A Yugi/Yami story
Through a Dragon's Eye
Chapter 26- The Siege of the Tower
'What does that mean?' he thought. 'Is this why I was born? Is this why I'm the 'chosen one'? Is this my destiny? To be a sacrificed lamb?'
Yugi could feel the tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes. 'I'm… I'm supposed to die? IS that it?'
"What am I supposed to do?" he whispered as the sound of fighting began sound dull to his ears. At that moment he heard someone speak.
"Can you hear me?" asked a deep voice.
Yugi's eyes widened. He didn't know where that voice came from so he whispered, "Y-yes?"
"Ah, you can hear me… that's good," the voice whispered.
Yugi looked around him, trying to see where the voice was coming from. "I can't see you. Where are you?" he whispered.
"Right here," the voice replied.
"Who are you?" Yugi asked, not understanding what was going on.
"Details, details," the voice said. "Just listen to me. Do you wish to save your friend?"
Yugi looked over at the struggle that was going on between Yami and his father. Yugi was scared that if this kept up then Yami was going to get killed.
"Yes," he whispered. "But what can I do like this? I can't even… breathe… without feeling like I'm about to pass out."
"All you have to do is answer one final riddle, and I'll be summoned. But I feel that I should tell you that if you do solve this riddle… your life will end. That is the price you must pay for allowing me to come forth," the voice said.
"You mean…?" Yugi said as he began to cry again. "The only way that I can help Yami is… that I'm gonna…"
"Long ago," the voice went on. "Two great and powerful magicians created this tower to protect this world."
"Protect it?" Yugi whispered, "Protect it from what?"
"Protect it from the prize that this man is so blinded to get," it answered. "There are many others like him who are so desperate to get it that they are blinded to everything else around them."
"The power?" Yugi repeated through numb lips.
"These two wizards were very wise to seal it away, however they knew that there will be those willing to do anything and everything to get here and will eventually succeed. And so they placed me here to guard it."
"You?" Yugi asked confused before an idea formed in his mind. Could this voice really be…? "A-are y-y-you…?"
"Yes, young one," answered the voice who sounded please. "I am Miasmador."
"The guardian of the tower…" Yugi whispered, "The dragon who guards this place… you're really real."
"Oh course I'm real, Yugi," Miasmador said, "But now… I cannot protect this place like I'm supposed to. I need your light to defeat this darkness."
"Light?" Yugi asked. "What light?" He then turned his gaze upon the shining crystal that was sparkling above him.
"No, not that light," Miasmador said, "That is a dark light. The light of destruction. No, I need your light to fight. What say you?"
"My light?" Yugi repeated, "What are you talking about? I don't have any light."
"That is where you are wrong Yugi," said Miasmador. "You yourself don't realize what a strange person you are. In the hearts of all humans, there is both light and darkness, the two live together side by side. One can't even exist without the other. You can't have one without the other… because darkness is half of everything. However… you aren't like that at all."
"What do you mean I'm not like that?" Yugi questioned, "Does that mean that I'm not normal?"
"No, you are not," answered Misasmador. "Yes, you are certainly a human being, and you do have a kind and gentle heart, but I can detect not the slightest trace of darkness or any kind of evil coming from your heart. Only the most good hearted and pure of spirit could make it thus…"
"But…" Yugi began, trying to understand what was going on.
"This island," went on Misasmador as if he wasn't interrupted, "Is actually being upheld by the efforts of two great twin trees."
"Trees?" Yugi asked startled.
"Yes, they grow beneath the ocean's surface. Their entwining made the land that we all stand on… and the tower was built on top of it. But now, because of the wickedness of this man here, the trees are dying. His darkness is like a poison and has seeped into the land, killing the trees. One tree has already withered and died, while the other is now struggling to hold on. If this keeps up, then it won't be much longer before it too dies."
"So that's what the riddle said before," