Bridging the Void
Note: I really need to thank those of you who are sticking with me through this… I'm having a bit of trouble with getting it written. I hope you like it, anyway. Please review!
Chapter 11: Fighting the Pain with Love
I took a deep breath, but my vision didn't clear. Still the only thing I saw, the only thing I knew, was Chris. I opened my mouth to speak and was certain that only he heard me.
"What have you done to me?"
"This is your last chance, Lily. Your last chance to live. Tell me… that you'll be mine forever."
I tried to shake my head, but it wouldn't move. I opened my mouth to say no, but it wouldn't come out. Two words repeated over and over in her mind, a relentless order, a chant; say yes.
"Y-y-y-n-n-no. Y-you c-can't m-m-make m-m-m-me s-s-s-s-say it." My voice was shaking, not wanting to obey my orders. But I had to hold on, had to see this through. I'd spent too long waiting for the life I'd found to let Chris take it away.
"You are so strong, but you are too stubborn for your own good. I will, someday, look back on this with a smile. It's been fun."
It hurt… oh, yes, it hurt… It was like, a million daggers slamming into my chest, and like I was on fire. But I wouldn't give up… no matter what. I knew that there was something worth coming back to.
"I h-h-have t-t-o… much… to… lose… you aren't-" The words fell short as I screamed. There was so much pain… and I was all alone… was there really a point to all of this… was Chris in my head? I just didn't know…
Seto's POV:
She was still lying motionless. Steph was looking sternly at me, clearly trying to make sure I didn't interfere. I was worried for her. The emptiness in her eyes was like death… and only the gentle rise and fall of her chest had kept me sane. Only now, it was ragged and pained, and growing ever less frequent.
"Lily," I whispered again, hoping she could feel that I was with her, and silently cursing myself for believing something so ridiculous. "Please… I know you won't give up, but… just in case you needed to know, I'm here for you… I'm always here for you."
End Seto's POV.
"Lily... Please… I know you won't give up, but… just in case you needed to know, I'm here for you… I'm always here for you."
That was… Seto's voice. His image had been growing weaker in my mind, but now it returned to me, so cold and yet so perfect. And he was mine. I was his. Why on earth would I give that up?
I bit my lip and halted my scream at long last. I focused on breathing. In, out, in out. Don't stop now… don't stop breathing… don't stop living. Just survive… that's all you need for now.
I felt the breath go in, and I felt it leave. That was the hardest part; feeling my breath leave me. I was always afraid it wouldn't be coming back. And it always did. Focus on the breath… just concentrate on the breathing… don't think, just breathe.
I breathed and breathed, ignoring the droning of Chris's voice.
"Lil, he's running out of power… it's draining him to keep you under the spell. Just hold on."
I just kept on breathing, ignoring everything until, suddenly, I could see again. Seto was kneeling beside me, holding me up, and I was in sorry condition.
"Seto… everything… hurts," I rasped.
"I know, Lily, I know. But you won. And we're home, see?"
But we weren't home. We were in Seto's mansion, and his private doctors were making sure I was going to survive. There were all sorts of wires and other things that didn't belong in a place I could call home.
"Oh, Seto… I love you, but… I want to see my house, my family, again."
"I understand. I have… a suggestion to make."
I glanced at Steph, who was sitting, dare I say it, in Marik's lap, but she just smiled at me and shrugged. She had changed nearly as much as I had.
"Shoot."
"I think… that, for now, I can visit you as often as you like through the portal, which we figured out how to work while you were out-"
"How long was I asleep?"
"A week. And you scared me to death, too."
"Wow… it only felt like… a few minutes."
"It felt like a lifetime to me."
He gently kissed me and I giggled like a little girl before fake swatting him away. "So, continue, won't you?"
"And then, once you're old enough, I can give the company to Mokuba, we can get married and-"
"Married? Are you proposing to me?"
His cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink. "Let me finish."
"Okay, okay."
"And then I'll come to your world, and we can get a house or something. But I'd have to visit my brother, so you have to keep that little TV of yours."
"My TV… is the portal?"
"Of course… every time anyone has come or gone, with the exception of the use of Chris's magic, it's been through that TV."
"I have a magic TV in my bedroom? That's… interesting."
"I know… and before I met you, I never would have believed it."
"Not to overthrow this, but I wouldn't have believed it before I met you, either."
He shook his head and fake punched me, but it really hurt with all my burns. I bit my lip and winced.
"Oh, I'm sorry Lily. I forgot."
I smiled. "I think it was more like denial, but that'll do." I kissed him on the cheek before laying back down to rest.
End note: Have no fears, there will be at least one more chapter, maybe two. Review this, please!
