Millennium I
Secrets of the PastChapter 5
Disclaimer- Do you want a list of what I DO own? Here it is: Anime DVDs and VHS tapes, my BtVS collection, my AtS collection, my MASH collection, a bunch of movies on DVD and VHS, a LOT of tapes with recorded shows of various favorites, a thousand and one Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, a lot of books, mostly mysteries books, all the Shonen Jump issues, a complete set of Sailor Moon manga in English, complete set of CardCaptor Sakura manga in English, various other anime merchandise, manga from other favorites, clothes, graded school papers, all of my creative thoughts in my head, and the stories and poems I've typed. So you see, that's all I own.
Note- My fifth chapter…and it took how long? I'm not sure. When summer arrives I'll try and be more diligent, cuz I won't have homework. As I've said before, I'm skipping the duel until I feel qualified to write a duel because I'm not completely sure yet how to write them.
"…"- speaking
italics- thoughts
/…/- Yugi and Serena to Yami and Yama (respectively)
/./…/./- Yami and Yama to Yugi and Serena (respectively)
Chapter 5When Seto-kun had said that Battle City would be an all-out war, he wasn't kidding. Every one took it seriously. So far, Serena was the only one out of the four duelists, Yugi, Joey, Mai, and herself, to get all six locator cards. Of course, she wasn't stuck dueling people with alterative agendas, so that had something to do with it too. She had just joined up with Joey, Tea, and their new friend Namu when they were jumped. Serena had managed to knock out two of 'the guys in robes' when one got her from behind. The last thing she saw before blacking out was Namu. And he was talking to who seemed like the ringleader of the robe guys. And he held a rod with the Eye of Ages on it.
When she came to, she was tied to a chair in a dark room. /Yama, you okay? /
/./Fine. But we'd better find some way to get out of here. /./
Serena used her 'ki sense', as she had dubbed it, to check for guards. /Some one's coming. The leader of the men who attacked me and the others. /
The guy entered the room. She raised an eyebrow. "You came alone? Aren't you afraid that I'll untie myself and beat all of you guys up?" she said, having already summoned one of her kunai from her sub-space pocket and had got to work on the ropes.
The man, whom Serena now saw had what looked like tattoos covering a part of his face, raised his hand in front of her face. "Oh sure, the old 'talk to the hand' thing. Don't you realize that's just plain rude?" He hadn't said a thing since entering. "Oi! The least you could do grunt at the most. I feel like I'm talking to a log here!"
Suddenly she stiffened, feeling someone trying to take over her mind. /./I'm not sure I can hold him off! /./ Serena bent over, moaning from the intense pain in her head. From Yama trying to fight him… and my own resistance.
Memories of a dark alley came, flooding her mind. Flashes past before her eyes. Being jumped. The shock at whom it was. Trying to fight, resist, run, any thing to get away. Being pinned under him. Him touching her in places he had no right to touch. Rough hands, pulling at the clothes covering the lower part of her body. The pain… the terrible pain, tearing her inside, licking up her spine, blood pooling between her legs. Finally coming to her senses, finally grabbing her dagger from sub-space. Stabbing the shiseiji. Watching him die, the body disappearing in a swirl of black, knowing that the feeling of being dirty wouldn't go away. Seeing her family, their blood covering everything. Her mother's last words, the warmth leaving her body. Stumbling to the temple. The feeling of fists hitting her body, yet being dead to the pain of their blows. Feeling only the pain caused by HIM, the one who stole her innocence. Silently begging the one whom she thought loved her, for him to help her. And finally… finally, the feeling of hitting the cold stone steps, the heat from the sun gone, leaving only cold, harsh stone. Hitting the concrete, focusing her eyes on the moon, thinking that it would be the last thing she would ever see. Yet I survived… only to be used here?
