help, Mr.…" he trailed off, looking at the boy uncertainly.
"Motou, Yugi Motou."
"Mr. Motou. I am no healer, so we'd better get you help elsewhere."
He touched Yugi's arm and closed his eyes, as if in a trance. Then they both vanished, as if they had never been there, leaving the desolate world.
Yugi awoke a while later. When had he fallen asleep? He was in a bed, a comfy bed, with soft sheets covering him. Various cuts on his body had been bandaged and he was now dressed in a soft tunic and leggings, like something out of a fantasy book. His clothes were folded on a chair next to the bed.
He sat up and looked around the room. It was small, sparsely furnished, with white walls. He was in a hospital of sorts.
"Oh, good. You're finally awake."
Morkai stood in the doorway, a smile on his face.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"About half a day, not long, considering your injuries. We've washed and mended your clothes. Your wounds healed nicely, under the magical care of our healers."
"Magic?"
"Yes. This hospital, no, this entire world, is sustained by magic."
"This world?"
Morkai continued to smile. "You are in the world of the gods, Yugi Motou. A very high honor for a mortal."
Yugi's eyes widened. "Gods! But…does that mean that she…"
Morkai grew grave. "Yes, Yugi, she is in this world. But do not fear. She does not know you are alive, and even if she did, she could not harm you. This hospital is under the protection of the queen of the gods, Mariiemyeia. Zehiirana has no power here."
Yugi sighed in relief. "That's good to know." He paused. "Thank you, for saving my life. If not for you, I'd still be under that pile of rocks."
"Do not thank me. Thank Lady Fate. It is thanks to her that I was able to save you."
Yugi smiled. "Well, next time you see Lady Fate, thank her for me. And Queen Mariiemyeia. Thank her as well."
Morkai laughed. "Well, Yugi Motou, there is a bath waiting for you in the next room, if you would like it."
Yugi got out of bed and stretched. "I would very much, Morkai, thank you."
Morkai lead him into the next room, where the bath was waiting, and then left him there. He strolled aimlessly down the hall, troubled. How HAD Yugi managed to survive the attack?
A hospital attendant ran behind him. "Lord Morkai," he shouted. Morkai turned around.
"Yes?"
"We found another one. Like the boy. It was a girl. We found her near Tomoeda, Japan."
Morkai stared at him in surprise. Another one?
"Take me to her."
He followed the attendant down into the emergency room, where several doctors were carrying the body of a young girl, around Yugi's age. Her clothes were in tatters, and her hair, which was light brown, was streaked in blood.
Morkai followed them into the room where they had kept Yugi, where they placed her gently on a bed. As he left her with the doctors, Morkai shook his head. How had SHE managed to survive?
Yugi walked back into the room about an hour later, drying his hair. He was once again dressed in the leggings and tunic. He was feeling very refreshed, and, to his immense surprise, considering he had just found out that everyone he knew was dead, he found himself whistling. Perhaps it was this hospital. The place just had that effect on you.
He paused suddenly, considering something he hadn't thought of before.
Yami.
What had happened to Yami?
/Yami./ he thought through their mental link.
There was no reply.
/Yami./ he thought again.
There was still no reply.
/Yami!/ Yugi shouted mentally, becoming frantic.
//…Y-Yugi? Aibou?//
Yugi almost cried. /Yami! You're alive! I thought you were dead!/
//Why would I be dead, aibou?//
/Everyone's dead! Jiisan, Jou, Honda-kun, Anzu-chan, everyone!/
//Ra…now I remember…the light…you were about to die…and I saved you.//
/N-Nani? YOU saved me Yami?/
//Yes.//
Yugi would have replied, but Morkai cut him off, as he came up behind Yugi.
"Yugi."
Yugi jumped and whirled around. Seeing Morkai, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"M-Morkai-sama, you scared me."
"Sorry Yugi, but I thought you might want to know that we managed to find another human, alive."
"Who?" Yugi blurted out.
"We don't know. It's a girl, about your age. Short brown hair, taller than you. Do you know her?"
"A-Anzu?" whispered Yugi. Could they have found Anzu? "Wh-where did you find her?"
"Near the ruins of Tomoeda, Japan."
Yugi slumped. It wasn't Anzu. "No, Morkai, I don't know anyone from around there."
Morkai lowered his eyes. "I see. We put her up in your room. She should be waking presently. Would you like to meet her?"
"Why not?"
They walked back into Yugi's room. The girl was awake, sitting cross-legged on the bed, dressed in clothes much like Yugi's.
"Ohayo!" said the girl in a sweet voice. "I'm Kinomoto Sakura." Morkai and Yugi introduced themselves.
She frowned. "Where am I?"
Morkai and Yugi glanced at each other. What could they tell her? Yugi sat down on the bed opposite her; Morkai sat in a chair. He got ready to speak when another doctor ran into the room and whispered something in his ear.
Morkai looked dumbfounded. "Another one?" he whispered so Yugi and Sakura couldn't hear. The doctor nodded. Morkai sighed and got up. "I have to go see to something. Sit tight and I'll explain everything." They left the room, leaving Sakura and Yugi alone.
Sakura sighed. "I don't suppose YOU could tell me what's going on?" she asked Yugi hopefully.
Yugi frowned. "I really don't think I'm the one to tell you that. We'll just have to wait for Morkai to come back."
"What's he doing anyway?"
Yugi shrugged. "I dunno."
They sat quietly for a minute. They Sakura suggested, "Let's go find out!"
"Okay, then."
They got up and left the room, determined to find out what was happening.
A/N: I think I'll leave it at that for now. I'm really surprised how quickly I got this out; usually it takes me a lot longer. Anyway, next chapter will explain what's REALLY going on in more detail, and the rest of the main cast will be introduced. What do you think of Morkai? He'll play an important role, but not a major one. What about Zehiirana, do you think she's a good villain? Give me feedback people! That way I'll be able to fix something you don't like! Oh, and check out my bio page to see what else I have coming. There's one story, I'm not sure whether I should write or not. I'd like to have someone's opinion on that. Oh, and ages are as follows for this story:
Yugi – 15
Sakura – 14
Trunks – 17
Usagi – 15
Hikari – 14
Xiao – 13
Link – 17
Takato – 15
Van – 15
Neese – 14
See you next chapter!
Peace, Love and Bishonen,
Lady Dragon.
