LE: I still haven't come up with a better idea for a summary! Oh well, screw it.
Bakura: Aren't you getting tired of holding us prisoner? You must have something better to do with your time.
LE: Nope. I have no life, no reviews, no inspiration, and no fricking clue! You people are the only exciting thing going on right now. Especially you, 'kura.
Bakura: (Sweat drops)
Kaiba: So what are you saying? That you're going to keep us here forever? I thought we were getting out once you had enough reviews.
LE: Well there aren't enough reviews! What do you want me to do?
Yami: Write a better story?
LE: OK, THAT'S IT! YOU'RE DEAD! (Grabs Yami, drags him to the open window and sticks his head out) Say hello to my mutated krill!
Ryou: Sea bass.
Yugi: Mutated sea bass.
LE: WHATEVER!
Yami: NO! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! (To audience) Someone! Anyone! Is there anyone alive out there? Someone review the story and she might be happy enough to spare me!
LE: TOO LATE, PHARAOH! YOU'RE ALL WASHED UP!
Bakura: Ooh, this'll be good. And, btw, I think that LE would want it mentioned that when all of those spoken sentences are in italics at the beginning of this chapter, each sentence is a different random flashback from Asinath's past. And then the second bit of italicized stuff is Lotaru in her own mind and why she's not responding to Asinath throughout the chapter. After that just about anything in italics is a flashback.
Mirror of the Soul
Chapter 8: Anything You Can Do
As the sun rose over Duelist Kingdom the next morning, Asinath retraced her steps through the forest, trying to find Lotaru's campsite from the night before. While she could have easily performed a warp spell to arrive there in no time, this method of travel afforded her time to think about the duel with Mnemosyne.
Asinath kept glancing down at the dueling gauntlet she wore. The ten star slots were filled at last. She had gained Lotaru her ticket into Pegasus' castle. But for the last three star chips…such a price was paid.
Perhaps her past was not as dead as she had led herself to believe. She had forced herself to keep the memories at bay for so long, fueling her hateful existence with memories of death, all of them so similar that they had fused into a single thread…and that thread led back to her brother. But now she saw memories wherever she turned. The forest of Duelist Kingdom was becoming the forest of the Silverveil in her mind. She could almost feel her companions at her back once more. To rid herself of that memory she turned her eyes to the sky, and that reminded her of the day she'd returned to the ruins of Kul Elna, hoping to die. And the sun rising up over the forest brought to mind her last day on Earth. Every leaf, every unturned stone held a memory fighting to the surface. The dam she had built up during her imprisonment was beginning to crack. All because of one duel. So many voices from the past…
"Then it's a promise?"
"I can't do this anymore…"
"MAMA!"
"Akefia, you've got to get away from here…"
"Asinath, this is your new brother, Atem…"
"He's not my father!"
"Don't-worry. I'm going to protect you…always! I promise. Please- don't cry…"
"Don't you want revenge?"
"How could you do this to me?"
"No, Akhenaden, it's not that. I think I am with child…"
"Help me…"
"I thought you were dead…"
"Are you willing to give up your life for her, Akefia?"
"After wandering in darkness for so long…a light brought me happiness. It's all thanks to you…"
"Awaken, mighty Obelisk!"
"GO! Just run! I'll stop him!"
"Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry…"
"You will die for your crimes…"
"He will remember nothing…"
"I would give up all my powers…if you could just be yourself again…"
"You brought me to this, brother!"
"You can still save him, Asinath. He is not gone beyond the call of your love…"
"You saved my life, Akefia…and I'll always love you…"
"NO!" Asinath screamed suddenly, stopping mid stride to lean against a tree and catch her breath.
"I can't let all of these old sympathies distract me," she whispered to herself. "I am here for one purpose and one alone."
Finally, Asinath managed to compose herself and she continued on her way through the forest.
If this is the effect that Mnemosyne's powers had on me, then I wonder what they could have done to Lotaru.
XxX
What happened? No one's here…not even me.
I…I was looking for something- or someone. Atrus! That's right! I was trying to free Atrus from Pegasus. He killed my parents. I was dueling. I fought against Raptor, and Logan! Now I know why he was familiar. It was that last name. Ishtar! That was Malik's last name. They couldn't possibly be related, could they? They're nothing alike. Malik's nice. And who was that master that Logan was talking about?
I haven't thought about Malik in so long. I wonder how he is. I wish I could have gone back for him, but I haven't been able to get back there. I do still have the pendant he gave me. We made a promise. Yakusoku shita yo ne?
It's not the first time a promise was made on that pendant. Asinath told me that it used to belong to her. Bakura, or Akefia, or whatever the hell she wants to call him, gave it to her. She told me it was like a wedding vow between them. Whatever happened during all their centuries of imprisonment anyway? She's shown me her past. I know Bakura loved her. She knows it too, even if she won't admit it. What happened to him? Maybe being trapped in an inanimate object for thousands of years just does that to you.
