LE: Well...gee. What can I say? Sorry I haven't updated for awhile. I've been busy with band camp. The new marching season is fast approaching and school starts soon. starts crying hysterically NO! I DON'T WANNA GO TO SCHOOL! IT'S NOT FAIR!
Kaiba: Pull yourself together, you're embarrassing me.
(Luthien continues to sob)
Kaiba: STOP THAT ANNOYING RACKET THIS INSTANT! If you carry on like this you'll never get through chapter five.
LE: (Sniffle) you're right. No matter how depressing life is at the moment...THE FIC MUST GO ON!
Kaiba: I had to say that, didn't I?
LE: YAMI! BAKURA! GET OVER HERE! I'M STARTING CHAPTER FIVE!
(Bakura walks over.)
LE: Where's Yami?
(The audience sees Yami, bloodied and unconscious.)
LE: Oooh, tough luck, Silver Moon Phoenix. It looks like Bakura won.
Yugi: No way!
Bakura: No way is right. No way that Baka pharaoh could beat me. (he stands there gloating for another minute when suddenly he falls over and numerous cuts and bruises appear all over him. Yami jumps up completely unharmed.)
LE: Hey! What's going on?
Kaiba: It would appear that Yami is completely unharmed after being pummeled by Bakura and Bakura is out cold for no apparent reason.
LE: No? Really? Tell me something I don't know.
Kaiba: I made out with Ishizu after our duel in the Battle City Finals.
LE: (double take) SAY WHAT?
Kaiba: That's something you don't know.
LE: Riiiiight. (thinks for a minute) Oh, now I know what the deal is. Damn, I forgot about the unwritten rule that Yami has to win at everything he does.
Yami: Yep.
LE: Shit! I'm never gonna hear the end of this.
Yugi: Told ya!
LE: (runs over to Bakura) BAKURA, SAY SOMETHING! DON'T LEAVE ME!
Bakura: (delirious) Auntie Em, is that you?
LE: (Eyes turn fiery red and she glares daggers at Kaiba and Yami) Oh, now you done it. Gone and made me mad!
Yami: I didn't know she could do that.
Kaiba: This isn't gonna end well is it?
Ryou: Yo, Luthien! I didn't know you liked Bakura!
LE: YOU WON'T LIVE TO TELL ANYONE THAT!
Mokuba: What are you talking about? The entire audience just saw the whole thing.
LE: AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGHH! (the room explodes and Yugi, Ryou, and Mokuba go plunging into the pit of doom. The water begins to turn red.)
Yami: YUGI! NOOOOOOO!
Kaiba: MOKUBAAAAAAAA!
LE: Oops. (Yami drops to the ground, writhing and screaming. Kaiba does too.) Ok, Yami I understand. He dies with the Millennium Puzzle. But why is Kaiba having a fit?
Kaiba: (twitching) Blue Eyes! Blue Eyes.
LE: Oh well. On with the chapter.
Mirror of the Soul
Chapter 5: Night is falling
"Speak to me, oh cards!" Mai intoned wildly as she waved her hands over her console.
"Oh cards, indeed. This is pathetic," Lotaru said to herself as she watched Joey's duel with Mai. But, pathetic as it was, Mai was still dominating the match. She was psyching Joey out by making him believe that she had ESP and could read her cards before playing them. Which was bull shit of course. Unfortunately, Joey couldn't see that.
"Hey, don't call Joey pathetic, Lotaru. He's doing well," Yugi said, trying to defend his friend. It was actually Yami who was speaking, however.
"Denial can be a terrible thing, Yugi. If what he's doing now is doing well, then I'd hate to see him when he's doing bad. Besides, I wasn't talking about Joey. I was talking about Mai and her phony ESP," Lotaru retorted.
"But what else could it be? It's impossible to know what cards you have without looking at them," Tristan said as he looked on worriedly.
"Honestly, Tristan. I thought you knew how Duel Monsters worked. There's always some way to cheat. In any game for that matter."
"But how?" Tea wondered out loud.
For crying out loud! Am I the only one who smells all of that perfume coming from Mai's side of the field? I don't see how she's managed to get this far without anyone wising up to her little card trick! Lotaru thought as she continued to watch the duel. She felt like screaming the answer in Joey's face. He was such an amateur. What she said instead was this.
