Chapter XI: Breaking the Seal

Dys: Okay, here, there are both external and internal conflicts that FD goes through, literally. The external conflict is against both Seto Kaiba, and someone else, while the internal conflict is against herself, and another. Try to guess who the each are!

Dartz: At least now, you've taken some seriousness into your writing.

Dys: Was that a compliment? How many we got down so far, Spots?

Dartz: No, it wasn't a compliment!

Dys: Sure it wasn't. It's like saying Johnny Depp isn't hot….

Dartz: What?

Dys: O.O (blush) Never mind….

Inside herself, FD had shattered. She remembered everything now. She remembered everything about her past. Everything about who she really is. But inside, she felt like the mirror in which she would look into for her own soul had shattered. She felt this way as she looked at her opponent, Seto Kaiba. She didn't hold a grudge against him anymore. Matter of fact, she never did. It was Amelda who held the grudge against this young man. It was Amelda who lost his soul during a duel against him, and it was Amelda who FD had fallen in love with. She didn't hate Kaiba now because of it, but she still wished Amelda were back there, there to comfort her.

"Yes, I promise I'll be back…."

"Oh, Amelda," FD sighed sadly. You promised you'd be back. You promised you'd come back for me.

"Don't look so sad, Rika…everything will be alright…."

No, it won't be alright! I've lost my family, I've lost my true love! And now I'm going to lose my soul! All because I was so selfish and angry at the world for being alone! It's my own fault!

"No, it's not your fault…."

FD pushed Cleopatra's voice out and shut her eyes. She had to hold in the tears, but they fought their way out. Kaiba noticed this instantly. This girl just realized what was going on, and was hurting so much by it.

Ba-bum… Ba-bum….

Her heartbeat. He could hear it again. He heard it when this duel barely started, and then there was a moment of complete silence, but now he heard it again. She was still empty inside. He needed to help her. He needed to calm her down, to convince her how evil Dartz really is. But she wouldn't listen to him. She owed him her life, her loyalty. He had never seen anyone so loyal in his life. She was willing to give her life, her soul to someone like him.

"FD, can't you see that you're being brainwashed by the Orichalcos! Dartz doesn't care about you! He's controlling you!" Kaiba yelled. FD looked up at him, and he saw the tears again. She was hurt to hear this, but it was the truth. She had to accept that. She had to relevate from that.

"No, it's not true! I gave myself to Dartz so I could never be alone!" FD cried.

"Wake up! This isn't real! He doesn't care about you! He'll do anything, tell you what you want to hear! He doesn't give a damn about you!" Kaiba insisted.

"Oh, and who does?" FD suddenly spoke coldly. She couldn't move her body now. It was completely numb with pain and anger. But that wasn't her speaking. That was someone else. Someone speaking through her.

"I do," Kaiba suddenly blurted. He didn't mean to say that. He never did. "And Mokuba. We care. You shouldn't be with a bastard like Dartz. He doesn't care about anyone but himself!"

"You…you don't know anything, Seto Kaiba!" FD suddenly screamed. The earth beneath them gave a horrible shake, and Mokuba fell hard against the car, while Kaiba was thrown against the barrier of the seal. He let out a sharp cry of pain, and fell to his knees. He looked up and saw FD was unaffected by the earthquake. Her hair was blowing violently around her and her eyes held such a serious gaze in them, haunting, yet lonely. Lonely, like how she was all her life. Lonely from the first fight her parents ever had to now. Kaiba knew that feeling, the feeling of being alone, and the feeling of no one hearing him out, no one caring. But there was always someone there by his side, someone who heard him every time. Someone who was there to comfort him.

Kaiba turned to look at Mokuba, who was on the ground, rubbing the back of his head where he hit the car. He was always there for him. He always heard him out. If Kaiba was never alone, then that meant this girl was never alone. There was always someone who heard her out. Someone who'd put that smile on her face whenever she cried. He just needed to help her find that person.

"FD, wasn't there someone there who would talk to you? Someone who would hear you out?" Kaiba asked her. She looked at him, and he saw those tears again. The tears reflected the emerald light from the Orichalcos.

No…there was no one…I was always alone….

"No…you were never alone…as long as I was there…."

No one heard me out! No one talked to me! No one was there to hold me when I cried!

"But I was there…I was there to see you through it all…."

"NO! I WAS ALWAYS ALONE!" FD screamed. She sunk to her knees, the tears straining her face. Kaiba watched as her hands flew to her head, like as if it was hurting. Inside, FD was swimming through darkness. An empty, endless hallway. She was running away. Running away from something…but what?

"Don't cry, little princess. I'm here…."

That voice was so distant, calling her from the empty darkness of the hall. Yet it was so familiar. Like a voice she's heard before, a calm, caring voice. FD looked up into the darkness, and saw a shadowy figure in the darkness, a pair of eyes glowing. The figure held out a hand, and FD ran for it.

"Take my hand, dear child, you'll never be alone again…."

"Don't, Rika!"

