The Game of Life
By: Rogue Fox
Part Twenty... Never Mine
A/N: Wow!!! Part Twenty! I can't believe it! This fic is doing so well! ;_; Thank you all so much for your support and help!! I think this fic is my masterpiece! And I'm so sorry about the long wait. I got really sick and I'm still not completely over it. My throat's so soar I can barely swallow. I'm also really trying to deal with the writer's block. My new, one shot fic will be coming out soon, be sure to read it and flame me because it's so sickeningly fluffy. I'm welcoming the flames for that one. See author's note at the bottom for distribution of points for the quiz.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
Power is drawn to power. Negative to positive, and just like how a negative electron is drawn to a positive proton, one person with negatively inclined power is drawn to another person with positively inclined power. But not for love or friendship or anything like that. In the case of a yami to his or her light, it's for completion. Himeko and I are drawn to each other, her negative to my positive, because we're two halves and we make each other whole. We have a bond outside of that, but speaking in supernatural terms only, our only bond is the fact that we complete each other. The other reason positive and negative are drawn to each other is to do battle. Those kinds of battles have been carried out since before recorded history. That was why Perl, the negative, and I, the positive, were drawn to each other. To fight. To see who was stronger. And it had to be me, I knew that without being told. It just had to be me.
Every movement before the actual fight, every tiny gesture, was preordained. Something buried deep inside my brain took control of my body, made each little movement. Someone, too far in the past to measure, wrote the script that Perl and I now acted out. But the words, the meanings, the purposes, were all our own.
My daughter... Could it be possible? Sure, someday, I wanted to have children. Could she be my daughter from the future, come back to meet me? No... My contact with my Key had taught me a lot about the passage of time and how easy it was to totally screw it up. Perl, if she was my daughter, coming back to the past just to meet the past version of her mother would totally screw everything up. I shouldn't know if I'm going to have a daughter or a son or any kids at all. Besides... When I looked at Perl, I didn't see myself in her. I saw something... But not me.
I barely threw my mental defenses up in time. Perl threw an assault at me. It wasn't visible, or even really meant to cause harm, but it was meant to shake me up, to test me out. I threw my own energy back out her. Everything was instinct. I'd never had to actually do battle before. I'd become quite used to just cutting loose and unleashing a blast of energy, and always emerging victorious. But this time, that wasn't going to work. And what's more, my attention was divided. The back of my mind was still looking at Perl, trying to figure out if it was true. I wanted to fight, but at the same time... I wanted to talk.
" If you are my daughter, why are you here?" I asked, dancing neatly out of the way as Perl lunged at me. " Why would you fight your own mother?" I wondered out loud.
" I'm here to save you!" Perl cried. I started.
" Save me?" I wondered. Perl stood up straight, her face contorted with pain.
" You died." She told me. Everything went quieter and even more still than it already was. " You died." She repeated. " You want to know how you died? You were murdered. Murdered by someone you thought you could trust." At this point, Perl made another vicious lunge and this time, I couldn't get out her way quick enough. My mind was reeling. Yes, I was dying. I knew that. But murdered? By who? Why?
The battle intensified. Lunges, punches, kicks, and vicious assaults were quickly becoming a harsh reality. I was acting highly off of instinct. I had nothing else to go off of. Perl, however, seemed to be an experienced fighter. Perl and I rolled together over the muddy ground, silently grappling.
There was more to the story than Perl was telling. There was more that I needed to know. But I was scared. Scared of what her revelations might show me about my possible future. Death was a mandatory part of life. My own life was cut short, robbed because of that damned Key.
Anger surged up next to pain as Perl tossed me away from her. I landed in mud. In the darkness and the rain, the moonless, starless night, it was black mud. Smeared over my face and in my hair. But I didn't care. All I cared about anymore was inflicting pain, as much as possible. Specifically on Perl. Pain, hurting, suffering, death... Pointless. Without meaning. My face was wet. I didn't know if it was mud, rain, or tears. A part of me wept pitifully for all the pain I was inflicting. A part of me, the real me, was still intact. Just barely hanging on. But a darker side of me that had nothing to do with Himeko had taken over. I wanted Perl to suffer. I wanted her to suffer like I had wanted that cheerleader to suffer. I wanted to echo all my own pain and frustration on her. I was dying. If Perl was right, even more precious time was going to be stolen from me. I was angry, scared, frustrated.
I love my family, my friends. I wanted as much time with them as I could. And in my heart, I knew that there would be more good times to come. There would be holidays, years from that rainy night, when we, all my friends and family now and some I hadn't met yet, would all sit down and laugh together, cry together. I might not live to see that. I wanted to. I wanted it so much. I wanted to see Yoshi on his wedding day. I wanted to be Himeko's maid of honor. I wanted to be the godmother of Mai's first child. I wanted to see Mokuba on his first day of college. I wanted to see Yukio off to his prom. I wanted to meet the person Yami chose to love. I wanted to be able to look Yugi in the eye without bending down. I wanted to be happy for Honda when he got accepted into some great college. I wanted to be someone's loved one, someone's wife. I wanted to see the face of my own child. There were all these beautiful things that made life worth living, and I might not have them. It scared me, frustrated me.
My anger made me stronger than I had ever been. I fought like a demon. Perl was on her toes, fueled by her own anger. I was scared of her and all she represented. She represented a future where my worst fears were realized. I died in her world. I wondered... There was so much she could tell me.
Power was crackling in the air, making steam out of the falling rain. I felt people I had never felt before. They were familiar, yet they weren't. I felt Yami's comforting, majestic air, Himeko's dangerous aura. I felt Seto's familiarity, Ryou's caring, Yugi's loyalty, Yami Bakura's ferocious devotion to everyone he cared about. I was drawing courage from their presence, their different feelings. At the same time, I was picking up new feelings. Knowledge, a dangerous sense of fun, an air of indifference, and almost innocent wonder.
