"WHAT DID YOU SAAAAY!?"
The man shrunk back immensely he slammed his fists hard against the desk in his anger, causing the three golden items to shake.
"I-I'm sorry, sir! W-w-we tried to stop him but he paid us no head!" He stuttered.
Yukio spun around and gave the maddest death glare to the man behind him. The man turned paler then before, and fell to his knees with tears lining the edges of his eyes.
"We did our b-best sir!" He cried, "P-please! Don't hurt me!"
Disgusted, Yukio spat onto the ground, and slumped into his chair. He closed his eyes for a moment, tapping his fingers together and breathing heavily as he thought of what to do next. The man just shook, trying hard to contain his own sobs in front of his master, but failing miserably.
"So he took the sword." Yukio muttered, "He took the sword, AND left them in the Cave of Undoing?"
"Yes-s-s." The man answered.
Yukio leaned back, pondering it for a moment. He was a man of strategy, though he didn't look it, and somewhere inside him, a familiar feeling of victory was welling up again. He could usually work these sorts of things into his own advantage, could the same be done in this circumstance? Out of habit, Yukio reached for a pen on his desk and started to spin the cap around while he thought. The man grew steadily uncomfortable as Yukio said nothing, and shifted nervously on the floor.
"...Do you think it was wise, sir?" He whispered, "Do you think the fire demon knew what he was doing?"
Yukio didn't even look up at the man in front of him, he just continued to play mindlessly with his pen. The man only waited, knowing for sure that the slightest thing could set Yukio off, and he was quite capable of killing off one of his own men. After what happened to Hugo the other day, no one dared even offer advice to Yukio. He was taking a huge risk, and putting his life on the line for it as well, but he knew that he had to say something. Quickly, he ran a hand across his face to wipe off the last tears and beads of nervous sweat.
"Sir?" He said again under his breath, afraid Yukio would get angry if he interrupted his train of thought or something equally ridiculous.
Yukio stopped twirling his pen and broke it in half, sending ink all over the desk. Even such a simple action as that made the poor man flinch. Yukio looked up slowly, his eyes full of fire, as a sudden realization hit him. However, that same face made the man sure that he was about to murder him.
But he didn't.
Instead, much to the man's confusion, he started to smile.
"And why do you think that?" Yukio asked him.
This made the man panic. Yukio never acted like this in front of anyone before, and his sudden cheerfulness had to be fake. It just had to be! Maybe he was just setting him up for a good killing, but if that was the case, it was too late for him now anyway. All he could do was answer the question, and beg for forgiveness if the need arose.
"W-well," The man began, forgetting his point for a moment before hastily remembering it again, "D-don't you need the humans for this to work."
Yukio turned back to his broken pen and grunted in half agreement.
"B-b-but if they don't survive this, h-how will you be able to put your plan into action?"
Yukio halted, holding one side of the pen in his fingers and looking up slowly again. The man tensed up, and was afraid even to breathe. But then, Yukio broke into a wide grin and started to laugh.
It began as a chuckle, but it continued to grow louder and stronger until it was so much that Yukio was forced to throw his head back and laugh towards the sky. Uneasily, the man smiled a bit while his master laughed uncontrollably. But the laughing didn't stop. And caught up in the moment, the man began to laugh as well, more because Yukio was laughing himself then for any particular reason.
But as soon as he started to actually laugh, Yukio's hand thrust out at him at lightning fast speeds and yanked the man towards him.
"Don't you see?" Yukio laughed, his laughter becoming more and more demonic, and his eyes starting to bulge, "We don't need them any more!"
The man began to sweat heavily as he forced a smile. His face was only about an inch away from Yukio's, and he secretly held his breath as Yukio laughed upon him hysterically. The man thanked god as Yukio let go of him and jumped to his feet, leaving the man to sink into the floor, overcome with shock.
"Let them rot in their bleak tomb!" He sang insanely, almost dancing to his bookshelf.
"Let them die inside themselves with no one else to find them! Let their skin become so putrid that even the rats refuse to feed on them, and the fly's reject their fresh eye balls held open as their own souls devour them!"
He flung a shelf full of books onto the floor and let a deranged cackle issue from him, "May mushrooms grow from their bodies and hair fall from their heads and their bones will dissolve and blow away as dust but they will still be trapped inside!"
He lit a match and threw it onto the pile of books on the floor. It instantly erupted into flames in the middle of the room. His face looked darker then usual, the man observed in terror as he desperately pushed himself away from the bonfire.
"And if they escape, why should I care?!" He roared, "I know their weaknesses now, there is no turning back! No no no, my sorry friend, what we need, is the Fire Demon."
Another deranged smile spread onto his lips, "And I know just how to get him."
Yukio grabbed a near bottle of whisky and crashed it against the wall, sending glass everywhere. The man gaped at him in horror as he then took the largest shard of glass on the floor and held it in front of him.