Wait! I remember now! The last duel! Mnemosyne! I fought against Mnemosyne. She fought me with memories. Only…I can't remember how it ended. I can't remember! Is it still going on? Is this just another one of her tricks? Or did I lose? Am I trapped in the Shadow Realm? I couldn't be dead now, could I? No! That can't be it. Maybe I'm just passed out. Maybe Asinath took over. It can't be all over yet! Not yet! We've come too far.
"Well it's nice to see that you feel that way about something! Maybe if you felt that strongly about your parents they would still be alive."
Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP! It's all his fault! I didn't do anything.
"Exactly. You ran away."
HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? Why? Why is it me? I don't want to hear this. I didn't ask for any of it. I didn't want the Mirror. I want to be free of it all!
"But you still need the Mirror, don't you? You can't rescue Atrus without it."
But what comes after that? What else can the Mirror possibly want with me? I've given enough to Asinath.
"Enough? Hardly. You promised to help her avenge all the murders. Atem still lives!"
I don't care anymore! That's her business! Why does she care so much? It wasn't all his fault! I'm not part of this struggle. I'm no duelist. I don't belong here. WHY DID I COME?
"Why, Lotaru? Exactly why did you come here? You mustn't run away. You must confront Pegasus…and you must confront yourself."
Is that enough?
XxX
Asinath could hear Kaiba long before she could see him. Of course, she didn't know it was him at first. All she new for certain was that someone was going through Lotaru's things. When she finally reached the uprooted tree where Lotaru had kept her camp, she saw him leaning down between the roots, rummaging through whatever he could find.
"Well, well, well, somehow I don't think I should be surprised that you've stooped this low, Seto Kaiba."
Asinath saw him stiffen, the barest hint of surprise. But if she knew anything at all about him, it was that he would not allow himself to be backed into a corner. That included not showing surprise. So he slowly disentangled himself from the roots, stood, and turned to face her.
"What are you doing here, Kapori?" he asked, trying to sound like he wasn't interested in the answer and brushing dirt off of his trench coat.
"What am I doing here? I might ask you the same, but my answer is competing in the tournament. Now what are you doing here, going through my stuff no less?"
"I wanted to know who was stupid enough to leave gear just lying around like that. Hmph, now I have my answer. And here I was starting to think that no one was dumber than that mutt, Wheeler."
"Is that the best insult you could come up with," Asinath snorted. "You still owe me a duel you know."
"Anytime," he said threateningly, stepping closer to her and trying to tower over her.
Asinath was trying hard not to laugh. This boy was so much like Seth. And like Seth, he was a child in her shadow. She had looked pure evil right in the eye. Seto Kaiba had no business trying to intimidate her. Where others saw an imposing businessman, Asinath saw a toy to be played with. The two of them stared each other directly in the eye for a long while, neither of them backing down. But Kaiba was the first to crack.
"Except just now, that is," he said begrudgingly. "I came here for Pegasus."
"I'm sorry, Kaiba. But Pegasus is mine," Asinath shot back.
"In your dreams, Kapori! While you insist on playing his little game, I'm going straight to the source. He's going to pay!"
"He will. But you aren't the one who's going to make him," Asinath said seriously, suddenly curious as to why he had come.
Asinath captured his eyes with hers for a quick moment. She used that moment to launch her spirit into his mind. She was skilled in this method of mind reading and it took her only a moment to find the information she sought. Pegasus had kidnapped his little brother. Kaiba was hardly aware of her before she was gone. The next instant she was staring at him again and the only sign of him having noticed the spell at all was a quick blink of his eyes.
"Tell you what, Kaiba, I'll make you a deal," she began softly. "I'll get you inside Pegasus' castle undetected."
"If you could do that then you would have done it already," he said angrily as he turned to walk away.
"How do you know I can't?" she asked slyly. "Like you said, I'm just playing his little game. Why would I need to get inside yet? What if I can get you inside? You'd be passing up the one chance you might get."
Kaiba stood with his back to her, debating. Much as he hated to agree with Kapori…what if there was something she could do? He was not taking any chances when it came to Mokuba.
"What's the catch?" he asked, still not turning around.
"No catch. All you have to do in exchange is duel me when we get back to Japan."
Kaiba quickly spun around. That was quite a deal if she could really pull it off.
"If that's all you want in return, then I'll let you try whatever it is you have planned. Though I highly doubt it will work. I think I'm getting the better end of this deal," he said smugly.
"All right then," Asinath said just as smugly as she went to gather up Lotaru's things and shove them all in her knap sack.
When she was ready, Asinath went to stand before Kaiba, grabbing both of his hands without any warning.
"What are you-" he started.
"Shh!" she hissed. Her eyes were tightly shut and she gripped Kaiba's hands fiercely. If she didn't hold him up then the shadows would take him.
The next moment the two were surrounded by darkness. Kaiba barely had a chance to be surprised before the spell dissipated and the two of them were standing in the dungeon halls of Pegasus' castle. Kaiba glanced around, almost fearfully.
How can this be? he asked himself as he broke free of Asinath's grasp and went over to put his hands on the wall. Definitely real.