Was I scared? Hell yeah. I was terrified. In the back of my mind, I knew that I couldn't win the fight when she wouldn't give me space. So, what could I do? I've been told that I can talk a fish out of the sea, coax a bear from his den. So I figured, what harm could there be in trying to get Perl to talk?
" Why are you here? What do you want to change in the future?" I asked Perl, dodging her as she violently tried to punch me.
" I'm trying to save you!" Perl cried.
" And a great job your doing, too. I'll be very safe in the future with you trying to kill me now." I said sarcastically.
" I have to make sure you won't try to protect him." Perl muttered, straightening herself and pushing a few waterlogged locks of hair from her face. Once again, I saw no resemblance between her and I.
" My murderer?" I asked, carefully moving to the side so that any lunge she made wouldn't be directly at me.
" Yes." Perl agreed.
" Is he here?" I asked.
" Yes." Perl repeated.
" Where is he? Who is he?" I asked, still wary. Perl looked at me.
" Your big brother. Yami Motou." She told me. If I hadn't been so high strung, I might have dropped where I stood with the shock.
" Yami? But he would never-" I started to protest.
" Hurt you? Don't insult my intelligence. I saw it, you know. He killed you." Perl interrupted. I stood there, in silent shock, waiting for her to continue. " Think about it. Before you came along, he was the biggest, strongest yami on the block. Then you and Aunt Himeko came along... And all of the sudden, for the first time in his life, he's number two. Second to you." That contorted expression overcame her again. " At first, he loved you like a brother should love his little sister. He protected you and watched over you. When you married my dad, he gave you away like he should. When I was born, he was there with you. But all the time, he had this growing hatred. Until in the end, he couldn't take it any more. You were sick that day. You'd been sick a lot lately. Dad was worried about you. I was in the room with you, and I had fallen asleep with my head on your bed. Then, you screamed and I woke up. I looked up and there he was, plunging a knife into you. He saw me and ran, and when I went to you, you were dead. And then, I inherited this." Perl held up her Key, the Key of Set. I rolled back on my heels. The Key of Set... The Key of Ma'at... Two different Keys... " I made up my mind to go back in time and save you. So here I am. I have to save you."
" Perl, you've made a very grave mistake." I whispered. I didn't move as she shot a blast of energy at me. My legs went out from under me.
" You know, I always wondered if I could beat you." Perl said as she came in to finish me off. Kill me? No. She would be killing herself, in her mind. Knock me out was more likely.
" No! Don't!" Someone screamed, running in between me and Perl. I looked up at her and smiled. Himeko. My protector. My friend. My sister. My yami. " I won't let you hurt her." Himeko growled.
" Move, Aunt Himeko." Perl said.
" Don't call me that! I'm not your aunt! I won't let you hurt Yuki and I sure as hell won't let you hurt Yami. So you can just haul your sorry ass back where you came from and leave us alone!" Himeko snapped.
" Like I said. You made a very grave mistake." I said, standing up. It took a little more out of me than I originally thought. I paused to lean on Himeko, then held my Key out for Perl to see. " You said it yourself. The Key of Ma'at, right? Yours is the Key of Set. Two Keys can't exist on one plane for an extended period of time. So how did I get the Key of Set?" I asked, grinning. Perl stared at me.
" But..." she whispered.
" And Yami, this Yami, would never hurt me. Would your Aunt Himeko have put her life in danger to protect me?" I asked.
" No..." Perl whispered.
" You're in the wrong place, Perl. All night I've been wondering. How can she be my daughter? She doesn't look a thing like me, she doesn't act like me, or talk like me, or anything. Now I've figured it out. You aren't my daughter. You found your way to a plane very similar to yours in the past, but very different. In this plane, my death won't be caused by Yami." I said softly. I was triumphant. The last thing I expected was what happened.
" No!" Perl screamed. And dove. Right at Yami.
Lightning flashed. I'm not sure to this day what happened. All I know is when I woke up, I was laying on my back, and Perl was laying nearby. I sat up. And looked down.
" Oh my God!" I screamed, leaping to my feet. Somehow, I was standing in the sky. Looking down. There was no rain here, we were too high up. Perl sat up and moaned in fear.
" What have you done?!" she shrilled at me. I looked around wildly,
" I- I didn't mean to! It just sort of happened! I really didn't mean to!" I cried.
" Don't you have any control of your powers?!" she asked me. I opened my mouth to reply, but no sound came out. No. I had minimal control of my powers. That was obvious. Perl screamed in rage. " Arrrgh! You've screwed everything up!"
" I didn't do anything!" I cried in protest as she stood up, gripping my Key instinctively. " You're the one who came busting in here, threatening to kill my brother!"
" He's going to kill you!" Perl screamed. I forced myself to my feet.
" No, he's not! You think Himeko would let him?!" I asked.
" She couldn't stop him if she tried!" Perl protested.
" I'm willing to take that risk!" I screamed. " Go away! You're not my daughter!" Perl stared at me, tears forming in her eyes.
" I didn't think you'd like the idea of me coming back to the past to save you, but I never imagined that you'd say that." She whispered.
" You're not. You're not." I muttered. " Look at you, and look at me. We look nothing alike. What does your mother look like?" I asked viciously.
" She's got beautiful blonde hair with red and black bangs, just like yours, and dark brown eyes-"
" My eyes are violet. Red-violet." I interrupted. " The mark of the Egyptian Royal Family." Perl looked into my eyes and then turned away. " Perl, tell me about your mother and father. About how they fell in love."
" My mom starting dating my dad about this time. One night, he spent the night at Uncle Seto's house, and... My mom got pregnant. She had me, and he ran off. I never really met him face to face." Perl told me quietly.
" Who is your father?" I asked.
*+*+*Yugi*+*+*
Anyone who knows my Yami knows he had a pretty bad temper. It's especially bad when it comes to someone he cares about. And right then, Yami was angrier than I had ever seen him.
" What the hell was that about?! I'd never kill Yuki! Never!" he bellowed, frustrated by his inability to do anything but stay where he was.