"Come off it, Joey! Even you can't be this bad! It's like what Yugi said! Think before you make a move! Just close your eyes and concentrate! You keep this up and you'll be on the next boat home!"
"Hey, with that kind of attitude you're not much better than Mai, Lotaru! Joey doesn't need that from you right now! He needs us to cheer him on. There's more at stake here than you know," Tea said angrily, trying to talk Lotaru down with all of her friendship crud as she had done with Mai.
"I know exactly what's at stake here, Tea. And your cheering has yet to help anybody. It's not stopping Mai from psyching Joey out."
"How would you know that cheering doesn't help? I bet nobody's ever cheered for you!" Tea shot back.
"That is true," Lotaru answered calmly. "And look at me now."
Tea wasn't expecting this kind of answer. She stood, gaping at Lotaru for a moment before coming up with a come back.
"Right, look at you now. No friends to speak of and nothing in your life worth fighting for like Joey has."
It happened so fast. Almost before anyone could blink. Lotaru turned on Tea and slapped her hard across the face. So hard that she knocked her to the ground.
"Tea!" Yami cried out.
"What's your deal, Lotaru?" Tristan asked angrily as he knelt down to help Tea back up.
"It was the only way I could get her to shut up. On and on, like a broken record. I don't give a damn about all of that friendship shit."
"Lotaru, don't talk like that. You shouldn't take your problems out on Tea," Yami said gently.
"Problem? Hah! Friendship is hardly a problem for me," Lotaru countered, staring daggers at Yami.
Meanwhile, all of this arguing was distracting Joey from the duel. But once he had seen that Tea wasn't hurt he actually took Lotaru's advice and closed his eyes. More from despair than trying to come up with a plan though. There was no way out. Mai's Harpy Ladies would destroy any monster that he put on the field. And it didn't help that Mai could read the cards with her mind. This was the end. He would never make it to the castle. He would have no chance at the prize money and Serenity would lose her sight forever. Wait a minute. What's that smell?
Lotaru looked on with a slight smirk on her face as she watched Joey's nose twitch, taking a tentative sniff of the air. Her smirk grew even wider when Joey's eyes snapped open and he looked down at her, realization dawning in his eyes as he began to put the pieces of Mai's trickery together. Lotaru had been more help to him than any of the others would ever know. Though it had been hidden in all of her insults, Lotaru had managed to give him a valuable hint.
Now that Joey had figured out Mai's card trick and maybe had a fighting chance at victory, Lotaru decided that it would be a good time to take her leave. But before leaving she turned back to Yami, Tristan, and Tea.
"And next time...think twice before you tell me I have nothing worth fighting for. Or you'll end up with a lot worse than a few black and blue marks," Lotaru sneered with satisfaction at the red slap mark on Tea's face before turning away and heading back into the forest.
Tristan had a good mind to go after her and give her the beating that she deserved but something held him back. For once, no one tried to stop Lotaru from leaving.
Once she was well out of sight of the dueling arena Lotaru decided to find another challenge. There had to be other clearings in the forest somewhere on this island. Besides, she wasn't going to get into the castle by standing around.
(Why did you do that, Lotaru?)
(Do what?)
(Help Joey with the duel? He could have been eliminated so easily. One less opponent for you to worry about. One duelist closer to the finals.)
(What do you mean help? I just told him to shut his eyes. Besides, it would be better to eliminate Mai. The only reason she's here is to win the prize money for a shopping spree. She said so herself. Joey, however bad a duelist he might be, doesn't deserve to be eliminated just yet.)
(I suggest you put a bandage on that bleeding heart of yours. It doesn't suit an assassin.)
(I'm not an assassin!) Lotaru raged to her darker half.
(Oh no? Then what are you planning to do when you find Pegasus? Invite him out for tea?)
(Pegasus killed my parents! How can I do anything else?)
(Now you know how I feel about Atem. Such injustice cannot be allowed to stand.)
(But you talk about it like the two of us are murderers.)
(We are. Or at least, we will be.)
(How can you be so casual about it?)
(Because it is true. There is no other word for it. There is no right or wrong for me anymore. There's no such thing as peace. It can never be so long as the cycle of vengeance continues. And it is everlasting. You know this.) Asinath explained calmly.
