Darkness Within
Note: Don't yell at me, I have a reason for not posting… I'm just not telling you! Sorry for the delay, but here's the next, thrilling chapter. I hope the twist is something you weren't expecting. What does that mean? R&R and you'll find out!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.
Chapter Five: Confrontation of the Dark Ones
"So, Yugi, what exactly is the millennium puzzle?"
Fiacha was sitting on a picnic blanket, watching Joey devour everything in sight, and trying to get information on the pharaoh from Yugi. Her eyes were dull and black, but the boy did not seem to notice.
"Well..."
He went into a long, complicated explanation of Egypt and the wonderful pharaoh and what not. No doubt the pharaoh himself had fed him these false pretences. The pharaoh had been a reckless, foolhardy man, though a great and respected leader.
It doesn't have to end like this, little raven.
"Did you hear that?"
"No. But, as I was saying, the pharaoh…"
How much more boring could a person be? And what was that voice?
Your vision is blinded. Open the eyes of your heart, raven, and do not let yourself be used any longer.
Used? I'm not being used. The shadows seek only to-
Use you for their ill purpose. The darkness has but one true master. As long as you do not have the light to help you, you will always be a toy to him. The darkness will heed only those who follow their hearts, or those who are one with it, like the dark one is. You should not be that way.
I don't know what you're talking about. I am seeing very clearly.
No, Fiacha, you are blinded by the one they call Marik. The one of shadow, he controls you now. You think that you see clearly, but in truth you see nothing but what he wants to be seen. We will help you. Look now and you will see what your heart sees.
She blinked and looked up. There were no pulsing auras or prophecies in this world of clear, romantic joy. Little Yugi was just a happy boy with a legacy on his shoulder, and the grass was not an itchy nuisance. And Joey…
He seemed to glow, but not with an aura. With a strange feeling that set her heart to beating faster and made her want very badly to reach out and touch his cheek. It was as if the sun was out only so that she could see him.
What spell is this?
This is the first time you have truly seen Joey as you would were you not shrouded in this darkness. If you let yourself, you could break free of the fate that Marik set for you. You do not have to die in the shadows as his slave. GET RID OF THE SWORD, AND GO FORTH TO HIM. DEFEAT HIM, WITH THE HELP OF THE LIGHT. HE WILL HELP YOU TO SEE THROUGH THE CLOUDS IN YOUR MIND.
Could it be true? Was she seeing through some kind of dark haze that made everyone an enemy? Was she being used?
"Hey, Fiacha, look at dat!"
In the sky was a flock of ravens flying towards the sun. Fly with us, Fiacha. Change your destiny, they seemed to call.
She glanced at Joey, once again seeing him in the way that she always did. He was only going to get in the way of her revenge. She couldn't… but… Which way was right?
Are we having doubts, my dear?
You! The man from the shadows!
Go on, kill the pharaoh. We've waited long enough.
Yes, she should challenge the pharaoh now. She was here for her revenge. That made sense.
"Pharaoh, stop hiding behind this boy. Show yourself."
Yugi stepped back in astonishment as the girl threw him back into a terrible, dark place. It was what he had imagined the Shadow Realm to be.
"Would you have him suffer for you, pharaoh?"
"Leave Yugi out of this."
"Fine by me."
"You promised me you wouldn' hurt Yuge!" Joey cried out in aguish.
"And you trusted me? You are more of a fool than a thought you were."
No. This is not what I want. I see it now. The pharaoh should have his memories back, and I should not have done that. Joey was… the first person who refused to hate me. And now I've ruined it. No… Marik has ruined it.
DESTROY THE PHAROAH!
Fiacha fell to her knees, mouth open as if screaming but with no sound.
"The shadows… are…" she rasped, seeming to choke on her words.
DESTROY THE PHAROH!
Tears streamed from her eyes. It was so dark in her mind, and so cold. She could scarcely remember who she was, what she was doing. Is that how the pharaoh felt?
"Pharaoh," she choked, hoping that he would come closer. "You…have… no…memories. That…must… be…hard. I… I can't… fight… this. The… darkness…marked…me… from birth. He… clouded my mind… can't… I just want to see everything as it truly is. Can… no one… help… me?"
Yami knelt down beside the young woman, who cried out in fear and jerked away. "No… no closer. Not… myself. Can't… control…"
"Marik. It's him, isn't it?"
