A/N: HERE IT IS GUYS, THE LAST CHAPTER OF THIS STORY AND MY MUSES ARE PULLING ALL OF THE STOPS.
…Well, not all of them. There's no super sad singing like in Reiji's chapter. But there are other stops in this one. Lots of them. Including some really dark themes that aren't for the faint of heart.
Special thanks to Donjusticia for looking this over and making a few suggestions. I'm thankful for the response of "STOP IT SKY! STOP IT! PUT DOWN THE ANGSTY ENDING! PUT IT DOWN NOW!"
Yes. That was a legitimate response I received from him when I showed him everything until the very last part of the chapter. So, yeah. Major feels ahead.
You have been warned.
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…Odd-Eyes…? Dark Rebellion…? Clear Wing…? Starve Venom…? Where… where are you guys…?
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There is no answer from the darkness around him. For the first time in years, Zarc is experiencing complete and utter silence. No longer does he hear his dragons' whispers, encouraging him, pushing him on, reminding him why he fights. Their anger fueled his own—who is he without it? The silence, he hates it. Silence means he's alone, but he can't be alone. He can't be. His dragons—they—they wouldn't—
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…P-Please don't leave me…
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He opens his eyes, and the first thing he sees are the lavender-blue eyes of Ray staring back at him.
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…Ray? But I…
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She helps him to a sitting position with a sad smile on her face. "I did it, just like you asked, Zarc," she says quietly. There are tear marks on her face that he wants to wipe away, but can't bring himself to. He's not even sure what she's talking about—what he'd asked her to do. "I'm just, glad we're able to… to talk, before the end."
Her bracelets are shining as they speak, no doubt working to split them both apart again. Is that why his dragons are gone? But, no, that can't be right, even when he was split apart the first time, the dragons never left—their voices just grew dim, almost too quiet for him to hear.
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…Why can't I hear them…?
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Zarc manages to look away from the shining bracelets, causing his attention to be drawn to something else entirely. "Ray, you're… you're hurt," he says, staring at the red splatter across her tights and dress. He'd done that. He had hurt her. He stares at his hands and can't remember why he would hurt Ray. Had he been angry?
…Yes, that was it, but… he can't for the life of him remember why.
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…Nothing makes sense anymore…
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"H-Huh?" Ray looks down at herself, and a flicker of realization runs across her face as her eyes narrow. "Oh. This—this isn't my blood."
"It's not? Then whose—"
He cuts himself off because he knows. He remembers exactly what he had done as the Supreme King Dragon. The chaos, the death, the destruction, all of it, in detail, all his doing. The thought makes him double over. He—he killed so many people… so many… all because of his anger… it has to be a dream. A nightmare.
"Zarc, this isn't—"
Zarc slaps her hand away and shakily stands up. "Don't touch me," he hisses. He turns away from her stunned face and stares about the destruction he's caused. Stunned, how can she be stunned at this? He's pushed her aside so many times, this is no different. No different. His chest tightens so much he can hardly breathe. "Don't touch me…" he repeats in a whisper, as he walks away from her so staggeringly it feels like a dream. Because if she touches him, it would make this real.
He doesn't want this to be real.
He stumbles around almost blindly, his feet carrying him to one of the boys he defeated—no, murdered. The one that had sparked his twisted desire for entertainment. He doesn't know the boy's name, but the sight and smell of the dried blood on his lips and underneath him makes Zarc take a step back. He doesn't want it to be real.
All at once, the silence breaks.
"G-GONGENZAKA!" Yuya screams—a cry so strong that it escapes Zarc's own lips. A cacophony of raw emotion follows, and Zarc has no options other than giving into it and letting Yuya take control of his body. "Gongenzaka… no… th-this can't… you can't…"
Zarc wants to look away and ignore what his fragment is saying. He's not Yuya—this guilt and sorrow isn't his—but it is his, and he doesn't want it to be real.
"A-And, why are you smiling?" Yuya whimpers, tightly clutching the limp arm of his best friend. "Why… why… why… What have I done…?"