"Is this to your satisfaction?" Asinath asked mockingly.
"You- I…I don't know how you did this, Kapori, but mark me-"
"There's no two ways about it, Kaiba. I got you inside and you'll duel me when this is all over. I said I'd get you here, but I won't find your brother for you. That you will have to do on your own."
"How did you know about-"
"No questions," she said, grabbing his trench coat and backing him against the wall. "Neither of us has the time. And you'll return to me. You'll have no choice in the matter."
"You…you-"
She didn't say anything, and his mumbling stopped after a few moments. She was enjoying the minute trace of fear she felt in him as she gazed hypnotically into his eyes. His strong will was nothing compared to the strength of her magic, and she would enjoy proving that to him once Duelist Kingdom was over. She had ways to play with his mind, ways and ways again. She would tear his pride down. And perhaps, just a small taste of what was to come right now.
Asinath moved before he could react. Before he could say anything she was filling his arms, kissing him with a heat he had not dreamed possible. She pressed her lips roughly against his, pouring raw desire into him with the power of her shadow magic. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, pressing him back against the wall. Oh yes, she would make him writhe for her.
For a moment his fingers brushed against her arms, as if longing to grip them just as tightly. A single moment in which Kaiba felt that he would have done anything to satisfy the need he suddenly felt deep within himself. But before his mind could return to him, along with his anger, Asinath pulled away from him, leaving him completely unsatisfied, his entire body practically throbbing with need.
"I'll be waiting," she whispered dangerously before vanishing into the darkness.
Kaiba stayed where she had left him for a good while, completely befuddled by everything that had happened.
I…that was…WHAT'S GOING ON? I don't have time for her lying nonsense, he mentally kicked himself. I have to find Mokuba!
Without wasting a second thought, he began sprinting down the hallway to his right.
XxX
Asinath materialized at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the main entrance of the castle. She sat down on the bottom step to wait. The sun was climbing higher in the sky and she sensed that her brother was close at hand. With Lotaru out of the way for the moment, there would not be a better opportunity to face him.
"You will pay for what you've done," she hissed.
As Asinath fueled her heart with hatred for the coming duel, another memory managed to worm its way into her thoughts.
X
"Come on, Asinath," Amaroq coached her. "I see her. Just a little bit more."
"AAAAAAAAAHHH!" Asinath screamed as she gave one last good push. When at last, she heard the cries of her newborn daughter, she allowed herself to collapse back upon the birthing stone. Akefia slid an arm beneath her head and lifted her upper body back up in his arms.
"Sorenn, come here. I need your help," Amaroq said tersely as he cut the infant free of the birth cord. "Bring that bucket of hot water."
Sorenn quickly complied and he helped Amaroq clean up the baby girl.
"You did it, Asinath," Akefia whispered encouragingly to her. "She's perfect."
"Let me hold her," Asinath whispered weakly.
When Amaroq and Sorenn had finished washing the baby, Amaroq wrapped her in a clean blanket and handed her to her mother. Once she was in Asinath's arms the child finally stopped yowling. But Asinath's tears were just beginning. She wept tears of joy as she looked over the tiny creature she held. It was nigh impossible to believe that this beautiful thing had been created inside her own body.
"You know, Amaroq," Sorenn began jokingly. "I believe that you're the only man in all of Khemet who could successfully deliver a baby."
"It's a useful skill," he replied, his wizened face crinkling into a smile. "Never let any man tell you otherwise."
All three students cracked smiles at their mentor. Tonight was a night for rejoicing and Asinath knew that Akefia and Sorenn were both hoping to be excused from lessons tomorrow because of it.
"What are you going to call her?" Sorenn asked.
Asinath was about to answer when the little girl suddenly opened her eyes and looked up. Her tiny violet eyes caused Asinath's response to die in her throat. Those eyes brought to mind why she was here to begin with.
"No one else can ever know about her," she whispered sadly.
All three men looked from Asinath and down to the baby girl she held. They all knew that she was right. There were many out there that would want this child dead…considering who the father was.
"No one has to know, Asinath," Akefia said fiercely. "We can all stay here together. I…Sorenn and I will be like uncles to her."
"Thank you," Asinath whispered gratefully as she slid out a hand to grip one of his. "I'll call her Sephira…She Whom Sekhmet Protects. I defy my fate."
Amaroq just smiled bitterly at these words.
X But all too soon X
Asinath was kneeling in the middle of the throne room. The entire room was ablaze from the fires caused by her anguish. Servants were running everywhere, screaming, some trying to organize to put out the fires. Akhenaden, Seth, Karim, Isis, and Shada were all scrambling around trying to restore order and Mahado was standing with Atem, trying to protect him from the flames. Asinath was in the middle of it all, clutching Sephira's small body to her chest. Screams of anguish and rage were tearing loose from her throat and tears were streaming openly down her face. Her magic was out of control, causing the very stone to burn. As everything burned around her, Asinath's rage wore on. The dark bloom of blood from her daughter's chest was staining her blue tunic a strange violet color. But there was no pain on the child's face. Were it not for the blood flowing from her heart, Sephira would have seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
"ASINATH, STOP THIS!" Atem was crying out to her. But his cries could not penetrate her pain. And none of her companions were making an attempt to stop it. The delegation from Karego was all gathered around Sorenn's dead body. Akefia was the first to approach Asinath. But only because he feared that she would harm herself in her rage.