She managed to nod, slowly losing her memories as Marik ripped through her mind in a desperate attempt to regain his control, tearing away at her memories of love and of her brother.
Now for Wheeler.
No!
Let it go, my dear.
Joey's smiling face faded from her mind, but she tried desperately to hold on. He was the only bright thing left in there. Without that, she would be alone in the dark. Pain seared through her as Marik tore away everything as if to punish her, and suddenly, there wasn't any reason to hold on. She was beaten.
Now we're going to go to Fiacha's POV to show how she sees these events, and what is happening to her mind
The blonde one looks familiar, but I can't distinguish faces anymore. Only that voice… those eyes. Tearing up my mind, I know. But what was there to be lost?
"Fiacha?"
He is talking to me, I think, but who is he. He is very cute. Such deep, brown eyes. I think I'm blushing. Do I know him? Oh, please say I know him!
"Can you hear me, Fiacha?"
"Yes," I gasp.
"You were talkin' to Yuge. What were you gonna say?"
Yuge? Who on earth is Yuge? "Who is Yuge? Who are you?"
They stare at me as if I am insane, which, of course, I am. I seem to recall this blonde boy, but I don't know who he is. Is he my boyfriend?
The pharaoh, my dear. I'm sorry that you are hurt, my sweet Fiacha, but it will all be better when you destroy the pharaoh.
All at once, images rush at me. This pharaoh has made people suffer, it would seem. But should one listen to a voice in their head?
Do you not know me? Oh, my love, I am injured by this. It is I, Marik, your soul mate.
Hmm… if he mattered so, would I not know him? Why does that name make me want to scream? Why can he hear my thoughts?
I'll help you. Just destroy the pharaoh for me, and you will remember.
I turn to look at the cute boy again. "Who is the pharaoh?" I ask.
"I am," says the weird looking guy with really pointy hair. He is not cute. I hope that I do not know him.
"And why is it that the voice in my head wants you destroyed?"
He raises his eyebrows and looks at the blonde, who kneels down next to me. I blush and smile weakly at him, wishing I knew who I was.
"Fiacha, are you okay?"
"Is that my name?"
So little remains in my mind, nothing but darkness, shadows and the voice that says it loves me. It would be nice to be loved.
"I think Marik has erased her memories somehow, trying to get her to blindly do what he says."
"The darkness must be fought off," I whisper to the one called pharaoh, though I know not why.
"What?"
"I don't know why I said it."
"What are we gonna do, Yuge?"
"I don't know, Joey. I'm not sure that she can recover from-"
"No! Fiacha is gonna be fine. She'll recovuh right away, just you wait." He turns to me, brown eyes deep with worry. "You know who I am, don't you?"
I want to tell him that I do, but I can't. I don't. "I'm sorry… no. You seem… familiar… as if… as if… I had known you, but I… but… I don't know."
"We bettuh get her to da hospital, Yuge."
"No. Let me see if the puzzle can help."
"If you're goin in dere, so am I."
"I will try to bring you."
I do not know what they are saying, so I stare at this Joey person intently. He is very cute.
Where they end up, there is only darkness and vague, unclear images of the last few minutes, slowing fading into the dark as if there was no room for them.
"Are you sure dis is it, Yuge? I thought she had more goin' on up here den dis."
"She did, Joey, before Marik did whatever he did. Now… I'm not so sure she'll ever be the same. This looks bad… it looks like…" He was going to say his mind, but decided against it.
"So, pharaoh, you would even invade this girl's broken mind? How low can you stoop?"
"No lower than you. What have you done to her, Marik?"
"I tried to erase her memories of Wheeler, because he was getting in the way of my plan. But she would not let go, not bend to my will. Her fight bore a heavy price, it seems."
"You give her back her mind right now, Marik! You did dis tuh Mai, and I'm not letting you do it again."
"Oh, but I already am."
He smiled and spread his arms, showing them a fallen figure, dressed in an Egyptian dress. He pulled her up and forced her to look into his eyes. "Who are these too, my dear?"
She glanced at them, showing no recognition, and shrugged. "I don't know. More voices to fill my mind?"
"No, my dear. These men are here to take me away from you. You don't want to lose me, do you, Fiacha?"
She blinked a few times, but didn't say anything.
