A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 22- Sixth Floor – Shattered

You ever have one of those days when you feel like crap? Like at the end of a day that you knew that you should've just stayed in bed and not even bother to make an effort? A day that felt like it could possibly be the worst day of your life? Well for Yugi and Yami, it WAS the worst day of their lives.

Yami was wide awake almost instantly. He sat up and looked around him, praying that it had all been just one long and terrible nightmare… that he and Yugi were both still on the road… traveling and laughing together… and Yugi would be sleeping right next to him…

Well, Yugi was sleeping right next to him. But they weren't on the road. No they were still in that awful tower, slowly being killed by magic. Once Yami realized that he hadn't been dreaming, he waited for the tears to start flowing.

But he was still dehydrated from that desert, and he had no more tears to shed. He heard footsteps, but he didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"This madness needs to stop. You could end up being next, and yet you don't care?" he asked sounding close to having an emotional breakdown.

"Suck it up. Tears never solve anything," said his father.

Just to defy him, Yami let out a dry sob. "I hate you," he said.

"Ouch," said his father sarcastically. "That hurts. Just get up now."

"No," he said.

"Be that way," his father said. He then yelled at one of the men, which were only about 13 left. "You! Take them!"

(I won't bore you with the details on how they were once again being carried up the stairs to the next floor and how Yami fought with all he had. I will tell you that his struggles woke up Yugi just in time for the next riddle to appear though. And this one is just as annoying as the last few riddles)

What turns everything around but does not move?

Yami knew where this was going as he was dropped again, and he ran towards Yugi. But he didn't make it to him in time as he was once again engulfed by light.

He had been through a lot since entering the tower… but what happened here had to have been the weirdest and most terrifying thing yet. He really didn't know how to explain it, but it was frightening and so wonderful at the same time that he thought that he would like to just repeat every moment over and over again. But he knew that it was impossible.

Now you wonder what it was, don't you? Okay, I'll tell you. He was looking into a mirror. No, not merely into it… he could look through it.

What he saw took his every breath, his every heartbeat, his every movement, so that he froze to the spot and could only stare at the person, who he locked eyes with. He didn't look at himself that moment, like you would expect, when you look into the mirror. That wasn't him. It couldn't be him. But… in a strange way he seemed to be himself. He mirrored Yami like a twin brother. But they were different in every way imaginable. He was tall and looked older than he was. But his hair, and his face… nobody could have the same haircut he have. Not the same color. His hair is spiked, black, red-tainted and blond. No one but Yugi could. But… the person in the mirror did, too.

Now you think, he just saw strange things, right? You think, he saw himself and not someone else, right? He didn't. The person wasn't him. He could tell by only one look into his eyes. The person on the other side of the mirror had red eyes… much like his own… they were the same rich crimson… like blood. But his refection had the eyes of darkness. They were dangerous. Yami could see the glint of darkness, of insanity, behind the slightly shocked glance. It would have freaked him out to no end, hadn't he been so shocked myself. So he just went on staring, mutely, holding his breath.

After a few moments the shock in the reflection's eyes melted into curiosity. His head tilted to the side lightly and his lips formed words, but he couldn't hear them. And Yami couldn't have answered, even if he heard them. He was too afraid of the dark creature in front of him.

"Who are you?" the reflection asked.

Yami flinched and his eyes widened; his fear increased but he was also stunned and astonished like never before in his life. He felt like freezing, but the chill, which went slowly down his spine, was warm, like a warm flame. The reflection spoke to him. He spoke into Yami's mind. He could hear the smooth yet dark voice inside his head, shortly after his lips moved, as if he sent the question through the glass…

Then the dark stranger stretched out his hand, his crimson eyes fixed on my face, flashing like blood-red diamonds, and touched the cold surface of the invisible wall, which separated us from each other. Yami hesitated a moment but then also lifted a trembling hand until his fingers reached the mirror, where his hand already laid.

"I don't know anymore…" he whispered quietly.

"Why?" the voice asked.

Suddenly light flashed and nearly blinded him with its intensity. He pressed his eyes close, covering them with his hands.