He can't watch this anymore; Zarc takes back control of his body, leaving Yuya's whimpering confined to the depths of his mind. The noise is uncomfortable, and the dried blood now on his hands even more so. He takes one last look at Gongenzaka's smiling face. Smiling. The people in Zarc's world died with fear written on their faces. He can't imagine how someone can die smiling, especially not when…
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…That… that just means this isn't real…
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He keeps walking in a daze. This time his feet carry him to the courtyard where the battle started, the bodies of his first two opponents near the edge of it. The ones he called his snack. Yuya doesn't react to the sight—he's caught on the death of his best friend, doesn't seem to share Zarc's sentiment that this whole thing isn't real—but Yuri, stoic Yuri, who knew the both of them before they betrayed Academia, is the one to make Zarc avert his eyes with the simple line of, "They didn't deserve to die."
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…Sh-Shut up…! This is just some nightmare…
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Leaving the courtyard, he finds himself on another floating island, drawn up to almost level during the course of the Duel. There he sees the second pair that fought him—and the sight, just like Gongenzaka, forces Zarc to give up control again.
"Shun…" Yuto whispers, afraid of speaking any louder. He reaches out, but doesn't dare to actually touch the broken body of his friend. "Shun… you can't be dead. You, you can't." Zarc's fragment pauses, trying to collect himself the best he can. "The war's finally over… we can go home, and Ruri will be with us. You hear that, Shun? Home! With Ruri! D-Doesn't that sound nice?"
It's at that moment that Zarc shoves Yuto back—his fragment is about to fall apart even worse than Yuya and Zarc doesn't want to bear witness to it. Anything to ignore how real this really is. It just has to be fake. People don't die smiling, not like this, but Shun is smiling, just like Gongenzaka. Smiling.
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…Maybe… …N-No! I know this isn't real and I mean it…!
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His wandering carries him to a different section of land, and then another, right past the fourth pair of his opponents. Zarc stops by them, only to note that the entertainer—Sawatari, his mind supplies—is smiling. Smiling. He hates it, hates it, hates it. Smiles are cruel and selfish and demanding and—and—
He's torn away from his thoughts by Ray grabbing his arm. "Zarc," she says, "stop. You don't have to do this, you're hurting yourse—ah—!"
Zarc wrenches his arm out of her grasp and shoves her back, his eyes ablaze. "I said don't touch me!" he hisses, gingerly rubbing the spot where she'd grabbed him. It's becoming increasingly hard to insist that this isn't real, but, he knows it has to be. Just—just something his brain cooked up as a guilt trip, trying to remind him that he's still human no matter what he thinks.
"Please Zarc, I just want to help you!" she insists, trying to grab his arm again. The light from her bracelets is brighter than before—the time for everything to split apart again is near. It infuriates him, the split was what caused him to be saddled with these—these unnecessary emotions his fragments brought with them. But he knows he can't do anything to stop it…
…so instead he runs. He runs to another section of land and realizes he's come almost full circle; he's on a different section of the same island he started on, and now has full view of his final victim. Akaba Reiji. And he's not alone—Akaba Reira clings to his brother's body, and a blue-clad ninja watches over them both.
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…He's not smiling…
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It's true; unlike the others who had fallen to Zarc's power, Reiji's face is frozen in pain, not unrealistic happiness. It's a look that Zarc expects to be on the face of someone whose life was cut short so suddenly… and yet… somehow, it gets to him more than the smiling faces of the other Lancers. It makes it… it makes it feel real and he doesn't want it to be real.
"…I'm sorry. He didn't deserve to die," he finds himself muttering, echoing his fragment's earlier words without a thought given to them. "I'm sorry."
The blue-clad ninja doesn't even look up at him, but simply says, "No. He didn't. None of them did…"
Zarc digs his nails into his palms—he knows what the ninja says is true. He knows all of this is reality, but he just won't accept it. He can't and won't because—because—it would mean admitting he's a monster. He's not a monster—he just gave up his emotions to give the crowd what they wanted. He's never had a human friend other than Ray but that doesn't make him a monster. Becoming the Supreme King Dragon… that, that was…
Someone suddenly punches him in the leg; the most pathetic punch ever and yet it still gets Zarc's attention. "…Give him back," Reira demands, his voice so shaky that his words are almost unintelligible. The boy's eyes are stained from his tears, but are otherwise completely devoid of emotion. "Give him back," he repeats, hitting Zarc's leg in another pathetic, mechanical motion. "G-Give me back my brother…" He attempts a third strike, but just collapses before he can do it. "P-Please… Nii-sama…"
Zarc stumbles backwards, trying to put as much distance between him and that boy.