"NO! I AM NOT A MURDERER!" Lotaru screamed out desperately.
But Asinath did not answer to this. Without the dark spirit there to goad her on Lotaru suddenly snapped out of her trance. She opened her eyes only to find herself curled into a tight ball on the forest floor. While she had been talking to her dark she had continued her journey through the woods. But when Asinath had gotten to her she had collapsed without realizing it.
Lotaru tried to get to her feet but she collapsed again, shivering with fear. She was in sight of another clearing. Dueling arenas were set up and young duelists were gathered around them watching the duels taking place. Thankfully none of them had heard her scream. Unable to stand, Lotaru crawled over to the nearest tree and clung to its trunk, making herself as small as possible. Her face was wet with tears and she couldn't stop shaking. She pulled her tattered black travel cloak around her thin frame and buried her tear-streaked face in her arms.
Was she going insane? It was possible. The girl she had been before Asinath would never have slapped someone for such a stupid reason. Time and again Lotaru had tried to convince herself that Asinath was her friend. But in return, all that she received were words of anger, hatred, and vengeance. It was true that she wanted to avenge her parents but she wasn't nearly as driven as Asinath. Asinath's urges for her brother's blood scared Lotaru. When the ancient spirit had first come to live in her mind she had given the young girl terrifying images as she slept. Images of blood and death. These nightmares had stayed with her for a long time. More and more often these days Lotaru had been weakening under Asinath's growing power. The only thing that had kept Lotaru from slipping into madness was Atrus. He had kept her sane all of those cold, lonely nights. But now that he was gone Lotaru found that she was slowly falling back into the darkness. Asinath's twisted cravings were slowly driving her mad.
Lotaru clung to the tree for what seemed like hours, but what was really only a few moments, before climbing shakily to her feet. When she finally managed to stop shivering she made her way into the clearing. The only way to stave off the growing darkness was to continue with her quest to free Atrus. She could easily challenge any one of these duelists. But, as fate would have it, she didn't have to.
"Kapori, I want a rematch!"
Lotaru turned to find herself face to face with Rex Raptor.
"A rematch? For what? So I can whip you again?"
"No! So I can stomp you out of existence with my dinosaurs. I can't call myself the runner up in the regional tournament until I've beaten you in a duel."
"You lost to me in the last tournament. What makes you think this time will be any different?"
"I underestimated you last time, but that won't happen again. Now duel me!"
"All right then. If you insist on being squashed again. I'll take great pleasure in relieving you of your star chips," Lotaru said with a smirk as she allowed Raptor to lead her to the nearest available arena.
"Not this time, Kapori. This time will be different. You're going down!" Raptor boasted as he mounted the dueling stand at his end of the field.
"I'm sure," Lotaru answered as she did the same. Then she placed three star chips down on the field in front of her. "I'll wager three star chips on this duel."
"Same here. That'll give me eight," Raptor said as he too, laid down three star chips.
"DUEL!" the two shouted in unison.
XxX
"My Red Eyes Black Dragon has got you on the ropes, Kapori! And now that I combine it with the Dragon Nails magic card it's unstoppable! It's all over!" Raptor shouted triumphantly as his Red Eyes sent Lotaru's Angel of Silence to the graveyard. Bringing her life points down to 1000. "All I need is one more chance to attack and you're finished. You don't have a thing in your deck that can top this!"
"Oh, don't I?" Lotaru said calmly. Rex was, in fact, wrong about her cards. She had just the card to defeat him in her hand. The Blue Eyes White Dragon. But if she couldn't find a magic card to power it up then it would be useless. Rex's Dragon also had an attack strength of 3000 with the Dragon Nails card in play. Any other magic card she had that would destroy Dragon Nails had already been played. There was only one chance left. Her final power up card. The Rush Recklessly card. It would bring the Blue Eyes up to 3700 attack points. All of her other strategies had been torn down. This was the last viable way to beat Raptor.
"I think I'll end my turn with that. Now make your move, Kapori!"
"All right, I will!" Lotaru replied.
