Millennium I
Secrets of the Past
Chapter 6
Disclaimer- to see the list of what I do own, please proceed to chapter 5.
Note-Sumimasen! I've just had so much on my mind. I'll try and be more diligent in the future. Really, I'm just making this up as I go, and it really doesn't help that I have the other stories being worked out in my head.
'words' –dream, flashback, memory
Chapter 6
They had all headed to the room that they were directed to. They would soon find the pairing for the first duel. Joey had freaked when he had found out that Bakura had forced Bonz to give up all five of his locator cards. Bakura was pleased when he found out that Yugi was his first opponent. /A little too pleased. / Serena had commented to Yama about.
They all proceeded to the dueling arena, Bakura and Yugi on the dueling field, with the others watching from the sidelines. Serena had kind of tuned out every one, musing about what Marik's next move would be and the powerful tool that Ishizu had just literally handed her without any thing but faith in her untested ability to use said tool, until commotion on the dueling field drew her attention, as well as every one else. Serena looked up in time to see that Yami had took Yugi's place, and that an unknown spirit had taken Bakura's place. A yami…
The Yugi-gumi was in shock. Apparently, they had had encounters with this spirit in the past on Duelist Kingdom. Tristan was sure that he had gotten rid of the Millennium Ring, in which the spirit dwelled, making the spirit 'Yami Bakura.' Mai, Duke, and Namu couldn't understand the fuss that Joey and Tea were making, while Serena understood perfectly. The others didn't understand completely even after the primary Yugi-gumi members had explained, but they got the basic gist. "Oi, Serena," said Joey, looking over at her. "You seem to be a little too calm after just finding out that your cousin houses a 5,000 year old spirit."
Serena looked at him like he was crazy. She couldn't very well tell them how she could sense him, so she wove a different story. "Look I come from Tokyo. In the past two years we've had one tower destroyed completely, another tower forced to undergo major repairs, enough mysterious attacks to satisfy the American government, which has lead to the naming of the aftereffects from the attacks as the Juuban illness, plus my best friend seems to be a magnet of said mysterious attacks. Trust me, I'm sure that hardly anything would surprise me anymore." /Thank God that me being from Tokyo would come in handy. /
There wasn't any more time to talk about that, since the duel was beginning to heat up. Serena (Yama as well) watched the duel with hawk-eyed observance. His style's changed… or it could just be Yami's style… Serena mused as the duel continued. Noting how Yami Bakura played, how Yami responded to each play, every thing. And 'every thing' included the sideshow as while.Serena couldn't help notice that 'Namu' also watched the duel with a keen eye. She wouldn't be surprised if Yami Bakura was working for Marik to get what he wanted, the Millennium Items, in exchange to help Marik get what he wants, the power of the Pharaoh.
Not surprisingly, Yami Yugi won the duel, but only after only what Serena could call a medo-drama as to whether he should forfeit the duel or to attack and possibly destroy Bakura. Serena couldn't believe this. He would rather risk the safety of the world for the life of his friend! Serena knew that this was sounding crude, but when push comes to shove, you have to make certain sacrifices for the greater good. She was definitely channeling Amara and Michelle with that thought. Serena placed an invisible shield around Bakura, so he wouldn't die from Osiris' attack.
Bakura was still weak from his injury, and the Yugi-gumi wanted Kaiba to land the blimp so Bakura could get medical attention. But apparently there was a fully equipped medical team on the blimp. Serena had discreetly elbowed Seto-kun hard in the stomach for his rather heartless statement about how that it was Bakura's own fault that he was unconscious. She was pretty sure that the only one who saw was Mokuba. Yet if someone else had seen it, they probably wouldn't have time to dwell on it, since they were being called to the main hall to find out the pairings for the second duel. It was Joey and 'Marik.'
While they waited around for the next duel to begin, Yugi was busy talking to Yami. Apparently, he had sensed someone shielding Bakura when Osiris attacked, and he thought that someone was Serena. Short of siding her with Marik, he put her as someone who knew magick, and was fairly powerful. Yugi wasn't as sure, since the most about the supernatural that he knew that Serena had been involved in was the fact that she had lived in Tokyo for the past three years, Capital of the Paranormal. Yami also suspected that she had aided Joey in breaking Marik's control, since he had told them about what had happened. Yugi's response to that comment was that Yami should work for the American C.I.A., since he had all these theories that bordered on conspiracy. Yugi just left Yami to his own theories and thoughts, while he dwelled on his own. He knew that Serena was hiding something big, but he wasn't sure what. It had always seemed that she was keeping secrets, ever since she had saved his life when they were twelve.
