I completed this chapter yesterday in an anxiety-driven burst of uncontrollable creative energy fuled by Black Veil Bride Music...
Holy shit was this one cathartic!
Fire and Friendship
For a long sickening moment there was silence in the darkness of the Millenium Rod and the mind of Jonouchi. Marik could not describe his shock as he stared at the golden pyramid around Jonouchi's neck, convinced it had to be a mistake, an illusion, a trick of the mind. He would blink and it would be gone. And yet he had blinked several times and it was still there.
The Millenium Puzzle.
The vessel of the false King.
The item Yugi had called his most precious treasure.
A treasure he had willingly given with pure loyalty and unshakeable trust to Jonouchi though Marik occupied his mind.
It was impossible and yet it had happened. It made absolutely no sense at all and yet Yugi had done so without doubt or hesitation.
He stared at that cursed object that had the audacity to look innocent. To look peaceful, as if it truly were some innocent victim caught up in all the chaos of the past and present that its very existence had caused and yet it, itself had nothing to do with it! As if none of this was its fault…
All of Marik's anger and hatred returned in an instant. Hatred for the parasite who stole his beloved's heart. Hatred for the false king who enslaved his entire family for generations with his fake promises. Hatred for the man whose existence drove his father to madness and cursed Marik himself to this miserable fate. Anger and hatred for the creature whom all of this however, indirectly was at fault! His family's suffering, Yugi's suffering, the Shadow's existence: all of it! All of it was HIS fault!
And now Marik had his existence in the palm of his hands…
"Jonouchi! Take off that Cursed Puzzle!" Marik hissed, overcome by the torrent of enraged red blinding his vision. Fury and fear and anguish and anxiety and pain, oh, so much pain tore through Marik with such crippling force, married to other emotions he could not recognize as guilt, and grief and shame and stress and all of it boiled to life inside him and rose up like bile to poison his veins until the whole of his being felt sick. Sick with loathing. Sick with grief. Sick with pain and this terrible bone deep ache in his heart. And it was all because of that stupid puzzle.
"I want you to crush it! Smash it! And Smash the Pharaoh's soul!"
Yes, that was it! That was it. Yugi had given the puzzle to Jonouchi knowing he was still possessed by Marik…knowing that…yes, that was it! Surely that was it! His beloved must have finally seen the truth! He had seen that long, suffering look on Yugi's face when he'd removed the Puzzle…had he finally seen the Pharaoh for who he truly was? Had they argued? Yes, that had to be it?
Once the puzzle was gone the Pharaoh would be gone! There would be no reason to continue this duel! Everyone would survive and the parasite would be gone for good! Yes, that had to be it!
A sudden rush of victory overcame his madness but just as quickly it died. His hope froze like a blossom in a spring frost as something snickered in his ear. Something dark and terrible and menacing and maniacal.
Marik's blood ran cold and the red tide of rage and mad glee evaporated like morning dew in the wake of the desert sun. Slowly, so, reluctantly slowly, he started to turn around and saw the Shadow standing there.
His smirk was a monstrous thing, all teeth and terror and sharp, dreadful points that parted with a laughter so mirthless, so diabolical that it froze Marik to his very bones.
Imagine that!? He cackled, a vicious bark of sound. The Fool just gave us his most prized possession. Just like that!? His laughter was cruel and baleful, the laugh of someone who enjoyed pain and was well versed in its deliverance.
He turned to Marik with eyes sharp and icy, the eyes of a beast that hunted not for hunger or survival, but sport. A beast that luxuriated in the kill, in its victims willing surrender. Your beloved has given up! He mocked and chortled so hard he had to hold his sides from falling over. I've won! Me! It's our victory! Madness contorted his features into a sickening mockery of glee.
He spun to the darkness, still cackling. Stared into it and as if speaking to someone specific flashed a smile of pure and absolute triumph. You see that? Your precious trump card failed! Failed! Mwahahahahahahaha! You lost! your descendant's flesh will be mine! His soul a prisoner to the darkness with the very king you fought so hard to protect! Oh but don't worry…
He turned back to Marik over his shoulder and flashed a smirk so curled and malicious that Marik was too scared to even scream.