Anger raged through her. Serena had never felt anger but once before… on the day she woke up to find her baby sister missing. She had felt anger then, at the man who took her Usa-imouto-chan away from her. And she felt anger now, anger at the one who dared to try and take control of her mind. She felt power rise within her, power that she thought she only had as Sailor Moon. She heard the voices, the ones that had cried out to her since she was twelve years old, curse the one who sought to do this to her, both those who had hurt and helped her, and rise up, attacking him and his lackeys. Serena threw her head back as she felt her forehead grow hot from the crescent moon that symbolized her power, which had appeared during the flashbacks, flickering, and then growing stronger and stronger. She sent power to Yama, combining the two magicks, throwing him, whom she was sure was Namu, out of her mind. She sent one message to his mind. Stay out of my mind, or be prepared to face the Moon Princess' wraith.
The force of her magic exploding outwards was felt by all in the building. The magic burned the ropes to ashes, freeing her. And she ran, facing no opposition, since she had successfully knocked every one out. Serena located the exit, throwing open the door, nearly pulling it off the hinges, and continued running through the warehouses and crates in the docks, stopping only when she was a good three warehouses down from the one they were using as their center. She fell to her knees, panting in vain attempt to catch her breath. Serena could sense that she had also knocked out Yama by accident by at the warehouse, knowing it would take a while for her to come to. She turned to a group of people, unseen by all but her, dressed in American Army fatigues from the Korean War. She said, " Tell all of them thank you for helping me. "
The short one wearing wire-rimmed glasses, with a knit cap on his head, nodded, and said, " We will. Don't worry, we'll tell them all. Even the ones that hate you didn't want the only one who walks both worlds to be controlled." (10 points to those who knew who it is.)
They left, going out to do what she had asked. Serena stood, wincing at the phantom pains that traveled up her spine. They always came when she was reminded of that night… Hearing a helicopter coming, she turned in the direction it was coming from before it came within 'normal' hearing range. Of course, nothing about her was normal. Narrowing her eyes to read the writing on the side, she saw that it was Seto-kun's. From her viewpoint, Serena saw that Seto-kun, Mokuba, and Yami no Yugi were in there. Seto-kun doesn't look happy… he can't take the fact that magic does exist. Though I always thought that he'd have a stroke, even if he's only a teen… Following it with her eyes, she saw it was heading to the section of the docks that was on the sea. /./Who's going to the sea? /./
/You're awake. /
/./What hit me? /./
Serena knew full well what had knocked her out, but she wasn't about to tell her. She realized now that it wasn't her power as Sailor Moon, but her power as Princess Serenity… and Yama couldn't know about that. /I guess I must've tapped into my power as Sailor Moon, and when I used it to boost your power, I must have not done it correctly. /
In her soul room, Yama frowned. She wasn't buying it. She had seen Serena do spells that were extremely complex, yet she messed up a simple power boost. Serena must have sensed her doubt, so she said, /If you were trying to fight off a psychopath while trying to boost up some one else's power to get rid of said psychopath, you'd make some mistakes to. /
Yama could practically see her hikari pouting. /./You're right. Who's going to the sea? /./
/Seto-kun, with Mokuba, his little brother, and Yami. They're heading to the part of the docks that's actually on the ocean. I'm heading over to where ever they're going. / Serena started to run, following the helicopter. /I wonder what's going on…/
When Serena got to the docks, the duel between the possessed Joey and Yami Yugi had already started. Turning to Kaiba and Mokuba, she asked, "What's going on here?"
"The mutt's possessed by this Marik guy and the loser of the duel gets sunk in the ocean. Tea's tied up over there, and if we try to help her, he's going to have one of his lackeys drop a crate on her that's set to drop any way."
"Ya sure that's there's nothing we can do!?"
"Yes I'm sure that I'm sure."
Through Tea's eyes, Marik or 'Namu' as he was known as to those fools as he called them, he saw Serena. How was she able to escape? He thought, reflecting on the events that had occurred at the warehouse.
Flashback
'He watched through Rishid's eyes as he entered the room where the Pharaoh's hikari's cousin was tied up. "You came alone? Aren't you afraid that I'll untie myself and beat all you guys up?"
'Rishid said nothing, as ordered to. "Oh, sure. The old 'talk to the hand' thing. Don't you know that's just plain rude? Oi! The least you could do is grunt at the most. I feel like I'm talking to a log here!" With that he began to take control of her mind.