" Yami, try to calm down." I said quietly. Lightning flashed again, and thunder boomed. I squeaked involuntarily and Ryou ran to Yami Bakura.
" You big baby. It's just noise." Bakura said haughtily. Right then, another huge boom of thunder shattered the air around us. Everyone squealed, squeaked, jumped, or, in my case, sat down and covered my ears. Himeko would have been hilarious if I wasn't so scared. She squealed and ran half way to Yami, turned herself around, ran half way to Bakura, stopped, shook her head, and sat down next to me. Neither one of us cared about the mud. Everyone was muddy. Shadowy people included. And wet. And unhappy. And scared. I looked around myself, trying to figure out where Yuki and Perl had gotten to. They just disappeared.
" Ah!" Someone suddenly yelled. I looked up sharply to find Ryou stumbling in Kaiba, who gave him an annoyed glare.
" What's the matter with you now?" Bakura asked in exasperation.
" I-I... He... It..." Ryou stuttered, gesturing wildly with his hands. " Lightning! And I saw... Him!" he cried, pointing wildly into the darkness. He managed to earn a series of weirded-out stares. " I really did!" he added. I looked hard in the direction he was pointing in. I could vaguely make out a silhouette. Someone was most certainly there. The question was, who?
" Someone you know, Ryou?" Kaiba asked dryly.
" Yes! Yes!" Ryou cried enthusiastically. The person I was staring at shifted nervously. He obviously didn't want to be seen. And Ryou obviously was shocked to see him. Suddenly, a silly grin spread over Ryou's face. " Hi!" he called, waving happily. The shadow guy waved uneasily back. I waved at him politely and he waved back, both of us wary. Yami glared in that general direction. In his mind, anyone and everyone was the enemy. Bakura, however, being the overly curious tomb robber that he is, cannot be happy to leave things unknown. He needed to find out who Ryou was so happy to see. He began the process of steadily creeping in that direction. Shadow guy seemed to expect that and moved appropriately. As far as Himeko was concerned, the person wasn't Yuki or Perl, and therefore not worth her time. Kaiba was mildly curious, but not enough to keep him from looking for Yuki. Everyone was pretty confused.
I'm not really sure what happened. I definitely felt something. Like when someone tears a fabric near you, you not only hear it, but you sort of feel it in the pit of your stomach. It was like that. And then, that funny feeling I had that something had gone terribly wrong disappeared. Everything felt fine. Someone in the shadows sighed. I think it was a girl. Everyone, even Kaiba, was visibly relieved. The tense atmosphere disappeared.
" Look!" Himeko suddenly cried, pointing skyward. Everyone looked up, naturally. It was probably, at the time, one of the strangest sights I had ever seen. Little did I know that within time it would become normal. It was a bubble. A gold-tinted bubble, floating down through the rain from the sky. And as it did, the rain itself began to lighten, to a pleasant, cleansing drizzle. And in that gold-tinted bubble, a single girl sat on her calves, grinning broadly down at us, her bright golden hair and red/black bangs gleaming with the water that rolled off them, her wet clothes clinging to her lithe form, and overall, a joyful girl in a bubble.
Kaiba told me years later that he thought she looked just like the bubble. Fragile and delicate, yet the embodiment of joy, hope, and love. So strong and solid, yet so easy to break. He thought she was an angel riding in a gold bubble down to earth.
The bubble hit the ground and popped, and with it, the spell that had been cast over us was broken. Himeko shrieked, and she and Yuki embraced each other fiercely. Laughter rang out and soon, we were all reduced to a laughing mass of hugging teens. Even Bakura and Kaiba. And unnoticed by us, the people in the shadows slipped away.
*+*+*Yuki-Two weeks later...*+*+*
" Bakura! If you try to get at that pie again, I swear I'll make you eat this spoon!" Mai shrilled at Bakura, waving a wooden spoon at his face. Bakura ducked past her out into the living room.
" You can't keep me out! The Pharaoh's best men and traps couldn't keep me out!" he called. Himeko chunked the dishrag she had been holding at him.
" Out!" she screamed. Bakura laughed and returned to the living room, where the guys were carrying out the age old tradition of guzzling soda, scarfing chips, and yelling at the TV as the guys on the TV all tried to knock each other in the ever-popular game of football. Which I do not, have not, and will not ever get.
" Ah! Hey, is the turkey supposed to do that?" Anzu asked me.
" That's the timer! It's supposed to do that." I assured her, then did a double take at the huge bird through the oven door. " Oh no! It's done!" I called.
" Done?!" Himeko cried. " I'm out of counter space, here!" she shrilled.
" Well, for goodness' sake, put the rolls and the gravy on the table!" I cried. " Am I the only one that's done this before?"
" I had servants to do this for me, thank you!" Himeko shot back.
" I do not cook. I order out." Mai informed me.
" For someone that does not cook, you make a pretty good apple pie." A male voice interrupted.
" Why, thank you. I just followed the recipe Yuki gave me- Bakura!" she cried, going after the former tomb robber with her wooden spoon. " You demolished my pie!" she screamed.
" You made five!" Bakura retorted, dashing into the safety of the living room. " Besides, I told you, you can't keep me out!" he added triumphantly.
" You officially do not get any turkey!" Himeko called calmly.
" I'm sorry!" Bakura pleaded, earning laughter from both the living room and the kitchen.
" Mai! Anzu!" I called, pulling the oven door open. " This bird's a little big. Help me!" The two girls rushed over and helped me heft the turkey onto the counter.
" Wow!" Anzu gasped. " That is one heavy bird."
" I smell meat!" Yami called.
" You stay out of our kitchen, inferior male!" Himeko cried.
" If a tomb robber can do it, so can a pharaoh." Yami reasoned.
" Former, on both counts." Yugi was quick to add.
" You can take the man out of the thievery, but you can never take the thievery out of the man." Yami said.
" You can take the man away from the throne, but you can never the arrogance of the throne out of the man." Bakura retorted.