"Asinath! You've got to stop this! You will destroy yourself!"
Asinath heard him but her pain could not be ended so easily. Akefia realized this and quickly raised his hands, throwing up a magical barrier around her and instantly cutting her off from the shadow energies. When her nerves no longer had an outlet for her berserker emotions she just collapsed on the floor. The screaming had stopped but the tears were still flowing. When Akefia was certain that she was calm enough, he let down the barrier and went to her, lifting her head up in his hands.
"She's dead, Akefia," Asinath whispered brokenly. "My little girl…"
"Come," Akefia said sadly, lifting her in his arms as if she weighed nothing at all. "We must get out of here."
With that, Akefia turned and walked from the throne room, carrying Asinath and Sephira's body. The others followed closely behind him, carrying Sorenn's body. None of them tried to stop the raging fire and no one tried to stop them from leaving. Akefia's only concern was for Asinath and her only concern was for the small body in her arms.
X
Asinath bent her head forward, clutching her face in her hands and biting back a small cry. Now was not the time for weakness. If anything could keep the old anger burning, it was the memory of Sephira's cruel death. She was a particularly painful link in the long chain of people that had been taken away from her.
"We're out! Fresh air at last!"
"All right!"
Asinath looked up when she heard those familiar voices. Not ten feet from where she sat, a trap door had been opened up from the ground. Joey, Tristan, Tea, Ryou, and Yugi were all emerging from it. None of them realized that she was there at first.
"Huh, what's this?" Ryou suddenly noticed a single spike on his Ring. "My Millennium Ring is pointing-"
"There. To Pegasus' castle," Tea said.
"That's not the only place it's pointing," Asinath said casually, and for the first time the group noticed that she was sitting there.
"It's Lotaru," Joey said loudly.
Asinath stood up and removed the Millennium Mirror from its pouch in her jacket. She held it up so that Yugi was reflected in the golden surface. The Millennium Ring was pointing directly at the Mirror and it was starting to vibrate with power.
"It's another Millennium Item!" Yugi realized.
"What's going on?" Ryou cried out fearfully. The Ring had never reacted so strongly. Not even to Yugi's Puzzle.
"Power calls to power," Asinath explained calmly. "But that doesn't matter to me. It's Yugi I want," she said levelly, looking the young boy right in the eyes.
"What do you want with me, Lotaru?" Yugi asked, suddenly suspicious.
"I want the complete and utter annihilation of your other heart," Asinath answered coldly.
"The other me?"
"How do you know about Yugi's other self?" Joey asked.
"That is none of your affair, mortal! And in a few moments, it won't really matter any way."
Asinath noticed the flash of the Puzzle and the brief stir of magic in the air as Yami took control of Yugi's body. He stared at her unflinchingly, but she wasn't about to back down either.
"You are the other spirit from the duel with the spirit of the Millennium Ring, aren't you?" he asked furiously.
"I am."
"You sacrificed yourself to save him. Why?"
"Someone like you could never understand that."
Yami just smirked knowingly at her.
"Understand it? Let me guess, you're after the ancient powers of the Millennium Items as well, for whatever reason. You're no better than Pegasus or the spirit of the Ring. Just lusting after power, not caring whom you might hurt in the process. Like the girl whose mind you possess."
"Yami, spirit of the Puzzle, I assure you, you may believe me when I say that I have no ulterior motives. I only want to see you dead. I don't care what becomes of the Puzzle. I'm not interested in power or conquest. I have all the power I could ever need. The combined might of all eight Millennium Items is feeble compared with the strength of the magic I control."
"So…you want only my death?" Yami asked calmly.
"Yes, I will settle for nothing less. You and I will play a Shadow Game. And don't worry. I promise to leave your so-called friends out of this."
"How do I know that I can trust you to keep your word?" he asked, approaching her.
She stared at him for a moment without saying anything. Then she reached into her jean pocket and pulled out a pocketknife, quickly unsheathing the small blade. Yugi's friends all visibly jumped when she did.
"You have no way of knowing. But if you insist, I shall give you a blood oath. Not that you would remember what that means, but oh well. I suppose that's my own fault."
Yami stared curiously at her as she brought the blade to her palm, wondering what she meant. But his questions were silenced when she slashed the blade across her own palm.
Asinath's only sign of pain was a sharp intake of breath. Once a good bit of blood had leaked out of the slash wound, she smeared it over her shirt, over her heart.
"I swear by this honest token that shall be weighed against Ma'at on the judgment day, by the untainted soul given me by the powers of this Earth, no lie shall escape these humble lips."
Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Ryou stared at her bloodied chest in horror. But Yami's curiosity only grew.