FD stopped abruptly when she heard Cleopatra command her to stop. She didn't know why, but Cleopatra didn't want her to reach that figure. Why? It's voice was so familiar, so comforting. It promised her to never be alone.

"Don't you see? You were never alone. I was right here with you."

No! You left me! Everyone did. He was the only one I trusted. I trusted him with my life, my soul. He promised I could never be alone!

"But he's tricking you! Seto Kaiba was right! He doesn't care about you!"

You're the one that doesn't care about me! You never did!

FD pushed Cleopatra away and fell to her knees. She looked up at Seto Kaiba and smiled. "You ready to finish this duel, Seto Kaiba?" she asked sinisterly as she stood up. He looked at her, shocked by the sudden change. It must have been the Orichalcos. She had broken through only slightly, but now it had complete control over her. Or did it? The sign hadn't come back yet. But the scar did. It was bleeding. Maybe if he could make her smile, she'd break free, and so will this seal.

"So, little raven, you ready for me to finish you off?" he asked, drawing. It was his turn. And it was a good card he drew. "I play X-Head Cannon, and activate the magic card SILENT DOOM! This brings back my Y-Dragon Head!" The two monsters fused to form another automatically. "Creating XY-Dragon Cannon!"

FD growled low in her throat as she watched, and Kaiba saw the scar widened. The sign was coming back. He had to act fast. "And I activate Machine Conversation. It powers up my monster so it's stronger than your Vorse Raider. Attack, my beast!"

FD's Vorse Raider shattered as his creature launched an assault, and took away a bit of her life points. She groaned from disappointment, and closed her eyes. She could see the sky so clearly…azure, the clouds hovering beautifully through the sea…birds flying over head…the grass below cool and green…in the distant she heard water….

She was running the thick, black fog in her mind once more, feeling free at last, and have broken through a horrible barrier. She felt so at peace again. She could imagine her house on the beach, the sun setting behind it. She could see her pet cats inside that house, watching the door for her to come in, waiting for her to come home. Home? Yes, that was her home. Her long forgotten home upon a beautiful scenery.

"You've come home, my child…."

That voice…so distant, yet so familiar. That voice welcomed her, and she saw a light through the thick fog. An emerald light. The fog dissipated into nothing, and the light shone through the darkness. FD began running towards it. Already she felt its warmth, its comforting aura. She felt all emotions vanish, all feeling, all pain. Her heart went completely numb, as well as her mind. She just reached out to grasp the light, and then felt something wrap around her wrist. A hand. Someone's hand.

"FD! Wake up! Can't you see what he's doing is wrong!" FD looked up to see Seto Kaiba staring down at her. A sharp pain aroused on her chest, and it was spreading, but she had to ignore it. She felt the cool wind against her face, she felt the comforting, warm aura of the seal around her. The night was dark and endlessly beautiful around her. She stood back up and looked up at Seto Kaiba.

"That's it, Rika, just imagine the beautiful world around you…."

Beautiful world? Yes, it was quite lovely, beautiful. The dazzling, sparkling, turquoise and azure oceans and rivers. The dazzling, azure sky of the day, and the sparkling, glittering, black sky of the night. The perfectly green and cool grass of the fields. The gentle, caressing, cool winds. The cold, yet amazingly white snow. The darkened shadows sent by the sun….

Kaiba saw the scar suddenly fade. Then he understood it. Whatever she was thinking about was setting her free. Her positive thoughts, her outlook on the world. It was freeing her from the seal, it was setting her free. Like a raven. That's what she resembled. Lost, alone, dark, yet inside one of the most beautiful and powerful birds on the planet, just waiting to be set free from the darkened imprisonment. It will be her mind that sets her free, her heart.

FD looked up at Seto Kaiba, and he smiled sincerely at her. "You've broken through," he cried. Mokuba smiled at what he saw. This girl's smile had changed. It resembled a child's smile, sweet, and innocent, sincere. She was breaking through the power of the Orichalcos.

In her mind, FD was lost and scared, trapped within her own darkness. Someone was holding her wrist very forcefully. "I'm not going to let you break through, my dear," the voice hissed softly to her. FD was thrown against something solid in the darkness, like a wall, and her wrist was pinned up by her head, a sharp pain surging through her arm from the force. She looked up to see a pair of discolored eyes, and gasped.

"Dartz!" she cried. He released her wrist and she began to cradle it. Why did he…?

"You are quite strong and powerful. You almost broke the seal completely. But luckily I have other ways of controlling you," he hissed sinisterly in her ear. The pain still fell around her, and she couldn't speak. She just stared at this man before her, scared of what happened. Why did he do that? What did he mean by breaking the seal? And why was she suddenly so frightened of him?

"Please, sir, d-don't…" she was stumbling over words, fear engulfing her.

"Don't worry, little princess, I won't hurt you," Dartz spoke to her, and she could have sworn his tone was a bit…seducing? What the fuck! His finger reached out and traced along her slightly parted lips. She shivered at his touch, his cold eyes staring at her in the weirdest way. "After all, I know your little secret, little girl."