" For the love of..." Jou muttered.
" Watch it, Jou!" Mai warned.
" Yuki, should I put the apple salad on the table?" Himeko asked me.
" Yeah. Put the corn and the potatoes out too. Mai, why don't you round up those lazy bums? They're going to get louder if we don't feed them." I instructed. Mai rolled her eyes and started into the living room.
" God forbid." She muttered.
" Here comes the casserole!" Anzu called, squeezing past me to the table and setting down the green bean casserole she had prepared. And right then, Yami and Bakura ran into the dining room, both of them determined to beat the other to the best seats. They were followed by the rest of the guys and Mai.
" Which one of you goons is carving that damn bird?" Himeko asked, holding out the carving knife.
" I will!" Honda volunteered.
" I don't think I trust you with a knife." Himeko said, shaking her head.
" That was harsh." Honda said.
" Himeko!" I cried, giving Himeko a reprimanding rap on the skull with my knuckles. " No foul language! Which reminds me... Seto, would you go tell Grandpa and the boys that we're ready?" I asked.
" You hit hard!" Himeko complained.
" Sure. And just so you know, I'm carving that bird of yours." He told me. I smiled.
" Now, I trust him with a knife. In this situation." Himeko said.
" Would you trust me with a knife?" Bakura asked.
" No, Yami's standing too close to you." Himeko said decisively. Everyone laughed as Bakura pantomimed stabbing Yami, who even got into the spirit of it by pretending to be in agony.
" Okay, let's get the turkey out here." I said. Mai and Anzu moaned, but we went back into the kitchen and returned with the nearly thirty pound bird anyway.
" Woo-hoo! Whatta bird!" Honda hollered.
" I think I've died and gone to heaven!" Jou agreed, pretending to faint into his chair.
" I don't see Mai in a bikini, so you're still alive." Yami said with a snicker that Bakura joined him in.
" Yami Motou, that was so not funny!" Mai cried. " I'd never wear a bikini in this weather!" she added.
" Any chance you'd wear one of those skimpy Mrs. Santa Claus suits?" Jou asked playfully. Mai pretended to think.
" Hm... Nah, you wouldn't be able to afford the fees I'd make you pay." She said.
" Mai don't come cheap." Himeko said, nodding. Just then, the boys, Grandpa, and Seto came into the room.
" Yum! I'm starving!" Yoshi cried, dashing up to the table.
" Wow, I didn't know they made turkeys that big!" Mokuba noted.
" When do we get pie?" Yukio asked, pulling on the hem of my dark blue sweater. Everyone laughed.
It was a while before we all managed to settle down, and Seto actually got the carving knife from Yami (who insisted that since he was the oldest present, five minutes older than Himeko and exactly four days older than Bakura, he should get to carve the bird). And saying grace was certainly something to see. It was probably the first Thanksgiving in which "grace" mentioned praise to Ra, Ma'at, and Horus, on top of Anzu's prodding Yami to say "thank you, Lord." And after all was said and done, every male present still wanted pie. Grandpa thought we were all simply hilarious. He said next year he was inviting some of his friends so they could laugh at us together.
After the meal, we gathered in the living room and watched more football, which I still didn't get, and us girls talked while the guys yelled random things. Such as;
" You dummy! You're running the wrong way!"
" He fumbled it! He fumbled it! What a dumb ass!"
" ::insert Egyptian curse word I will not repeat::!"
They went on like that for a few hours, while the girls carried on a normal conversation.
" Yuki," Himeko said suddenly. I looked at her. " I never got to ask you. What went on while you were up there with Perl?" she asked. I felt a little lump rise in my throat. I had been waiting for someone to ask.
" I can't tell you." I said. " Just trust me." I told her. She didn't pry, and she didn't even try to get into my mind to see what it was I wouldn't tell her. She just accepted my explanation. And it made me feel good that she trusted me that much.
That night, everyone began to drift towards home. Honda hung out a little longer than most everyone, but I was used to that. I went upstairs to tuck three very full little boys into bed, and when I came back down, Seto seemed to have disappeared.
" Where's Seto?" I asked Honda. He shrugged.
" Got a call on his cell and ran off. Said there was some emergency at the office." He told me.
" Oh." I murmured. Another thing I was used to.
" Boy, it sure got late fast. Time flies when you're having fun." Honda said. I sighed. I knew what was coming. By all that's natural, I shouldn't have known. But I did. " Would you mind if I crashed here tonight?" he asked.
" Normally, no. But not tonight, Honda. You'd better get home. Your parents will be worried." I said, almost in a monotone voice.
" I know. That's why I want to stay. That, and you're here." Honda told me, leaning down from his height and kissing me on the cheek. I bit my lip.
" Honda, you really need to go home. Trust me." I said. " I'll call for a ride for you." I added, turning to the phone before he could protest. I walked him to the car that waited and waved goodbye as he was driven off, pleased with myself. I had just avoided starting a chain of events that would have made everyone I cherished unhappy. Perl still existed out there, on her own plane. Not mine. Never on mine.
A/N: Okay, see if you guys can figure that out. ^_^ Once again, I'm sorry about the delay. I just took my first driver's test and I failed because I didn't come to a "complete" stop at a stop sign!!! ARGH! I've waited two damn months to take that test and I go and fail it?! Who, pray tell, hates me up there?! (shakes fist at sky) And for your information, I was scooting up so I could see the road better so I wouldn't have a freaking wreck! Incase you can't tell, this is upsetting me. I've never failed a test before. _; I have to wait a whole week to take my next test. And I really wanted that license...
Oh yeah, points. 500 to Clover Calerica and Mokona and that's it. No one else hit the nail on the head. You all need to catch up. Or maybe I need to make the quizzes easier. Hmmmmm... For a grand total of seven hundred points, today's quiz is... Who is Perl's father? And since you ought to get that, for three hundred, send me some detailed info about Malik and Isis Ishtar. I need it. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a happy holiday season!
