Darkness Within
Note: Okay, chapter 6. R&R, ya'll. Here we go…
Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-gi-oh, Joey would be the main character and Mai would've married the casino guy. As you can see, that is not the case, so, clearly, I don't own Yu-gi-oh.
Chapter Six:
Joey banged his head against the wall of shadows, earning a sharp jab of pain. To his surprise, the thin wisp of a girl was walking towards him, away from Marik, who looked mildly troubled.
"Fiacha?"
The shadows cleared to admit her, and she leaned close to him, scrutinizing his features. "Who are you that you think this is your place to be? Who are you that barges into my mind?"
"Don't give me dat. Marik is da one dat did dis to ya. If it wasn' for him, we'd all be at a picnic right now."
She blinked, seeming to register something inside of her. In the darkness that was her mind, an unclear image emerged. It was him, but with the sun streaming around him so crazily that he looked even more attractive than usual. Is that how she saw him?
"Joey," she whispered, as if unsure that she was right.
"Yeah. I knew you could do it!"
She shook her head and glanced back at Marik fearfully. "He'll take it away again, Joey. I'm not strong enough."
"Don' say dat, you might start believin' it."
The shadows wrapped in front of Marik now, as Fiacha tried to bide her time. "I'm not strong enough, but that doesn't mean I'm letting you two get hurt. Get out of here, and run. He'll likely send me after you, and then… do whatever it takes to save the pharaoh."
"Don' talk like dat. I'm not goin' anywhere without you."
"FIACHA! DESTROY THE PHARAOH!"
Her mouth twisted into a weak smile. "If you're so powerful, Marik, do it yourself. If you love me so much, you'll spare me the trouble."
"How dare you defy me! You have nothing left of your mind but shadows and still you try to defy me?"
This time her smile was genuine. "That doesn't matter. I know enough to know that you are nothing more than a slimy ghost with a mean temper. You're only solid in my mind."
He smiled back at her and waved his hand, cutting through her mind once again. "I should have known better than to just erase your memories; I should have changed them!"
Joey's sweet smile twisted into a smirk in her mind, his eyes full of ill intent. The enemy.
"I don' look like dat!" Joey said in an outrage.
Fiacha pressed a hand to her temple and swayed. She groaned and pitched forward, and without a thought Joey reached out to catch her. Squinting as if staring at the sun, she blinked rapidly.
The prophecy flashed into her mind and she realized that darkness was the enemy, not Joey. She could see clearly, and it was amazing.
"I command you to destroy the pharaoh," Marik said, tiring of his games and using his powers to seize her mind completely. Or at least, he tried.
"Sorry, hun, but I'm afraid darkness can't touch the pure hearted."
"I hope you don't mean yourself."
"Of course not. I meant Joey."
She stood up shakily, opened her mouth as if to yell at him, and then collapsed, fainting for good this time.
"You see what ya did, Marik?"
"You're right, she was a very useless mind slave, prophecy or no. I think that her mind would do better to feed the shadows."
"No, not dat horrible place. Anything but dat."
"What could you offer me to change my mind, Wheeler? A pretty little card? I think not."
He had to do something. Anything. But… what could he do. There was one thing…
"Take me instead!"
Marik laughed and thought it over. It would be fun to see her face when she realized that Wheeler had sacrificed himself for her. And without him, she didn't stand a chance of beating his power.
"Alright, Wheeler. It makes no difference to me whose mind I feed to the shadows this day."
Joey hugged Fiacha to his chest, and kissed her forehead. "Promise dat you'll leave her alone!"
Marik shrugged. "She's useless. There are others who could handle the pharaoh."
Fiacha stirred, startled to be held. "Joey, what's going on?" She looked around her and it didn't take long to figure it out. "No! You can't do that, Joey."
He smiled, not looking afraid in the least. "Don't worry about me, Fiacha. Go with Yuge an' get outta here."
"But, Joey. I'm not worth it. I'm just a lost little girl who doesn't know which way is up."
"One more thing, Marik," Joey said, as if he didn't hear her argument at all. "Give her back her memories."
He shrugged and restored the girl's mind. He could redo it later if he needed to, and this was too much fun to miss. Foolish Wheeler.
"Den go ahead."
Fiacha's eyes streamed with tears as Joey stood up, waiting to lose his mind to darkness. "Joey! No, Joey. Don't do this for me. I'll fare better in the shadows, really. I'm used to it. Just don't leave me!"
"I have to. It's da only way."
And then he was gone.
End note: Oh, I'm so terrible. Poor Joey! Oh well, can't ignore the plot, after all. Review but don't yell at me too much!
