MAGIC FIRE—THE UNTOLD TALE
RG: Wow, I'm being serious in this story! Oh, pardon me, my name is Redwalgrl. Yes, I'm writing YGO stories again. GOT A PROBLEM WITH IT PUNK?!
Kaiba: Chill out. You're scaring off your own readers.
Readers yes you all! : (throw popcorn at RG) BOO!!!
RG: --; I don't live to get pelted by popcorn! Okay then, today I'm writing a story about someone other than Kaiba.
Kaiba: THANK RA! (disappears)
RG: So much for my faithful helper. Guess I'll have to summon someone else to do the disclaimer. I use my authoress powers to summon Arkana!
Arkana: (randomly appears) What the…?
RG: Happy to see me?
Arkana: ARGH! NOT AGAIN!
RG: --;; Wow, thanks for the confidence boost…
Arkana: ;; You're welcome!
RG: Just do the disclaimer. --;;
Arkana: 'Kay! RG doesn't own anything that appears in this fic. She doesn't even own a bag of sugar anymore!
RG: I ate it all… TT
Arkana: So what's today's story about?
RG: You!
Arkana: (blinks) Me? You would actually write a story about ME?!
RG: Yeah! After all, there's only eight other stories who mention your name in the summary, so I'm doing one about you!
Arkana: O.o;; I don't know if I should be happy or scared.
Kaiba: (appears) Run for your life otherwise she'll torment you like she does me.
Arkana: --;
RG: Don't listen to him 'Kana.
Arkana: . It's ARKANA!
Bakura: Just like she calls me 'Kura. TT That's not cool.
RG: Like you would know?
Bakura: TT
RG: Anyway, here's the summary and stuffies…
SUMMARY:
(RG: I SAID THAT!)
What happened to Arkana after he was defeated by Yugi and how he survived the Shadow Realm. Plus, what happens after… Muahahahahhahahahaha…
DISCLAIMER (AGAIN):
RG owns nothing. Absolutely nothing. She doesn't even own herself. She's owned by the big G in the sky. She doesn't own that statement either (her history teacher does). Come to think of it… RG OWNS NOTHING YOU PATHETIC PERSON WHO THINKS SHE DOES!!!!
RG: You made that pretty clear… --;;
Arkana: So you mean I have to be in one of your stupid fics again?
RG: Yep! Go get ready! I still have to give some more info!
Arkana: --; (disappears)
NAMES RG USES (on the right is the English name and on the left is the name that RG uses):
Yugi Motou—Yugi
Yami Yugi—Yami
Tea Gardener—Tea
Tristan Taylor—Tristan
Joey Wheeler—Joey
Bakura—Ryou
Yami Bakura—Bakura
Marik Ishtar—Marik
Yami Marik—Yami Marik
Ishizu Ishtar—Isis
Arkana—Arkana
Odion—Odion
Lumis & Umbra—Lumis & Umbra
Strings/The Quiet One—Strings
Seto Kaiba—Seto (or Kaiba)
Mokuba Kaiba—Mokuba
Mai Valentine—Mai
Espa Roba—Espa
Weevil Underwood—Weevil
Rex Raptor—Rex
Mako Tsunami—Mako
Yugi's Grandpa—Yugi's Grandpa
Serenity Wheeler—Serenity
Duke Devlin—Duke
Maximillion Pegasus—Pegasus
Katherine—Katherine
If I forgot someone… -.-; Just tell me…
ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: For once RG doesn't have any! All rejoice!
OOCNESS (Out Of Character Ness): Yes, on everyone's part. Especially on Arkana's part. After all… this is RG's writing!
PAIRINGS: Hintings mainly… Arkana x Katherine
APROX. LENGTH: Well, I'm hoping it's not going to be a HUMONGOUS story that will take me forever to write… Maybe just a one-shot.
RATING: It is currently PG, but rating might go up.