'They were walking home from school that day, and it was raining. Not the heavy downpour of a storm, nor the light drizzle or misting like that in Ireland, but… it seemed like the heavens were mourning. Of course, it seemed like the sky was doing that a lot. It had rained a lot more than the average rainfall ever since his parents were murdered two and a half months ago. Suddenly a man jumped at them from an alley, taking him by surprise, but not Serena. She lunged into attack mode, punching and hitting and parrying the man's blows. The two tumbled onto the bridge, the world beyond the two of them not mattering. Yugi had only ever seen Serena fight in martial arts tournaments, but now… it seemed like they were dancing. Well they were, until the man stabbed Serena in, from his view, looked dangerously close to her heart. She fell, taking him down with her, flipping him over the railing, and down to the hard concrete behind. Despite the rain and the distance, he could clear as day hear the man's neck snap. His attention was drawn back to Serena as she groaned. He began yelling for help, as bystanders gathered together at the scene…'
Yugi knew that Serena had been hiding something ever since that day. Yet he wasn't sure that that secret involved magic. Yugi wasn't about to drag Serena into the world he now lived in, but somehow he knew that she would get dragged into it eventually.
While Yugi contemplated, Yami also pondered, but not on his conspiracy theories that Yugi had said his views were. Unlike Yugi, who had for now pushed his dream into the back of his mind, the dream Yami had had was what currently troubled him. That girl… she seemed familiar, even if her face was cast in shadow. He felt ties to her that he could only describe as family ones, but he had no family… or did he? Yami's memories were shadowy at best, yet something was pulling at his mind, at the fringes of his memory. 'There must be another way to bind the Shadows!' A voice in a language he understood, yet didn't know, floated across his mind. The dream clearly showed when the Shadow Realm was sealed the first time, yet does that mean that the Shadow Realm was unsealing itself? He would have to ask Shaadi when he saw him again.
The duel went fine in Serena's mind. Neither succeeded in getting themselves killed, and the real Marik was brought out into the open. But Mai was now trapped in her mind, to show that it wasn't wise to disregard the real Marik with the power of the Millennium Rod as a mild stepping-stone. Even though Yama was worried about Marik, Serena wasn't. She knew that since she had threatened him with her full wraith, that he wouldn't try anything against her, lest he wanted another demonstration. The Yugi-gumi was suspicious of how she took all of this without relative shock, but there was no time to question her. The third duel was about to start. Duelers: Marik and Serena.
In fact, the only one who wasn't worried about the duel was Serena. Kaiba being Kaiba hid his worry extremely well. Also the fact he wanted to see the last Kami no Cardo, The Sun Dragon of Ra, in action helped hide his worry for Serena. Yugi was worried that Serena was going to get hurt in this duel, and he wasn't going to let that happen. Serena knew that she should be worried about losing, since she knew the price one would have to pay, but something inside told her that she would win. It was the same as the feeling she got before every final battle against the enemies she faced as Sailor Moon, the feeling she got that night, the feeling that she wasn't going to see her family again. It was like a sixth sense, and it was telling her that she wasn't going to lose.
The duel was going fairly well, at least to Serena. She had managed to get Ra out on the field when Yami Marik dropped a bombshell. Ra could only be summoned by those who could read the ancient text. Looking down at the card, she gasped as she saw the previously blank card now had text on it, and further more, she could read it. Knowing that Yami Marik wasn't counting on her to be able to read it, expecting only himself, Kaiba, Ishizu, and Shaadi, where ever he is, to do so, that this would be a valuable trump card for the future. So she pretended that she couldn't read it. Besides, she had Sekhmet in her hand, and Yami Marik didn't even know that the card existed. Serena watched with a mask of indifference as Yami Marik read the ancient text.
"Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry,
Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight.
Envelope the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe.
Unlock your powers deep within so that together we may win.
Appear in this Shadow Game as I call your name…
Sun Dragon of Ra."
While the bystanders were freaking out over this, Yami Marik declared, "My victory is assured."
Serena chuckled. "Why do you laugh in the face of your demise?! You have no cards in your deck that can help you now."
"That's where you're wrong. I do have a card, and it's right here in my hand."
"And what might that be? Not even Exodia the Forbidden One can defeat a Kami no Cardo, and you don't have one in your deck."
"I do have such a card. There was another Kami no Cardo created and was hidden, with only Ishizu holding knowledge of its location. But even if you had obtained this card, you couldn't have used it to its full power. Only women can. And that is what makes this card more powerful than the other Kami no Cardos. As they say, Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned." Serena pulled the card from her hand. "And this is the card that will hand me victory fro your hands!"