By: Rogue Fox
Part Twenty... Never Mine
A/N: Wow!!! Part Twenty! I can't believe it! This fic is doing so well! ;_; Thank you all so much for your support and help!! I think this fic is my masterpiece! And I'm so sorry about the long wait. I got really sick and I'm still not completely over it. My throat's so soar I can barely swallow. I'm also really trying to deal with the writer's block. My new, one shot fic will be coming out soon, be sure to read it and flame me because it's so sickeningly fluffy. I'm welcoming the flames for that one. See author's note at the bottom for distribution of points for the quiz.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
Power is drawn to power. Negative to positive, and just like how a negative electron is drawn to a positive proton, one person with negatively inclined power is drawn to another person with positively inclined power. But not for love or friendship or anything like that. In the case of a yami to his or her light, it's for completion. Himeko and I are drawn to each other, her negative to my positive, because we're two halves and we make each other whole. We have a bond outside of that, but speaking in supernatural terms only, our only bond is the fact that we complete each other. The other reason positive and negative are drawn to each other is to do battle. Those kinds of battles have been carried out since before recorded history. That was why Perl, the negative, and I, the positive, were drawn to each other. To fight. To see who was stronger. And it had to be me, I knew that without being told. It just had to be me.
Every movement before the actual fight, every tiny gesture, was preordained. Something buried deep inside my brain took control of my body, made each little movement. Someone, too far in the past to measure, wrote the script that Perl and I now acted out. But the words, the meanings, the purposes, were all our own.
My daughter... Could it be possible? Sure, someday, I wanted to have children. Could she be my daughter from the future, come back to meet me? No... My contact with my Key had taught me a lot about the passage of time and how easy it was to totally screw it up. Perl, if she was my daughter, coming back to the past just to meet the past version of her mother would totally screw everything up. I shouldn't know if I'm going to have a daughter or a son or any kids at all. Besides... When I looked at Perl, I didn't see myself in her. I saw something... But not me.
I barely threw my mental defenses up in time. Perl threw an assault at me. It wasn't visible, or even really meant to cause harm, but it was meant to shake me up, to test me out. I threw my own energy back out her. Everything was instinct. I'd never had to actually do battle before. I'd become quite used to just cutting loose and unleashing a blast of energy, and always emerging victorious. But this time, that wasn't going to work. And what's more, my attention was divided. The back of my mind was still looking at Perl, trying to figure out if it was true. I wanted to fight, but at the same time... I wanted to talk.
" If you are my daughter, why are you here?" I asked, dancing neatly out of the way as Perl lunged at me. " Why would you fight your own mother?" I wondered out loud.
" I'm here to save you!" Perl cried. I started.
" Save me?" I wondered. Perl stood up straight, her face contorted with pain.
" You died." She told me. Everything went quieter and even more still than it already was. " You died." She repeated. " You want to know how you died? You were murdered. Murdered by someone you thought you could trust." At this point, Perl made another vicious lunge and this time, I couldn't get out her way quick enough. My mind was reeling. Yes, I was dying. I knew that. But murdered? By who? Why?
The battle intensified. Lunges, punches, kicks, and vicious assaults were quickly becoming a harsh reality. I was acting highly off of instinct. I had nothing else to go off of. Perl, however, seemed to be an experienced fighter. Perl and I rolled together over the muddy ground, silently grappling.
There was more to the story than Perl was telling. There was more that I needed to know. But I was scared. Scared of what her revelations might show me about my possible future. Death was a mandatory part of life. My own life was cut short, robbed because of that damned Key.
Anger surged up next to pain as Perl tossed me away from her. I landed in mud. In the darkness and the rain, the moonless, starless night, it was black mud. Smeared over my face and in my hair. But I didn't care. All I cared about anymore was inflicting pain, as much as possible. Specifically on Perl. Pain, hurting, suffering, death... Pointless. Without meaning. My face was wet. I didn't know if it was mud, rain, or tears. A part of me wept pitifully for all the pain I was inflicting. A part of me, the real me, was still intact. Just barely hanging on. But a darker side of me that had nothing to do with Himeko had taken over. I wanted Perl to suffer. I wanted her to suffer like I had wanted that cheerleader to suffer. I wanted to echo all my own pain and frustration on her. I was dying. If Perl was right, even more precious time was going to be stolen from me. I was angry, scared, frustrated.
I love my family, my friends. I wanted as much time with them as I could. And in my heart, I knew that there would be more good times to come. There would be holidays, years from that rainy night, when we, all my friends and family now and some I hadn't met yet, would all sit down and laugh together, cry together. I might not live to see that. I wanted to. I wanted it so much. I wanted to see Yoshi on his wedding day. I wanted to be Himeko's maid of honor. I wanted to be the godmother of Mai's first child. I wanted to see Mokuba on his first day of college. I wanted to see Yukio off to his prom. I wanted to meet the person Yami chose to love. I wanted to be able to look Yugi in the eye without bending down. I wanted to be happy for Honda when he got accepted into some great college. I wanted to be someone's loved one, someone's wife. I wanted to see the face of my own child. There were all these beautiful things that made life worth living, and I might not have them. It scared me, frustrated me.
My anger made me stronger than I had ever been. I fought like a demon. Perl was on her toes, fueled by her own anger. I was scared of her and all she represented. She represented a future where my worst fears were realized. I died in her world. I wondered... There was so much she could tell me.
Power was crackling in the air, making steam out of the falling rain. I felt people I had never felt before. They were familiar, yet they weren't. I felt Yami's comforting, majestic air, Himeko's dangerous aura. I felt Seto's familiarity, Ryou's caring, Yugi's loyalty, Yami Bakura's ferocious devotion to everyone he cared about. I was drawing courage from their presence, their different feelings. At the same time, I was picking up new feelings. Knowledge, a dangerous sense of fun, an air of indifference, and almost innocent wonder.
