Dark Crimson Night: Dreams and Visions
Author's note: Well, here's another chapter. Enjoy.
Warnings: Yaoi, cussing, death, blood, mass destruction, lots of dark things and who knows what else at this point.
Pairings: Well… Bakura/Ryou, some subtle hints of Seto/Jou, and Ishtal/Malik… others are still to come. ^_~
Disclaimer: *rolls eyes* You'd think I would be allowed to stop saying this now… ah well…
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Yugi couldn't help but shiver as he was led deeper into the strange tunnels of what seemed to be an underground fortress of some sort. In some places, the foundations of buildings had been broken through with stone lined earthen tunnels connecting basement to basement. *This place could take up a whole city block!* the boy thought, curious, excited and a little unnerved all at once. Otogi stopped finally, holding up the old lamp to reveal an ancient, molding wooden door.
"Just to warn you before you meet her. Isis… well…" he frowned. "She's not really… all there. She might seem a little strange to you. She barely speaks in strait sentences anymore, only riddles." Yugi nodded.
"I think I can handle a few riddles," he replied, earning a laugh from his guide.
"I should have known," the emerald-eyed man chuckled. He pushed the door open, revealing a comfortable, if slightly worn sitting room. In the center, on what may have once been a deep blue couch, sat a lovely woman in her mid-twenties, her smooth black hair falling down her back and her teal blue eyes gazing ahead, slightly clouded. The woman smiled mysteriously at him.
"Welcome, little prince," she murmured. Yugi frowned, blinking in the light as he and Otogi entered the room, closing the door behind them. The woman made no effort to move only smiled as they approached.
"Yugi," Otogi said with a reassuring smile. "This is Isis." Yugi nodded, lifting his hood over his head. The woman showed none of the surprise Otogi had displayed at their meeting. It was almost as if she expected him. Yugi flinched as a slightly cold hand reached up to brush a piece of his wild blonde bangs from his face. The woman smiled, resting her fingers lightly on his cheek.
"You have finally returned to us, young one." Yugi took a nervous step back, breaking contact with the woman.
"I'm sorry, have we met before?" he asked uncertainly. Otogi frowned, glancing nervously at Isis. The Egyptian woman was unnervingly calm, but then, since the death of her brother her mind seemed to have slipped beyond where anyone could reach it. If they could only find Malik…
"Not in this life," Isis murmured to Yugi, breaking the silence. "But met we have, once long ago." A flicker of life registered in the woman's eyes, causing Otogi to gasp and blink. For a moment, it had seemed as if the clouds hanging over her mind had lifted, if even slightly. It was more of a reaction then he had seen in almost 50 years.
"What do you mean, not in this life?" Yugi asked in confusion. A mysterious smile graced Isis' lips.
"A life long past, memory faded, a prince waits to be free again. Young prince shall return, times memories restored," she replied in a sing song voice. Yugi bit his lip and glanced at Otogi. The emerald-eyed man shrugged. He knew little more than Yugi about what she had meant.
"Isis, I should get him settled in…" Otogi muttered. Isis smiled at him, her expression as blank and distant as ever. She nodded, agreeing with his words. Otogi smiled. There was still just a spark of the woman they knew left in that detached shell. Maybe… just maybe… if they could find Malik…
"Time must take care," Isis nodded to Yugi. "The wheels are turning once more. Fate and shadow move as well. The dark prince will arrive again in time's hands, but time must take care." Otogi nodded to Isis, steering Yugi out of the room.
"What did she mean, 'time must take care'?" Yugi asked. Otogi frowned.
"I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough."
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Flashes… glimmering lights… violet… red… dripping, staring. Pain anger regret. Uncertainty, fear… whirling… whirling…tossing, turning… a scream, fighting, all consuming darkness. Teal blue eyes… a kind smile. "Nee-san!" Betrayal, anger, rage pain. Darkness. Dark… deep… darkness. A chuckle. A cackle, a terrified scream. Moving, blending, bleeding. Sharp golden blade, and eye shinning gold. Tearing, soul ripping, floating…resting, wrongness… fear… Darkness calling… falling… falling… Danger, fading…nothing, sweet nothing.
