AN: Yesyes, back with another update. I'm quite motivated to update asap, I really liked writing this chapter and reveal another little detail about Jesara. Guess this chapter turned out quite good. I tried my best to write her first duel, but I won't get into details in the upcoming ones. You all know how they end up. Please review the story and let me know what you think.
Please leave a review! It boosts my motivation!
Chapter Updated: errors and details. hope I found all of them :-)
Chapter III
What is meant to be forgotten
Jesara's eyes widened in shock, horror and disbelief sent a shock through every single centimeter of her slight features. What did this Rare Hunter say just 2 seconds ago? Did he really say out loud that his name - or better the name of the man that controls his mind - was Marik? Her hand still covered her mouth to hold back whimpers and screams - oh how much so wanted to scream right now at the top of her lungs. If she was on her own she'd love to punch the crap out of this jerk in front of her and deep down she wished someone would wake her up from this nightmare. She wished and expected to wake up soaked with sweat every moment, but it never happened. Her surroundings fell silent and only the beating of her racing heart echoed in her ears. Did he already recognise her? She was sure he didn't - he was too focused on teasing Yugi - or to be correct: the soul that lives in the millennium puzzle and who meant to be the greatest pharaoh of all time.
"Be sure to remember my name, pharaoh. This is just a little setback. It's the beginning of something way more dangerous and we'll soon see each other again." His words etched from Rare Hunter's mindless lips with a chuckle. "And when we meet again I'll claim what was ever meant to be mine."
With those words Rare Hunter was released from the power that controlled him like a puppet which threads were cut off. He tumbled to the ground and his body didn't move a single inch. Her friends, Yugi and the crowd that surrounded them stared at him in shock - for a moment there was only silence.
"YEAH YUGIII!" Joey shouted out loud and broke the silence. "YOU DID IT!"
He ran over to his friend and hugged him. "I knew you'll find a way to beat the unbeatable Exodia!" The blonde cheered. Yugi smiled at him and patted his back. "Yes, it was an awesome duel, but this whole thing and this Marik don't promise any good…" Yugi said to him firmly. Then he walked over to the still unconscious Rare Hunter and grabbed Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon from the cards that were spread all around him on the ground, such as one of his locator cards. Kaiba told them in his opening speech before that 6 of them are necessary to qualify for the finals and with every duel you can win at least one from your opponent.
"Here you go Joey." Yugi said when he handed the Red Eyes out to Joey. "Your Red Eyes, it's yours again." But Joey denied it with a head-shake.
"No Yugi, you won it. It's yours now." The blonde said. "It makes me proud to be a part of your deck now". Joey smiled softly at his friend, which eyed him in disbelief and arched a brow. Yugi's gaze soon turned into a thankful smile, then he nodded and slid the Red Eyes into his deck.
Tea and Jesara came over to them to tell Yugi their congrats. "Congratulations Yugi!" Tea cheered and also gave him a little hug. "Now you've got 2 locator cards! Only 4 to go!"
Jesara forced a smile to her lips while her stomach was still turning in all possible directions. Her body felt numb. If she weren't with her friends and in public right now she'd like to throw up. Her face was still pale like a ghost, even snow had more color than her cheeks right now.
"Congratulations, Yugi." She pressed out; it was just a whisper that escaped her throat.
Yugi nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you, Jess." He thanked her before recognising the pale face and uneasiness written to her gaze. "Jess? Are you alright…?"
"Oh, ahm. Yes, this whole mind controlling thing just scared the crap out of me…" she lied and forced a wry smile. Her friends believed and agreed with her. Yugi and the gang started to discuss this whole incident, questioning who the heck this Marik was. But Jesara recognised that suspicious glance, decorated with an arched brow from the pharaoh.
"How the hell did he manage to take control over this jerks body?" Joey asked, trying to find a natural explanation for what they've seen a few moments ago. Their words hammered in Jesara's head while she struggled with herself… how can she tell them what she knew? Will they hate her? Definitely. Will they forgive her? Nobody knew.
"Uhm Yugi... I…" she cut in stammering.