Was I scared? Hell yeah. I was terrified. In the back of my mind, I knew that I couldn't win the fight when she wouldn't give me space. So, what could I do? I've been told that I can talk a fish out of the sea, coax a bear from his den. So I figured, what harm could there be in trying to get Perl to talk?
" Why are you here? What do you want to change in the future?" I asked Perl, dodging her as she violently tried to punch me.
" I'm trying to save you!" Perl cried.
" And a great job your doing, too. I'll be very safe in the future with you trying to kill me now." I said sarcastically.
" I have to make sure you won't try to protect him." Perl muttered, straightening herself and pushing a few waterlogged locks of hair from her face. Once again, I saw no resemblance between her and I.
" My murderer?" I asked, carefully moving to the side so that any lunge she made wouldn't be directly at me.
" Yes." Perl agreed.
" Is he here?" I asked.
" Yes." Perl repeated.
" Where is he? Who is he?" I asked, still wary. Perl looked at me.
" Your big brother. Yami Motou." She told me. If I hadn't been so high strung, I might have dropped where I stood with the shock.
" Yami? But he would never-" I started to protest.
" Hurt you? Don't insult my intelligence. I saw it, you know. He killed you." Perl interrupted. I stood there, in silent shock, waiting for her to continue. " Think about it. Before you came along, he was the biggest, strongest yami on the block. Then you and Aunt Himeko came along... And all of the sudden, for the first time in his life, he's number two. Second to you." That contorted expression overcame her again. " At first, he loved you like a brother should love his little sister. He protected you and watched over you. When you married my dad, he gave you away like he should. When I was born, he was there with you. But all the time, he had this growing hatred. Until in the end, he couldn't take it any more. You were sick that day. You'd been sick a lot lately. Dad was worried about you. I was in the room with you, and I had fallen asleep with my head on your bed. Then, you screamed and I woke up. I looked up and there he was, plunging a knife into you. He saw me and ran, and when I went to you, you were dead. And then, I inherited this." Perl held up her Key, the Key of Set. I rolled back on my heels. The Key of Set... The Key of Ma'at... Two different Keys... " I made up my mind to go back in time and save you. So here I am. I have to save you."
" Perl, you've made a very grave mistake." I whispered. I didn't move as she shot a blast of energy at me. My legs went out from under me.
" You know, I always wondered if I could beat you." Perl said as she came in to finish me off. Kill me? No. She would be killing herself, in her mind. Knock me out was more likely.
" No! Don't!" Someone screamed, running in between me and Perl. I looked up at her and smiled. Himeko. My protector. My friend. My sister. My yami. " I won't let you hurt her." Himeko growled.
" Move, Aunt Himeko." Perl said.
" Don't call me that! I'm not your aunt! I won't let you hurt Yuki and I sure as hell won't let you hurt Yami. So you can just haul your sorry ass back where you came from and leave us alone!" Himeko snapped.
" Like I said. You made a very grave mistake." I said, standing up. It took a little more out of me than I originally thought. I paused to lean on Himeko, then held my Key out for Perl to see. " You said it yourself. The Key of Ma'at, right? Yours is the Key of Set. Two Keys can't exist on one plane for an extended period of time. So how did I get the Key of Set?" I asked, grinning. Perl stared at me.
" But..." she whispered.
" And Yami, this Yami, would never hurt me. Would your Aunt Himeko have put her life in danger to protect me?" I asked.
" No..." Perl whispered.
" You're in the wrong place, Perl. All night I've been wondering. How can she be my daughter? She doesn't look a thing like me, she doesn't act like me, or talk like me, or anything. Now I've figured it out. You aren't my daughter. You found your way to a plane very similar to yours in the past, but very different. In this plane, my death won't be caused by Yami." I said softly. I was triumphant. The last thing I expected was what happened.
" No!" Perl screamed. And dove. Right at Yami.
Lightning flashed. I'm not sure to this day what happened. All I know is when I woke up, I was laying on my back, and Perl was laying nearby. I sat up. And looked down.
" Oh my God!" I screamed, leaping to my feet. Somehow, I was standing in the sky. Looking down. There was no rain here, we were too high up. Perl sat up and moaned in fear.
" What have you done?!" she shrilled at me. I looked around wildly,
" I- I didn't mean to! It just sort of happened! I really didn't mean to!" I cried.
" Don't you have any control of your powers?!" she asked me. I opened my mouth to reply, but no sound came out. No. I had minimal control of my powers. That was obvious. Perl screamed in rage. " Arrrgh! You've screwed everything up!"
" I didn't do anything!" I cried in protest as she stood up, gripping my Key instinctively. " You're the one who came busting in here, threatening to kill my brother!"
" He's going to kill you!" Perl screamed. I forced myself to my feet.
" No, he's not! You think Himeko would let him?!" I asked.
" She couldn't stop him if she tried!" Perl protested.
" I'm willing to take that risk!" I screamed. " Go away! You're not my daughter!" Perl stared at me, tears forming in her eyes.
" I didn't think you'd like the idea of me coming back to the past to save you, but I never imagined that you'd say that." She whispered.
" You're not. You're not." I muttered. " Look at you, and look at me. We look nothing alike. What does your mother look like?" I asked viciously.
" She's got beautiful blonde hair with red and black bangs, just like yours, and dark brown eyes-"
" My eyes are violet. Red-violet." I interrupted. " The mark of the Egyptian Royal Family." Perl looked into my eyes and then turned away. " Perl, tell me about your mother and father. About how they fell in love."
" My mom starting dating my dad about this time. One night, he spent the night at Uncle Seto's house, and... My mom got pregnant. She had me, and he ran off. I never really met him face to face." Perl told me quietly.
" Who is your father?" I asked.
*+*+*Yugi*+*+*
Anyone who knows my Yami knows he had a pretty bad temper. It's especially bad when it comes to someone he cares about. And right then, Yami was angrier than I had ever seen him.
" What the hell was that about?! I'd never kill Yuki! Never!" he bellowed, frustrated by his inability to do anything but stay where he was.