"Why?" repeated the voice. "Who are you?"

The light faded away, left him blinking tears of pain out of his burning eyes. He was alone again and he felt the loss before he could even look at the mirror. The reflection was gone. Only a small, frightened child could be seen.

That was him… himself. The difference was amazing and yet it wasn't… he didn't understand it himself.

"Why are you here?" asked the voice only this time it was behind him.

Yami spun around to see another mirror there, and the reflection was back. He then saw that the dark room he was in was filled with mirrors. There were dozens of mirrors of every size and shapes floating in midair all around him, reflecting the dark reflection at him.

"I… I'm sorry," he said to the figure beyond the mirror, "But I don't know what you mean."

"You? Who are you?" the figure spoke in his thoughts again. His eyes wandered to the mirror, searching for the crimson eyed figure. But nobody was there. The mirror showed just himself and it made him feel lonely. The answering voice sounded powerful and so very, very dark. And it made him nearly collapse, because it was an unexpected sensation to feel the darkness flood over him like a wave. He stumbled into the room completely and sunk to his knees.

"Where are you? What are you? Where did you come from?" asked Yami irritated. No answer came and he looked around with searching eyes. 'What's this all about? Where are the others? Where's Yugi?' he thought in a panic.

"YUGI!" he screamed. "Yugi! Where are you?"

"Don't worry," said his reflection from behind another mirror. "Yugi. Is here."

"Where?" he cried looking around him, but only seeing countless mirrors staring at him. It was like having a crowd of creepy eyes the color of dried blood on dark, red velvet surrounding him… like the room was spinning around him and the eyes were all blending in an out so fast that he thought that he was going to be sick.

"What are you? Where's Yugi?" Yami repeated. "Who are you?"

But he couldn't focus on any one image. He nearly threw-up, but forced the unpleasant feeling down. He would just go to sleep now. Just for a moment… darkness overcame him.

Yami woke up slowly as light hit his face. He cracked one eye open tiredly and figured he hadn't slept for very long, because he still felt as weak as a newborn. But, he wondered, why did he fall asleep...?

Then he remembered. Immediately, his gaze shifted to the mirror, which showed his dark reflection. Those eyes. Enchanting, alluring, so very, very deep. The color was able to change so quickly from aggressive fire to soft ruby to the lurking and dangerous color of dried blood. That all was summed up now in one mere pair of eyes, half lidded by heavy lashes, looking down on him.

Yami felt terror race up and down his body. "What are you?"

The reflection tilted his head. "I'm you…" was all he answered.

Yami was able to get back to his feet. "What are you talking about?" he asked as he staggered around. "I'm me…"

He then felt something warm crept up behind him. He tried to think about what it could be, but his thoughts were too clouded from sleep and it was so dark wherever he was, so he couldn't see anything else anyway. He leaned back into the warmth, feeling two possessive arms snake around his waist and pull him even deeper into the darkness.

He didn't mind it. No, not at all. Warmth was a good thing. Yami smiled slightly. He felt content and that was a good thing, too, wasn't it?

Why bother? Why bother when a soft breath caresses your neck? It felt right after all. Why bother when the sleep claims you once again?

Yami sighed and waited for himself to be taken into dreamland again, he wanted to be dreaming without those crimson eyes, which seemed to belong to the devil himself, staring at him.

The air blowing against him was warm and he felt content like that, just letting himself float in dark nothingness. Pitch-black nothingness. Normally it made him quiver in fear but the feeling of the company of another being at his side soothed the uneasiness. He could have stayed like that forever, he thought, just lying on air, nothing but the presence of something warm and intimate all around him, snuggling to his skin like a touch. And then he heard it…

"YAMI!"

That voice… who was it? It sounded so familiar to him.

"YAMI! CAN YOU HEAR ME!"