"You stop messin' with her right now Marik!"
He smiled even broader. "Would it hurt you, Wheeler, if she loved someone else? If she didn't fall for your little sweet act?"
"Leave her alone! Don't you dare mess her mind up dat bad!"
Marik laughed and pulled the lost girl's lips to his, kissing her deeply for a long time. She just hung there, lost, letting him kiss her as if it was nothing at all.
"Fiacha, you aren't gonna take dat, are you? Can't you see dat he's just toyin' with you?"
"Joey, she doesn't remember who you are. If I'm right, the only thing she can even fathom in her mind is what Marik puts there, and it's not going to be that you are a wonderful person. He's likely making her think-"
"Stop it, Yuge. She wouldn' let him do dat tuh her. Somewhere in here, she's keeping her mind safe. I know she is."
Yami stared at Joey, sure that he had seen a gold light for a moment, surrounding the blonde. Maybe… "Fight the darkness! Joey, she needs you now. I don't know why or how, but I think you're the key!"
"Huh? Dat doesn't even make sense. I ain't a key."
"Well, Wheeler, what do you plan to do? Fight me out? I don't think that she would appreciate that much. I'm the only person that cares about her, after all." He smiled sardonically and brushed her pale cheek. Her eyes were wide and shadowed, but they still managed to look absorbed and passionate when she looked at him. As if she couldn't see anything else.
"Dat's low, Marik. She can't even see us, can she?"
"She's sees you, but she doesn't know or care who you are. She's mine now, Wheeler. The two of us can walk the Shadow Realm together for eternity."
Joey charged at him, thinking to beat him to a pulp, but he was stopped by a wall of shadows.
"Amazing, isn't it? She can make them take a solid form, or hide her. Very useful talents."
"Is dat all she is ta you? Useful?"
He put his hands on the shadow wall and looked at Fiacha, still standing blankly, wrapped in Marik's embrace. "He doesn't really care about ya, Fiacha. He's just tryin' to hurt Yuge, or somethin' like dat. Me an' Yuge can help ya, really. I don't want to see ya like dis anymore."
The blank eyes flashed for a minute, as if contemplating the idea, but they went dark again as Marik kissed her.
"She is weak to displays of affection, this one. It doesn't take much at all to overcome her feeble resistance to what I would have her believe."
"Keep trying, Joey!" Yami called, thinking hard. Fiacha was a lonely girl, despite all that she tried to be. She wanted to be cared for. Marik was using that against her, but maybe… "Tell her, Joey! Tell her now!"
"What? Say dat in front of him? Are you crazy? She can't even hear me!"
"You know that isn't true. If you don't want to tell her, find a way to let her know, Joey. Trust me!"
He shook his head and pounded a fist on the wall, trying to break it down to reach her. This was like what had happened to Mai, only worse. She was almost doing it to herself.
"When we get through this, Fiacha, you are gonna tell me everything so dat I understand."
"That could take a while," Marik noted dryly. He was letting him try. It was very amusing, and it would never work. He was too charming, too powerful. Let Wheeler try to bring her mind back.
"Fiacha… you remember when I took you out tuh breakfast? An' I was askin' all kinds a questions? That was because I heard you talking in ya sleep, about tomb keepers an' Egypt an' all that. I was afraid… afraid dat you were like him. But I knew dat wasn' right. You're da girl who laughed at my attack on my food. No one's ever done dat before."
She blinked, looking between the two of them. It just didn't register. She couldn't remember who she was or who they were. Except for him, the one who said he loved her. Soul mates, he'd said. But… he'd also told her that no one else cared. Then why was this person trying so hard to reach her?
Don't listen to him, my love. He only wants to tear us apart to save the pharaoh. He's just the pharaoh's little lapdog.
But… he looks… familiar. And… glowy."
Don't let them win. Don't let them tear us apart. Kiss me again.
She wasn't so sure about that, but it was hard not to oblige with his arms around her. Besides… he obviously loved her. And anyone who wanted to get between her and her true love must pay.
End note: MWAHAHAHA! Cliffie! So… review, tell me what you think, and what you think/want to happen, and I'll get chapter 6 up here pronto. And what is it that Yami wants Joey to tell her? Could it be… that he's out of donuts and needs her to buy him more? LOL! I'm still not over the donut joke. I'm gonna shut up now. Just review!