GENRE: General/Romance (Because I really don't know what the overall theme is)
SPOILERS: O.o;; I don't know. Really. I don't read the Japanese version, so I don't know. (BTW, Arkana's Japanese name is Pandora! .;; I just thought that was kinna cute. Arkana: . I don't see the humor in that!)
AUTHORESS's NOTES: My thought symbols are 's. I find they're easier to read. Enjoy! Please review after!
THE STORY!
( Arkana: Finally…
RG: I thought I told you to go get ready!
Arkana: Oh… (disappears) )
He slowly opened his eyes to find himself sitting on one of the makeshift cots aboard Marik's ship. He blinked… everything was coming back… He had lost the duel to Yugi… Lost his Dark Magician card… Lost Katherine… He shook his head, ridding himself of that horrid thought. Marik didn't lie to me… he couldn't have… He thought to himself. Then why am I still here? After what he did to that other Rare Hunter, shouldn't I be in that Shadow Realm?
His thoughts were interrupted when Umbra came in. He shut the door quietly after him. "Oh, Arkana. You're awake."
"Yeah…" Arkana said slowly, wondering why Umbra would be in his room anyway. "What is it?"
Umbra shifted his eyes downward and muttered, "Master Marik would like a word with you."
Arkana jolted. Of course. I should've known. I'm not going to get off lightly. "Let me guess," Arkana stated, "he wants to send me to the Shadow Realm."
"I wouldn't know," Umbra murmured, more to himself than Arkana. "Master Marik will do what he wants, no one can stop him."
Arkana got up slowly. There's nothing I can do… I have to go with this punishment… "Alright. I'll go."
Umbra led Arkana down the hall to a secluded room farther away from the smaller rooms of the Rare Hunters. Here was Marik's room, as everyone knew from past bad experiences. Arkana opened the door slightly and gathered his courage. Here goes… He opened the door fully and stepped in, Umbra following close behind.
A black swivel chair was facing out the window. It slowly turned around to reveal Marik. "Umbra, you may leave." He said to the other Rare Hunter.
Arkana watched Umbra hurriedly bow and shut the door. He turned to Marik and crossed his arms. "What is it?"
"Such attitude for a failiure. I expected you to be groveling at my feet begging for forgiveness, like the others." Marik smiled nastily. "You're afraid. No matter how you try to hide it, you can't. You don't want to leave the world of the living. You don't want to leave your Katherine…" He sneered. "Anyone with half a mind wouldn't have fallen for that. You're so gullible! I can't believe you!"
Arkana winced at the insult, but managed to keep a straight face. Of course I'm afraid. Who wouldn't be? But there's nothing I can do, and I'm not going to embarrass myself by groveling to him.
Marik laughed. "Trying your hardest to deny this all, aren't you? You think there's some way out… You don't know how wrong you are. I have never seen anyone who has gotten out of the Shadow Realm. And that's where you're going my masked friend!" he pulled the Millennium Rod out from under his purple Rare Hunter cloak.
I can't let him know how right he is. I won't sink to that level. Arkana told himself over and over again. But there's nothing I can do…
Marik pointed the Rod at Arkana. "I'm surprised you haven't given in to fear. You have stronger will than the others. It's a shame you'll have to be sent away, but if you lost to Yugi, how would you ever defeat any of the stronger duelists? This is the way it has to be…" he suddenly trailed off and looked off into the distance, lowering the Rod.
Arkana blinked. What's going on? Why hasn't he killed me yet? What's he doing?
Suddenly, Marik dropped the Rod and a bright gold Egyptian eye appeared on his head, his hair stood up on end, and rose around his head in a semi-circle. His eyes narrowed and slitted, giving him an even more evil appearance. He turned back to Arkana, fixing the magician with a purple-eyed glare. "My light is to weak to send you off to the Shadow Realm. He couldn't do it. Its up to me to get rid of the likes of you. Unbeknownst to you Rare Hunters, my light is too weak to kill you all off. It's me who does that…"
"Who are you?" Arkana asked nervously. There's something really familiar about him, like he really is Marik… but he seems to be eviler. What's going on here?
