THE BATTLE FOR LOST SOULS

Chapter Five: Teetering between Redemption and Damnation

As the witching hour began and Domino City's business district slowed down, Emrys remained awake in her bedroom with the lights turned off. Although she was physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually sapped out, her mind would not allow her to fall asleep. She was plagued with so many thoughts about the past, present, and near future.

Five thoughts, however, troubled Emrys most - Mokuba's illness, her incapacitated legs, Kaiba's anger, the other Yugi's concern for her, and the fated role that she had to fulfill in the near future. The more that she tried to undermine the significance of each thought for her, the more that each matter bogged down her already beleaguered heart.

Giving up on the idea of getting a full night's worth of sleep, Emrys struggled to sit up until her back rested against the bed's headboard. Allowing her thoughts to further pester her, she tightly closed her eyes and resignedly mused, "They were right. Trust Kaiba to pose matters bluntly and for Yugi to break it to me gently."

The chiffon drapes billowed as the breeze came in from the open window.

Emrys opened her eyes once more, feeling a little calmer than before. In the dark, she groped inside the nightstand drawers, pulled out The Portal of Osiris and The Dead Incantations, and laid them side-by-side on her bed.

The moonlight seeping through Emrys' window hit certain parts of the two golden tomes, reflecting its beams against a section of the wall. The eyes of their pleased owner took a glimmering glint of warm honey as their golden beams hit hazel orbs at an angle.

While sitting on her bed, Emrys stared at the two books for many minutes and pondered at the latent powers bound within their golden pages. As the hint of pleasure slowly diminished from her face and was replaced by a stoic demeanor, she said aloud, "I kept asking you whether I've passed the test you've referred to months ago at Thera. It would be the only explanation as to why we've been having such conversations these past few months. However, I've been aware of your presence. You've been watching me all this time while choosing not to respond to my question."

Shadi slowly stepped out from the shadows. His figure took on a more ghostly and ominous appearance as he stepped in front of the moonlight beam that shone inside the bedroom. "There are matters reserved for the gods to handle. You, however, keep crossing that thin line between what is allowed and what is forbidden."

With quiet firmness in her voice, Emrys responded as she stared into Shadi's dark brown eyes, "If you're talking about using magic to heal my legs, then your explanation falls on deaf ears. I've told you before that I've already earned the privilege to cross that line. The gods have already granted my petitions and I must fulfill my end of the bargain to complete my pact with them."

The tightlipped guardian of the Millennium Ankh and Scales asked, "For many millennia, the shadows did its worst to sway you. In your former life as Xandra, the Pharaoh's Queen, you fought it well. Why, after all this time, have you chosen to embrace the dark path...especially now that you know the events of the past? Why are you taking the easy route towards solving matters by resorting to magic?"

Without any hesitation, Emrys said, "Power's a neutral force. It's solely up to the wielder to choose whether to use those powers for good or evil. Those caves waited for me all these years to claim what's mine. I couldn't have such opportunities go to waste. Staying in this wheelchair stops me from doing what's necessary. Not helping people who died before their time is cruel. If I choose to bend the rules so that the outcome would serve the greater good, would you call that evil? If I recall correctly, you took the same risk for the greater good before you died thousands of years ago. Didn't you sacrifice your own body to become the guardian of the Millennium Items?"

The mysterious Shadi knowingly smirked. "Changing fate's design is reserved to the gods. I am not just referring to healing your legs. Cynthia was meant to stay with the dead. Why did you intervene with her fate? Why did you not resurrect your parents instead?"

Hazel eyes pierced through the darkness as their owner said, "What if it was fate's design for me to break the rules? If I had the means to ease or prevent people's unhappiness, then that power within me was put to good use. My parents and I, on the other hand, have already accepted what fate had to offer us."

"Have you?" Shadi incredulously asked and then purposefully paused to study Emrys' reaction.

Even though Emrys remained silent all this time, her hazel eyes told Shadi that she would not pay heed to his warning.

Shadi's dark eyes reflected concern, but his voice remained calm. "You are aware of the consequences, are you not? You and I are now the same. You now know everything, but are not allowed to disclose exactly what you know. Similar to the Oracles of your past life, your words would either be too vague or too doubtful for others to believe."

Emrys shuddered as she once again remembered the tragic tale of Cassandra in Greek mythology and kept silent for many minutes. After she reconditioned her feelings and her fears subsided, she sighed and muttered, "Unlike Cassandra the seer, I wouldn't beg for anyone to believe me. Those who must know what I know from the past must earn the privilege to that information. I must carry out the terms set forth for me within the covenant."

