Happy holidays, everyone! I'm so sorry it's been almost a year... Hope you're all doing well!

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, etc. please feel free to leave a review or message me.

Lucy awoke in her bed. Crisp white sheets reflected the sun's light and engulfed her form. Her eyes shifted about her room curiously – skeptically. She spoke silently to the empty room, "What am I doing here…?"

Everything was in its place. Her drawers, her nightstand, even the ugly figurine her grandmother had given her. All was exactly as she remembered, but something was missing. Something wasn't right…

"Mom?" she called in a childlike voice, "Mommy…?" She waited for a response, a sign – any sign of life.

Lucy shook herself from her state. I'm not going to know what the hell's going on if I keep acting like a scared little girl, she thought as she threw the sheets off. She peered down, Hey. These are the same clothes I was wearing at the finals… her eyes widened Where's Bakura? Where's the Pharaoh? Téa? Joey? Tristan? Hell, I'll take Marik at this point.

She walked out of her room and down the stairs, observing where she could be. Her "home" seemed exactly as it should, but…

"Lucy, you're awake," a voice prodded, making Lucy jump. She looked up and saw her mother, dressed in a stained long sleeved shirt and jeans, a plastic smile plastered on her face. She'd wear that when she cooked, Lucy remembered.

"Uh, hey mom. What happened?"

"After that battle between Bakura and the boy with the lightning hair, you went into a coma of sorts," she giggled, "I'm glad to see you're awake now, darling. Would you like something to eat?"

"Um, no. Thanks, but…I'm not hungry. You said I was in a coma?"

"Yes, darling."

Then…what am I doing home? Shouldn't I be in the hospital?"

Her mother chuckled lightly "I don't see the need."

"No need? Mom, I was—"

Lucy stopped breathing as she heard the front door squeal open slowly. She turned slowly to face its direction. "Who's that?" she heard herself whisper.

"Why, it's only your father, darling. Now, come and have some breakfast…and put that knife down, would you?"

Lucy never noticed until she looked down. As her mother said, she was holding a knife. Panic became laced in her eyes as she heard the boot steps coming closer and closer to her. She couldn't hear her mother's desperate yells to put the knife down. She stood there, frozen in her dream, as a big, burly man turned the corner.

With a sturdy stance, he approached his daughter. Blonde locks ruffled about, hazel-green eyes locked with hers. His ripped jeans and black muscle t-shirt meant he had been working again. A stray thought flew across Lucy's mind, I wonder how late this time…?

His eyes bore into hers before she could no longer stand the disgust and fear she felt pierce her in his gaze. Finally, he spoke. "That my knife?" he asked accusingly.

She felt the guilt, felt the pain, but not a drop of remorse. "Dad…."

"Lucy, answer your father!" her mother snapped.

Lucy continued to stare at the floor as she murmured "Yes."

"Give it here," her father said with a tone of resentment.

"No," she said, her voice once again childlike, "No…you'll hurt mommy."

"You'll hurt yourself," he replied.

Lucy looked down at her forearms and saw slits beginning to form. Beads of blood erupted and fell to the white tiles she stood on. "Mommy!" she called to the now empty kitchen. "Mommy!"

"She's gone," a raspy voice said behind her.

Lucy jumped and turned to become face to face with her father, his eyes flaming red, skin pale and clammy. His ruffled blonde hair now fell about his face as if it were wet.

"You're not my daddy," Lucy said, wincing as yet another cut appeared near her wrist. But I'm not doing this…!

"Come here!" he opened his arms to grab her, but she ran, screaming as she did, out the front door…only to find herself shooting upright in her bed, body laced with sweat.

The sheets stuck to her damp body. Lucy panted heavily, checking her arms to find them blemish free. "Oh my God…"

Her room was dark this time. The curtains were pulled shut. She couldn't see any form of light emanating beneath them, like she used to. Now she couldn't even see her hand waving in front of her face.

She got out of bed and opened her curtains. She gasped. It's all black… No moonlight or stars could be seen to comfort her.

"Lucy? Are you up? I hear footsteps." Lucy didn't move. "Lucy? Come down for dinner now. Don't make me send your father up to get you."

Lucy's eyes widened. Her heartbeat quickened. "I'm coming," she heard herself say to the empty room, hoping her mother could hear her.