"It is the most solemn oath I can swear. It was a powerful thing among equals in the ancient nation of Egypt. You may believe that I will not break my bond."
Yami's eyes widened at her mentioning of Egypt. That much, at least, was familiar. Asinath just smirked at his expression. She could tell that he was dying to ask her, desperate to see just how much she knew. However, his pride would not let him ask that of her.
"All right. I'll duel you. But when I win, then you must promise to leave us alone."
"Yugi, you can't duel her man!" Tristan said. "You've already got enough star chips to get into the castle."
"We're not battling for star chips. Pay closer attention and you will see that I too have ten star chips. This is simply a matter that needs settling."
"Lets duel!"
"Silly little Pharaoh. Who said anything about dueling? This is a game of a different sort!" she shouted, raising her arms high and calling upon the shadow energy. The spell warped the portion of the forest they stood in directly to the Shadow Realm.
"Oh no! It's the Shadow Realm!" Joey shouted.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, LOTARU?" Yami cried out angrily. "You swore not to harm my friends!"
"And I won't," Asinath stated cruelly. "As my word is my bond, I will release them when the game is finished. But you will not leave here. You will die in this game. This time you fight only for yourself. Oh, and perhaps the soul of your avatar as well."
"LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!"
"Yugi is bound to you, and you to him. If I must destroy him to get to you then I will not hesitate. I seek only justice and if his weak soul must die in order for it to be served I care not."
Yami stared at her, shocked. He simply hadn't been prepared for the evil he felt within her. He considered backing out but he also knew that the spirit wouldn't allow it. He was caught…like a fly in a web.
"Begin the game," he relented. "What do I have to do?"
"It's quite simple," she began. "This is an all out match. We each take turns trying to hit each other with whatever we've got. Anything goes. And because I'm such a nice person, I'll let you try and hit me first."
"All right," Yami said softly. There was only one attack that he could think of so…
"MIND CRUSH!" he cried out, gathering the shadow energy in his Puzzle and sending it flying towards his foe.
Asinath just smirked and quickly raised an energy barrier around herself. The shadow attack was easily absorbed into the shield.
"If that's the best you can do then-" Asinath fixed her eyes on a point directly behind Yami. She blinked once and a dagger was called into existence. With a quick jerk of her head it was flying towards Yami's back.
"LOOK OUT, YUGI!" Tea screamed.
Yami turned just in time to stop the blade from entering directly between his shoulder blades. Instead the dagger buried itself in his left shoulder.
"AAAAAH!" he screamed in pain as he collapsed to his knees.
"That was a cheap shot!" Joey shouted angrily.
"The attack," Yami whispered. "It hurt. It drained me somehow. But how can that be? Everything here is an illusion."
"Well that just goes to show how much you know about shadow magic. With the right degree of control, the right level of mastery, the illusion can be real."
"How real?" Yami asked as he struggled to his feet. "You can't just create something out of nothing."
"That's not entirely true. Nothing is impossible with the shadows as your ally. The illusion can become real enough. Real enough to end life."
"Evil spirit, you are a coward. Only a coward attacks from behind. I'll make you pay!"
"You dare to call me a coward? Of the two of us participating in this game, I am the only one who hasn't committed murder!"
"What are you talking about?" Yami asked, shocked.
"You don't remember, do you?" Asinath asked mockingly.
"Don't toy with me!"
"Yami, so far you haven't done a thing to stop me toying with you. How do you expect to defeat me? You have no idea how to use your shadow powers. I am in full control of this battle."
"MIND CRUSH!" Yami screamed, sending the same shadow spell hurtling towards Asinath without any warning. Asinath casually raised a hand and easily caught the attack. She balanced the energy upon her fingertips with ease.
"Not bad…NOW LET ME GIVE IT BACK!" she shouted as she flung the ball of energy back towards Yami.
"DON'T TRY TO BLOCK IT, YUGI!" Ryou shouted.
Yami stared at the oncoming attack with a twinge of fear in his eyes. Truth be told, he had no idea how to block it. But, as fate would have it, he didn't have to.
In a blast of smoke and light, the Dark Magician appeared in front of Yami, absorbing the blow into his staff.
"…Dark Magician?" Yami stared at the monster questioningly. But there was no question in Asinath's mind. Old memories began to surface as the spellcaster surveyed her with his piercing gaze.
"Hello, Mahado," she whispered, half to herself and half to the spirit. "It's been a long time."
But his eyes no longer held the tender friendship that he'd once harbored for her. Now they looked on her as a threat to be crushed. A dangerous enemy.
"Do you understand now?" Yami asked, his confidence quickly returning to him. "You can't win. We might not be fighting with Duel Monsters but the heart of my deck is still with me. As long as I have that, there's no way I can lose."
"Understand? I think it's you who doesn't understand. Your magician's appearance goes far beyond that lovely "heart of the cards" theory of yours. It goes back to times you've forgotten. The Dark Magician comes to protect his master and friend. Though I have to wonder if you ever really considered him a friend and not just a servant. He comes because he knows that I'll kill you if given the chance. He knows I'm a threat to you."