What secret! What was he talking about! And why the hell was he looking at her like that? Stop! Stop looking at me! Go away! Leave me alone! Leave me the fuck alone!

"My dear princess, don't you see?" Dartz asked her. "You are alone. You pushed the one person away from you, the one person who was always there. Cleopatra, the beautiful queen of Egypt. As beautiful as she was, she was one of the nicest, also. Caring for each one of her children and husbands as much as she could. But who knew that her power of making every man fall for her would be inherited through you?"

"Leave me alone!" FD pushed away, but Dartz immediately grabbed her wrist, gripping it tightly where his nails sunk deep into her flesh. She let out a cry of pain and fell to her knees, droplets of blood running down her arm. She looked up at him, tears falling from her face from both the internal and external pain. "Please…just leave me alone…please…." She begged.

Dartz let out a laugh, a sinister, cruel laugh. "How pitiful this is. You're already on your knees, begging for mercy, but I've only just started," he spoke again, that seducing tone sending violent shudders down her spine.

Back with the duel, Seto Kaiba noticed how distant the girl seemed now. So fragile, so distant and scared. And what's worse, there was a new wound on her body. One on her wrist. Her pink wristband with the diamond spikes had blood on it, clear, visible blood pouring from her wrist. "FD, are you-"

"I would consider finishing the duel if I were you," spoke a voice. Kaiba looked past FD to see a figure, a stranger on a motorcycle. This stranger unmounted his bike and removed his helmet to reveal a rather muscular man with blond hair and the most cold, serious eyes Kaiba ever saw. He had seen this being before.

"Hey, who are you!" Kaiba demanded, his cold demeanor returning.

"That's of no concern to you, Seto Kaiba. Finish the duel or you lose your brother!" the man spoke. Kaiba turned to see three figures approached Mokuba, all dressed in black and all wearing biker helmets. One grabbed Mokuba from behind, pulled out a blade, and pressed it against his little brother's throat. Kaiba sneered at the blond stranger, daring him to. But he was unaffected by the glare. FD was still standing there, that blank expression on her face, her eyes blank, dark, and cold. Empty of all emotions.

"Rika Micamura…you were fooled by trust and love once more to never see the truth…just like how I was…."

Cleopatra…I'm so sorry!

"It's not your fault…you were so alone, so desperate to have someone actually care that you couldn't see the truth inside everyone….I was fooled like that before, and it cost me my life…."

Cleopatra! Please don't go!

"I'm sorry…for everything I've done to you, Rika….Please, I hope someday you can forgive me…."

Cleopatra! Please! Don't leave me alone!

"One thing you have to remember is you're never alone, Rika…there's always someone there, someone in your heart, like Amelda and your parents…and now me…."

FD closed her eyes and saw a faint image of Cleopatra, a beautiful Egyptian woman who looked just like her wearing the garments of a queen, and then it faded into the darkness. Tears burned FD's face. She lost Cleopatra. She was gone because of her. Because of her stupid, childish, naïve actions, because of her selfishness. It was all because of her!

In the distant of the darkness, a black raven flew into the sky of her mind, flying away over the world, so it could be set free.

I've been walking in the mirror for so long, that I've come to believe my soul's on the other side. All the little pieces falling shattered. Shards of me to sharp to put back together. To small too even matter, but big enough to cut me into so many little pieces if I try to touch her. And I bleed, and I breathe no more. I take a breath and I try to turn off my spirit's will, but how can you refuse to drink like a stubborn child? Lie to me, convince that I've been sick forever, and all of this will make sense when I get better….

FD let out a horrible, blood-curdling scream that echoed throughout the city. The ground beneath them shook violently, Kaiba falling to his knees, Mokuba breaking free from the thugs and falling safely into the car. The thugs were thrown against the seal, and they all let out a scream, while the blond stranger was thrown to the ground. Kaiba looked up at the girl, and saw rivers of tears flow from her face. Like glass, the scar on her collarbone shattered, and was replaced by a brilliant glow of white. She began glowing like the sun, and her voice vanished inside her. In her mind, Dartz had released her and vanished in a field of white.

"No! She's been set free!" Dartz cried, being thrown to the floor from the resistance of the girl. He looked up at the darkened ceiling of the tombs and saw the blinding light, like the sun. That power inside her has finally awakened. Finally, after a millennium, the power of Cleopatra will be unleashed onto the world.

Suddenly, the light turned pitch black. It was a black light he was seeing now. This wasn't Cleopatra's power! It was something else. A power he had never seen before. A power he was now regretting to have forced it to awaken.

Dartz: Ahh! Did you have to put song lyrics in this one!

Dys: Actually, yes. I thought it went well with the chapter. The song, by the way, is Breathe No More by Evanescence. It's a really sweet song that I love so much.

Dartz: I didn't really like this chapter that much.

Dys: Why? Was it because I made you a total—

Dartz: (slaps tape over her mouth to shut her up) Finally, I can have some peace and quiet.