Light. Brightness. Crying, repentance, forgiveness, remembrance. Fright, fear worry… "Can I…" Uncertain black-violet crystal. "Forgive?" A smile, welcome arms. "We'll get through this…" Acceptance. Teal eyes, gentle smile… Love…. Finally… solace.
Shattering… breaking… sudden pain… calling. "Yami!" Loss, fear, anger. "Where are you?" Sundered, broken, world destroyed… Darkness… hiding… fear… Moonlight, Twilight… self. Stubborn refusal. "We won't give up!" Caring, love, friendship… faith… trust. Truth. Dark and Light. Together, safe danger…
A letter… "Darkness has you." Confusion, fear… a decision, a mistake… capture… trapped… panic. Lost. Crying pain… Sudden searing agony… "Gone." Lost… numb… pain dissolving… pain… an anguished cry.
"Hikari!" Malik's eyes shot open, searching wildly. His breath was erratic and labored and he was sweating heavily, a cold sweat brought on by panic filled nightmares. A gentle hand petted his hair as if seeking to calm him. Dark lavender eyes, familiar eyes, gazed down at him, confused and concerned.
"Hikari…" The voice was worried and uncertain… Malik clenched his eyes shut, curling up in his yami's arms. Confused, Ishtal wrapped his arms around the boy, rocking him gently.
"What was that?" Malik asked, his voice shaking. Ishtal closed his eyes, shifting through his hikari's chaotic memories of the violent dream. His fingers gently stroked Malik's hair, both to calm the boy and to reassure the confused yami that his hikari was still there. Opening his eyes again, Ishtal rested his chin on Malik's head, holding him close. His eyes were unusually clear, though still forebodingly dark.
"They are memories, hikari." The tanned yami shivered unconsciously; frightened at the memories his light was drawing up. Malik had finally forgiven him in the past, after years of anger and regret and fear. It had been a difficult road, and Ishtal was afraid that these chaotic memories might destroy the fragile bond they had formed.
Malik seemed to trust him now, curled in his arms, hiding from the dreams that haunted him, and strangely, there was nothing more that he wanted. Having Malik wrapped safe in his arms after so many years of soul biting darkness… it was strange, but so compelling. And he didn't know if he could handle loosing his hikari again.
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"You should get some sleep." Yami looked up to find Jou watching him, his expression unreadable. The crimson-eyed spirit looked away, not wanting to meet those searching honey-amber eyes.
"I don't need sleep," he answered shortly.
"You will ow. Until we find Yugi there's next to no magic supporting your physical body," Jou told him. "You're just like the rest of us, minus your shadow powers, for now." Yami winced at his hikari's name.
"If we find him…" Amber eyes narrowed. The tall blonde stalked over to Yami, gripping the spirit's shoulders and jerking Yami around to face him.
"Don't you dare say that!" he snapped, eyes blazing. Yami opened his mouth to reply but was silenced by Jou's glare. "You of all people know better than to give up on him. We haven't been working for fifty years, risking our necks for you to give up now!"
"But how can we-"
"We *will* find him," Jou interrupted. "Think about it Yami. We've already found Ryou and Malik, both reasonably healthy. We though it would take months, even years to find even one of them! So don't you dare give up on Yugi, not this early in the game. I swore I'd find him again, after he was murdered. I knew we could do it and I've never given up. So don't you either." Yami's shoulder's dropped and he looked down with an embarrassed smile.
"You're right Jou," he murmured. He looked up, eyes blazing with determination. "I won't give up. Not yet."