"I must win," Yami whispered to himself. "For Yugi's sake."
Then he channeled more shadow energy into the Puzzle and sent a beam of golden light flying straight for Asinath. But Asinath only smirked and whipped out her own Millennium Item. She held the Mirror up and it blocked the blast. Both Items began to vibrate with the power that was pulsing between them and the combatants were soon engulfed in a golden aura.
"Is this really the best you can do?" Asinath asked calmly. She was easily keeping her hold on the Mirror while she could see that Yami was struggling to maintain the attack. "Is the Pharaoh that once struck fear in the hearts of evildoers vanquished?"
"Why does she keep calling him Pharaoh?" Tristan wondered out loud.
"I think it has something to do with the Millennium Items," Ryou began to speculate. "Like me, Yugi has some sort of ancient spirit living inside him. It seems to be the same with Lotaru as well."
Asinath finally decided that she was tired of holding up the tug-of-war between them and sent an extra bit of energy into the flow. This extra surge resulted in a wave that broke the connection and flung Yami off his feet. He lay there for a moment, panting with exhaustion. It had taken so much energy just to hold the connection. He was drained. It was different from a shadow duel. When he'd faced Bakura all he'd had to do was maintain the form of his creatures and spells, not actually perform their attacks and effects himself.
"Dark Magician," he pleaded softly as he stood back up. "Help me. DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"
The Dark Magician quickly raised his staff and sent a blast of dark magic thundering across the field. Asinath stared coldly at the magician for a moment before summoning a creature of her own.
"Priestess of Avalon, come forth!" Asinath called out through the shadows to the desired spirit. At her summons the spirit appeared before her. The Priestess was a tall, slender woman clothed in flowing lavender robes that fell down around her shoulders. Her hair was long and white and her motherly green eyes were alight with wisdom. The spirit raised her hands and easily absorbed the magician's blow.
"The Priestess of Avalon!" Yami exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes," Asinath said with pride. "The most powerful of all fairy creatures. Much more powerful than your Dark Magician. She is Lotaru's most powerful monster. But she is also much more than that. Now, in these shadows, our creatures exist as they once did, in former lives."
"What do you mean?" Yami asked angrily. "TELL ME!"
"Avalon," Asinath began the command. But before she could continue the spirit looked back at her. Her green eyes seemed to be asking something of Asinath.
Will you really force me to choose between the two of you? My own children…
"No," Asinath answered the unspoken question. "I won't do that. I only need you to destroy his magician."
Everyone present was a little too focused on Asinath's seeming rambling to notice the Priestess powering up for her attack. There was nothing the Dark Magician could do to stop the blast of light as it traveled across the field to destroy him.
"No! My Dark Magician!" Yami shouted as the magician was destroyed.
"You are free, Priestess," Asinath said quietly. The spirit quickly vanished back into the shadows. "I will not continue to use one whom I love as a shield."
Yami was too busy gathering energy for his next attack to notice the extra look that Asinath gave his friends.
"MIND-" he began, relinquishing every last bit of strength he possessed into the blast.
"That old hat again?" Asinath mocked. "In that case-"
Asinath didn't raise her hands in defense this time. This time she just snapped her fingers and Tea vanished from the sidelines in a puff of smoke. She reappeared instantly in Asinath's arms. Asinath held the girl up in front of her like a shield.
"Tea!" the other three shouted from the sidelines.
"Tea! No!" Yami cried out. With a painful yelp, he released the energy he'd gathered without attacking.
"This is low, Lotaru!" Tristan shouted. "Let Tea go!"
"Release her at once, you evil fiend!" Yami demanded. "You swore not to harm my friends!"
"I'm not hurting her," Asinath pointed out cruelly. "If you take your turn and attack me, you'd be the one hurting her. You'd be the one to kill her. Though I don't see why you care now. You never cared before."
"I was a fool to think I could trust a coward who hides behind a shield of innocent people."
"I'm not hiding, Yami. I don't need to. You've got to understand that I just like watching you squirm."
"Let go of me, you evil creep!" Tea shouted, struggling uselessly in Asinath's grip.
"Free her. She's done nothing to you!"
"Nothing?" Asinath laughed bitterly. "Maybe she hasn't, but you have."
"Why do you hate me so much?"
The cool mocking that had graced Asinath's face moments before vanished quickly and was replaced with cold, hard anger. Then she spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
"You killed my child," she said simply.
Tea stopped her struggling. Tristan, Ryou, and Joey all stopped shouting at Asinath. All of their shocked eyes turned towards Yami. And Yami stood at his end of the field, completely unmoving. He suddenly felt cold, as if his opponent had just shoved a chunk of ice down his throat. How could she accuse him of something so…
"No…it's not…it can't be true! You're lying!" Yami shouted desperately.
"I assure you, what I say is no lie. You spilled my daughter's blood with your own hands!"
"Listen here, you evil freak! There's no way that that's true! Yugi would never hurt anyone!" Joey shouted angrily.