"I guess its like they always say," Yukio shouted, "If you want power, the first step is to BE power!"
He laughed at his own jest and swiftly stabbed the long jagged piece of glass into his chest. Scarlet blood crept instantly onto Yukio's white shirt, a look of twisted pain and amusement on his face as he smiled and then fell into the fire in front of him.
The man cried out as he watched Yukio plunge to his supposed death, and ran to the fire in a feeble attempt to save his crazed master. He had barely struggled back down to his feet when the inferno seemed to explode into a gigantic black mess of heat, easily engulfing the tiny man before he could even scream out in shock or pain. His master's body was doused in blood red flames, his skin cooking in the heat, but the smile still standing out. But the man could not see this. He had already died in the fire, thinking his master had as well.
But he was wrong.
Oh so wrong.
[A/N: This was a chapter that I had written originally for another story, but in the end, it influenced the making of 'PART TWO' of Dreams Do Come true. In fact, I had seriously considered stopping part one here, and making a completely new fanfic for the sequal, and end of the series, but I reconsidered and decided to just finish what I had started where I started it.]
*-* Ryou *-*
It took a few seconds for me to even realize I was awake. I heard no sound, I saw no light, as far as I was concerned, I was still in a deep sleep. I just laid there for a moment, my body numb and my thoughts few. Then suddenly, I felt a deep freezing sensation inside of me that threw my eyes open once more. The icy feeling crept up on me quickly, and I let out a muffled gasp, as it became almost too cold to bear. I promptly sat up in the darkness and rubbed my arms vigorously to warm them.
"Hello?"
I stopped, shocked by the sound that come out of my own mouth. My words sounded hard and hoarse, completely unlike my usual tone. In fact, my whole body felt hard. Stiff, even my lungs, like I hadn't moved or even breathed in quite some time. How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Days maybe?
...Years?
I tried my voice again, clearing my throat gingerly before hand; "Is anyone t-there?"
Still no answer.
The cold hadn't died down since I had started moving, and it was becoming harder to breathe as the time lapsed. I exhaled slowly and huddled my freezing body together, but it didn't help me. It seemed like there was no heat left in my body, which worried me.
I flinched, feeling something cold fall into my hair. But when I reached up and tried to figure out what it was, it seemed to have vanished. Another cold thing fell onto me, on my arm now. This time, I reacted quicker and ran a hand over where it had landed. My stomach lurched as the realization finally came to me.
It was snowing.
As if an answer to my thoughts, more snow rained from the sky onto me, and I began to panic. I couldn't see, I could barely move, and now I was going to freeze to death. I was about to become a human popsicle! Dryly, I began to plan out how I would die and rate them in pain and suffering.
Sit there huddled until you get covered in snow completely and then drowned in it. Suffering Rating: 4
Try to find your way around without any eye site and realize that you are on top of a mountain a little too late and fall to your death without even being able to see the ground so you'd know when you'd break your neck. Suffering Rating: 8
Freeze. Suffering Rating: 9
I shook the barbaric thoughts from my mind, and let out a long sigh as I shivered. I was beginning to shake uncontrollably, and vainly, I shut my eyes.
'Be a dream.' I pleaded, 'Please oh please, let this all just be a terrible dream. Let me wake up in my own home and let everything go back to normal.'
I was afraid to try the 'pinch yourself' trick, because if nothing happened, I would be very disappointed. I could feel the edges of my eyes start to freeze as my half-shed tears hit the icy air. Should I give up? Would I even be able to? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as sound reached my ears. This made me look up, even though I knew I wouldn't see anything.
I was a little relieved to find I wasn't deaf. Not much, but a little.
The sound got louder, even though it was still only a faint whisper on the harsh wind. Was it...crying? My heart leaped. Maybe I wasn't the only one here after all! Maybe I still had hope!
"Leave me alone..." The voice wept, "Please..."
I froze.
....no not literally....not yet at least.
Did I...recognize that voice? Hadn't I heard it once before? It was too soft for me to be sure, but what I was sure of, was that it was the sound of a girl.
A young girl, no older then five.
A girl that sounded almost like.... my sister.
But, that couldn't be possible. My sister was long dead, how could she be the one I heard. I shook the thoughts from my head, convincing myself that the cold had gotten to me.
but still....
Using ever ounce of strength still inside of me, I blindly pulled myself up off the ground.
"Is there anyone there?" I called.
She didn't answer me, but the crying didn't stop. Maybe she was hurt, or lost, or dying. I needed to get to her and help in any way I could, and maybe she knew something useful about where I was.
I followed the distant sobbing of the young girl. My feet were numb in the first few steps, and my nose was running uncontrollably, but I didn't stop. Besides, better to freeze to death trying to help something then to freeze wallowing in your own self pity. For some reason, that thought alone seemed to make the biting winds a little gentler.