'He felt her body stiffen, and then encountered some unexpected resistance. He had seen the Millennium Crystal around her neck, and had been taught the unknown part of the legend of the Pharaoh, yet he didn't think that the sister of the Pharaoh had awakened. She must've awakened when the puzzle was assembled. He thought as he fought the Pharaoh's sister, when he felt something unexpected. Anger, at him for trying to take control of her mind, which had never happened before with any of his mind slaves. Then again, no of his mind slaves had resisted for as long as she had, even with aid from the Pharaoh's sister. Suddenly he was attacked by unknown persons. Spirits… he realized, fending them off. But he was doomed when he felt an unknown magic combine with the shadow magic the Pharaoh's sister and throw him from her mind. But what she said in his mind puzzled him. It was in a tone of voice that demanded respect. Stay out of my mind, or be prepared to face the Moon Princess' wraith.
End of Flashback
Marik knew that she was no ordinary girl. When she threw him out of her mind, he briefly saw through Rishid's eyes. A crescent moon was on her forehead, blazing brightly. She would have been a valuable card to play if I had been able to control her… even with the Pharaoh's sister fighting me off. She wasn't supposed to have Shadow Magic. Either she hid it and didn't tell or she developed it between the time she sealed herself and the time she awoken. No matter, once I get what I want, she will be a small problem to deal with.
Serena mostly tuned out the duel. She could tell how close Joey and Yugi were, and she couldn't pay attention to the two dueling each other without remaining a passive bystander. Serena divided her attention between vaguely watching the duel and any comments made by the others, since Mai, Tristan, Serenity, and some guy named Duke who had arrived some time after her, and picking her way into Joey's mind, trying to bypass Marik's control without letting him know, trying to lend Joey enough strength to break out of Marik's control. But it was difficult, picking her way through the barriers Marik had erected to keep Joey from regaining control of his own body. He had managed to break through a little when Yugi came out to duel. But Marik had just strengthened the barriers.
Kaiba watched Serena out of the corner of his eye. She appeared to be focusing on some thing… and it wasn't on the duel. He knew that some one like her wouldn't-couldn't- watch her cousin duel for best friend with such high stakes without remaining passive. She was up to some thing, and it had some thing to do with how she knew what he was thinking and what he was going to say. Serena had always done that the whole time they had known each other, since she knew that it annoyed him to no end. He had a feeling that she was trying to do some thing to get Marik out of the mutt's mind… if you believed that. Believing that meant that you believed in magic, and magic to him was some thing left for child's tales and over active imaginations. But considering all that had happened to him ever since he first dueled Yugi, Kaiba wasn't so sure any more that magic was impossible. Of course, he'd deny it if confronted with it.
Glancing briefly over at Kaiba, Serena could tell that he was beginning to notice what she was doing. The others didn't know her too well, so they didn't know what kind of person she was. But Kaiba did. But she knew that he didn't believe in magic, so he wouldn't think that she was doing magic. Sure, what she was doing exactly was tied into her duty and curse as the sole person who walked Jinseikai and Shikai, but to some one like Marik, if he traced her, the conclusion would be that she had learned to tap into the Crystal's and was using it to sneak past his barriers. Serena finally got past all of Marik barriers. She found Joey, huddled in a corner of his mind, not even trying to fight. Since the mind shows who you are in its truest form when you enter another mind, she was in her Princess Serenity form, but with silver hair rather than blonde. She also had a pair of wings, pure white, reflecting the innocence of her soul. "Joey." She whispered.
He didn't respond at all. "Joey. " she said louder, getting his attention.
"You're just another delusion. Nothing in here's real. "
Serena reached out and touched his arm. He jumped slightly at the contact. "If I'm not real, how can I touch you?"
Joey's eyes gained a little light, but not much. "There's people waiting for you, Joey." She said as an image of the duel surrounded them. "Your friends want nothing more than for you to return to them. They can't stand for you to be used like this."
"I can't even help myself, not to mention my sister. She still has her bandages on."
"Because Mai doesn't want the first thing your sister sees after the bandages come off is to see her big brother dueling his best friend. And you can't help yourself because you've given up. On them, on Yugi, on your sister, on yourself. Just because you can't take life any more. That's why you're still here. You can get free if you fight, if you stand up and fight to leave, to regain your body. This duel's tearing Yugi apart inside."
