THE BATTLE FOR LOST SOULS

Chapter Seven: The Painful Truth

Staring at the duel disk on his lap for hours as he sat in his dark bedroom, Yugi now closed his tear-fogged eyes and allowed the sadness to sink in his heart. As he sat on the desk in an akimbo, his mind was fully immersed and horribly shocked from the unexpected turn of events. His mind pestered him about the same thought that his other self repeatedly asked, "Why would Emrys do such a thing?"

Knowing that his other self felt much worse than he ever would, Yugi said, "She must have been possessed by an evil spirit. Maybe something takes over her body just as what happens to Bakura whenever his other self takes over his body."

"She is not possessed. I assure you that much..."

Yugi abruptly turned around upon hearing another voice inside his room. Recognizing the owner of that voice, he then asked, "If she's not possessed, why is she doing all of this?"

From one corner of Yugi's room, Shadi emerged from the shadows as his long white robes billowed behind him. "Her soul has been corrupted. She chose to release all the potential evil that she is capable of committing."

A puzzled Yugi frowned. Concern and anxiety bombarded him as well as the spirit of the Puzzle. "Corrupted? Corrupted by who?"

"The Essence of Evil did so... Emrys dueled against it in the caves of Thera while she was away...while she searched for a way to help you regain your memory...while she searched for a way to help you regain your life..."

With disappointment laced in his voice, Yugi remarked, "She must have lost the duel..."

The mysterious man's face became more somber and grim. "On the contrary, Emrys won the duel against the Essence. Since her parents had passed away, you are the only duelist that she could not defeat."

The younger Mutou's eyes narrowed as he raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand. If she won the duel, why is this happening to her? If she's not possessed, why is she choosing to do evil? Why is she harming the very people that she loves and cares for, especially now?"

Shadi's dark eyes pierced through him. "She has the predisposition to become evil since her parents died. All human beings have the propensity to do evil."

After a long pause, Shadi continued, "When she won the duel, she took the Essence's place. It was her prize or penalty for winning a duel against it. Her victory stirred up all the darkness and evil that was already in her soul. Since she and the Essence became one, her struggle to find clarity and peace became harder. I would not be surprised if you and your friends would forever lose her."

The Millennium Puzzle activated and allowed Yugi's other self to switch with his spirit vessel.

Without wavering his amethyst stare at Shadi and having heard enough, the other Yugi said, "Every human being has a certain darkness within. Your words still don't explain what's happening to her."

"Everything comes down to a choice, my Pharaoh...to be good, or to be evil. Instead of relying on her own strength, your Queen chose to tap into the dark powers to defeat the Essence. She also chose to merge her powers with the Essence's energies when it was weak. Although one could use dark powers to serve good at the beginning, using that power contorts one's very nature. When she won the duel, she fulfilled the prophecies and ascended as the Dark Queen."

"Who is this Dark Queen?"

"According to ancient Atlantean prophecies, the Dark Queen is destined to take the throne as she unleashes and wields the powers of Chaos. The Millennium Items originated from a fragment of Chaotic powers. Once she unlocks her full abilities, her powers can build or decimate an entire race, open the many locked portals leading and leaving this plane of existence, and much more."

After a long pause of silence, the other Yugi murmured, "What does this Dark Queen have to do with Emrys?"

"At first, good intentions were in Emrys' heart. She eventually chose to do evil and gave in to the dark powers. She stole The Portal of Osiris and The Dead Incantations from the Egyptian National Museum. She sealed the Stone of Destiny from your reach."

The Eye on the other Yugi's forehead illuminated in the darkness as his eyes went wide and his heart was about to cave in. " I don't believe you! She never wanted to ascend to a throne of evil! She never wanted that! She wouldn't hurt any of us out of her own volition! Someone, or something, must be controlling her! That's the only rational reason for this insane behavior of hers!"

Shadi kept his silence and just stared at the other Yugi with tight-lipped sadness.

The young Pharaoh walked towards the bed, sat down, and rested his elbows on his thighs. He clasped his hands in front of him as he felt the weight of his burden press harder inside him. Deep in thought and with his eyes glistening from fought-back tears, he murmured with melancholic hope laced in his voice, "I know her, Shadi. She's a good person, in spite of everything she had done in the past. She already learned from her mistakes."