"Who's there?"
This time, it wasn't my voice which had spoken, but instead, the voice of the little girl. It was light and soft, even though you could hear the tears being choked back in her words. I bent down, letting my knees fall deep into the snow so I could put my hands out and feel for her. She winced as I touched her face, soft skin icy cold and coated with previously shed tears.
"I came to help you." I told her gently.
She started to cry again, "You can't help me. No one can help me."
I felt a tremendous shake as she pulled away from me and began to sob again. Persistently, I stroked her hair in an effort to calm the tiny girl.
"It's alright," I said quietly, "I'm here. I'm sure I can help with something. Are you lost?"
I felt her shake her head, no.
"Hurt?"
Again, she shook her head.
"Then why are you crying?"
She took a deep, shaking breath, and said, "I don't know where I am."
"So you're lost?"
She shook her head vigorously, "No. I don't know where I am, but I'm not lost."
"I don't understand," I said.
"I know where I am." She explained, "I'm in the alone in the dark and cold, at the mercy of the wind and ice, just like,"
She paused, looking up at me, "Like a prisoner. Just like you."
This caught me completely off guard. Defensively I said, "How do you know about me?"
She got up a little off the ground.
"We are very similar you know," She said, having suddenly lost her will to cry, "We are both abandoned into the cold, are we not? We are both under the mercy of another, whether it be the wind...or a spirit."
Everything around me seemed to eerily shift. The wind was stronger now, and the ice was colder then before. I covered my own arms to keep warm, offended by the girl for pre judging me..
"We both seem helpless on the outside," She continued, "Soft and innocent. Everyone always wants to come to our rescue; but we know better. It wouldn't take much to betray our loyalty, and if they did betray us, punishment would only be fair, would it not? I can sense you find it much easier to kill then you play off, Ryou."
Unwanted images of the Tupok flashed before my eyes. Of the dagger sinking deeper and deeper into his flesh and the blood gushing out onto my hands. I shut my eyes tightly and shook my head free of the terrible sight.
"It's not true!" I objected.
"Is it now?" The voice hissed, "You know it's true, you just don't want to admit it."
"That's not it."
"Ah ha..." She said, "You don't seem to be so firm on your opinions. Are those doubts in your tone?"
Again, images began to form in my mind. Pictures of my first day at a Japanese school, of my times at home, of a typical day with my friends, just normal scenes from my life.
"You see?" The girl whispered in my ear, "You always appear the same. The perfect little British boy, quiet, shy, polite, composed, respectful, charming... You never express your true self. Are you afraid of what other people might think?"
I kept myself completely quiet, truly speechless.
"Or maybe, what your father might think?"
I felt a cold gust of wind swerve around me, and I was hoping that it might help hide my sudden tenseness that flew through my body at top speeds. But judging by that cackle from the girl, I hadn't hidden it very well.
"Struck a chord, have I?" She laughed, "Is that the truth then? But wait...I think there is more."
The quick vision of my Yami began to form in my mind, but I rapidly shook it away. I felt a weird sensation in me when I did that, though, which made me suspicious. Maybe it was her...was it her that was breaking into my memories?
"You're terrified of doing something wrong." She informed me, "Terrified of letting people down. And you think you can prevent that from happening by not becoming close enough to anything. By not showing your true self, there isn't a way that any true part of you can get hurt. Is that right?"
"That's not true!" I snapped, getting angry at her attempts to lock into me, "You don't know who I am at all!"
"Oh?" She said with sarcastic innocence, "I think I do."
I felt her touch my shoulder and whisper into my ear in an almost seductive manner, though the message she delivered wasn't at all like that.
"I don't think I'm lost anymore, Ryou." She said.
-* Yugi *-
......
The first thing I felt was warmth. Bright, warmth licking my face and gently waking me from my sleep. My eyes cracked open enough to see the red flashing numbers on my alarm clock looking back at me. However, I didn't realize what I was seeing until a little later. Still half asleep, I rolled over and pulled myself up from the soft sheets and pillows. Then I sat there, letting everything in my mind sink in before I could begin the day.
....letting everything sink in...
...absolutely everything...
My eyes grew about four sizes larger as I leapt to my feet and stared around me in complete shock. This was MY room! My bed, my walls, my things, my clothes, everything. It was MINE, I was in MY home! There came a knocking on the door, and it opened slowly with the same annoying creak as it always did.
But for some reason today, I loved that creak. I loved it more then anything in the world.
I spun around smiling. Knowing that I would be met with the cheerful face of my Grampa. Planning to call Ryou and Caitlin to make sure they got home alright like I did. Just waiting for the day to start in complete glee. But all that happiness shattered into about a million pieces when I saw who was at the door.