Her friends turned their gaze towards her, waiting for her to continue. "Yes Jess?"
But then three words shot through her mind. Don't tell them. The letter she found in her flat. Did it mean not to tell her friends about him and their connection that she left behind so long ago? Why? She could easily blow his whole plan, whatever his plan was. But maybe it was meant for good… She would find out sooner or later and for Ra's sake... this would possibly be the worst moment to be bombarded with questions. Within a split second she decided against it and to keep that secret for a bit longer.
"Jess?" Joey raised a brow at her. His words snapped her out of her thoughts and back to reality.
"Uhm… Nothing. I just wanted toooo… to tell you that I'll leave you now and look for some duels on my own." She put on a fake smile and winked at them. "Hope you don't mind. I'll text you later, guys. Take care!" Jesara said as happy as possible when she turned on heel, smiling and waving back at them. She soon disappeared in the crowd.
"Guys…" Joey spoke up. "Don't you also think that Jess is acting strange since yesterday…?" He muttered when his hand rubbed his chin suspiciously.
"A little bit… Maybe this whole magic thing really is too much for her…" Tea guessed, shrugging her shoulders and gesturing that she didn't really know.
Yami Yugi remained silent while he watched Jesara disappear in the crowd with a thoughtful and also curious gaze. Something was wrong about her. Little did he know how wrong that something was.
/
'I can't believe what just happened…' her inner voice whimpered when she turned into a small back alley. She leaned against the cold brick wall; finally she could give vent to her feelings. Her breath got heavier and one sigh after another left her throat between sobs. Calming herself down didn't seem to be possible right now. 'Let's recap… Marik totally lost his mind when he decided to be Pharaoh himself… the old scriptures said that he has to defeat him in a duel to claim his power… I ran away from him and made sure to put as much miles between him and me as possible… and now I just realised that I made friends with the Pharaoh and his vessel…' another sigh left her lips when also the back of head met the cold brick wall that she leant her body against. Her eyes went up to the beautiful blue sky above her. 'What the hell is wrong with you, fate?"
Her hand harshly ran through her hair, it was impossible to get any clear thoughts right now. 'And who doesn't want me to tell Yugi and the others about my… connection to the one who wants to harm them? They would never talk to me again anyway… They'll think I lied to them since the day we met…'
She slid down to her knees and put her head into her palms, covering her face as tears ran down her cheeks. Her mind was so fucked up right now.
'Wait a second…' she raised her head, looking at nothing in particular when one special thought crossed her mind. 'Didn't they say that a woman in the Egyptian exhibit told them who Yami really is… and was? Wasn't her name Ishizu…? When HE is after Yugi now then it's not only a coincidence that a woman called Ishizu is hosting an Egyptian exhibit right in front of the pharaoh's nose… It MUST be her…' she thought, raised to her feet and headed into the direction of the Domino museum.
She decided to take the shortcut through the small alleys. The streets were far too crowded because of the tournament. Jesara was sure to be faster this way and it would prevent her to come across another one of Marik's Rare Hunters. It was the least thing that she wanted right now...him knowing that she was here within arms reach. Her pace was faster as usual, but she didn't want to loose any more time.
After a few meters she turned left at the crossing of two back alleys. A dark silhouette in the middle of her way jolted her out of her thoughts - she stopped immediately.
"Hello pretty…" the silhouette in front of her said in a low voice.
Jesara tried her best to identify his face in the shadows of the dark alley - but to no avail. "Who are you?" She asked in an angry tone.
"That's nothing of your concern. Shuffle your deck, lady. It's time for a duel." He replied, ignoring her question and preparing his duel disk. It beeped and then switched into it's aktive duel mode.
"And why should I duel a jerk who refuses to tell me his name?" Her tone turned more harried. The man only chuckled in reply, his face was still hidden by the darkness of the alley. He wasn't very tall, his stature reminded her of a little boy. 'Who cares… when I want to qualify for the finals I have to duel sooner or later…' she said to herself when she also activated her duel disk.
"If you want… I won't be a big deal to kick a gutless jerk as you out of that tournament." She stated, her voice was filled with self-confidence.