Shadi matter-of-factly replied, "She has already taken her throne...this is what fate had given her. She is fulfilling fate's plan. Sooner or later, I would not be surprise if those powers would eventually drive her into madness."

Amethyst eyes went wide once more as their owner scowled. "You're telling me that it's Fate's plan for her to be damned forever? I can't let this happen to her!"

"Everything regarding her well-being, as well as her soul, rests on her shoulders alone. We cannot do anything about this. However, you do have control over the matters that rest on your shoulders."

Glancing at the mysterious figure, the other Yugi then asked, "And what would those matters be?"

A tightlipped Shadi responded without hesitation, "You are supposed to stop any threats against humanity. It is your destiny to be the champion for that cause. If the Dark Queen is that threat, you must stop her without hesitation."

As the mysterious figure disappeared from the shadows where he emerged from, the phone rang and broke the other Yugi's preoccupied state.

Once the other Yugi picked up the receiver, he heard Kaiba's tired voice from the other end of the line saying, "My chauffeur's outside your doorstep to drive you to the hospital. We need to talk."

After letting out a frustrated sigh, the other Yugi protested, "Kaiba, I can't –"

Cutting off his rival's remarks, the azure-eyed duelist interjected, "It's about Mokuba and Emrys."

There was dead silence between them, followed by the other Yugi murmuring, "All right. I'll be on my way." Hanging up the receiver once he heard the telephone's dial tone, he grabbed his royal blue school coat and went downstairs to meet Kaiba at Domino Hospital.

Kaiba's limousine arrived at Domino Hospital at seven in the evening.

The other Yugi, with intent amethyst eyes scanning his entire surroundings, marched towards the intensive care unit. Once he stepped out of the elevator and passed through the series of hallways, he found the CEO leaning against the wall and staring at the open door a few feet before him. Without a word, he approached his tired-looking rival and leaned against the wall.

Kaiba's eyes remained transfixed at the open door before him when he asked the new arrival, "Did she come and see you?"

Letting out a silent but heavy sigh, the other Yugi responded, "Yes, she did." Still working through his shock, he managed to say minutes later, "She has Jii-chan, Anzu, Honda, Jonouchi –"

"And Mokuba..." muttered Kaiba as his eyes flashed an intent glint. He turned around, crossed his arms against the wall, and rested his forehead. His chest heaved for breath as he tried his best to calm down and be present for Mokuba's sake.

The amethyst-eyed duelist glanced sideways at Kaiba as the latter told him in as few words as possible the recent events that happened at the hospital. The other Yugi's eyes went wider in further disbelief as he heard from the CEO that Mokuba fell into a coma after Emrys was seen with the boy. "She showed up at the house. She captured their souls and trapped them in the cards."

Kaiba slammed his right fist against the wall, bruising it badly but nonetheless ignoring the resulting throbs and cuts. He closed his eyes and felt the seething anger that his eyes had been radiating. Although his words were audible only to the other Yugi, the already-startled passersby felt Kaiba's emotion and kept clear from the two young men as he said through gritted teeth. "Nobody messes around with my family. Nobody takes me for a fool! I'll rip her apart when I get my hands on her!"

After many minutes of silenced passed by between them, the other Yugi – thinking that Kaiba's anger settled down – laid a hand on the CEO's shoulder.

Shrugging off that empathetic hand and glancing sideways at his rival, Kaiba's eyes opened as he spat, "My brother's the only one that I have left. Don't even think about defending her to me. Don't even dare tell me that she has a good reason for doing what she did to Mokuba!"

The duelist with the tri-colored mane knew very well the emotions that coursed through Kaiba's veins...disbelief, worry, rage, and most especially the stabbing pain of betrayal. As he kept his silence and looked straight into his rival's eyes, he lamented, "I wanted to believe in what you've just said. I can't defend her actions when I don't even understand her motives. I saw her eyes...there was no remorse in them..."

"Something must have happened to her in Thera," cried out Yugi as he invisibly remained in the background. As a response, all that he received from his other self was silence along with an increasing wave of sadness, hurt, and disagreement.