And it wasn't Grampa.
In fact, it was a woman. But not just any woman, an 18 year old woman dressed in just her bra and underwear.
I toppled over onto the bed and screamed, "OH MY LORD!"
She jumped at my reaction, wearing an expression of complete confusion. She backed up a step before asking shakily, "What's the matter?"
I could only twitch, a stunned silence over coming me as she waited for an answer. But she would never get one, for I honestly couldn't answer in a way that wouldn't confuse her and/or me even more. When I didn't answer, she arched an eyebrow at me and leaned back.
"HONEY?" She called.
I could hear footsteps on the hard wood floor.
"What?" A voice answered.
My eyes met those of another person as they came to the door. Again, I couldn't help myself, I screamed and fell back onto the bed clinging to the covers for dear life. The man gave me a look most like the girl had before.
But it wasn't just any man, this man was...my yami.
"What's up with him?" He murmured to the girl.
She shrugged and whispered something to him that I couldn't hear. Yami nodded, and then turned back to me.
"You'd better get dressed," He instructed, "Aren't you supposed to be at work in an hour? You don't want to get fired again."
I felt my jaw drop. What the heck was going on here? Yami was wearing something that resembled a business shirt and tie, but maybe even a little more formal then that. The woman whispered something to him again, and Yami smiled and nodded. She started to leave, but then he leaned over to her and kissed her cheek. Something just simple enough to shock the crap out of me.
"Well?" He said impatiently, "Get moving. I'm not always going to pay the rent for you. That was a one time deal."
It took all I could to say anything, so I just nodded and mumbled, "Yeah...sure..."
He smiled...sort of, and closed the door. I just sunk into the bed, and glanced at the mirror on the wall to my left. What I saw scared me a little bit, but I had already been scared so many times all I could do was sigh deeply and cover my eyes with my hand. I looked about nine years older then I looked when I saw myself last, and almost disturbingly like Yami. Groaning, I turned over and let myself calm down for a moment.
Why does my life always have to be so complicated?
~* Bryac *~
I hissed softly through my teeth as another gust of sand came swiftly at me. As much as I tried to prevent it, it felt like glass and almost pulled off my skin as it passed. The sun beat threateningly above me, and it almost reflected against the white desert sand that I was forced to walk through.
"Shit..." I muttered.
I had been walking for what seemed like hours and the scenery never changed. I never knew if I was getting closer or not, or what direction to go in, or when sundown would come. However, I did know what was in front of me, and it was definitely not a good thing. I bent down and clutched the leather bag in front of me. It had been filled with water a while back, but when it emptied I had thrown it down so I had less to deal with.
And yet, there it was. Covered in sand, but still visible under the unforgiving sunlight. A small rip in the bag confirmed my assumption, and I cursed many times.
It was a stab in my heart. I thought I had made at least SOME progress, and here I found that the whole thing was a giant circle! Had I gone the wrong way? I could have sworn I'd gone forward the entire time, following the sun as it--
I stopped, and turned my face upward.
Why hasn't the sun moved at all?
I pushed my hand into the dry sand to push myself up when I felt something hard under my grip. It wasn't the empty bag of water that I was sure of. It felt almost like...metal. I pushed another hand down, feeling around in the sand for another bar, and found it.
Two bars in the sand.
No, three bars.
Four now, but there were more.
Curiously, I started to dig. Sure enough, a hard lash of sun bounced back from the silver bars and stung my eyes for a moment, but no longer. I was dead set on finding out what I had uncovered to care what my body felt. I didn't even mind when another gust of sandy wind blew around me, something that would have made me withdraw before. A smile came across my face as I looked down at what I had uncovered, and then I felt my brows furrow.
Could it be...a cage?
I had dug up enough of the metal contraption, now, so I was able to push my hands underneath two of the bars on either side. With a quick gasp of breath, I started to pull as hard as I could on the bars so I could get the metal thing out. There was a surprising scream of metal, and then the whole thing seemed to pop right out of the ground.
Luckily I had enough sense to let go of it in time. I was dropped to the ground as the whole thing flew into the sky, and then plummet down so close to on top of me it wasn't even funny. I felt it graze against my ear as it landed next to me and sent sand flying in all directions, almost creating the illusion of an explosion. I shielded my eyes from the dust, and then slowly, looked at what was inside of the cage. And what I saw made me gasp.
It was.... me inside there!
-**-**-**-
Retaw- Dun dun DUNNN! OK! So, I think those are pretty good cliffhangers, don't you? *evil face*
Caitlin- *re-reads* Hey, what about me?
Retaw- What about you?
Caitlin- Yeah! Where am I?
Retaw- Don't worry, you're next chapter. In fact, I'm thinking of just having another Dream Realm chapter next instead of a Yami one. Just so I can finish off this little sequence here, what do you think?