The silhouette chuckled and made one step forward, his face then was met by a bit of light revealing his identity. Jesara bursted into laughter when her eyes met the face of Bones. "You're kidding me, right?" She deadpanned at him.
"What's so funny!?" the little guy in front of her narrowed his eyes. He didn't expect such a reaction from the girl.
"Ah nothing… I expected everything now, but not a child as you…" she replied at him, still giggling. "So, I guess you'd like to start, little boy?"
Bones grumbled, his opponents reaction noticeable annoyed him. "Nono, ladies first. You'll learn soon enough that things aren't always as they seem…"
"If you say so, Mr. Smith." Jesara drew her cards and inspected them, then she placed a monster card onto her glowing duel disk. "I summon Dark Valkyria - (1800 / 1050) in attack mode." She declared when a dark fairy-like creature appeared in front of her. "And I also place two cards face down on the field. Your turn, boy." She stated and gave her opponent a poker-face gaze.
"I summon my Evilswarm Heliotrope (1950 / 650) and attack mode and it will blow your valkyria from the field! Attack!" He yelled and commanded his creature to attack.
Jesara smirked at him. "You wish. Did you forget about my face-down cards? You activated my trap card." She declared and one of her face down cards flipped open. "I activate Draining Shield! This trap card hinders your creature to attack my Dark Valkyria."
Bones' eyes narrowed when a low grumble left his lips. "Well done, lady…" he muttered.
"But that's not the only effect of this card." She teased him once more with a self-confident smile. "It also adds the same amount of your monsters attack points to my life points, what makes it 5950 now."
You could tell from Bones' face that he didn't expect this. He then ended his turn in a bugged tone. "Your turn…"
"Sure, I'll make sure to end this duel right now. If you don't mind…" she said when she drew her next card. "Now watch this. I play the magic card Mausoleum of the Emperor. This card allows me to summon a high-level monster without sacrificing weaker ones. All I need to do is to pay 1000 life points for each non-sacrificed monster instead." She explained when a huge barock building appearing behind her. "So I'm paying 2000 of my life points to summon my rarest card. Guardian Angel Joanne! (2800 / 2000)"
A bright light appeared between them, feathers fell to the ground all over the place when a giant angel-like creature formed from the light.
"Joanne has also a special effect. When she destroys one of your monster his attack points will also be added to my life points. But it doesn't matter, I'll end this duel soon enough. I also activate the trap card Metalmorph. It adds the half of your monsters attack points to my Guardian Angel Joanne, plus an extra 300 attack points. What now makes it 4075 all together." Jesara smirked at him and then commanded her Guardian Angel Joanne to attack his Heliotrope, which shattered into thousands of pieces.
Bone's life points dropped to 2125, while hers rose to 5900. Her Guardian Angel's clothes were now made from a metal looking substance. Bones' eyes were filled with shock when his Heliotrope was send to the graveyard.
"And as you may know: according to the Battle City rules I'm able to attack you directly! Dark Valkyria, attack his life points!" She commanded and her dark fairy rushed forward, attacking her opponent with dark violet thunders. Bones' covered his eyes und cringed in reflex. "This duel is far from over!" He shouted after the attack from her creature.
"We both know that this is just a very bad bluff…" she answered with a faked charming smile just to vex him a bit more.
Bone's drew his next card and according to his gaze he had nothing in his hands that could possible save him from loose the duel. "Okay then… I play one monster face down in defence mode and another card face down." He declared before pass the turn to Jesara.
"You really bore me…" she sighed when she drew her next card, not even looking at it. "I command my Dark Valkyria to attack your face down monster!"
Within seconds his monster also shattered into pieces in violet thunders. "You only have 325 life points left and you know that it's over… Don't you want to surrender the duel now?" She asked kindly, knowing how the duel will end up.
"No, I'm loosing like a man…" he answered with his teeth gnashing.
Jesara's Guardian Angel attacked Bones', covering everything in bright light. When the blinding light vanished her two monsters were gone and the field between them was empty. The duel was over.
"So, I guess you owe me one of your locator cards and your rarest card…" she said while she approached the shocked tiny guy in front of her.