She placed the card on her duel disk. The image flashed briefly before lighting once again flashed around the blimp. "Goddess of War Sekhmet!"
This latest Kami no Cardo was a woman, dressed in traditional ancient Egyptian dress. But unlike the ancient carvings of this goddess in mythology, she didn't have a lioness' head. Her hair was the same red as blood, her cold amber eyes filled with bloodlust. Her right hand clutched a dagger, covered with blood. One couldn't perceive the original white of her clothes, as they were completely covered with bloodstains, old and new. "This monster was created to combat the other three Egyptian gods when the Shadow Realm grew out of control. But she was a wild card, and she still is." said Yami Marik.
"What makes you think that she'd listen to you? If I'm not mistaken, she was created to combat the destruction the other three created under the direction of men. Men are always the ones who create chaos and destruction, and women are left to clean up the mess. Even in this day and age, things are no different." Serena replied. "Sekhmet! Attack Ra!"
Sekhmet leaped up, striking down Ra with relative ease. She landed as the pieces of Ra fell down to the field, and she smirked, of self-satisfaction and some emotion that bordered on insanity. It was enough to scare Yami Marik. "I believe that takes your life points down to zero." Serena commented, and the judge confirmed it. She gave no outward sign of surprise as she heard a voice in her head, which Yama heard as well. "You were right with what you said about me. You have gained my respect from your past challenges. I will stand with you in this challenge, and the ones you shall yet to have faced."
"Why?"
"Not every god up there is against you. Most side with you, and shall be there at your call if you require their help." Serena had no chance to question the goddess as the mists of the Shadow Realm faded, and the remains of the duel faded away as well. The others had questions, no doubt, but they would have to wait until the fourth duel of the semi-finals was over. Duelists: Kaiba and Ishizu.
Serena and Yama used the last duel to talk. /./ What do you think Sekhmet meant? /./
/ I'm not sure. /
/./ How come you weren't worried that you'd lose? /./
/ Don't know. It was just… this kind of knowing. I couldn't see HOW he'd lose; I just knew that he would. Something inside told me not to worry, that it would be okay in the end. I don't know how to explain it. /
/./ The others will have questions. /./
/ That just means that I get to mess with their heads. /
/./ Just don't get carried away. /./
/ I won't… but that doesn't mean that I won't have fun. /
/./ At least TRY and be kind to them. /./
/ TRY being the operative word there. /
/./ sigh You're demented. /./
With that, they turned their attention back to the duel. But they weren't the only ones having mental conversations. Yugi and Yami were having one of their own. / How could Serena do that? /
/./ Does what I said earlier sound plausible? /./
/ I'm not entirely sure. But remember how Tea said Marik's guys also captured Serena? Maybe she won the same way she escaped Marik. /
/./ But then how did she escape Marik? /./
/ I don't know. But we need to get answers. /
Serena and Yama eavesdropped on the conversation the Yugi-gumi had with Ishizu. When they came out of the room, they were surprised to find Serena standing against the wall outside. "What, no family members in the club?"
"Serena… what are you doing here?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? Look, don't think I don't know what you think I don't know."
"Huh?"
"I know something that you think that I don't know, and I'm not telling you what that might be."
"Why?!"
"Because I know that you know that I hiding something, and I'm not telling you until you either guess what I'm hiding or you tell me what you're hiding to confirm it for me. Though I'm goin' for the first one."
"You're cruel."
"I might as while get you to exercise your brain in something other than game strategy for once in your life. 'sides, where else can I get my fun?" she questioned as she headed back to her room, leaving the Yugi-gumi with many questions and fewer answers. But they don't have much time to ponder these events.
A storm stirs under the surface. Ghosts of the past rest uneasy and wait to strike out. Even those in tune with these ghosts couldn't possibly know what was to happen. The rings around the moon shine brighter than ever, the blood on the moon glowing brighter, casting fragments of green and red light, an silent warning of danger. Yet only one now pays attention to these warnings cast by unnatural forces, in an effort to maintain order. She would have missed these signs too, if she weren't so in tune with the moon, silently warning its princess. The tale the actors weave takes a turn for what can be called the worst. Time will tell all… and fate will decide all.
Finally! Sorry this didn't come out earlier, but I wanted to finish the cross-stitch I was working on before completing the chapter. I was having severe writer's block, at least for this chapter. It's weird, I've got the future of these characters and the world I've woven together pretty much figured out, yet I'm having trouble with the present of the story. After I graduate in early June, or at least when classes end for me, I'll try to be more faithful, I promise! (arms self with ju staff by the computer to fend off any one trying to attack due to note)