She floated, slowly and quietly, down the hallway. Something inside her made her stop, though. She felt a wave of nausea as she passed the pictures hanging on the wall. A young Lucy and her mother smiling and laughing in the first few; further down, however, Lucy's eyes would get darker as she grew older. Lucy watched her eyes as they became completely black. She continued to the end of the hallway, to the mirror at the top of the stairs. Her reflection showed Lucy's eyes completely black and dead. She gasped at the sight and felt the nausea hit her once more. She turned back to observe the other pictures, all with the same pained darkness.

She looked at her most recent picture and felt the sadness stare back at her through hollowed eyes. Lucy felt pity for herself as she watched the smile slide into a frown. The picture began to cry. As if in a trance, Lucy watched herself as the tears turned to bloody streaks that snaked their way down the paintings. They continued downwards, leaking through the frames and down the walls, forming puddles of red on the floor.

A large hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around harshly. "It's time for dinner," her father said.

Lucy said nothing, but she could feel herself shrinking away. She let herself stare at the man before her, letting the overwhelming feeling of helplessness and surrender overcome her.

Sensing this, her father dragged her down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her mother stood smiling. "I'm glad you're finally down," she said melodically.

"W-well…" Lucy began timidly.

"Not you!" her mother snarled.

Lucy's father moved to meet her mother and pulled her close crudely. Her mother giggled before she kissed her husband wildly, as if she was an animal willing to be trained by his tongue. Suddenly, he bit her lower lip and she groaned in both pain and pleasure. Lucy watched in horror as blood slipped down her mother's chin.

Her father pulled back, smirking at a job well done, and removed the blood with his tongue. When he had finished, he stepped back, but something had happened.

He held his head and started to groan in pain. Soon he was yelling, unable to contain the agony.

He's changing.

His hair was turning white and growing longer; his eyes morphed from their original green to a bloodshot crimson. His skin began to darken and his clothes begin to change. Soon he was wearing only a red robe and dark purple shorts, his chest exposed, tan, and well defined. His body was no longer his own.

The pained screams were soon replaced with maniacal laughter. He looked up at directly at Lucy. Their surroundings faded to black, leaving only the two of them in the dark.

"B…Bakura?" Lucy was so shocked that she hardly heard her own voice. Crimson eyes locked on blue.

He stopped laughing and snarled. "Pharaoh! You will not take her!"

Huh? Lucy turned to see the Pharaoh himself standing by her side. He wore white robes and a dark purple cloak that enhanced his violet eyes. Whoa… Lucy stared at him in awe. Meanwhile, the Pharaoh looked back at Bakura with a rage of fire in his eyes like Lucy had never seen.

"Bakura!" he yelled, "You cannot win this! I will fight until my last breath to protect her from the likes of you!"

"You will not shield her from me. She is mine!"

It was then that Lucy looked down at herself and saw her clothes had changed as well. She wore white robes with a golden rope around her waist. Whoa…

"Nefertari," the Pharaoh's baritone voice called to her. Lucy felt her heart skip when he said her name. Is that my name? "Nefertari…" his voice softened. She turned to him with sad eyes. "Stay with me…I will not let him take you away from me again!"

"YOU took her away from ME!" Bakura bellowed, fury evident in his entire body. He looked ready to kill. "She was all I had left of Kul Elna! My home!"

Unconsciously she took a step back, "Pharaoh, what does he speak of?" she heard herself ask. What am I doing? I didn't say that…did I?

Bakura groaned in pain again. Lucy felt herself turn towards him and gaped in fear at what she saw. A dark aura was emanating from him. "What's happening?" she asked, inching further away from him.

"Run!" the Pharaoh yelled.

Lucy didn't move. She couldn't. Her body wouldn't let her. She watched Bakura change and morph into darkness.

She felt a grip on her wrist and turned to see the Pharaoh. "RUN!" he bellowed again. He pulled her along and she ran with him, but could not help a glance over her shoulder at the place where Bakura once stood.

"Don't look back!" He warned. Quickly she looked forward and continued with her king. They ran into the desert, the winds blowing sand into her eyes until she could no longer keep them open. "We're almost there!" Having lost her ability to see, she had no choice but to follow him into the night.

Soon the aches in her legs grew stronger. How far are we going? She thought, and where are we going? She tried to maintain her breathing in the sandstorm, but found it difficult, even with the cloth over her nose and mouth.

Suddenly the ground shook. Lucy lost her footing and she collapsed in the sands. "Pharaoh!" she called. She opened her eyes to see him running back to her.

The Pharaoh reached her, "It's…!" he began to speak before the ground shook again, throwing him off balance.