Letting another series of silent minutes pass by, the other Yugi then said, "We'll get them back from Emrys, Kaiba."

"There's no question about getting my little brother back. I should've known that she's such a weakling. I should've seen that her sanity would give in the same time that her legs actually did."

"Something happened to her when she was in Crete...something more than just mere depression or insanity."

Kaiba glared at the other Yugi. "I don't want to hear any of this supernatural shit, especially from you or from her!"

Amethyst eyes intensely met azure ones. "When will you start believing that there are bigger things at work here?"

"Never!" retorted Kaiba without any hesitation. "Believe all you want, but don't drag my brother or me into your delusions! My brother, my company, and the Kaiba name are all that matter to me...and anyone who threatens those three things will pay!"

"Care to prove your mettle in a duel, Mister Kaiba? I would not be an easy opponent to beat as you did with Yoshiko..."

The two duelists, after noticing that everything around them – including time itself – was frozen, stared at the open door before them.

The cloaked man, who telepathically communicated to them and with arms casually crossed before him, blocked the doorway leading to Mokuba's room. As Kaiba's eyes further narrowed and the other Yugi's eyes reflected recognition, the masculine owner of that voice said, "You are right, Pharaoh. You and the crest-wielder had the pleasure of meeting me at my home. I am Hyperion, the Master of the Order of Orichalchos."

"What have you done to her?" asked the other Yugi as his fists clenched at his sides.

"It was her prophetic fate. I have waited for its fruition for thousands of years," said Hyperion with smug satisfaction. "The crest-wielder has been struck down and the Dark Queen has finally awakened. The twisted irony is that the two completely opposite figures happen to be one person...a person that the two of you have loved. She has been more merciful than she could afford. In spite of my intervention to have her true colors emerge, she has full control of her actions."

The other Yugi pulled out his deck from the leather holster of his belt and pointed it directly at Hyperion. "You and I are going to settle this, once and for all!"

Hyperion chuckled, a twisted smile escaping from his lips and oozing from his tone. "I will save that pleasure for the Queen. I also recall that it was Mister Kaiba that I asked to duel with - not you."

As an enraged other Yugi leaned forward, Kaiba blocked him with his outstretched arm. With his azure eyes still focused in front of him, he walked towards the cloaked figure and stopped in front of the door. Kaiba's blue eyes glared as he told the cloaked man in quiet but lethal anger, "If you know what's good for you, step aside and let me see my brother."

Apparently, Mokuba and everything around him was not frozen. His elder brother checked the monitors attached to him and confirmed that all his vitals were as normal as it could be. His brother swept the dark hair from his face and gave him a hopeful smile.

Once his back turned from Mokuba and he walked outside the room, the elder Kaiba's face reflected such unbending resolve. He pulled out his deck from his inner coat pocket and told Hyperion, "All right, you bastard...you and I are going to have a duel. Once I'm done humiliating you and your flock, you're going to stay away from my family and Kaiba Corporation forever."

"So sure of what you can do, are you not? However, I will indulge your pitiful fantasy. We will duel in the Shadow Realm. This time, the Pharaoh or the crest-wielder will not be able to help you. I will stay away from all that is important to you, but only if you win the duel and survive, Kaiba. I will make sure, however, that you will do neither."

Shortly thereafter, thick fog and a pentagram of light appeared before the three of them. The mystical symbol's blinding light intensified and lingered for many minutes.

Eventually, the pentagram disappeared...leaving a stunned other Yugi by himself as everything around him went back to normal.

End of Chapter Seven

Normal Disclaimer

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 fan fiction are properties of the author. This fan fiction is written for entertainment purposes only - thereby releasing the author from any liabilities.

Author's Notes

Ah, such a hard chapter to do. I guess it's because of the subsequent chapters after this one...which promises a series of duels for Kaiba and the other Yugi. Okey dokey. Just letting you know that I'm in the middle of finishing the next update for Kyoto Files Revisited and The Shadows of My Past. The updates, along with Statistics, are killing me (well, I'm having fun writing the updates, while Stats is just plain killing me). Let me know what you think via reviews ;-D