"My name is unimportant. You may have the pleasure of calling me Yami Marik." Seeing the confusion written plainly on Arkana's face, he elaborated, "I am the darkness and evil that Marik stored away for so long. I was kept at bay, but his anger has grown… he couldn't control me any longer, now I'm in control! Arkana, you failed us… you couldn't get Yugi's Dark Magician, and now you're going to pay for it with your very soul!" He walked over to where the Rod had dropped and picked it up. "Prepare to lose your very soul!"
With a flash of bright light, Arkana's body slumped to the ground, in a state similar to a coma. Yami Marik laughed evilly. "No one shall ever defeat me!"
He felt the light hit him, the pain was so immense… then it all stopped. He couldn't feel anything. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was staring at a dark, deserted wasteland. Is this the Shadow Realm? He thought and got up.
Suddenly, a magician appeared beside him. He wore a red and yellow outfit and carried a large staff. One look at Arkana and he glared. "Arkana." He spat disgustedly.
"D-Dark Magician?!" Arkana yelped. "W-what are you doing in the Shadow Realm?!"
"This is the place where all us cards are living in full life. Humans who come here are devoured by the fiends. Luckily for you, you ended up in the wasteland, a place of dinosaurs. They don't eat humans… normally." The Dark Magician grinned malevolently.
Arkana gulped. Great, so I'm not going to be eaten by fiends, I'm going to be eaten by dinosaurs… just great… "Look, Dark Magician, I'm sorry for mistreating your card… cards… whatever… C'mon, you aren't going to let me just get eaten, are you?"
"I would've helped you, only I can't because of the rules. No monster is allowed to help a human, unless the queen of the darkness says so." He crossed his arms. "Sorry. Even if you're genuinely sorry, which I highly doubt, you would never be able to get out of here unless if the queen decides it."
Arkana sighed. "Okay, how about this, you help me find this queen, and I'll treat your card right from here on out."
Dark Magician pondered for a second, then shook his head. "No good. Even if I help you, what's the guarantee that you'll get out of here?"
"Please, you have to help me, I have to get back to Katherine!" Arkana exclaimed. "This is the only way for me to see her again!"
"So you're admitting that you did wrong?" Dark Magician asked, slightly surprised.
"Yes." Arkana nodded. "I drove her away. I couldn't bear her to see me like this, but I needed her…" he trailed off.
Dark Magician frowned. "I sense a change in you. Before you were fighting to get her back with no sense of what you were doing. Now you understand that this all happened because of your impulsive decisions. This time you're fighting the right way." He shook his head. "I can't deny you the help you seek, not anymore."
"You'll help me get out of here?" Arkana asked, surprised.
Dark Magician started walking. "Well, do you want my help or are you going to stand there?"
Arkana quickly followed Dark Magician. The two traveled for a while over the wasteland, before they ran into a Summoned Skull. He gave an insane cackle and said to Dark Magician, "Why is this tasty morsel following you? Why not let me have 'im?"
Dark Magician rolled his eyes. "Please. I'm bringing him to Her Majesty's. She's requested his presence to her banquet. You cannot have him."
The Summoned Skull screeched. "You're lying!" he then launched a blast of thunder at the two.
Dark Magician intercepted the blow. He fell to the ground, but blasted Summoned Skull with dark magic. Summoned Skull retreated with a screech. Dark Magician turned to Arkana and gasped out, "That blast has done me in. Continue that way, you'll reach the castle soon…" he pointed to the west weakly.
"You, you sacrificed yourself to save me?" Arkana asked, not quite believing it.
"I figured if Yugi's Dark Magician would do it for him, I might as well do it for you… Go, hurry before someone else tries to kill you…" Dark Magician held out his staff. "This is the end of the line for me. Take this to protect yourself with. You need something to protect you. Just say "dark magic attack" and you'll be unharmed. Hurry!"