"Pharaoh, it is hopeless!" a dark, booming voice that echoed over the sands, "Your infamous reign ends here, and you will diminish into the abyss…you all will!" Lucy looked up at the Pharaoh, hoping he knew what was happening. "Return the girl to me," said the voice of the beast, "and perhaps I shall kill you quickly."

The Pharaoh called for her, and once more took her hand and ran with her. "I have to get you inside!" he said. She held onto his hand desperately and ran with whatever energy she had left.

He led her to a small cave, hidden beneath a sand dune. "Get in!" he shouted over the winds. She crawled in on her stomach, the sand scratching at her skin.

When she reached the other side, everything was dark and cold. The winds were blocked and remained outside. Lucy heard a grunt of a landing and turned to see the silhouette of the Pharaoh. "Can you light this torch?" he asked, holding out a large piece of wood to her.

She looked at him sadly, "I can't. I…I don't know how. My Pharaoh, I am terribly frightened…"

"Just think 'fire' and it'll come to you…" he mirrored her look of sadness, thinking of the brief time they had left together. "It always comes to you…" he smiled faintly.

She watched him with bright eyes, taken aback by the emotion he revealed. After a moment, she took the torch from him. "Yes, my Pharaoh…"

"Don't call me that," he said quickly, making her jump, "Not you…not now," his voice pleading for her to understand how he felt.

She felt heat in her heart and turned from the Pharaoh to the wood. She felt the heat pulsate through her. She closed her eyes and focused on the warmth. She felt a burst of heat and opened her eyes to see everything around her. The torch was lit.

"Well done," the Pharaoh said, beaming at her. She smiled back and marveled at what she'd done.

Their moment was short-lived, however, when they felt the ground shake again, and the tunnel began to cave in on them.

Quickly the Pharaoh took her hand and ran. The cave was coming in on their ankles. They were going to fall with the cave. She focused her energy and thought of wings. Speed. She needed speed to help them. Soon they both had a golden aura around them and they began to run faster.

"Don't stop running!" the Pharaoh said.

"Of course I won't!" she replied.

They were quickly approaching a door. She soon struggled to keep up. Her body did not feel tired, but her spirit was waning. The rocks continued to fall, and were soon catching up to her bruised ankles as she continued to slow.

"Nefertari! You must keep running!" They were nearly at the door.

I can't… she thought. It hurts…

The Pharaoh quickly took her in his arms, wrapping them around her waist. He jumped and took them through the door together.

Lucy shot up out of the bed. The white sheets were not her own, nor was the air around it. There were white curtains around her bed, secluding her in a tight area. Curtains were pulled back quickly, revealing a bright light that felt painful. Lucy winced and shielded her eyes from it.

"Ms. Devereaux! You're awake!" a woman dressed as a nurse appeared. She turned to another figure, "Get the doctor, please, and the girl's mother as well. She'll be happy to know her daughter is awake and well."

Lucy tried to adjust her eyes to the light. She looked at darker corners of the room and glanced around. "Where am I?" her voice escaped a hoarse, cracked whisper.

The nurse approached and held out a cup. "You're in the hospital, hun. Have some water." Lucy took the cup and drank from it, relishing the refreshing feel of the cool drink.

"Lucy?!" a woman behind the curtain gasped, "She's awake?" Hope Devereaux ripped open the curtain, "Oh, God! My baby girl!" She leapt to the side of the bed and enveloped her daughter in her arms.

"…mom…?" her voice was shaky with fear and disbelief; however, the others thought it was due to her unused, rough voice upon waking from her coma.

Her mother kissed her forehead. "My God, you're awake…!" she pulled away and started to cry.

Lucy felt tears prickling at her eyes as well, but tried to hold them back. "Is this real?"

"Yeah, baby, I'm here…" she hugged her daughter again.

Lucy was reluctant to ask, remembering her conversation with her other mother, but she knew she had to… "What happened?"

Her mother released her, and, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, she asked back "What do you remember?"

"Umm…" Lucy thought, lost in what could have been either her memories or her dreams…her nightmares.

"Don't think about it. Never mind…" Her mother fretted about her, not wanting Lucy to push herself too far. She looked down to avoid her daughter's gaze, "Lucy, um... You've been unconscious for two months, sweetheart."

So, this was like a trip to the Shadow World and then memories from her past (or a past life?). Nothing like a coma to get the story moving! :/
Thank you for your patience and your loyalty to this story!
~Mina