Disclaimer – See chapter 1
Summary – See chapter 1
Ages – See chapter 1
A/N: *grovels frantically* I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry about the delay. I don't have a valid reason to explain (unless that you will believe that I am a complete and utter procrastinator (which I AM, by the way)) so you'll have to accept my complete and utter apology. I really hope this chapter was worth the wait.
Dark Night of the Soul
By Lady Dragon
Chapter Two – Unhappy Tidings
The hospital was quiet. Too quiet. Yugi and Sakura crept down the hallway, trying to remain out of sight. They needn't have bothered, they realized early on, because it seemed that everyone was wherever Morkai was.
Who, by the way, they had seen no sign of.
By now they were hopelessly lost. They had reached a fork in the hallway, and, hearing voices had decided to one the left-hand way. They didn't find anyone, but, in backtracking, they had gotten themselves even more lost.
Yugi leaned against the wall. "Okay, it's official. We're lost."
"Tell me something I don't know."
They both sighed. Sakura walked up to a door and began to bang her head against it. Then…
"HOE!"
…The door opened suddenly and Sakura was thrown forward and fell to the ground, at the feet of the one who opened the door.
"Itai."
The one who opened the door was a young man; about seventeen years old, with lavender colored hair and cool blue eyes. He blinked at seeing Sakura lying there.
"Oops. Gomen nasai. I didn't know you were there."
"It's okay." Sakura got to her feet and brushed off her leggings. "I shouldn't have been leaning on the door. My name is Sakura Kinomoto. This is Yugi Motou."
"Trunks Briefs. Nice to meet you."
"Maybe you can help us," suggested Yugi, "we're looking for a guy named Morkai."
"Hmm…the name does ring a bell." Trunks turned around and called into the room, "Hey Link. Do you remember a guy named Morkai?"
Another young man walked out from the room; this one dressed in a green tunic and white leggings, brown boots and a green hat covering his blonde hair. He thought for a moment.
"Yes. I do. I was awake when they brought me into the room, and I remember the healers talking about someone named Morkai. I did not see him though." Both Yugi and Sakura sighed.
"Why is it so important?" asked Trunks curiously.
"We think he may know what exactly is going on. Did anyone tell you anything?" asked Yugi, feeling a little ashamed that he was the only one that knew.
"No," replied Link.
"We're kind of in the dark about the whole thing. Do YOU know anything?" All eyes turned on poor Yugi.
"No," he lied, feeling horrible.
"Well then, let's go find this Morkai person and solve this little mystery," said Trunks.
It was agreed and they started off down the corridor Yugi and Sakura had come from. They almost managed to get lost again, but, luckily, they ran into a doctor coming out of one of the rooms who directed them to the front lobby, where he said Morkai would be.
They arrived there in time to see Morkai speaking with six others about their age, four girls and two boys. They were speaking in low voices, so Yugi, Sakura, Trunks and Link couldn't hear everything they were saying. Then Morkai said to yet ANOTHER doctor, "You'd better go get the other four children. They should be here to hear this."
"We're already here," said Yugi quickly, walking up to Morkai.
"Good. Then sit down and I will explain everything."
They sat.
"First," said Morkai, "we must all be introduced. My name is Morkai. This is Yugi Motou, Sakura Kinomoto, Trunks Briefs and Link," he pointed to each one in turn. "Yugi, Sakura, Trunks and Link, this is Usagi Tsukino, Hikari Kamiya, Takato Matsuki, Van Fanel, Xiao, and Neese." They all exchanged hellos and waited for what Morkai would say next.
"I suppose there should be no beating around the bush," sighed Morkai, obviously uncomfortable, "shall I be blunt?"
Yugi looked down at his hands folded in his lap. "I suppose so," said the sweet voice of Neese, a young girl with long purple hair, wearing a white cloak over an orange dress.
Morkai sighed again. "Well then, here's the blunt truth of it. Everyone you know – and many people you don't know – are dead."
There was an eerie silence. Then pandemonium.
"What do you mean?" roared Van Fanel, a young man with messy black hair and a sword strapped to his belt, "How can they all be dead?"
Morkai didn't answer.