Run. Run! Echoed in his mind but before he could even move, shadows like vipers striking ambushed him and enshared his wrists and ankles, another laced his middle and finally his neck and, struggling as Marik might, he could not break free. The shadows no longer obeyed him. And for the first time, he wondered if they ever had…
The Creature turned around, stroked Marik's snarling cheek, refusing to surrender despite the tremor wracking his entire form. Again the creature addressed the darkness, but that hungry, haughty smirk never left Marik. He won't be going alone…
And then his eyes flicked forward, focused through Jonouchi's eyes on Yugi who trembled as his former friend laughed and started to remove the Puzzle's eye…
Too late Marik understood. Oh, dear Ra, Bast and all the Gods had he understood…
Break the Puzzle, Jonouchi. Throw its pierces into the sea! Complete my 3,000 year revenge! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! That'll teach that little brat to defy me…I can always retrieve my true prize later, once he's been thoroughly punished for his defiance…and then continue this duel…After all…
His gaze flickered to Marik again. His heart leapt into his throat and then dropped like a stone as a smile slit the creature's face. We don't want the king to be lonely in the next life.
With that final laugh, Marik screamed.
X X X
The Puzzle's eyes felt sharp in his numb hand. The pain familiar like it belonged to someone else, a memory from a past life that He could not recall.
"Jonouchi…" came that name again, familiar but unable to place who it belonged to or the phantom ache that accompanied doubled in sharpness at the broken sound in which that strange, familiar voice spoke the syllables. Was it his own? Had that been his name once?
That's right. Throw the pieces in the ocean so it can never be built again!
A smile slit his face as he clenched the puzzle piece in his hand, squeezed so the points dug into his skin and pulled his arm back to throw it far and wide.
A stab of pain shot through his hand. And with it came a memory.
He saw himself, that same smile slitting his face: a coward's smile. Yugi was staring at him with hurt, desperate eyes. Cruel words falling from his lips. His arms pulled back to throw, letting go, the satisfying plot as the hunk of gold hit water.
That's great! Now Yugi'll never be able to solve his puzzle! laugher, selfish and self-destructive. A foolish coward who'd once thought himself strong: too stupid to realize he was scared. Didn't realize that until a young man whom he had mistreated came to his rescue…
Saw that very fool emerging from the pool, drenched and shivering from cold, a serene smile on his face as he held the lost puzzle piece in his hand. An act of redemption he had kept only to himself.
What you can show but you can't see…
Only then did he realize that scared, selfish, self-destructive coward who'd put up a shield of meanness to protect himself from the world and envied Yugi for his kindness and compassion and courage that he had stupidly mistaken for weakness, was him.
He emerged back in the duel. His hand shaking, his arm frozen, the ocean stretched wide before him.
There was screaming in his head, but for the first time it did not bring him pain…no, it was not pain he felt then…it was…hurt.
His knees gave out beneath him, the piece clenched tightly in his chest like a lifeline, like a piece of his own heart the Jonouchi would rather die than surrender. He opened his palm and stared at it. Felt the tears running down his face and he let them fall.
He wept. He wept for the person he had been. He wept for the person he was now. And he wept for the person he could have been if a kind, courageous and compassionate young man had not shown him what true strength was. And he wept for his Duelist's heart that had never left him.
His eyes flickered for a moment and he saw a flash of obsidian scales and proud ruby red eyes.
He snapped the heart of the Millenium Puzzle back into place, placed the chain around his neck. "I'm…a duelist…I don't care about revenge…or about what happened 3,000 years ago…I'll settle this…in a Duel.
And with new resolve, Jonouchi stood.
X X X
Impossible! The Shadow shrieked! How can he disobey me!?