He gave her a quite embarrassed gaze, then he handed her his locator cards such as a magic card. "Here… this is my rarest card… The Mask of The Accursed." He explained. Jesara carefully looked at the magic card, then packed it away. "Thank you. It was a great duel." She tried to comfort him, but both of them knew he totally fucked up. He just grumbled one more before the walked away not saying any more word. Jesara looked after him before he was out of sight.
'Well, I guess I just need 4 more…' she thought when she scrubbed the back of her head with her left arm, then reality hit her like a wrecking ball. '…but in the worst case… this tournament will be the very least thing I have to deal with…' Jesara then continued her way to the museum, but this time she decided to avoid the back alleys. Who knows which other jerks are lingering around in the darknesss.
/ at Domino museum
She found herself in a giant entry hall and posters of the Egyptian exhibit hung on each side of the busy room. Soon Jesara found the front desk where a nice looking woman stared into a computer. Her fingers typed some text and the clicking sound of her finger nails hitting the keyboard could be heard in the whole entry hall. She approached the desk to ask the lady where to find the woman called Ishizu, but she suddenly was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She flinched and immediately turned around to see who dared to touch her, but then her eyes widened in shock when she stared into piercing blue ones. "Ishizu…?" Jesara whispered. In this moment she couldn't believe her eyes. "Is it really you?"
The woman with the beautiful blue eyes and sleek black hair nodded at her and giving her a slight smile. "Yes… It's been a long time."
Jesara returned the smile. "Ishizu… Did you know about my whereabouts? What about him? Is he coming here? What does Mar-" she totally lost control over her words, when she was cut off by Ishizu.
"Jesara, I know you're confused and anxious right now. But let's talk somewhere more private, okay?" Ishizu said softly and led Jesara through a big door which led to the Egyptian exibit wing. They passed stunning golden artefacts and ancient papyrus rolls, locked behind thick glass. The room light was dimmed and the artefacts were illuminated from golden spots that hung above them. They passed another door and Ishizu led her down a long staircase.
Finally she found herself in another big room and at the end of it she recognised three enormous stone panels, which were covered with hieroglyphs.
"Ishizu…" she gasped. "Aren't these the ancient panels from the tomb… You brought them here…?"
The black haired woman nodded and looked at the light grey haired girl. "Yes, the pharaoh needed to see them… It was easier to bring them here than the other way…" she explained. Jesara didn't say a word, she was fascinated by the ancient panels and couldn't stop staring at them.
"And now… let's talk about your questions." Ishizu's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I know you're confused… and I know you never wanted to see my brother again after all he put you through. But destiny has other plans for you…"
"What do you mean, Ishizu…" she looked into Ishizu's piercing blue eyes, waiting for her to explain. "What did your necklace tell you…?"
Ishizu sighed, her fingers gently brushed over her golden necklace, which had the same eye on it like Yugi's millennium puzzle. "My brother wants to claim the power of the pharaoh and take over the world…" she stated.
"Yeah…" Jesara sighed. "I know that..."
"His aim is to collect all of the three Egyptian god cards and win the millennium puzzle from Yugi. These cards and the puzzle are the key to the pharaoh's power… but I think you already know that too." Ishizu continued. "It was your destiny to make friends with our king and his vessel, my necklace showed me after you left my brothers side two years ago."
Jesara's eyes narrowed, her face turned more and more concerned. She wanted nothing more than to forget about her past, but now it was catching up on her and hit her like a sledgehammer. "Go on… please tell me what you know…"
"After you ran away my brother felt sorry for what he did to you when he lost control and deeply regretted his actions. My necklace showed me everything and I know that he still feels deeply for you, although it's buried under anger and hate…" Ishizu said softly and it was like her eyes were piercing deep into Jesara's soul.
What did she just say? Ishizu's words hit her like a speed train and hammered in her head again and again. "That's bullshit, Ishizu. No one would hurt the one he loves in such a cruel way." Jesara's voice was close to whispering.