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…Not real, not real, not real, not real… I-I'm not a monster… Not real, not real, not—
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Zarc freezes, and slowly lifts foot.
The Pendulum lies on the ground, almost the entirety of the scratched-up crystal covered with dried blood. One of the two pristine silver wings that contain the crystal is completely snapped off, and the other is scuffed and covered in dirt. The string has been snapped and there is a knot where it was haphazardly tied back together, but it's snapped again in a different place.
In a daze, Zarc gingerly bends down and picks the Pendulum up. The crystal is cold to the touch, the lone wing even more so. He holds it to his chest and cries. He can't deny it anymore. It's real, it's all real, he really is just a monster.
He can still hear the screams of the people in that stadium. How he'd relished in those screams all those years ago. A monster. He can still feel that immense power he had. How he'd enjoyed killing and destroying. A monster. The faces of all the people he defeated here appear in his mind. A monster.
"Zarc, please… please let me help you." Ray's voice calls to him; she sounds so far away, but when Zarc abruptly jerks back to his feet, he sees she's only a few feet away, a hand outstretched to him. The one with her bracelets on it. Bright light cascading down her arm—the sight of it burns.
He backs away as far as he can from her, until his feet find the edge of the floating island. One look down and the drop goes down at least a hundred feet to another island. "No," he insists. His feet are so close to the edge that he'll fall if he tips back anymore. "Don't come any closer! I don't want your help!"
Ray freezes, her hands held up as though he was pointing a weapon at her. Her eyes are wide with fear and worry—a look that sickens him. How can she be worried about a monster like him? How can she want to help him?! "But—Zarc—you can't… you… Get away from the ledge. Please," she pleads. But her words fall on deaf ears.
Zarc doesn't move an inch, other than to look away from her, instead directing his gaze to the island below. A fall from this height will kill him, and yet… and yet, he just can't look away. It would be so easy to just lean back; a punishment befitting of a monster and a murderer like him. He looks back at his hands and sees blood all over them, dripping into a pool around his feet. He blinks and the blood is gone, but the image remains in his mind. He shakes his head. "You can't help me, Ray. I'm nothing but a monster. I—" His voice catches in his throat.
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…I deserve to die…
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"That's not true!" Ray counters desperately. "You were just a victim of—of human nature!"
That draws a forced chuckle from Zarc. "I'm 'just a victim' now? Just a victim that killed billions and enjoyed every second of it? Don't make me laugh. I made those decisions, I could have stopped but I didn't, I am the one that killed all these people for the sake of my own goddamn enjoyment. Not some other Zarc."
"That doesn't mean you should kill yourself!" Ray shouts back at him. "You can't make up for what you've done if you're gone. Don't you want to atone for your sins?"
"And how am I supposed to do that?!" he retorts. "Billions of people, Ray, in case you've forgotten. That's whose blood stains my hands. Billions. There's nothing I can do to ever make things right…"
She flinches and looks away. Zarc sees she's about to cry—she can't come up with anything to keep him here on this island. In that moment, he wishes things could have been different between them. They had so much—and he'd thrown it all away. No wonder three of his fragments were close with Ray's—it was a second chance for them both. And he failed.
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…I'm… I'm so sorry, Ray…
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He almost lets himself fall back now, but Ray still has one more thing to say. "…What about those four boys, Zarc? Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri. They'll die with you—but what have they done? They still deserve to live even if you don't think so! So just wait—a few more minutes and my bracelets will overpower Arc-V and split the world again. Split us again. Isn't that enough of a punishment for you?"
Zarc closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they are no longer golden, but instead pinkish-purple. "Who says the four of us have the will to keep living?"
Ray's eyes flicker in surprise, and turn into a pale shade of green. "What are you saying, Yuri?!" Selena demands.
"I'm saying," Yuri says, crossing his arms and frowning, "that my counterparts are convinced that everything is their fault. As for myself, well." He shakes his head and chuckles sadly. "What else is there for someone like me? I don't know how else to live but by carding anyone and anything in my path. I'm a predator with no prey left to hunt."
"You can, you can find a new passion!" Selena answers him, tone increasingly desperate even though the two barely know each other. "You're strong—there's so much you can do!"