Yugi voice… he could hear Yugi's voice…

Breathing in the scent deeply he was shocked to find that the source of it was moving away from him. The warmth around him left, the air blowing against him losing a few degrees of temperature. He shivered, the darkness around him now not all that comfortable anymore. He tried to reach out and hold it back but the nothingness was so empty and there was nothing he could grab and pull back against him. He had lost the company of the one chasing his fears away and they returned full force, making him whimper. He wanted to cry, to scream, but somehow there was no voice to speak, there was no sound of anything around him, not even his breathing, which had to be quite harsh by now. His eyes widened in panic, the darkness closing in and there was nothing he could do about it. Cold, uncaring darkness. Coming nearer and nearer. Encircling him.

"YAMI!" cried out Yugi's voice again, it sounded sick and weak; as if Yugi was forcing all of the strength he had to let out a decent scream. "YAMI DON'T LET THIS MAGIC TRICK YOU! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THERE!"

"HOW?" he cried out in desperation.

"THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE IS MIRROR! BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH… YOU HAVE TO SMASH THE RIGHT MIRROR IF YOU WANT TO GET OUT!"

Yami stared around him at the revolving mirrors. "WHICH MIRROR? THERE'S GOTTA BE AT LEAST A HUNDRED MIRRORS IN HERE!"

"FIND THE ONE THAT SHOWS THE TRUTH!" he heard Yugi scream.

Yami looked around him again, trying in vain to find the owner of the voice, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"TRY…" yelled Yugi's voice, sounding weaker by the moment. "FIND THE ONE THAT SHOWS WHO YOU…"

"YUGI!" screamed Yami. "Yugi where are you?" This time he didn't get an answer. He was left alone in the room full of mirrors. What did he mean find the mirror that shows who you… what? This was all too much for him, he just wanted to close his eyes and go back. He wished that he could go back to those nights that he spent with Yugi at the spring. Where they talked, laughed, and dreamed… where for the first time since his mother died, he had been happy. He wanted everything to go back to what it was.

"Reflection," he whispered as he stood up and gazed at the many mirrors surrounding him. "Talk to me. Tell me what to do I'm stuck. My heart's an anchor." The reflection appeared in the mirror to his right.

"Look at you, crying like some sad little puppy who was thrown out onto the streets… you're pathetic."

Yami gave the reflection a dark look. "What do you expect me to do? Me and my closest friend are fighting for our lives. And you're here making it worse." The reflection shrugged. "Tears never solve anything. No matter how much water there is, it doesn't change anything."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Yami cried out in desperation. "How am I supposed to get out of this? I can't even stand up to my own father! If you can call that man a father! My best friend is sick and maybe even dying because I got him involved in my problems. I can't help it. I don't know what to do anymore. I want…"

"You want?" asked the reflection. "What you want changes with the tides… with the breeze… you can't always live your life by what you want. I feel bad for your friend. He got stuck with you."

"What do you mean?" said Yami still letting the tears fall.

The reflection shook his head in exasperation. "There are thousands of people throughout the world that are being cared for by a family member, a friend, or by a lover who has stuck by them, through terrible times, and unnumbered hardships. Everyone got that… but Yugi. Instead he got you. Why? Why did he end up having a weakling like you to take care of him? Look in the mirror… look at who Yugi has to depend on."

The mirror shimmered with silver light for a brief moment before the image faded. Yami wasn't looking at the dark figure anymore. Instead he was staring at himself… his own copy. The figure looked small and thin… he was wet, dirty, wearing torn clothes, with blood-shot eyes and tears falling down his filthy face. It took Yami a minute to grasp that this… this was him. This frightened child… this scared child was supposed to be the one taking care of the one person he cherished and trusted more than anyone on this earth… and he looked like he couldn't even take care of himself. Yami walked over to the mirror and raised a shaking hand to touch the surface; his reflection copied his movements.

"I can't believe this," croaked Yami.

"Oh, the list of things you can't do. You're so weak."

That voice got him angry. "I'm not weak!" he screamed as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"Then prove it! Prove it to me now!"

Yami raised his fist and smashed the mirror in front of him. It broke as if he had flung a heavy stone at it; it just shattered into a million pieces which fell all around him as if in slow motion. Thousands of mirror shards reflecting his eyes as they fell… eyes that burned with a new fire… a new fire that reflected a new reason to keep fighting.