"But it is… I know it's not easy to believe after everything that happened between both of you. But you may be the key to bring his good side back to the surface and hinder him to fulfil his plan. You may change his fate, which may end up in darkness and the apocalypse if you don't help him." Ishizu stated and rested her hands on Jesara's shoulder to comfort her. "My brother's anger is about to destroy him and the whole world. My necklace showed me that you could turn the tables and I really believe it."
Jesara looked to her in disbelief - things are getting stranger and stranger… "You're necklace must be broken, Ishizu."
"Jesara, come on." Ishizu urged with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Then… if everything's true what you said and your necklace is right… What do you want me to do…?" She asked with a more than concerned undertone in her voice, she clinched her fists beside her hips.
Ishizu sighed and closed her eyes, then opened them again and looked into Jesara's amber-olive coloured eyes, which were close to crying.
"Dig out what's hidden underneath his hate… you need to find a way to bring his good side back to the surface… I know he still has feelings for you and you may have enough influence on him und stop his plans… to get his mind straight…" she explained.
Jesara was shocked and looked at Ishizu like she just told her that the earth was a slice. "You want me to make him think that everything what happened is forgotten and we're fine? You're kidding, Ishizu…" she nearly screamed. That was a bad joke!
"No, I'm not kidding… And I'm not saying that you have to forgive him… I also didn't say that you both should make a new start… But you have the power to bring the true Marik to the surface again…" Ishizu explained, giving her a sorrowful gaze.
Jesara sighed and her eyes met the floor again, a shiver shot through her body and then a tear dropped to the floor - leaving a tiny wet stain on it.
"Ishizu… I don't think that I can even look him in the eye… How could I then stop him from his crazy take-over-the-world-plans?" She whimpered. "But I now understand why you didn't want me to tell Yugi and the others about my connection to him…"
Ishizu blinked at her and looked obviously confused. "Jesara, how did you think that I've sent you this letter…?"
Jesara immediately looked up and stared into Ishizu's piercing blue orbs in confusion. "You did not?" She pressed out.
Ishizu shook her head at her without saying a word.
"But I'm sure you know who did, don't you?" Jesara asked the black-haired woman.
"I guess I can't tell you this time… You'll find out soon enough." Ishizu gave her a warming smile.
/
When Jesara stepped out of the museum she stopped in front of it and recapped everything Ishizu has just told her. Her fears were becoming true. She su much hoped to never see him again, she just wanted to forget and now Ishizu says she's the only one to save him from his own freaky plans.
'I guess destiny hates me… really really hates me…' she thought to herself when she continued walking. She decided to walk through the park that was situated in front of the museum. Her thoughts nearly drove her crazy and she still couldn't believe what just happened 30 minutes ago. Too much for just one day.
When she finally made her way through Domino central park she recognised a cluster of weird dark clouds and thunder about half a mile away from her.
'What the hell is that?' She stared at the dark clouds in front of her, it didn't look natural. It was a sunny, almost cloud-free day in spring. It wasn't the right season for thunderstorms… 'I hope it's not what I think it is…'
Jesara started to jogg into the direction of the thunder clouds, anxious about what she'll find when she arrives.
/
She ended up at the main bridge to Domino and was shocked to find nobody else than Yugi dulling with a bald headed guy underneath it. But what concerned her the most was a giant red dragon above his opponent. 'That's Slifer The Sky Dragon…'
The dragon was larger than everything she'd ever seen before, but it was all too familiar to her. She watched the ongoing duel from a knob beside them and made sure they didn't see her.
'I can't believe Marik is playing a Egyptian god card... he's insane…' she thought when she stared at the giant dragon with widened eyes. 'I bet everything I have that this bald guy down there is controlled by him… and he forced Yugi to duel him…'
Jesara's eyes drifted over to Yugi, who was caught in the Nightmare's Steelcase, which is one of the rarest spell cards in the game. He was in trouble and definitely struggling to stand tall against Marik and the Egyptian god Slifer The Sky Dragon. Then her eyes met Yugi's opponent, her stomach turned once more when she looked at him.
'I can't believe that he's just down there… right in front of me…'
AN: Hoped you enjoyed! Pls review :-)