Arkana accepted the staff and then stood awkwardly for a few seconds before Dark Magician collapsed, motioning for Arkana to leave him. "I-I'm sorry." Arkana said before leaving.
He walked for awhile before finally a large black castle came into view. Is this the castle Dark Magician told me about? Arkana asked silently. It must be, it's the only castle around…
His thoughts were interrupted by another magician. This one had long black hair and blue skin. "Well, well, well. What have we here? Another human trying to see the queen if I'm not mistaken. You can't go any further."
Arkana blinked. "Aren't you the Magician of Black Chaos?"
"Yes…" he said slowly.
"Look, I really have to get to your queen, its urgent. Dark Magician sent me." Arkana said.
"Which one?" Magician of Black Chaos asked.
"Uh, the red one…" Arkana said.
Magician of Black Chaos looked startled. "He sent you? Then it must be urgent. Come, I'll take you the rest of the way, if he sent you here, there could be a problem somewhere else in the Shadow Realm. Please follow me." He said. He turned and began walking towards the castle.
Now I'm following yet another magician… Arkana thought to himself. I wonder who this queen is… and I wonder what's going to happen next…
(RG: Should I stop tormenting Arkana now? Nah, I have to go a little further!
Arkana: I hate you. I'm not really this naïve, am I?
RG: hugs Arkana I like you in this fic! You're so cute!
Arkana: Can't breathe!
RG: Back to the fic! hugs Arkana even harder)
Magician of Black Chaos and Arkana reached the castle gates where two guards were standing. They parted as the Magician walked forward. They cast suspicious looks at Arkana but let them through.
The interior of the castle was as dark as the outside. Dark purple wall hangings depicted pictures of the previous kings and queens of the castle. The almost gothic look of the servants led Arkana to believe that the queen was just as dark and relentless as the inhabitants of the Shadow Realm. I have a very, very bad feeling about this…
Magician of Black Chaos stopped at a big black door. "This is the queen's chamber. Once you enter, you'll be on your own." He opened the door, then bowed. "Good luck."
Arkana nodded, and entered the room. He approached the black throne where a blonde-haired female sat. She smiled lightly. "So then, I heard there was a newcomer to the Shadow Realm. I didn't expect you to make it this far though. I'm guessing you don't know who I am. I'm the queen of the Shadow Realm, a human like yourself."
"Then how come you haven't left?" Arkana asked.
"There are certain requirements that a person has to have to leave the Shadow Realm. They include; a want to get back, someone who wants you back, and someone from this realm who is willing to back you up no matter what." She looked off and said, more to herself than to Arkana, "I have the first two requirements fulfilled, but no one here will back me up no matter what… not even my own duel monsters." She then turned back to Arkana like she was seeing him for the first time. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Mai Valentine."
Arkana blinked. Mai, didn't Marik say something about here? Her rarest card was a Harpie's Feather Duster… right?
"You're Arkana. Yugi told me about you, that was before my defeat."
"Defeat? What are you talking about? No one has the power to send others to the Shadow Realm besides Marik, and that Yami guy, right?"
"I wouldn't know." She said, "I was sent to this realm by Marik. I didn't stand a chance. I miss everyone back there… Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan… I wouldn't even mind seeing Kaiba… any other living human is good…"
Arkana crossed his arms. "And what am I?"
Mai blinked. "Heh, sorry. Alright, enough about me. I'm guessing you want to get back home. Well, answer me these questions. First, do you really, really want to go home?"
Arkana nodded. "Yes, why wouldn't I? There isn't anything here that would keep me in the Shadow Realm!"
"If that's true, then is there someone back home that wants you to come back?" Mai asked.
Arkana looked down at his feet and muttered, "I don't know."
Mai cocked her head. "May I ask why?"
"Yeah… If you had asked me that question a long time ago… I could've said yes. Katherine, she would've wanted me back… but now… I drove her away after an accident that ruined my career as a magician. It ruined my looks and self-esteem too. She wanted to stay, wanted to help me, but I couldn't let her… I couldn't let her see me…" Arkana shook his head. "I wish she still wanted me back… but by now she probably has someone else that's replaced me…"
"I'm sorry," Mai replied softly. "I think there might be a way that you can see what she's thinking though…"
"What?" Arkana asked.