"After thousands of years, you still are the risk taker. Your past counterpart, however, had a heart for those around her. She gave her heart most especially for the Pharaoh and Egypt. Her compassion and determination were her strength and weakness. She refused to mingle with the Essence. You, however, defied what was meant to be by letting her merge with you. With the dark Essence now inside you, will you be able to control her or will she be controlling you? Do you still have a heart left within you after merging with her?"

"It doesn't matter to me. I chose to merge with the Essence, didn't I? I chose to do so for its advantages."

Shadi remained silent as he stared into hazel eyes. "Do you still love the Pharaoh and the people around you who care for your well-being? Do you have any regard for you? Do you have a regard for the outcome of this dangerous game you are about to play? Are you sure that you are not being corrupted and blinded from the truth?"

After many minutes of silence, Emrys told Shadi in a grim and foreboding tone, "Does it matter that I still love them or me? You know the answers to your questions, Shadi. You also know what I must do from hereon..."

With his customary tightlipped demeanor, a speechless Shadi turned his back from Emrys and retreated to the shadows.

Emrys bowed her head, gauging on how she should absorb the many conversations that she had with Shadi for the past months. Thoroughly and firmly decided on the steps that she needed to take, she then let out a heavy sigh.

The breeze continued to blow the chiffon drapes as if they were pale ghosts floating in the darkness.

Shortly thereafter, Emrys tensed up, stared at the window, and said aloud, "When I told Yugi that I wanted to be alone tonight, I meant what I said."

"I'm sure that you do..." sarcastically remarked a voice coming from a dark corner of her room. "You also know from millennia ago that I never pay attention to rules or requests, most especially now I know that it's really you. I'm also aware that you've allowed yourself to be tainted by the dark powers."

After letting out a half-humored chuckle, Emrys then said, "Your sources have informed you well about my predicament. For someone who doesn't know the fullest extent of my situation, you're pretty bold to come here alone. What do you want from me, Thief?"

Bakura - now possessed by the spirit of the Millennium Ring - stepped out of the shadows and approached her with a twisted grin on his face. Now standing beside Emrys' wheelchair, he told her, "So you now remember the past as well as I do. You and I are so much alike, especially now you know some of my motivations. You have something that would tip the scales in my favor. It would be to your best interest to entertain my request..."

Raising an eyebrow, Emrys deadpanned, "You don't need to sugar-coat your words, Thief. You're here to demand something from me and you're not leaving me alone until you get the answer that you want to hear."

Amused from Emrys' answer, Bakura's other self malevolently smirked as he gave her a piercing gaze. "Nonetheless, you have an agenda that's not far from mine. I want two things from you..." He bent down, whispered in her ear, and then stood straight once more.

Emrys stared at the dark Bakura long and hard as if she was considering the terms that he had laid out for her. She gave him a tightlipped smirk. "The first request is out of the question. I won't lift the seal from the Stone of Destiny. The Pharaoh must undergo and surpass the trials before he could be given access to the Stone. Your second request, however, has its merits but my ability to do as you've asked is limited. However, you must do something first to pave the way for things to happen."

The platinum-haired young man crossed his arms before him. With a glint in his eye, he intently told her, "Name your price..."

"When Mutou Yugi and the Pharaoh are ready to reclaim his memory, you must willingly give him all of the Millennium Items in your possession. You must turn over the Items without requiring him to duel against you."

Looking down at the Millennium Ring, the dark Bakura muttered with a tinge of sarcasm and curiosity, "Why do you care so much that I give this to him without making him squirm first to win this from me? Is there still a semblance of humanity or emotions left over in that heart of yours? Don't you know that the more that you fight the fate you've already embraced, the quicker that you'll fall into insanity? No deed or person could ever redeem you from the life of damnation that you've already chosen."

With eyes narrowing as Emrys gazed into Dark Bakura's eye and unaffected by his snide remark, she reiterated, "I have my reasons. If you wish me to help you, then your should comply with my request. You'll hand all of the Items over to the Pharaoh. You'll be giving them to him willingly without him having to undergo a duel against you. If you succeed in returning to this world after those fated events and I still have that ability, then you have my word that I will grant your request. Break your word and there will be no deal between us."

Dark Bakura thoughtfully rubbed his chin in silence. Afterwards, he turned his back from Emrys, walked towards the door, and opened it. Before finally leaving, he glanced behind him and looked into her eyes. "As disgusting as your request sounds to me, you don't have anything to worry about. You have my word as well. I'll turn over all the precious Items that I have over to your precious Pharaoh-sama without any trouble from me. Waver from your word and I'll make your body and soul pay dearly for messing around with a thief..."

End of Chapter Five

Author's Notes

Yu-Gi-Oh is the copyrighted property of Kazuki Takahashi. Alexandra Emrys, other original characters, The Scrolls of Passage, The Dead Incantations, The Portal of Osiris, and this fanfic are properties of the author. This fanfic is written for entertainment purposes only - thereby releasing the author from any liabilities.