She reached for her deck and drew a new card, fervently hoping that it was the card she needed. And when she flipped the card face up to look at it Lotaru allowed herself to breath again. It was indeed Rush Recklessly. Lotaru looked up from the card to see Rex smirking at her. She would take great pleasure in wiping that smirk off his face.
"Raptor, I just drew the card that will win this duel for me."
"What? There's no way! You're lying!"
"Am I? Well let's see how much of a lie you think it is when I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Lotaru shouted as she slammed the monster card down onto her console in attack position.
Many of the duelists that had gathered to watch the match now gaped in wonder. Few duelists were lucky enough to see this card played.
"NO! Since when do you have a Blue Eyes White Dragon?" Raptor asked furiously. He stared, shocked, for a few minutes before he bothered to note the dragon's attack power.
"Oh, but maybe the legendary dragon's not as powerful as I've heard. It's attack points are equal to my Red Eyes. You still can't beat me!"
"They might be equal now, but not for long. I still haven't played my magic card."
"A magic card? NO!"
"Yes! I activate Rush Recklessly! It raises my Dragon's attack points by 700 until the end of the turn. But I won't need it longer than that. Now, my Blue Eyes...ATTACK THE RED EYES BLACK DRAGON!" Lotaru commanded the super-charged dragon.
"NO! I can't lose that dragon. Red Eyes, DODGE THE ATTACK!" Raptor shouted desperately.
"It's too late, Rex. Your dragon is destroyed!" Lotaru said triumphantly as the white lightening attack splintered the Red Eyes into a million pieces.
"That attack takes your life points down to 0. This duel is over. I win."
"No! How could I lose again?" Rex lamented as the dueling stands automatically lowered themselves from the arena.
"Simple. You underestimated me yet again. Now I believe you owe me something," Lotaru said, extending her hand out to Rex as he approached her.
"Fine! Take them! I still have three star chips left. I'm not finished yet!" Raptor said as he shoved the star chips into her open palm.
"Well, gees, don't take it so hard," Lotaru said, her voice full of mockery.
Raptor just growled and stalked away.
"Hmm, must have been something I said," Lotaru said to herself as she turned away from the crowd of duelists who were now giving her questioning looks.
"Seven star chips," she whispered proudly to herself. Just three away from the finals. Three away from Atrus.
"Don't lose heart, Atrus. I'll free you. I miss you so much."
(Stop being such an infant.) Asinath suddenly broke into her thoughts.
(Shut up, Asinath.) Lotaru said firmly.
(Why do you retreat into the forest after every duel?)
(I do not!)
(Yes you do. You're doing it now.)
(I'm not retreating. I'm just looking for a new challenge.)
(Then challenge one of the other duelists in this clearing. There are plenty of them that you could take down easily. It's almost like you're running away.)
(Well, dueling never really was my thing.)
(Then why do you do it?)
(You know why.)
(Then why not let me duel in your place?)
(Because this is my fight.)
(You're so stubborn.)
(And you're not?)
(Well, you have me there, I will admit.)
Lotaru just sighed and did her best to tune out Asinath. The sun was beginning to set. Now would be a good time to find a camp sight. But first, a little spy work.
Lotaru reached into the hidden pouch of her tattered white jacket and pulled out the Millennium Mirror. She faced it's reflective surface skyward and gazed deeply into its depths. She formed a clear picture of Yugi in her mind and spoke the magic command.
"Reveal the truth to me."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the reflected red sky vanished from the Mirror and Lotaru was gazing down on a clearing in a forest. The self same clearing that she had left not half an hour ago. She saw Joey facing down Mai and Rex Raptor. Tristan and Tea were trying to drag him away but to no avail. Joey shoved the two away and Tristan stormed off. Then Joey followed Mai and Raptor to a dueling arena. Joey and Raptor mounted the stands and began to duel. Yugi and Tea stood by and watched along with Mai.
"So, Joey managed to beat her after all. But I wonder what's going on now? Joey's an idiot if he thinks he can take down Raptor."
Suddenly curious, Lotaru sharpened the focus of the image with her mind and honed in on Yugi's dueling glove.
"Six! Damn, he's been busy since this afternoon! He couldn't have won all of those in one duel!"
Lotaru finally decided that she had seen enough and shook the Mirror. The image faded instantly and she tucked the Mirror back into her jacket.