"Being queen of the Shadow Realm, I am able to use powerful magic. Perhaps I can use it to let you see into her life…" Mai concentrated and then smiled. "It works. Close your eyes, you'll see what she feels and thinks…"
Arkana did as Mai commanded and suddenly, he was seeing out of his love's perspective.
Katherine was sitting on the bed in the apartment she was renting. She checked her watch, brushed her blonde hair from her face and opened the door. She walked down the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door of the building. She walked along down the street until she reached the harbor. The moonlight illuminated her sad features. She walked to the end of the boardwalk and stared out to the ocean. She silently said, "Why did this have to end this way? No matter how hard I try to forget, I keep wishing he was here… He said he didn't want me around anymore… But I still love him, I always will… why does fate have to be so cruel? Oh Arkana… I wish you were back…"
(RG: I can't write romancy scenes well…
Arkana: I can tell!
RG: I didn't need your input!)
Mai watched Arkana mystified. Whatever Katherine was seeing, it must've had something to do with him…
Arkana blinked and snapped out of the trance. "Mai, it worked."
"Did you see what she thinks of you?" Mai asked, she couldn't help wondering.
"Yes… She wants me back." Arkana said in a relieved voice.
Mai smiled broadly. "That's great! Now, the last question… is there someone here in the Shadow Realm that would back you up willingly, no matter what?"
Arkana thought for a second, then it came to him. "Dark Magician—the red one. He gave his life for me to get here…"
Mai nodded. "Then you've fulfilled all the requirements. The last thing you need is to hand over Dark Magician's staff. Then I'll use my power to send you home."
"What about you Mai? After you've helped me out so much?"
"I'm stuck here. No one here will help me." Mai said softly.
Arkana crossed his arms. "Well, if you back me up, I'll back you up. Fair?"
Mai grinned. "Fair!" She muttered some magic words and soon the bright flashing light filled the room… and then there was nothing…
(RG: Tee hee! Maybe I should just leave it here…
Arkana: Aw come on! It was just getting good!
RG: O-o YOU think it was good?!
Arkana: Yeah! Finish it!
RG: 'Kay!)
Katherine was lying on her bed staring up at the ceiling, trying to forget all the pain the past few years had brought her. How I wish he were here…
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. She got up, put on a bathrobe and went over to the door. Before she opened it, she asked, "Who is it?"
"A very familiar masked face, I assure you."
Katherine blinked. Masked face? Could it be…? She opened the door to stare in shock at her one love. "Arkana?"
"Yes, Katherine. It's me. I'm sorry, will you ever forgive me for what I said and did to you?"
Katherine blinked back the tears. "Of course! I'll always love you Arkana!" she threw herself into his arms.
RG: And Katherine and Arkana lived happily ever after! And that took me two hours to write ten pages… X.x
Kaiba: Boring. Such a Mary-Sue fic.
RG: Is not!
Kaiba: Is too!
RG: Wait, what happened to Arkana?
Bakura: I saw him and that blonde haired girl headed towards Arkana's room…
RG: Oh no you don't! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT ARKANA!!!! (runs out the door)
Kaiba: Well, that's the end then. If you liked it, leave a review for that pathetic authoress. If you want more, leave a review. And if you hated it… DON'T FLAME ME! I DIDN'T DO IT!
Bakura: (shrug) Oh well. Hopefully we actually will get some good reviews.
Kaiba: Besides, this is one of RG's only serious fics, so please give her a break.
RG: (from distance) GIMME A BREAK, GIMME A BREAK! BREAK ME OFF A PIECE OF THAT KIT-KAT BAR!
Kaiba & Bakura: --;;
Summoned Skull: (flies in and holds up sign that says "END" on it)
Camera: (explodes)