Marik gazed up in shock from his own position on the floor. The echo of Jonouchi's memories still bombarding his senses…Memories of regret and shame when he recalled his past self: the stupid, selfish, scared, self-destructive boy who's put up so many walls to protect his golden heart from those who would use it against him. Memories of the sins he'd committed against Yugi: good intentions marred by cruel words and crueler acts. Acts of redemption done not out of obligation or the keeping of score but out of true gratitude and heartbreaking loyalty. Memories of the young man who'd taught him that kindness and compassion were not weaknesses but strengths, that trust and friendship were precious things to be savored and respected. That sometimes love was harsh and protecting the ones we loved meant making terrible sacrifices. Sacrifices that Jonouchi had made before to defend Yugi from his own Shadow…
But Jonouchi's shadow had a name…and that name was Hirutani.
Jonouchi who more than once had willingly risked his own life to protect Yugi…
And then there was that memory. The one he had kept locked deep in his heart. An act of redemption he had told no one but himself. A single selfless decision done out of loyalty and love for someone he'd barely known…filled Marik with shame.
"What have I done…" the guilt-stricken words echoed over and over again in his heart. He should hate the man, he knew, hate him for returning that piece to Yugi. The piece that completed the puzzle, the action that was the catalyst for all of this, of freeing that terrible King and binding his beloved Yugi to a monster…and yet he could not.
Not when the act had been done with such tenderness and affection.
Not when Marik knew knew it was not the Pharaoh's fault that Yugi was here, that Jonouchi, an innocent bystander determined to become a better person was here…in truth he could not even blame the Shadow for putting the idea in his head…not when the choice and every choice thereafter had been Marik's own doing…
This…this…was his fault. And Marik knew it.
Fine…the Shadow's cold snarl snapped Marik out of his grieving thoughts. It was not the word itself that caught him off guard, but the tone: there was no maliciousness, no anger or triumph or laughter, just a cold, unfeeling indifference sharpened with resignation. It's no longer necessary to keep you alive, Jonouchi….once you send the vessel to his grave I'll leave you just like that puzzle…" The sneer returned. In pieces.
"No!" Fire galvanized him in that moment and regaining his composure Marik rose to his feet. The shadows chains snapped free in the wake of his determination and the Shadow spun towards him, his face a mask of shock.
Anger blazed Marik's blood, but no longer was it not hate or rage that blinded him. Clinging once more to that precious emotion of Jonouchi's most secret memory, Marik steeled himself and faced his Shadow. "I will not let you!"
An inhuman sound erupted from the man's mouth: some vindictive mockery of laugher twisted with murderous hunger and mirthless humor and audacity so triumphant that his next words seethed with absolute conviction. Try and stop me!
He returned his attention to the duel Marik had nearly forgotten about and moved to destroy the last remaining piece of Jonouchi's heart.
"No!" Marik screeched, throwing out the remains of his own power as the Creature moved his monster to attack the unguarded Red Eyes who remained strong even as her broken, beaten body faced death.
And fell right into Yugi's trap.
The shadow screamed in fury and protest, but all Marik saw was the ferocity burning in those violet eyes, that fierce determination etched into every curve and line of Yugi's face. A promise born from absolute conviction, a promise that whatever he had to do, come what may, Yugi would fight to the edge of death if that was what it took to get this one back.
X X X
Ten minutes left on that stupid clock. Ten minutes until Death came for Yugi and Jonouchi and all Seto could do was stand there and do nothing.
Even if Red Eyes was the only thing that could bring Jonouchi back, it was too injured to even stand up, and from the looks on Yugi's face even he was running out of ideas and with only 700 life points left…No, Seto couldn't keep standing still…but….
His eyes fell on Mokuba, struggling still even with a knife to his throat, gray eyes strong and fierce despite the pleading fear in them. Too much for a thirteen year old. Then on his deck.
Four minutes on the death clock.
The flash in Mokuba's eyes told Seto that he understood.
Three minutes and forty-nine seconds.
With his younger brother's confidence, he took a gamble praying to the Goddess of Duel Monsters to let it be a common card, but knew the moment he felt her power in his hand that the card he drew was her.
X X X
Fire and Shadows fought one another in the battlefield of the Millenium Rod. Marik's entire body shook and trembled from the exertion but he didn't care. It was worth it to see that shadow creature scream. To see him struggle.
They stood on opposite sides now, both panting under the mental strain and the force of the impromptu shadow game. Marik was winning: his determination fueled his fire, and the creature's power was split between controlling Jonouchi and Marik himself.