Another sad chuckle and the shake of his head. "No, Selena, you are the strong one. Perhaps, in another life, we could have been rivals. Friends, even. I think… I think I would have liked that. But, not in this life."
"Yuri—"
But Yuri's influence in Zarc's mind is gone—the pinkish-purple eyes are gone, replaced with the greenish-blue of Yugo's. "He's right, Rin," Yugo says, clenching his fists and shaking. "I don't wanna agree with that bastard, but he's right. There's—there's nothing left for me either."
"Yugo…!" Rin gasps, her amber-colored eyes wide. "How can you say that, you—you idiot! Have you forgotten our dream? We—we're gonna win the Friendship Cup! You and me together… that's what you said—you promised!" She's crying now and the sight breaks Zarc's heart. Or is it Yugo's? He doesn't know anymore. "Please, Yugo… don't leave me all alone…"
"I—I know! I don't want to, Rin! But…" Yugo lowers his head and sighs. "…I killed Jack Atlas, Rin. Jack Atlas. The King! Beating him together—that was part of our dream, and now it's never gonna come true! He's gone and it's all my fault!"
"That's not—"
"Stop, Rin. Just stop," he says, cutting her off. "I'm not the Yugo you know anymore. I—I'm a part of Zarc. Everything he's done, I've done too. Stop ignoring the truth, or—or you're the idiot!" He realizes what he said and clamps a hand over his mouth, shaking his head. "I… I mean… just…" Yugo screams in frustration. "It's not fair! I don't want to die, I don't want to leave you, but—but I—I can't live with myself, knowing what I've done."
"Yugo, please. Please…"
"So I'm sorry, Rin. I finally found you again, and—and it's already time to say goodbye." Yugo's crying now as he forces one last cheeky grin for his only friend in any of the dimensions. "You keep going for me, alright Rin? You're the most amazing person ever and, and… just… please don't cry… Promise?"
"Yugo!"
But the influence of the boy from Synchro is gone; the blue-green eyes replaced by grey ones. Grey ones that are hardened, not overflowing with emotion like Yugo's were. "…I guess it's, my turn for goodbyes," Yuto says, almost monotone, as he locks gazes with the girl's now-pink eyes. "Ruri—"
"Don't. Don't you dare," Ruri says, interrupting him so forcefully even though she's already crying. "You're not leaving me, Yuto. We can finally be at peace. We—we can finally go home together. I won't accept anything else."
Yuto lets out a sad laugh, reminiscent of one of Yuri's mournful chuckles. "I wish I could, Ruri. I wish I could."
"You can!" she retorts desperately. She lowers her arms because all this time, they'd been raised, and instead stretches out her hand to him. "You just have to take my hand, and—and everything will be alright."
He shakes his head. "But it won't, Ruri. You don't have to lie to me when I know the truth. I know you're just trying to put on a brave face for me. I killed Kaito, and I—I killed Shun. I killed your brother. My best friend." The thought makes him cover his eyes with one hand. "After everything we've been through… crossing dimensions together to find you… and now I've killed him. We can't go home together ever again…" He lowers his hand and locks eyes with her again. "…so how can you say everything will be alright?"
"Because… because…" Ruri curls her hand over her chest and looks away. "…I don't know. But I can't lose you too, Yuto! Stay with me—please!"
"I'm sorry, Ruri. I can't." He smiles for her one last time. "I'll never forget the times we spent together. Remembering those happier days, that was what kept me going through the war. So, thank you, Ruri. Thank you for giving my life meaning."
"Yuto, don't!"
But his eyes are gone; they're Yuya's red ones now. He stares at her for several long moments before he just looks away in shame… and lets himself fall backwards without a word. Zarc accepts the decision—it's already been far too long, if he talks any more then Ray will have what she wants.
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…I'm so, so sorry, Yuzu…
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"YUYA YOU IDIOT!"
The boy's red eyes snap right back open in surprise. He's dangling over the edge and now that he actually sees the drop he's not so sure he actually wants to fall—even if he knows he has to die. He attempts to swallow his fear—it feels like swallowing a brick—and looks up. Yuzu's bright blue eyes are furiously staring at him while she clings to one of his wrists, her body half off of the building. "Y-Yuzu, what are you doing?"