Xiao, the kawaii cat girl, looked, for one second, torn between wanting to strangle something, and wanting to burst into tears. She chose the latter and began sobbing. Hikari Kamiya, a fifteen-year-old girl with short brown hair and pink eyes, gathered Xiao in her arms and allowed the younger girl to sob on her shoulders, though her eyes were misty as well.
Usagi Tsukino, a young woman with the very long golden-blonde hair tied up in odangoes, had started crying hysterically as well. She had begun to cry on an extremely embarrassed Trunks' shoulder. Trunks himself looked like he wanted to murder someone. Link's fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles had turned white. Neese had pressed her hands to her mouth in an expression of sheer horror. Takato Matsuki, a boy with messy brown hair and goggles on his head, just stared ahead and kept murmuring no, over and over. Sakura was crying silently, and her knees were brought up to her chest, and she kept rocking back and forth.
And, throughout it all, Yugi just sat there, staring at his hands. He felt so ashamed. He could have told them something, to help prepare them.
//Don't be ashamed, aibou. There was nothing you could have said to help ease the pain. //
/I just feel so horrible, Yami. /
//They are grieving, aibou, and so are you. This is just their way of mourning. //
/I know but… /
//There's nothing you could have done. //
"There's nothing you could have done." Yugi blinked suddenly, coming out of his stupor. He stared at Morkai, who had spoken those very words to an angry Van, who was stomping around looking like he wanting to kill someone. Had Morkai heard what he'd said?
//Be careful, Yugi. I don't think that that one is exactly who he says he is. //
Yami's warning rang in Yugi's head. Morkai? Lie to them? No. Impossible. It just didn't seem like something he would do, even though he'd only known him for a short time. But…still…
"Did you know, Yugi?"
Yugi blinked again, and turned to look at Sakura, who was staring at him intently.
"H-Hai. I knew. Morkai told me earlier today."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It wasn't my place to tell anyone. I-I couldn't."
"I understand." Her voice was lowered to a whisper, and Yugi could see the tears threatening to spill over again. "I-I just…" her voice broke and tears spilled down her cheeks. She raised her hand to her cheek to try and stop them, but more kept coming. Her shoulders shook.
There was a lump in Yugi's throat and tears were about to come. He clenched his fist. /That's it. That…that witch is going to pay. /
He took one of Sakura's hands in his own. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. Sakura smiled at him gratefully.
Yes, thought Morkai to himself, thoughtfully, listening to Yugi's vow. She would pay. She would pay dearly.
"Morkai," said Hikari suddenly, "I was wondering something. How did we survive?"
"Yes, I thought you were going to ask me that," Morkai said thoughtfully, "what we believe (and we're not very sure about this) is that something must have interfered."
"Interfered?"
"The spell, Hikari, was supposed to wipe out every mortal, living person in the worlds. If, say, an immortal, or a ghost, managed to get close enough to you, it's plausible that the spell would have mistaken you for an immortal, or a ghost, and passed you by."
Sakura's eyes widened. "G-ghost?"
"What will happen now?" asked Link softly.
"Well, we are preparing a small house for you in a nearby town where you can live-"
"No," Link interrupted, "I meant, what will happen to whoever killed all those people."
Morkai lowered his gaze, he had been afraid of that question. "Nothing, I am afraid."
"Nothing?" the group repeated in unison.
"Yes, nothing. Unfortunately the person who murdered the people was a Goddess named Zehiirana. The laws of the Gods say quiet clearly that no God can raise sword, or arm, or any kind of magic against another God."
"So it's not that you can't. It's just that you won't." Trunks' eyes were as cold as ice, as was his voice.
"No, it is simply that we cannot. The law of the Gods is binding, Trunks. If we were to attack Zehiirana, or she us, the attack would achieve nothing, and our lives would be forfeit. It is simply impossible to break the laws."
"But isn't they're some way…" pleaded Usagi.
"Impossible. You will have to be content with the fact that you are alive. Mourn them, cry for them, but do not attempt to avenge them, or try to make us raise arms against Zehiirana, for it is impossible." His tone was one of finality, and they said no more.
Morkai left them then. And they stared helplessly after him.
A/N – Once again, I am SO sorry about the wait. I really have nothing to say actually, that I haven't already said. Please R+R!
Peace, Love and Bishonen,
Lady Dragon