He should've felt triumphant and yet…
The Shadow smirked. Tick. Tick. Tick.
He mocked.
Marik's eyes burst open with the dreadful realization. Out of the Ring's eye, he saw Jonouchi had drawn a card but nothing else. He was still, unmoving, attacking, waiting.
There isn't much time left….the Creature mocked. Even if their corpses rest together on the bottom of the ocean, they're shattered friendship will never be restored! I'll have the puzzle, the Pharaoh and my 3.000 year vengeance will come to an end! All I have to do is wait!
Marik dove for the Eye but tendrils of shadows ensnared him like a fly caught in a spider's web, encircling and dragging him back towards the creature who had ceased to stop laughing.
No. No. No! It couldn't end like this! Frustration tore from Marik's throat in a furious scream. He wouldn't couldn't let it end like this!
"Jonouchi…" Yugi's voice again, clear and calm as a bell. Laced with loyalty and love and the confidence that only came from the trust of a true friend. "Do you remember the promise you made to me in Duelist kingdom?"
Memories bombarded Marik's mind. Tiny pockets of the universe that bubbled to life and banished the negativity of the shadows though the creature protested. Feel the grip on his chains loosen, Marik tore himself free only to be transfixed by the plethora of scenes and images playing out before him:
Yugi and Jonouchi at Duelist Kingdom. Jounouchi' trembling hands as he squeezed the envelope. "Yugi…is it really okay if I take this money?"
"Of course it is, until you beat me you can owe me one."
Jonouchi in the hospital where a sweet-faced girl with auburn hair and bandages wrapped around her eyes was being wheeled into surgery. Jonouchi at her side until the very last second, promising her the fearless confidence that only a sibling possessed that it would be alright. "I'll give you courage, so you can have your sight back."
Jonouchi and that same girl, Marik, now realized was the beloved little sister he fought and worked so hard for in her hospital room. Tears streamed down her still bandaged eyes. "I'm sorry Katsuya, I can't take my bandages off, I'm too afraid."
Jonouchi being forced from the room by a woman whose identity Marik could easily guess. She bared the brother from his sister, his heartbroken apologies for not being strong enough to give her strength.
Jonouchi and…the Pharaoh…whom he saw as friend just as he saw Yugi as one, making a promise to become stronger, to become a real Duelist, and to do it without the card that had helped him grow, not because he'd outgrown Her but so he could be more worthy of Her. And the belief that if he could do that…then maybe…just maybe…he could be brave enough…for her…
Shizuka.
Jonouchi made his move and ended his turn.
WHAT IS HE DOING! Again the shadow screeched, a desperate hollar of shock and something else. And for the first time Marik recognized what it was…fear.
My brainwashing couldn't have worn off that quickly…unless…is he…fighting on pure instinct?
Fear.
It was etched into every stretch and snarl and twist of its contorted features as it watched its strategy fail and Yugi even the score: their life points, equal and Five minutes remaining on the clock.
Fear.
Its icy eyes so pale they looked white with only the palest traces of purple, practically shining with it as they darted between the Rod's eye, the darkness and Marik himself.
And it was in that moment that Marik understood.
"You need me…"
X X X
Forgive me! Without hesitation, Seto sent the Blue Eyes White Dragon cycling through the air and it struck hard and true into the Ghoul's hand. The knife dropped with a screech of pain and the echo of her roar in the background as if to scold him for thinking she would not emerge to help him in such a critical moment.
The moment's hesitation was all Seto needed. Mokuba slammed his head back into the thug the same time Seto delivered a merciless punch to his face and scooped up his frightened but indomitable younger brother into his arms and safely behind him.
The other thug was too stunned to react and Seto seized upon that moment and sent the fool pummeling to the ground. He paused only to gently remove his card from the Ghoul's hand, still standing proud and straight as the teeth of a dragon.
"Unluckily, my draw was too good," The Blue Eyes White Dragon grinned up at him, teasingly.
Still…Rage blinded Seto as he spied the barely noticeable drop of red staining the card corner where his dragon's fangs had sunk deep. "You….You got your filthy blood on my dragon!"