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As Otogi led him deeper into the darkened catacombs, Yugi couldn't help but wonder at Isis' strange words. Time… she had spoken as if time was a person, a being right there in that room. What was so important about time? And the dark prince… Yugi's heart skipped a beat… the phrase seemed so familiar. And something else was bothering him as well…
"Otogi…" Yugi's voice broke through the silence. The emerald-eyed man glanced back. "How old are you?" Otogi froze, his eyes widening, then narrowing at the question.
"Does it matter?" he asked impatiently. Yugi gave a small sigh.
"I can just sense…" he frowned a moment. "You feel… older… And familiar. I feel like I've met you before."
"You should," Otogi snorted, starting to walk again. Yugi jumped to catch up.
"But why?" he asked. It was Otogi's turn to sigh.
"I'm not sure I'm the right person to tell you that Yugi," he answered. Yugi's expression dropped.
"But you know," he murmured. Otogi nodded.
"I do, and I can guarantee you'll learn soon enough… As soon as Seto returns." Yugi blinked as they stopped in front of an old wooden door. Seto… Yugi rolled the familiar name over his mind. Otogi pushed the door open, revealing a small room with a dusty old mattress in the corner, a wooden table and an old chair. "It's not much," he said with a shrug. Yugi smiled at him, moving into the room. A small lamp had been set on the empty table, the only source of light when lit, and a pile of ratty, yet clean blankets was stacked on the mattress.
"It's wonderful." Brilliant violet eyes beamed back at him. Otogi couldn't help but smile in return.
"I'll let you settle in," he told the boy. "I'll be back in an hour to show you up to the kitchen." Yugi nodded.
"Thank you."
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Isis tossed and turned, lost in a fitful sleep. Visions passed across her mind's eye, flitting to and frown and vanishing in an instant. They were chaotic visions, both sad and happy. Visions of the past, of the present, of possible futures to come…
Through the chaotic dreams, one single vision built steadily and grew until it dominated the others. It was a quiet, dark vision, calming really, a vision of a pair of warm teal eyes so similar to her own. A voice spoke out in the shadows, one long used to speaking through dreams. It was a gentle voice that seemed to sooth the chaos around her.
"Child of fate, I feel your mind is troubled," the voice murmured calmly. Before the pair of gentle eyes, three figures began to appear, three winged figures with features to blurred to make out. The voice caressed her, giving her no reason to fear.
"You have lived long, in pain and suffering, young one, hiding your soul from the world. But now, I must ask you to return to the outside world. You are needed again," the voice told her. It sounded almost sad, as if it wanted her to remain in her world of dreams, her world of safety.
"Three were lost once, long ago, long before their time of awakening," the voice murmured again. "They must not be lost again. Only they can turn back the demon who destroys this world. You know already of whom I speak…" Isis shivered. The three forms in her vision became clearer for a moment, sparking with color before fading again.
"They are not yet ready to awaken fully, child of fate. You must protect them, until their time comes. They must not be lost again. This world can not survive much longer under the dark one's control." Isis could almost feel the near tangible importance in what was being said, even as the teal eyes seemed to smile at her.
"Find the dark ones," the voice told her. "But remember, dreamer… Even the strongest shield may break… but light always returns." The voice faded, leaving Isis floating in her sea of visions, a sea that had suddenly calmed. Her mind began to drift closer towards consciousness, closer towards the dim light she had fled at the death of her brother.
"Malik," she whispered, and silence settled. Her eyes blinked open. She had things to do.
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Author's notes: Finally, here's the next chapter. And soon they'll be reunited with the rest of the gang. Then the fun really begins. ^_^
Malik: *sighs* I see we have the oddly broken phrases appearing again… Stupid dream…
Ishtal: *winces*
Bakura: Don't start… you know it will get worse… it always does.
Yami: *nods* True, true…
Ok… question. I'm having a little trouble deciding who to pair Otogi up with. Who do you think would be better, at this point: Honda or Isis? Please review and tell me you opinions ^_^