(You're losing your lead, hikari.) Asinath taunted her.
Lotaru tried to ignore the dark spirit as she began to make camp for the night. The place she had ended up in would do well enough. She had found herself near a partially uprooted tree. The twisted roots bent in such a way as to make the perfect hollow shelter in the ground. But while Lotaru was trying to spread out her blanket over the dirt Asinath refused to shut up.
(Hello, Lotaru! I'm talking to you! Are you even listening to me...Mahigan?)
The last word caused Lotaru to snap.
(DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT!) she screamed furiously in her mind.
(Why not? It is your real name after all.) Asinath said mockingly.
(Not even Atrus knows that. And no one else ever will. Only my mother could call me that! And now that she's dead no one will ever speak that name aloud again. Mahigan is dead. She died with Kanehratitake.) Lotaru said bitterly.
(But it is a name to be proud of. It means wolf, does it not?)
Lotaru refused to answer.
(Why don't you speak to me? Not that it matters. I know every secret that lies hidden in the darkest corners of your mind.)
(Don't remind me!) Lotaru said fiercely.
(What does Kanehratitake mean?) Asinath asked, more out of spite than anything else.
(Carrying leaves.) Lotaru whispered brokenly as she sat down on her blanket.
(Carrying leaves? What kind of name is that? What poor fool goes around with a name like that?)
(DON'T TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER THAT WAY! Besides, it's your fault that she's dead!)
(My fault? Hardly. Did I force you to pick up the Mirror all those years ago? If your parents hadn't been so stupid as to go where they weren't wanted then you would never have found the Millennium Mirror. It's your fault that they died.) Asinath hissed.
(I guess you know how I feel then! What about Sorenn? And Sephira?)
Asinath fell silent at this. For the first time, the spirit had no come back waiting. The mention of these two struck a chord deep within her memory. For a few brief moments her cloud of hatred and anger parted and she could clearly picture her loved ones, long since dead, murdered. Asinath allowed herself to drift back into the memory for a time. To a time when there was no pain, no vengeance, no death. Only love.
Lotaru, satisfied that she had finally gotten Asinath to be quiet, allowed herself to relax on her small pallet. She quickly pulled a small tin of canned peaches out of her knap sack and began to scarf it down. When she had finished off the entire can she tossed it away and pulled a flashlight out of her pack. The sun had finally set and the forest had darkened. Lotaru was fixing to lie down and sleep for the night when she heard movement in the trees just ahead of her. Just then a small, thin figure leapt into view. The glare of the flashlight caught pale skin and white hair.
"Surely you're not going to go to sleep before you hear my plan," came the devilish voice of her attacker.
It was Ryou. The boy she had met on the ship. Or rather, it was the spirit of Ryou's Millennium Item. Bakura.
"What are you talking about?" Lotaru asked, still shocked.
"Ah, so you are the avatar," he replied sourly.
"Hey, the avatar has a name. It's Lotaru."
"And I should care because...?"
"Because I decide whether or not you can speak to Asinath," Lotaru said crisply.
But before Lotaru could even speak to Asinath herself, Bakura reached into the folds of his sweater and brought out a dagger. In the blink of an eye the dagger was poised to be thrust into her stomach with the slightest flinch from Bakura.
"I suggest that you get her out here, mortal. She's told you about me. You know I'll do it," he hissed.
Lotaru stared defiantly back at the ancient spirit, refusing to show any sign of weakness.
(Asinath? There's a friend of yours here who wants to speak with you.)
(Oh, really?) Asinath asked, snapping out of her reverie.
(Yes. It's Bakura.)
(Bakura? What's he doing here? I could have sworn that I told him to stay out of my way!)
(I don't know. Just talk to him.)
Meanwhile, on the outside, Bakura saw the change in Lotaru's eyes as the two switched places.
"You're losing your touch, Bakura. Lotaru says that she heard you before she saw you."
"Never mind that. Now is our chance. We must take what is ours tonight. There won't be a more perfect opportunity."
"Didn't I tell you that I would handle it?" Asinath hissed as she firmly grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the knife to her stomach.
"Maybe, but you haven't been focusing on it at all. So I took it upon myself," he whispered back as he leaned his face closer to hers.