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SUNC!
The man shrunk back immensely he slammed his fists hard against the desk in his anger, causing the three golden items to shake.
"I-I'm sorry, sir! W-w-we tried to stop him but he paid us no head!" He stuttered.
Yukio spun around and gave the maddest death glare to the man behind him. The man turned paler then before, and fell to his knees with tears lining the edges of his eyes.
"We did our b-best sir!" He cried, "P-please! Don't hurt me!"
Disgusted, Yukio spat onto the ground, and slumped into his chair. He closed his eyes for a moment, tapping his fingers together and breathing heavily as he thought of what to do next. The man just shook, trying hard to contain his own sobs in front of his master, but failing miserably.
"So he took the sword." Yukio muttered, "He took the sword, AND left them in the Cave of Undoing?"
"Yes-s-s." The man answered.
Yukio leaned back, pondering it for a moment. He was a man of strategy, though he didn't look it, and somewhere inside him, a familiar feeling of victory was welling up again. He could usually work these sorts of things into his own advantage, could the same be done in this circumstance? Out of habit, Yukio reached for a pen on his desk and started to spin the cap around while he thought. The man grew steadily uncomfortable as Yukio said nothing, and shifted nervously on the floor.
"...Do you think it was wise, sir?" He whispered, "Do you think the fire demon knew what he was doing?"
Yukio didn't even look up at the man in front of him, he just continued to play mindlessly with his pen. The man only waited, knowing for sure that the slightest thing could set Yukio off, and he was quite capable of killing off one of his own men. After what happened to Hugo the other day, no one dared even offer advice to Yukio. He was taking a huge risk, and putting his life on the line for it as well, but he knew that he had to say something. Quickly, he ran a hand across his face to wipe off the last tears and beads of nervous sweat.
"Sir?" He said again under his breath, afraid Yukio would get angry if he interrupted his train of thought or something equally ridiculous.
Yukio stopped twirling his pen and broke it in half, sending ink all over the desk. Even such a simple action as that made the poor man flinch. Yukio looked up slowly, his eyes full of fire, as a sudden realization hit him. However, that same face made the man sure that he was about to murder him.
But he didn't.
Instead, much to the man's confusion, he started to smile.
"And why do you think that?" Yukio asked him.
This made the man panic. Yukio never acted like this in front of anyone before, and his sudden cheerfulness had to be fake. It just had to be! Maybe he was just setting him up for a good killing, but if that was the case, it was too late for him now anyway. All he could do was answer the question, and beg for forgiveness if the need arose.
"W-well," The man began, forgetting his point for a moment before hastily remembering it again, "D-don't you need the humans for this to work."
Yukio turned back to his broken pen and grunted in half agreement.
"B-b-but if they don't survive this, h-how will you be able to put your plan into action?"
Yukio halted, holding one side of the pen in his fingers and looking up slowly again. The man tensed up, and was afraid even to breathe. But then, Yukio broke into a wide grin and started to laugh.
It began as a chuckle, but it continued to grow louder and stronger until it was so much that Yukio was forced to throw his head back and laugh towards the sky. Uneasily, the man smiled a bit while his master laughed uncontrollably. But the laughing didn't stop. And caught up in the moment, the man began to laugh as well, more because Yukio was laughing himself then for any particular reason.
But as soon as he started to actually laugh, Yukio's hand thrust out at him at lightning fast speeds and yanked the man towards him.
"Don't you see?" Yukio laughed, his laughter becoming more and more demonic, and his eyes starting to bulge, "We don't need them any more!"
The man began to sweat heavily as he forced a smile. His face was only about an inch away from Yukio's, and he secretly held his breath as Yukio laughed upon him hysterically. The man thanked god as Yukio let go of him and jumped to his feet, leaving the man to sink into the floor, overcome with shock.
"Let them rot in their bleak tomb!" He sang insanely, almost dancing to his bookshelf.
"Let them die inside themselves with no one else to find them! Let their skin become so putrid that even the rats refuse to feed on them, and the fly's reject their fresh eye balls held open as their own souls devour them!"
He flung a shelf full of books onto the floor and let a deranged cackle issue from him, "May mushrooms grow from their bodies and hair fall from their heads and their bones will dissolve and blow away as dust but they will still be trapped inside!"
He lit a match and threw it onto the pile of books on the floor. It instantly erupted into flames in the middle of the room. His face looked darker then usual, the man observed in terror as he desperately pushed himself away from the bonfire.
"And if they escape, why should I care?!" He roared, "I know their weaknesses now, there is no turning back! No no no, my sorry friend, what we need, is the Fire Demon."
Another deranged smile spread onto his lips, "And I know just how to get him."
Yukio grabbed a near bottle of whisky and crashed it against the wall, sending glass everywhere. The man gaped at him in horror as he then took the largest shard of glass on the floor and held it in front of him.