"Be silent, young fool!" Asinath commanded. "You should keep your mouth shut about things that you don't understand."
Yami's hands dropped uselessly to his sides. He hadn't heard any of the argument. What she said couldn't be true…could it?
When Asinath saw that Yami was distracted, she quickly flung Tea aside and whipped out the Millennium Mirror. He hadn't attacked so it was her turn. She threw the Mirror the length of the field so that it came to rest hovering in front of Yami's face. He looked up just in time to see a flash of light burst out of the Mirror.
"AAAAAAHH!"
X
"Brother, you can't do this!"
He looked up and saw the spirit of the Mirror being held back by a cadre of guards. The spirit of the Ring was with her. They were all gathered in some kind of throne room. He saw others but he didn't recognize them.
"There's no other way, Asinath. It has to be done," he heard himself saying. He glanced down again and saw a little girl trembling in front of him. Scruffy black hair hung to her shoulders and two streaks of it were a violent shade of fuchsia. Her violet eyes were wide with fear. He saw the fear. His heart told him it was wrong but he couldn't stop it. He felt the hilt of a dagger in his hands. He couldn't stop the memory. He plunged the dagger into the child's beating heart.
"NOOOOOO!"
X
Yami came to just in time to see the Mirror float back across the field to…her name was Asinath. He knew that much now.
"That is one of the powers of my Mirror. It can reflect memories. Even if you don't remember them."
"What- just happened?" he tried to ask.
"It no longer matters. You'll die without regaining any of your lost memories!"
"Sister?" The word was awkward in his mouth. He couldn't recall ever having used it. And somewhere, buried deep in his heart he felt a bolt of familiarity, though he didn't quite understand why. But was the vision true? Could this evil, twisted being, this Asinath, really be his…
"Yes. It is true. I am your older sister," she said stoically.
The two foes could no longer be bothered with the reactions of the other four. They were focused completely on each other. Brother to sister, enemy to enemy, face to face. Yami's heart filled with confusion and wonder and Asinath's heart overflowing with hatred.
"Bleed for me," Asinath hissed. She raised her hands, calling forth all the shadow power her hatred could muster up and bringing it to focus on her little brother. Yami stared at her for a moment, confused. But he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked down and saw that the blue sleeve of his jacket was turning a deep burgundy color as the blood soaked through it. He couldn't contain the cries of pain as more slash wounds suddenly burst open all over his body. He collapsed to his knees in pain as the blood poured out of him.
"YUGI!" Joey shouted. "Hang on! We're comin'!"
The other three followed Joey's charge, but they found themselves barred from helping their friend. All of them crashed into the barrier that Asinath had raised around the battleground.
"Don't interfere!" she commanded harshly, never once taking her eyes off of her suffering brother. He was bleeding, just as Sephira had.
Yami was growing weaker by the minute. His skin was growing even paler from loss of blood. At the rate he was bleeding, he knew he wouldn't last much longer. He couldn't let that happen. If this body died then Yugi died with him.
"Asinath!" he called weakly to her, using the name he knew to be hers. "You've got to stop this. Let it go."
"I'll NEVER let it go!" she shrieked, half-crazed. "BLEED! Bleed for Sephira! Bleed for Sorenn! Bleed for my father! All the dead that you killed! BLEED FOR AKEFIA!"
(Asinath? What's going on?)
(Ah, Lotaru. I see you're awake.) Asinath hissed sadistically to the confused girl.
(Asinath, the way you're talking…it's scaring me. What's going on out there?)
(Atem is dying!)
(What? NO! You'll kill Yugi!)
"I DON'T CARE!" she shrieked aloud.
"What's happening?" Tea tried to shout over Asinath's tirade.
"Lotaru, stop it! You're hurting him!" Joey shouted at her. But nothing could penetrate her madness. Her eyes were filled with bloodlust.
Asinath launched herself across the field, landing before her dying brother. Yami was on his back now. He was too weak to even hold his head up anymore. He looked up into her crazed eyes as she crouched over him. He had never been so helpless in the face of an enemy. And now it would cost him his and Yugi's life.
Asinath gazed hungrily down at her prey. Now was the moment to claim justice. She raised her hand again and a dagger appeared in her grasp. It was the same dagger that Yami had seen in the flash of memory. It was crusted with dried blood.
"Now," Asinath whispered, leaning down close to his face. "Taste the blood that you shed."
But, as she reared back and prepared to spring the killing blow, something happened. Yami looked up through hazy eyes to see that her eyes had gone blank. Asinath could no longer see the teen lying helpless at her feet. Instead she found herself crouching protectively over a little boy…a little boy with black hair and blonde bangs dressed in a royal tunic.
Asinath could feel the heat at her back. Tendrils of smoke were curling into the room. Her little brother was crying hysterically and coughing in between sobs.
"MAMA!" he screamed over and over again.
"Hush, Atem," she tried to comfort him. She was worried about their mother too, but she had to protect Atem right now. If the Amu found him they would kill him. She would not allow that to happen.