Serena stood up from where she had knelt before Joey and held out her hand. "Come on. There's people waiting for you that need you."
The light had fully returned to his eyes. He reached up and took her hand. Serena gave him the strength to force Marik out on his own. She faded away, but not before Joey asked one question. "Matte! Who are you?"
"…Kokoro…"
Serena returned to the land of the living. She tuned into the duel just as the duel ended, and Yugi went into the sea. She watched Joey tell the Red Eyes Black Dragon to attack him, bringing his life points down to zero. He grabbed Yugi's key and dived into the water. She realized that Joey never grabbed his own key. "The idiot! He's just gonna get himself killed!"
"What do you mean!?" exclaimed Duke.
"He never grabbed his own key. He must think that the same key works on both locks."
"He really is a mutt." Commented Kaiba.
"Urusai, shiseiji." Serena said. After all, it wasn't as though she could show that they were friends in front of the others. One, he would kill her. Two, the Yugi-gumi would never let him live this down, even if Joey wasn't there to egg him on. Three, he would kill. So that was enough motivation for her. /./Really? Usually you wouldn't let some thing like that keep you from doing that. /./
/You don't know about Kaiba's sense of pride. 'sides, I'm not in the mood. /
/./Does it have some thing to do with those flashes you had when Marik tried to control your mind? /./
/…I'll tell you about it later. /
In the end, every thing turned out okay. Both Yugi and Joey got out okay, Kaiba and Mokuba left to set up the Battle City Finals, that were starting that night. Once they found out the location, they headed off in that direction. Serena trailed behind the others, lost in thought. No doubt Marik was upset about Joey breaking out of his mind control. I just hope that Marik doesn't find out that it was me who helped Joey break his mind control. I've got enough problems has it is without having to worry about him trying to either get me on his side or have him go after me directly through the ones I care for. Serena remembered the prayers that Father-Uncle Mulcahy had taught her when ever she saw him before he died, and after what had happened when she was twelve he continued teaching her the prayers. Sure, she was brought up in a Buddhist/Shinto/Protestant household and Father-Uncle Mulcahy was a Catholic priest, he felt that he should still teach her the old traditional prayers from the Latin mass and rites. Of course, it was Aunt Margaret, Uncle Henry, Uncle Trapper, and Uncle Hawkeye who had taught her the other important things in life. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
While Serena was lost in her thoughts, the others were talking. "So who's she? She's rather… cute."
Yugi looked put off. "She's my cousin. Her name's Serena, and she came to live with me and Grandpa from Tokyo."
"Why'd she move here from Tokyo? What about her parents?"
"She said that her parents and younger brother died in a car crash, but… " Yugi trailed off as he looked over his shoulder, looking at Serena, who currently looked like she in another world.
"But what?"
"I'm not really sure that's what really happened. Because on the same day they died, she was found at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Hikawa Shrine. She said that she was at a class when the accident happened, but I just get the feeling that they died some other way. Like they were murdered."
"Murdered? But was there any proof of murder?"
"None that me and Grandpa heard. But I get the feeling that they were killed, and she wasn't allowed to tell without threatening me and Grandpa."
"Doesn't that sound a little like some thing some thing that the Yakuza wouldn't do?"
"What if it was the guy we met at the museum?"
"Maybe it was Marik who killed her family and tried to kill her to get to you?"
"No way, he kidnapped her with me and Joey when his guys jumped us, but not before she knocked out two of his guys."
"Was she in the same room as you and Mokuba?"
"No. He must've put her in a different room like he did with Joey."