"I guess its like they always say," Yukio shouted, "If you want power, the first step is to BE power!"
He laughed at his own jest and swiftly stabbed the long jagged piece of glass into his chest. Scarlet blood crept instantly onto Yukio's white shirt, a look of twisted pain and amusement on his face as he smiled and then fell into the fire in front of him.
The man cried out as he watched Yukio plunge to his supposed death, and ran to the fire in a feeble attempt to save his crazed master. He had barely struggled back down to his feet when the inferno seemed to explode into a gigantic black mess of heat, easily engulfing the tiny man before he could even scream out in shock or pain. His master's body was doused in blood red flames, his skin cooking in the heat, but the smile still standing out. But the man could not see this. He had already died in the fire, thinking his master had as well.
But he was wrong.
Oh so wrong.
[A/N: This was a chapter that I had written originally for another story, but in the end, it influenced the making of 'PART TWO' of Dreams Do Come true. In fact, I had seriously considered stopping part one here, and making a completely new fanfic for the sequal, and end of the series, but I reconsidered and decided to just finish what I had started where I started it.]
*-* Ryou *-*
It took a few seconds for me to even realize I was awake. I heard no sound, I saw no light, as far as I was concerned, I was still in a deep sleep. I just laid there for a moment, my body numb and my thoughts few. Then suddenly, I felt a deep freezing sensation inside of me that threw my eyes open once more. The icy feeling crept up on me quickly, and I let out a muffled gasp, as it became almost too cold to bear. I promptly sat up in the darkness and rubbed my arms vigorously to warm them.
"Hello?"
I stopped, shocked by the sound that come out of my own mouth. My words sounded hard and hoarse, completely unlike my usual tone. In fact, my whole body felt hard. Stiff, even my lungs, like I hadn't moved or even breathed in quite some time. How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Days maybe?
...Years?
I tried my voice again, clearing my throat gingerly before hand; "Is anyone t-there?"
Still no answer.
The cold hadn't died down since I had started moving, and it was becoming harder to breathe as the time lapsed. I exhaled slowly and huddled my freezing body together, but it didn't help me. It seemed like there was no heat left in my body, which worried me.
I flinched, feeling something cold fall into my hair. But when I reached up and tried to figure out what it was, it seemed to have vanished. Another cold thing fell onto me, on my arm now. This time, I reacted quicker and ran a hand over where it had landed. My stomach lurched as the realization finally came to me.
It was snowing.
As if an answer to my thoughts, more snow rained from the sky onto me, and I began to panic. I couldn't see, I could barely move, and now I was going to freeze to death. I was about to become a human popsicle! Dryly, I began to plan out how I would die and rate them in pain and suffering.
Sit there huddled until you get covered in snow completely and then drowned in it. Suffering Rating: 4
Try to find your way around without any eye site and realize that you are on top of a mountain a little too late and fall to your death without even being able to see the ground so you'd know when you'd break your neck. Suffering Rating: 8
Freeze. Suffering Rating: 9
I shook the barbaric thoughts from my mind, and let out a long sigh as I shivered. I was beginning to shake uncontrollably, and vainly, I shut my eyes.
'Be a dream.' I pleaded, 'Please oh please, let this all just be a terrible dream. Let me wake up in my own home and let everything go back to normal.'
I was afraid to try the 'pinch yourself' trick, because if nothing happened, I would be very disappointed. I could feel the edges of my eyes start to freeze as my half-shed tears hit the icy air. Should I give up? Would I even be able to? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as sound reached my ears. This made me look up, even though I knew I wouldn't see anything.
I was a little relieved to find I wasn't deaf. Not much, but a little.
The sound got louder, even though it was still only a faint whisper on the harsh wind. Was it...crying? My heart leaped. Maybe I wasn't the only one here after all! Maybe I still had hope!
"Leave me alone..." The voice wept, "Please..."
I froze.
....no not literally....not yet at least.
Did I...recognize that voice? Hadn't I heard it once before? It was too soft for me to be sure, but what I was sure of, was that it was the sound of a girl.
A young girl, no older then five.
A girl that sounded almost like.... my sister.
But, that couldn't be possible. My sister was long dead, how could she be the one I heard. I shook the thoughts from my head, convincing myself that the cold had gotten to me.
but still....
Using ever ounce of strength still inside of me, I blindly pulled myself up off the ground.
"Is there anyone there?" I called.
She didn't answer me, but the crying didn't stop. Maybe she was hurt, or lost, or dying. I needed to get to her and help in any way I could, and maybe she knew something useful about where I was.
I followed the distant sobbing of the young girl. My feet were numb in the first few steps, and my nose was running uncontrollably, but I didn't stop. Besides, better to freeze to death trying to help something then to freeze wallowing in your own self pity. For some reason, that thought alone seemed to make the biting winds a little gentler.