He tossed his coat on top of Mokuba, covering his eyes and descended upon the sniveling Ghouls who were smart enough to run.
"Die you pigs! Into the bay!"
With those two disposed of, he retrieved his coat and to his horror there were only three minutes left on the clock.
"Yugi! Jonouchi!" he screamed and bolted for the duel stage, Mokuba behind him and Tea's motionless form all but forgotten in the chaos. "Wait for me!"
X X X
The creature did not answer. It did not have to.
"You need me," Marik accused again with a disbelieving snort. A bitter bark of sound that would've erupted into a derivative fit were he not so furious. "You can't use the Rod's full power. And even if you can, you can't maintain full control, not without my help. It only worked before because those fools were corrupted criminals, but Jonouchi isn't."
Fury corrupted the creature's face and what once mimicked his own features now twisted and contorted into something truely monstrous. Skin hung loose and veins bulged like worms crawling beneath skin and its hair blazed long and loose like the writhing fingers of half-buried corpses. "Watch. Your. Tongue. You. Are. Weak. You. Are. Nothing. Without. Me!"
Before such a sight would've terrified him but Marik was no longer afraid.
"HA!" Another laugh. "All this time you bragged about helping me, about aiding my cause, but you only wanted to help yourself! You're the one that needs me! You're the one who's nothing!"
NOOOOOO!
The Beast roared, dove for him, writhing shadows and purple fire shaped like slthering demons exploded out of the monster's flesh and body and its long fingers morphed into claws threatening to shred him and though he fell back under the crippling terror of that monster, Marik was not afraid…not anymore.
YOU THINK YOU'VE WON! YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME! HA! I HAVE WAITED AND PLOTTED FOR 3.000 YEARS FOR THIS DAY! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THE CHOSEN WILL DIE! THIS WORTHLESS PUPPET HE CALLS A FRIEND WILL DIE! YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY WITHIN THE DARKNESS YOU HATE! THAT THIEF WHEN I FIND HIM WILL PERISH BY MY HAND! AND THEIR PRECIOUS PHARAOH. WILL. BE. MINE!
With a cackling howl of absolute triumph it drew a card from Jonouchi's deck and Marik's heart stopped when he saw what it was.
Meteor of Destruction.
MWAHAHAHA. AH-HAHAHAHAHAHA! It's laughter was as terrible as it was cruel! YES, AT LAST! DO YOU SEE THAT, THIEF!? THE GODS FAVOR ME AND NOT YOUR PRECIOUS CHOSEN!
A Millenium eye bulged like a living parasite on his forehead and its voice boomed with the force of a thousand echoes throughout the shadow of Marik's mind, the Rod and Jonouchi's own conscience as the boy Marik had come to admire and respect hesitated with what to do.
That's right, Jonouchi, it purred, soft and tender as a lover's kiss, as a friend's comforting hug, as a parent's warmth and a cold, repulsive shiver shook Marik's entire body as he remembered how easily he had succumbed to the promises of that voice. Finish Yugi off with that card.
It's sickening sweet promises, so tempestuous and tantalizing, fell like poison from its tongue. Poison laced with honey, so sweet but deadly all the same.
You're so close. This is your wish come true…Step out of Yugi's shadow and become a true duelist, just like you wanted to! All you have to do is kill Yugi!
"No–" Marik tried to scream in protest, to warn Jonouchi away or even to break his control but a shadow wrapped around his mouth like a gag and when he fought back tendrils of smoke and shadow wrapped like ropes around his limbs and dragged him to the ground beneath the creature whose mouth opened impossibly wide all its teeth, sharp and gaping as it laughed like the maw of a malicious monster.
Yes, soon this duel will be branded in your memories….
"Memories…" The word triggered something in Jonouchi's memory and Marik seized on it.
Yes! Remember, Jonouchi! Remember Duelist Kingdom and Yugi and…Shizuka…Marik knew he had no right to speak her name, but his desperation outweighed his self-disgust. Remember being a duelist! Remember Jonouchi!