" Yami, try to calm down." I said quietly. Lightning flashed again, and thunder boomed. I squeaked involuntarily and Ryou ran to Yami Bakura.
" You big baby. It's just noise." Bakura said haughtily. Right then, another huge boom of thunder shattered the air around us. Everyone squealed, squeaked, jumped, or, in my case, sat down and covered my ears. Himeko would have been hilarious if I wasn't so scared. She squealed and ran half way to Yami, turned herself around, ran half way to Bakura, stopped, shook her head, and sat down next to me. Neither one of us cared about the mud. Everyone was muddy. Shadowy people included. And wet. And unhappy. And scared. I looked around myself, trying to figure out where Yuki and Perl had gotten to. They just disappeared.
" Ah!" Someone suddenly yelled. I looked up sharply to find Ryou stumbling in Kaiba, who gave him an annoyed glare.
" What's the matter with you now?" Bakura asked in exasperation.
" I-I... He... It..." Ryou stuttered, gesturing wildly with his hands. " Lightning! And I saw... Him!" he cried, pointing wildly into the darkness. He managed to earn a series of weirded-out stares. " I really did!" he added. I looked hard in the direction he was pointing in. I could vaguely make out a silhouette. Someone was most certainly there. The question was, who?
" Someone you know, Ryou?" Kaiba asked dryly.
" Yes! Yes!" Ryou cried enthusiastically. The person I was staring at shifted nervously. He obviously didn't want to be seen. And Ryou obviously was shocked to see him. Suddenly, a silly grin spread over Ryou's face. " Hi!" he called, waving happily. The shadow guy waved uneasily back. I waved at him politely and he waved back, both of us wary. Yami glared in that general direction. In his mind, anyone and everyone was the enemy. Bakura, however, being the overly curious tomb robber that he is, cannot be happy to leave things unknown. He needed to find out who Ryou was so happy to see. He began the process of steadily creeping in that direction. Shadow guy seemed to expect that and moved appropriately. As far as Himeko was concerned, the person wasn't Yuki or Perl, and therefore not worth her time. Kaiba was mildly curious, but not enough to keep him from looking for Yuki. Everyone was pretty confused.
I'm not really sure what happened. I definitely felt something. Like when someone tears a fabric near you, you not only hear it, but you sort of feel it in the pit of your stomach. It was like that. And then, that funny feeling I had that something had gone terribly wrong disappeared. Everything felt fine. Someone in the shadows sighed. I think it was a girl. Everyone, even Kaiba, was visibly relieved. The tense atmosphere disappeared.
" Look!" Himeko suddenly cried, pointing skyward. Everyone looked up, naturally. It was probably, at the time, one of the strangest sights I had ever seen. Little did I know that within time it would become normal. It was a bubble. A gold-tinted bubble, floating down through the rain from the sky. And as it did, the rain itself began to lighten, to a pleasant, cleansing drizzle. And in that gold-tinted bubble, a single girl sat on her calves, grinning broadly down at us, her bright golden hair and red/black bangs gleaming with the water that rolled off them, her wet clothes clinging to her lithe form, and overall, a joyful girl in a bubble.
Kaiba told me years later that he thought she looked just like the bubble. Fragile and delicate, yet the embodiment of joy, hope, and love. So strong and solid, yet so easy to break. He thought she was an angel riding in a gold bubble down to earth.
The bubble hit the ground and popped, and with it, the spell that had been cast over us was broken. Himeko shrieked, and she and Yuki embraced each other fiercely. Laughter rang out and soon, we were all reduced to a laughing mass of hugging teens. Even Bakura and Kaiba. And unnoticed by us, the people in the shadows slipped away.
*+*+*Yuki-Two weeks later...*+*+*
" Bakura! If you try to get at that pie again, I swear I'll make you eat this spoon!" Mai shrilled at Bakura, waving a wooden spoon at his face. Bakura ducked past her out into the living room.
" You can't keep me out! The Pharaoh's best men and traps couldn't keep me out!" he called. Himeko chunked the dishrag she had been holding at him.
" Out!" she screamed. Bakura laughed and returned to the living room, where the guys were carrying out the age old tradition of guzzling soda, scarfing chips, and yelling at the TV as the guys on the TV all tried to knock each other in the ever-popular game of football. Which I do not, have not, and will not ever get.
" Ah! Hey, is the turkey supposed to do that?" Anzu asked me.
" That's the timer! It's supposed to do that." I assured her, then did a double take at the huge bird through the oven door. " Oh no! It's done!" I called.
" Done?!" Himeko cried. " I'm out of counter space, here!" she shrilled.
" Well, for goodness' sake, put the rolls and the gravy on the table!" I cried. " Am I the only one that's done this before?"
" I had servants to do this for me, thank you!" Himeko shot back.
" I do not cook. I order out." Mai informed me.
" For someone that does not cook, you make a pretty good apple pie." A male voice interrupted.
" Why, thank you. I just followed the recipe Yuki gave me- Bakura!" she cried, going after the former tomb robber with her wooden spoon. " You demolished my pie!" she screamed.
" You made five!" Bakura retorted, dashing into the safety of the living room. " Besides, I told you, you can't keep me out!" he added triumphantly.
" You officially do not get any turkey!" Himeko called calmly.
" I'm sorry!" Bakura pleaded, earning laughter from both the living room and the kitchen.
" Mai! Anzu!" I called, pulling the oven door open. " This bird's a little big. Help me!" The two girls rushed over and helped me heft the turkey onto the counter.
" Wow!" Anzu gasped. " That is one heavy bird."
" I smell meat!" Yami called.
" You stay out of our kitchen, inferior male!" Himeko cried.
" If a tomb robber can do it, so can a pharaoh." Yami reasoned.
" Former, on both counts." Yugi was quick to add.
" You can take the man out of the thievery, but you can never take the thievery out of the man." Yami said.
" You can take the man away from the throne, but you can never the arrogance of the throne out of the man." Bakura retorted.