"Who's there?"
This time, it wasn't my voice which had spoken, but instead, the voice of the little girl. It was light and soft, even though you could hear the tears being choked back in her words. I bent down, letting my knees fall deep into the snow so I could put my hands out and feel for her. She winced as I touched her face, soft skin icy cold and coated with previously shed tears.
"I came to help you." I told her gently.
She started to cry again, "You can't help me. No one can help me."
I felt a tremendous shake as she pulled away from me and began to sob again. Persistently, I stroked her hair in an effort to calm the tiny girl.
"It's alright," I said quietly, "I'm here. I'm sure I can help with something. Are you lost?"
I felt her shake her head, no.
"Hurt?"
Again, she shook her head.
"Then why are you crying?"
She took a deep, shaking breath, and said, "I don't know where I am."
"So you're lost?"
She shook her head vigorously, "No. I don't know where I am, but I'm not lost."
"I don't understand," I said.
"I know where I am." She explained, "I'm in the alone in the dark and cold, at the mercy of the wind and ice, just like,"
She paused, looking up at me, "Like a prisoner. Just like you."
This caught me completely off guard. Defensively I said, "How do you know about me?"
She got up a little off the ground.
"We are very similar you know," She said, having suddenly lost her will to cry, "We are both abandoned into the cold, are we not? We are both under the mercy of another, whether it be the wind...or a spirit."
Everything around me seemed to eerily shift. The wind was stronger now, and the ice was colder then before. I covered my own arms to keep warm, offended by the girl for pre judging me..
"We both seem helpless on the outside," She continued, "Soft and innocent. Everyone always wants to come to our rescue; but we know better. It wouldn't take much to betray our loyalty, and if they did betray us, punishment would only be fair, would it not? I can sense you find it much easier to kill then you play off, Ryou."
Unwanted images of the Tupok flashed before my eyes. Of the dagger sinking deeper and deeper into his flesh and the blood gushing out onto my hands. I shut my eyes tightly and shook my head free of the terrible sight.
"It's not true!" I objected.
"Is it now?" The voice hissed, "You know it's true, you just don't want to admit it."
"That's not it."
"Ah ha..." She said, "You don't seem to be so firm on your opinions. Are those doubts in your tone?"
Again, images began to form in my mind. Pictures of my first day at a Japanese school, of my times at home, of a typical day with my friends, just normal scenes from my life.
"You see?" The girl whispered in my ear, "You always appear the same. The perfect little British boy, quiet, shy, polite, composed, respectful, charming... You never express your true self. Are you afraid of what other people might think?"
I kept myself completely quiet, truly speechless.
"Or maybe, what your father might think?"
I felt a cold gust of wind swerve around me, and I was hoping that it might help hide my sudden tenseness that flew through my body at top speeds. But judging by that cackle from the girl, I hadn't hidden it very well.
"Struck a chord, have I?" She laughed, "Is that the truth then? But wait...I think there is more."
The quick vision of my Yami began to form in my mind, but I rapidly shook it away. I felt a weird sensation in me when I did that, though, which made me suspicious. Maybe it was her...was it her that was breaking into my memories?
"You're terrified of doing something wrong." She informed me, "Terrified of letting people down. And you think you can prevent that from happening by not becoming close enough to anything. By not showing your true self, there isn't a way that any true part of you can get hurt. Is that right?"
"That's not true!" I snapped, getting angry at her attempts to lock into me, "You don't know who I am at all!"
"Oh?" She said with sarcastic innocence, "I think I do."
I felt her touch my shoulder and whisper into my ear in an almost seductive manner, though the message she delivered wasn't at all like that.
"I don't think I'm lost anymore, Ryou." She said.
-* Yugi *-
......
The first thing I felt was warmth. Bright, warmth licking my face and gently waking me from my sleep. My eyes cracked open enough to see the red flashing numbers on my alarm clock looking back at me. However, I didn't realize what I was seeing until a little later. Still half asleep, I rolled over and pulled myself up from the soft sheets and pillows. Then I sat there, letting everything in my mind sink in before I could begin the day.
....letting everything sink in...
...absolutely everything...
My eyes grew about four sizes larger as I leapt to my feet and stared around me in complete shock. This was MY room! My bed, my walls, my things, my clothes, everything. It was MINE, I was in MY home! There came a knocking on the door, and it opened slowly with the same annoying creak as it always did.
But for some reason today, I loved that creak. I loved it more then anything in the world.
I spun around smiling. Knowing that I would be met with the cheerful face of my Grampa. Planning to call Ryou and Caitlin to make sure they got home alright like I did. Just waiting for the day to start in complete glee. But all that happiness shattered into about a million pieces when I saw who was at the door.