Marik's cheek hit the cold, hard ground with a viscous smack that left his vision spinning and his mind reeling, his head pounded with the sudden backlash of pain and his cheek felt hot and tender and he couldn't be sure but he swore he felt marks prickling there like the raking of claws.
Above him, the beast snarled a terrifying murderous snarl like a rabid hyena, its claws dripping with traces of blood. His blood. SILENCE YOU!
It was Marik's only warning before it whirled back to Jonouchi who held his head, gripped it against the oncoming pain and all but dropped to his knees from the unbearable ache of it.
Kill him. Kill Yugi. Kill him, Jonouchi and you'll finally be your own man! All you have to do is kill Yugi!
"No"...the protest was soft, but true. An ember, a tiny spark that erupted into flames as Jounouchi screamed "SHUT UP! I don't want that in my memories!"
He's still fighting!? The creature shrieked, the monstrous contortion of its face a mask of shock.
Marik pulled back his legs and kicked out, sending the creature flying backwards. It rolled away onto all fours, snarling like a beast, its body a writhing mass of shadows and its laughter the sound of diabolical madness that cut like blades of ice. Then do nothing! And when the time runs out you and your precious chosen can die happily together!
"No!" Marik shrieked. "I'm giving Jonouchi back his–" Before Marik could complete the declaration, the creature was upon him again, a net of shadows convoluting around his flesh and that terrible laughter echoed all around him, mocking him, scolding him, tormenting him. Fool! Do you really think you can defeat me? Banish me from your mind!? Foolish child! You are mine just as he is!
Marik fought with a defiant scream, thrashing savagely when the creature approached him, smirking, and stroked his cheek with the tenderness of a love, but there was no mistaking the Apopis in those eyes. And just like him, if you will not obey me willingly, then I will make you.
Just as hope was about to die inside him, Marik heard a word.
"Marik!"
Yugi stood indomitable on the other side of the platform, the profile of a King. "That's right, I'm talking to the part of you inside Jonouchi, I finally figured out who the true loser of this duel is…"
He pointed one finger at Jonouchi. Through Jonouchi. At the Creature. At him. A curse and a damning.
A promise. "It's you, Marik."
What!?
It struck him and the creature both…
Yugi…the name was a whisper. One of longing and love and remembrance and regret, oh so much regret. Marik couldn't tell if it was his…or Jonouchi's.
"You can implant your thoughts into Jonouchi using the Millenium Rod, you can force us to fight, you can even force him to…to hate me…but Jonouchi will never give in to you. He beat you! And now…there's only one minute left on the clock and in that time I will turn Jonouchi back to normal and even if we both sink to the bottom of the ocean…the fact that you lost will be branded in your memories. Forever."
There was a stretching of steel-toed boots against wood and out the corner of his eyes, Marik saw Seto had disposed of the last of the ghouls and was staring at Yugi in unreadable bewilderment. Stupified just as Marik was.
You are nothing… The creature seethed speechless with rage.
"This…" Yugi spat with a venom the gentle boy did not seem capable of and yet there it was…rage. Anger. Hate…and it was all directed, Marik realized with a horror that blanched his very soul white, not at the creature, but at him.
He was the one responsible for this terrible duel.
He was the one who trusted this creature knowing, knowing that it couldn't be trusted.
He was the one who'd knowingly put Jonouchi and by default Yugi in danger all to prove a point.
He who'd let his hatred for the Pharaoh blind him to Yugi and Jonouchis safety and still continued things when they'd escalated because of that hatred.
He who had failed his beloved Yugi in every way it was possible to fail the one you loved.
He…who deserved every ounce of Yugi's hatred in this moment.
"All of this…was doomed to fail the moment you tried to hurt my friends, and even if I die here, he will find a way to stop you! Do you understand! So attack me, Marik! Attack me!"
FOOL!
The beast roared! Meteor of Destruction glowing in his hand and Jonouchi screaming as he forced him under his complete control. Marik who screamed as pain like thousands of knives tearing flesh from his bones exploded out of him as the creature poured all of its rage and hatred and terror and fury and self-righteousness that Marik did not know if the terrible, horrible combination was the creature's, his own, or some terrible, awful combination of the two, into this final card and played it.