With that, that particular conversation ended. The topic switched to other subjects. It was revealed that Mai didn't make it to the finals, but didn't plan on missing it for nothing. (This is done for a reason! Reasons that will be revealed in later chapters!) They finally it to the place where they thought the finals were going to be held. It turns out that it was the place where they were leaving for the finals on Kaiba's zephyr. Mai had left her Duel Disk in her car to show that she wasn't a finalist. Mokuba convinced Kaiba to let the others come with them. /If he hadn't, I would've. / Serena commented to Yama. They made it onto the zephyr without too much trouble, but without seeing the eighth duelist who was competing in the finals. The other duelists besides Yugi, Joey, and Serena are has follows: Bakura, despite his injury, to which he kept saying that he was fine; Namu, whom Serena was sure was really Marik in disguise; and 'Marik', who looked like the leader of the robe guys.
They had some time to find their rooms and get settled before the first duel started. Serena was settling in when there was a knock at the door. "It's open."
"Serena."
"Ishizu."
"I need to talk to Yama as well."
Yama appeared from outside the crystal. "You're in the finals as well?"
"Yes, to stop my brother, Marik."
"Who is pretending to be Namu, their friend, to win their trust?"
"He is?"
"You mean that you didn't know?"
"No. But getting to the point, you are going to be the one to face him first."
"I thought that Yugi was supposed to duel him for the puzzle."
"You're going to be the one to duel him in the finals. So you're going to need the one card that can beat the Sun Dragon of Ra."
"The only card that can beat a Kami-no-Cardo is another Kami-no-Cardo, and Yugi and Kaiba have the other two."
Ishizu pulled a card out from her pocket. "Pegasus made another Kami-no-Cardo based off another tablet showed to him by Shaadi. The one card in the world that surpasses the other Kami-no-Cardos. This card."
Serena, with Yama looking over her shoulder, inspected the card Ishizu had handed her. The title of the card read "Goddess of War Sekhmet", and it was pretty powerful. Attack 8000, defense 10000. Effect: Requires only two tribute monster to normal summon; can be summoned to the field without a tribute if another Kami-no-Cardo is on the field. Boosts the power of spell casters and warriors (beast warriors and winged-warriors not included) by 800 points in attack and defense, cards with 'Amazon' or 'Amazoness' in the name by 1000 attack and defense, and female monster cards by 1500 attack and defense on your side of the field. Stars-10. "This card could easily hand you a victory." Serena commented, observing the picture on the card. The picture held a woman with red hair holding a bloodstained dagger in her hand. Glaring up at the observer with cold amber eyes filled with bloodlust. Despite the warmth in the room, the girls shivered. "I wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley." Commented Yama.
"Wait a sec… why give this to me? Why not to one of the guys?" questioned Serena.
"For some reason, this card can only be used by females to its full power."
"So… this card embodies feminine power?" At Ishizu's nod Serena said, "Very cool. Can't wait to see how the guys are going to react when a goddess can defeat their all powerful gods."
"Don't get cocky." Warned Ishizu.
"I am not cocky. It's just that I've been hurt by men in the past because they thought that I was weak, partly because I AM a woman. And to know that I could quite possibly defeat Marik on my own is some thing new for me. Most of the people I knew in Tokyo thought that I was weak, and I just want to prove my own worth."
Ishizu nodded before turning to Yama. "You must be careful. Marik knows of your existence and won't hesitant to try and use Serena as a target to force you to reveal yourself, since Serena doesn't seem to be planning on revealing the Millennium Crystal to the Pharaoh."
"I want Yugi to exercise his brain in some thing other than duel strategy for a change. 'sides, I'm not gonna tell him about Yama until he tells me about Yami, so we're square."
There would have been more said but there was a call over the PA system telling all duelists to come so they could chose the first duel pairings.
"You coming?"
"I won't be dueling first."
"Lemme guess, you're gonna be dueling Seto-kun?"
"Yes, and he shall lose."
"Well, dueling you at the very least will bring his ego down a few notches."
Now that the actors are heading to their places, the show is set to begin. Unsure about what the future will bring, they ignore the signs of danger. The double-ringed circle around the moon, casting green light on the aircraft. Yet the blood on the moon casting red light in contrast to the ring's green light. Some see these signs and pass it off as a natural occurrence, while others ignore the signs of danger. But still, even those who notice the signs and now what they mean push the signs from their minds, focusing on what they deemed more important. The finals.
What do you think? Two chapters in a month? I'm sure that this is unusual for me, but I've had a lot of free time. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!