"All right. Fine. What is your plan?"
With that Bakura quickly outlined his scheme for her.
"I'll need two of your cards," he said in conclusion.
"This might work. Show me the way."
"All right. Come," he commanded as he withdrew the dagger and climbed out of the hollow.
Asinath followed, switching off the flashlight and allowing Bakura to lead her through the forest. The way was dark but the two were creatures of the night. Completely at ease without light. And now, at long last, they were reunited, once more at one with the shadows and each other. As they had been all those long years ago.
Finally they reached Mai Valentine's campsite. Just as Bakura had told her, Yugi and his friends were there, gathered around a fire enjoying a hot meal. Mai was just leaving.
"What is the best card in your hikari's deck?" Bakura asked her, his voice barely audible.
"The Dark Sage," Asinath answered, pulling out Lotaru's dueling deck and taking the spellcaster card from it.
"That will do nicely. And what form will you be using?"
"If you have to ask, you will never know. I've waited many life times to fight him again."
"I understand," Bakura said as he summoned the powers of the Ring to entrap Lotaru's soul within the Dark Sage card.
Then Asinath took a blank card from the deck and imprinted an image on it. Then Bakura used the Ring on her and Lotaru's body slumped over, soulless.
Just then, Tea squealed in fright, having heard the noise.
"What is it, Tea?" Yugi asked.
"I just heard something moving in the bushes over there," she yelped.
"It's probably Mai. I bet she's been hiding there the whole time!" Joey said furiously. "All right! Come on out Mai!"
Bakura quickly placed the two new cards into Ryou's dueling deck and emerged from the bushes.
"Ryou?" Yugi asked allowed.
"See! I haven't been imagining things," Tea said triumphantly.
XxX
LE: Da-da-da-dum. The plot thickens!
Yami: Yuuuu-giiiiiii!
LE: Are you done moaning yet? I thought you'd be dead by now.
Kaiba: Blue Eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyes!
LE: You know, that is really getting annoying!
Yami&Kaiba: (moans and cries of pain and anguish.)
LE: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
(LE's door bursts open and Ryou, Yugi, and Mokuba all come skipping in, completely unhurt.)
Yami: (Halfway through a moan) Yuuuu-gi?
Kaiba: Mokuba?
Yugi: Yami.
Mokuba: Big brother.
Yami: Mokuba.
Kaiba: Yugi.
Ryou: Wh-
LE: Stop that! Stop that! You're not gonna break into all of that while I'm here.
Ryou: I was just asking where Bakura is.
LE: Over there. He's still unconscious.
Ryou: Oh.
Yami: I don't understand. I thought you were dead.
Yugi: Not at all.
Kaiba: Then who's that out there?
LE: My little brother, Dark Magician Boy, and two of his friends. Fooled you good didn't we?
Yami: You killed your own brother?
LE: Yep.
Kaiba: But how can that be? Dark Magician Boy is in the next room writing a fic as we speak. We saw him in the maze.
(The audience sees DMB in the next room, furiously working at his new fic, Behind the Cards.)
Ryou: What's going on? Explain.
LE: No! It complicates things too much.
Yami: But where are the Millennium Items?
LE: Check your back pocket.
(Yami does so and comes up with the Millennium Puzzle.)
Yami: Well I feel stupid.
Kaiba: That's because you are. And what about my Blue Eyes cards.
LE: Back pocket.
(Kaiba checks and finds the cards. He falls to the floor kissing the cards and mumbling incoherently.)
LE: Ooooooooook, I didn't need to see that. But anyway, moving on. How will the duel with Bakura work out now that he has Asinath on his side? Is there gonna be anymore chemistry between them? (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, hint, hint) and what's the deal with Mahigan? Is Bakura ever going to regain consciousness? Is he ever gonna find out that I'm desperately in love with him and wanna screw him?
Everyone else: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?
LE: Did I just say that out loud?
Kaiba: Uhuh.
LE: (eyes turn red again) You heard nothing!
Yugi: Yami, what does it mean to screw someone?
Yami: Uuuuuuuuuuuh-
LE: This should be interesting. Well, if you wanna hear Yami give Yugi "The Talk" say so in your review. If not, review anyway and let me know what you think so far. Until then, fare thee well.