" For the love of..." Jou muttered.
" Watch it, Jou!" Mai warned.
" Yuki, should I put the apple salad on the table?" Himeko asked me.
" Yeah. Put the corn and the potatoes out too. Mai, why don't you round up those lazy bums? They're going to get louder if we don't feed them." I instructed. Mai rolled her eyes and started into the living room.
" God forbid." She muttered.
" Here comes the casserole!" Anzu called, squeezing past me to the table and setting down the green bean casserole she had prepared. And right then, Yami and Bakura ran into the dining room, both of them determined to beat the other to the best seats. They were followed by the rest of the guys and Mai.
" Which one of you goons is carving that damn bird?" Himeko asked, holding out the carving knife.
" I will!" Honda volunteered.
" I don't think I trust you with a knife." Himeko said, shaking her head.
" That was harsh." Honda said.
" Himeko!" I cried, giving Himeko a reprimanding rap on the skull with my knuckles. " No foul language! Which reminds me... Seto, would you go tell Grandpa and the boys that we're ready?" I asked.
" You hit hard!" Himeko complained.
" Sure. And just so you know, I'm carving that bird of yours." He told me. I smiled.
" Now, I trust him with a knife. In this situation." Himeko said.
" Would you trust me with a knife?" Bakura asked.
" No, Yami's standing too close to you." Himeko said decisively. Everyone laughed as Bakura pantomimed stabbing Yami, who even got into the spirit of it by pretending to be in agony.
" Okay, let's get the turkey out here." I said. Mai and Anzu moaned, but we went back into the kitchen and returned with the nearly thirty pound bird anyway.
" Woo-hoo! Whatta bird!" Honda hollered.
" I think I've died and gone to heaven!" Jou agreed, pretending to faint into his chair.
" I don't see Mai in a bikini, so you're still alive." Yami said with a snicker that Bakura joined him in.
" Yami Motou, that was so not funny!" Mai cried. " I'd never wear a bikini in this weather!" she added.
" Any chance you'd wear one of those skimpy Mrs. Santa Claus suits?" Jou asked playfully. Mai pretended to think.
" Hm... Nah, you wouldn't be able to afford the fees I'd make you pay." She said.
" Mai don't come cheap." Himeko said, nodding. Just then, the boys, Grandpa, and Seto came into the room.
" Yum! I'm starving!" Yoshi cried, dashing up to the table.
" Wow, I didn't know they made turkeys that big!" Mokuba noted.
" When do we get pie?" Yukio asked, pulling on the hem of my dark blue sweater. Everyone laughed.
It was a while before we all managed to settle down, and Seto actually got the carving knife from Yami (who insisted that since he was the oldest present, five minutes older than Himeko and exactly four days older than Bakura, he should get to carve the bird). And saying grace was certainly something to see. It was probably the first Thanksgiving in which "grace" mentioned praise to Ra, Ma'at, and Horus, on top of Anzu's prodding Yami to say "thank you, Lord." And after all was said and done, every male present still wanted pie. Grandpa thought we were all simply hilarious. He said next year he was inviting some of his friends so they could laugh at us together.
After the meal, we gathered in the living room and watched more football, which I still didn't get, and us girls talked while the guys yelled random things. Such as;
" You dummy! You're running the wrong way!"
" He fumbled it! He fumbled it! What a dumb ass!"
" ::insert Egyptian curse word I will not repeat::!"
They went on like that for a few hours, while the girls carried on a normal conversation.
" Yuki," Himeko said suddenly. I looked at her. " I never got to ask you. What went on while you were up there with Perl?" she asked. I felt a little lump rise in my throat. I had been waiting for someone to ask.
" I can't tell you." I said. " Just trust me." I told her. She didn't pry, and she didn't even try to get into my mind to see what it was I wouldn't tell her. She just accepted my explanation. And it made me feel good that she trusted me that much.
That night, everyone began to drift towards home. Honda hung out a little longer than most everyone, but I was used to that. I went upstairs to tuck three very full little boys into bed, and when I came back down, Seto seemed to have disappeared.
" Where's Seto?" I asked Honda. He shrugged.
" Got a call on his cell and ran off. Said there was some emergency at the office." He told me.
" Oh." I murmured. Another thing I was used to.
" Boy, it sure got late fast. Time flies when you're having fun." Honda said. I sighed. I knew what was coming. By all that's natural, I shouldn't have known. But I did. " Would you mind if I crashed here tonight?" he asked.
" Normally, no. But not tonight, Honda. You'd better get home. Your parents will be worried." I said, almost in a monotone voice.
" I know. That's why I want to stay. That, and you're here." Honda told me, leaning down from his height and kissing me on the cheek. I bit my lip.
" Honda, you really need to go home. Trust me." I said. " I'll call for a ride for you." I added, turning to the phone before he could protest. I walked him to the car that waited and waved goodbye as he was driven off, pleased with myself. I had just avoided starting a chain of events that would have made everyone I cherished unhappy. Perl still existed out there, on her own plane. Not mine. Never on mine.
A/N: Okay, see if you guys can figure that out. ^_^ Once again, I'm sorry about the delay. I just took my first driver's test and I failed because I didn't come to a "complete" stop at a stop sign!!! ARGH! I've waited two damn months to take that test and I go and fail it?! Who, pray tell, hates me up there?! (shakes fist at sky) And for your information, I was scooting up so I could see the road better so I wouldn't have a freaking wreck! Incase you can't tell, this is upsetting me. I've never failed a test before. _; I have to wait a whole week to take my next test. And I really wanted that license...
Oh yeah, points. 500 to Clover Calerica and Mokona and that's it. No one else hit the nail on the head. You all need to catch up. Or maybe I need to make the quizzes easier. Hmmmmm... For a grand total of seven hundred points, today's quiz is... Who is Perl's father? And since you ought to get that, for three hundred, send me some detailed info about Malik and Isis Ishtar. I need it. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a happy holiday season!