And it wasn't Grampa.
In fact, it was a woman. But not just any woman, an 18 year old woman dressed in just her bra and underwear.
I toppled over onto the bed and screamed, "OH MY LORD!"
She jumped at my reaction, wearing an expression of complete confusion. She backed up a step before asking shakily, "What's the matter?"
I could only twitch, a stunned silence over coming me as she waited for an answer. But she would never get one, for I honestly couldn't answer in a way that wouldn't confuse her and/or me even more. When I didn't answer, she arched an eyebrow at me and leaned back.
"HONEY?" She called.
I could hear footsteps on the hard wood floor.
"What?" A voice answered.
My eyes met those of another person as they came to the door. Again, I couldn't help myself, I screamed and fell back onto the bed clinging to the covers for dear life. The man gave me a look most like the girl had before.
But it wasn't just any man, this man was...my yami.
"What's up with him?" He murmured to the girl.
She shrugged and whispered something to him that I couldn't hear. Yami nodded, and then turned back to me.
"You'd better get dressed," He instructed, "Aren't you supposed to be at work in an hour? You don't want to get fired again."
I felt my jaw drop. What the heck was going on here? Yami was wearing something that resembled a business shirt and tie, but maybe even a little more formal then that. The woman whispered something to him again, and Yami smiled and nodded. She started to leave, but then he leaned over to her and kissed her cheek. Something just simple enough to shock the crap out of me.
"Well?" He said impatiently, "Get moving. I'm not always going to pay the rent for you. That was a one time deal."
It took all I could to say anything, so I just nodded and mumbled, "Yeah...sure..."
He smiled...sort of, and closed the door. I just sunk into the bed, and glanced at the mirror on the wall to my left. What I saw scared me a little bit, but I had already been scared so many times all I could do was sigh deeply and cover my eyes with my hand. I looked about nine years older then I looked when I saw myself last, and almost disturbingly like Yami. Groaning, I turned over and let myself calm down for a moment.
Why does my life always have to be so complicated?
~* Bryac *~
I hissed softly through my teeth as another gust of sand came swiftly at me. As much as I tried to prevent it, it felt like glass and almost pulled off my skin as it passed. The sun beat threateningly above me, and it almost reflected against the white desert sand that I was forced to walk through.
"Shit..." I muttered.
I had been walking for what seemed like hours and the scenery never changed. I never knew if I was getting closer or not, or what direction to go in, or when sundown would come. However, I did know what was in front of me, and it was definitely not a good thing. I bent down and clutched the leather bag in front of me. It had been filled with water a while back, but when it emptied I had thrown it down so I had less to deal with.
And yet, there it was. Covered in sand, but still visible under the unforgiving sunlight. A small rip in the bag confirmed my assumption, and I cursed many times.
It was a stab in my heart. I thought I had made at least SOME progress, and here I found that the whole thing was a giant circle! Had I gone the wrong way? I could have sworn I'd gone forward the entire time, following the sun as it--
I stopped, and turned my face upward.
Why hasn't the sun moved at all?
I pushed my hand into the dry sand to push myself up when I felt something hard under my grip. It wasn't the empty bag of water that I was sure of. It felt almost like...metal. I pushed another hand down, feeling around in the sand for another bar, and found it.
Two bars in the sand.
No, three bars.
Four now, but there were more.
Curiously, I started to dig. Sure enough, a hard lash of sun bounced back from the silver bars and stung my eyes for a moment, but no longer. I was dead set on finding out what I had uncovered to care what my body felt. I didn't even mind when another gust of sandy wind blew around me, something that would have made me withdraw before. A smile came across my face as I looked down at what I had uncovered, and then I felt my brows furrow.
Could it be...a cage?
I had dug up enough of the metal contraption, now, so I was able to push my hands underneath two of the bars on either side. With a quick gasp of breath, I started to pull as hard as I could on the bars so I could get the metal thing out. There was a surprising scream of metal, and then the whole thing seemed to pop right out of the ground.
Luckily I had enough sense to let go of it in time. I was dropped to the ground as the whole thing flew into the sky, and then plummet down so close to on top of me it wasn't even funny. I felt it graze against my ear as it landed next to me and sent sand flying in all directions, almost creating the illusion of an explosion. I shielded my eyes from the dust, and then slowly, looked at what was inside of the cage. And what I saw made me gasp.
It was.... me inside there!
-**-**-**-
Retaw- Dun dun DUNNN! OK! So, I think those are pretty good cliffhangers, don't you? *evil face*
Caitlin- *re-reads* Hey, what about me?
Retaw- What about you?
Caitlin- Yeah! Where am I?
Retaw- Don't worry, you're next chapter. In fact, I'm thinking of just having another Dream Realm chapter next instead of a Yami one. Just so I can finish off this little sequence here, what do you think?
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