"What do you think?!" she spits back. "There is no way I'm letting you go through with this, and you know it. You mean way too much to me…" After that, her expression softens, but her grip does not. "Y-You aren't leaving me like this. We're going home together! That's what you promised! You promised that you would bring me home… and, and you'd create a world where everyone can smile. But now you're just giving up?!"
"A world of smiles…" Yuya remembers what she's talking about: the letter that Tsukikage snuck to her during the Friendship Cup. He'd made so many bold promises in that letter. A world of smiles. Didn't he know that's impossible? "…No, Yuzu. I said we'd all go home together—how can we do that when they're all dead? And it's all my fault…"
"But Yuya—"
The ruined Pendulum is still in his hand that Yuzu isn't clinging to, so he holds it up by the string in order for her to see what has happened to it. "Look at it, Yuzu! Look at it! This is what I've done! Everyone—they poured their hearts into this—and all I did was kill them…"
"Y-Yuya…!" She gasps at the sight and her grip loosens, enough to drop him a few inches before she renews her grip, still staring at the Pendulum. "…Then—just—think about your parents, Yuya! Them, and Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya! You want me to let you go? Then what am I supposed to tell them?! I-I'm not letting you die!"
While Yuya quiets down and thinks about it, Zarc does the same. He'd grown up in an orphanage, and seeing other kids with their families had always hurt. Even Ray, who only had her father… he was jealous because at least she had someone. That was why Yuya had become Sakaki Yusho's son—because Zarc had so desperately wanted a family of his own. He knows that Yuya doesn't want to give that up—he doesn't want to give that up either—but it's too late to change his mind.
"You—you tell them that, that I'm gonna miss them," Yuya says. At last he's started crying, the tears freely streaming down his face. "Tell Mom and Dad that I… I love them. And… and tell Dad I'm sorry for, for abandoning my Entertainment Dueling. Maybe if I hadn't, I could've stopped all of this, and no one would have to die. And—and—it's up to you to keep everyone smiling now. Okay, Yuzu?"
Her tears drip onto his face when she tries to blink them away. "No, Yuya, it's not 'okay'! It will never be okay with—without you!"
"I'm sure you'll find a way."
"But I don't want to find a way!" she screams, her tears dripping faster and mixing with Yuya's own. "I don't want to go home if you're not with me!"
"But you will, I know you will," Yuya replies with a smile on his face. "You've always been stronger than me, Yuzu. That's why I know I can trust you with this."
The sobs racking her body are loosening her death grip on his wrist. Almost… almost…
"I'll never forgive you, Yuya," she says. "I'll hate you with everything I have until I die."
Yuya closes his eyes and shakes his head. "You and I both know that's not happening, Yuzu."
"I—but I—"
"And stop crying, Yuzu. It doesn't suit you. You should be… smiling… 'cause there's nothing better than your smile." He offers up his own smile after he finishes that statement, hoping to get one from her. One last time. "Please, Yuzu? I just… I just want to see you smile one last time…"
Yuzu looks so pained, but she manages to force herself to smile for a split second.
Even though it was so brief, it's enough for Yuya. "Thank you…"
And with that, Zarc regains control of his body. He wants to wipe away his tears—he's done crying—but in this position, he really can't. "So, Ray. Even my four fragments don't want to be saved. You still going to try?"
As if to emphasize her answer, she tightens her grip again. "Zarc, I told you, I'm not letting you die!"
"I know. Which is why… I'm sorry about this," he replies, before throwing the broken Pendulum right at her face.
Instincts take over at the sight, and she catches it with both hands. She doesn't realize what she's done until he's already gone.
Zarc falls with his eyes shut and a smile on his face. Finally, he can be at peace. And Ray…
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…She doesn't have anything to worry about. She's a hero now. Everyone loves a hero… not a monster…
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For the first time ever, Zarc welcomes the silence.
A/N: Hnnnnnnnnnngh. I swear I didn't mean for this chapter to get so long, but it just kept going and going and I couldn't stop until this spot.
The epilogue thing I mentioned at the end of last chapter is going to be a separate story at some point in the future, but for now, this is the end of "It's Up to You". Thanks so much for sticking with this story the whole time!
(I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, otherwise the entire last arc of it would be playing out in an INFINITELY better way.)