"Sister?" he whimpered as she picked him back up and carried him to the back of the storage room they were hiding in. "What's gonna happen to us?"
"We're going to be fine," she answered forcefully as she searched for an exit. If the Amu didn't find them first then the flames would. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Asinath stiffened in terror when she heard the sounds of the wooden door being kicked in. A swarm of Amu foot soldiers poured into the room, bringing more fire and smoke with them.
"Hand over the Prince, girl, and we might spare you!" the leader ordered.
Somehow, in the face of certain death, Asinath managed to control her fear. Her only thought was protecting her brother. She gently set him down and turned to face the soldiers.
"I'm warning you, leave now! I will not allow this to continue!"
With that, she raised a hand in the air and, using her weak shadow magic, she summoned a sword into existence. The blade was small but some of the soldiers still feared the fact that she had summoned it out of thin air. That element of surprise gave her only a moment's head start. She sprang forward with a bloodcurdling cry, ready to bring her sword down on the head of the first unlucky soldier. But their leader beat her to it.
"ASINATH!" Atem screamed.
The Amu captain stepped forward, thrusting his own blade into her stomach. Asinath's eyes widened in shock and pain. She collapsed before the rabble and the captain grabbed her wrist as she fell. He handed her limp arm to one of his companions and started to advance on Atem. Asinath knew what the soldiers were probably planning on doing with her. It was a war, and she was fourteen floods…ripe for the taking. But she wasn't thinking about that now. Her entire world became that stretch of ground that separated her brother from the Amu captain's sword. The wound in her stomach was too serious. She couldn't fight back. But she couldn't give up while they both lived. In what she thought would be the last move she ever made, Asinath weakly reached her free arm towards Atem.
"Don't-worry. I'm going to protect you…always! I promise. Please- don't cry…"
As suddenly as it had come, the memory vanished and Asinath was staring down at a blood-soaked Yami once more. He gazed up at her through glassy eyes, barely clinging to life. And somehow, as he lay there, almost lifeless, it just wasn't what she had imagined. She could no longer see Sephira's murderer in his broken form. All she could see was the boy he had once been…the little brother that she'd loved so dearly before everything had been thrown into chaos.
Slowly, she backed away from him, breathing heavily. She dropped the dagger she'd been holding and it vanished into shadow. As Asinath backed away from Yami the spell of blood was broken and the slash wounds healed instantly. Yami sat up, completely unharmed. The confusion on his face grew as he watched Asinath continue to fall back. Fear and confusion were also building in her eyes.
As her emotions went spinning out of control so did the Shadow Realm. Her connection to the magic had gone completely haywire. The shadows began to twist and swirl around them, vanishing and leaving the five friends in the exact same spot where they had been before the battle. But Asinath vanished with the shadows, allowing them to twist her form until she and Lotaru were nothing more than pure energy swirling in the void. Anywhere was better than with Atem and the others.
"WHY COULDN'T I DO IT?" the question raged from the depths of her lost soul. She had waited so long, hardened her heart against the old memories. Laying in wait in her shadowy prison she had counted the years as they passed. She had given up any hope of finding peace just to see him die. And when the time had come…she hadn't been able to do it! The childhood memory had come out of nowhere.
"It's time to stop the killing."
When she heard the voice, Asinath's sense of self suddenly returned. She ceased to be a shapeless mass of hatred when it called to her. That voice was so…familiar.
Suddenly Asinath came back to herself. A body formed from the darkness and she found herself lying in the shade of a tall tree. She and Lotaru had been returned to Duelist Kingdom, somehow.
"Amaroq?" she whispered.
XxX
Kaiba: It answers questions, but raises so many others.
Bakura: Wow, you're actually making a decent comment on Luthien's story. Why the change of mind?
Kaiba: I want to know where this Asinath character gets off kissing me. Who does she think she is anyway?
Bakura: (gloating) Apparently she was my lover, so I want to know what the deal is too.
Yugi: So do I. What's her deal anyway? No one can beat Yami!
Ryou: You know, if she hears us saying good things about her story, she might consider letting us go. Speaking of which, where is Luthien?
Yugi: Oh she's still over at the window about to kill Ya-WAIT A SECOND!
(Everyone rushes to the window. LE is laughing evilly and Yami is already half way to the pit of doom.)
Yugi: NO! PLEASE SPARE HIM, OH GREAT AUTHORESS!
LE: Stop kissing up, Yugi. It's pathetic. Besides, you know there's only one way to save him.
Yugi: Gah! (To audience) REVIEW!
LE: Btw, for anyone who's confused, all of the confusing elements introduced in this chapter and the last one will be explained in due time. Another thing I thought I'd mention to avoid further confusion is that Asinath had two children during her life. Sephira was born first and after her death, Shaiala was born. Both girls had different fathers. Props to anyone who guesses who they are. You already know both of the fathers. For anyone who knows who the Hyksos are, Amu is the Egyptian term for Hyksos. I'm trying to be historically accurate here.I'll also say that the character of Sorenn is something like Malik's past life if that helps describe him at all. And, as Yugi said, review pwease. : )