No…Marik cried out.
IT'S OVER!
The darkness was like a drug, promising him the highest of highs with the request to simply not struggle. The panic he felt at the desire to give in to those temptations pushed him to claw his way through the groggy muck and mire his mind had become, as he struggled to remember. To survive. To wake up!
And then Marik felt it…the trigger, the snap. It wasn't the crash of a mirror shattering, or some terrible tearing of the senses, but an awakening. As if realizing one was trapped in a terrible nightmare and the unification of conscious and subconscious had caused the illusion to burst free: the locks opened, the chains snapped and Marik felt the tethers of the Millenium Rod's power like thousands of strings sliced clean at once.
Jonouchi's mind and heart were gone and it was only through Anzu's ears that he heard the heartbroken sob of "Don't die, Yugi!"
The creature screamed. A terrible howl of pain and despair and disbelief and a shock so horrific in its delivery that its entire body was drowned in it. The shadows fled from Marik's side and in an act of sheer will and pure determination Marik stood before the monster and reclaimed his mind. "It's over. Jonouchi took his heart back. All on his own and you failed!"
The beast stared at him a mixture of pure rage and pure terror but before it could lunge for him Marik screamed. "I don't need you!"
NO!
"I DON'T NEED YOU!" Empowered by the revelation and, in honestly, Jonouchi's strength as well, Marik forced all of his fire and will and determination into the strike and the flaming phoenix that was his avatar found its mark and the Creature was thrown backwards with a howling screech like the shattering of a thousand glass windows into the dreaded darkness from which it had come. With the closing of that swirling vortex, the darkness cleared and Marik's mind was once more his own.
Any triumph and relief was quickly overshadowed by fear as he whirled about for some way to reclaim some visual of the duel. His connection to Jonouchi severed, he clung desperately to the other vessel he'd borrowed. He'd all but collapsed as he entered Anzu's mind, the girl all but forgotten in the chaos and in his shock, the poison pill slipped from her mouth and she blinked her eyes.
Relief flooded Marik's face when he saw what had happened in his absence: The Meteor's destructive magic absorbed into the mirror of Yugi's trap card, the clock still ticking. Kaiba was looking back and forth between them in terrified horror. Jonouchi held the puzzle, a look of grief-stricken apology on his face as he asked Yugi why they were fighting. And Yugi…
Yugi…
His kind, courageous, compassionate Yugi who never gave up on his beloved friend, not even once, looked at him with the most pleasant of serene faces Marik has ever seen. "You're back." There was no surprise in his voice, only relief.
Carefully, Yugi slipped his Duel disk off his arm and set it down: his expression never changed. His eyes never left Jonouchi's. "Our fight's over…but…if you think about it, we weren't fighting against each other. You fought the piece of Marik he'd implanted in you. As for me…I wanted to make sure we stayed friends no matter what happens, even if I had to fight myself."
His every word was a dagger in Marik's heart. "We've got so little time left, but…there was something I wanted to say to you, Jonouchi…at the end…"
A dreadful understanding seized the blond duelist as he understood what his beloved friend was saying and too late Marik understood as well…
Yugi's face was still serene. Still smiling. Even as tears pricked his eyes. "Jonouchi…you taught me I wasn't alone and you taught me courage. You're my best friend Jonouchi."
Absolute dread crushed Marik's heart when those joyful tears spilled down Yugi's face and he spoke the words "Jonouchi…I love you."
And turned the meteor's power on himself.
This HAS to be the longest chapter I've ever written for this story...
The goal with this was to explore perspective and focus on less words but working on this I realized just HOW many parts of this segment were important and it was both cathartic, terrifying and fascinating to dive into drama places...
I'm especially proud of the opening scene since, delighted as I am with Marik's growth he's still got a LONG way to go...
And Seto...oh Seto, Red Eyes got her moment, it felt appropriate Blue Eyes got hers...
Only two chapters left and I must say as absolutely TERRIFIED as I was to write this duel segment (no joke I DREADED it and put it off for SO long) I am truly ecstatic with how it all came out...I came up with ideas and pushed boundaries and made connections I never thought I would and...it's not over yet ;)
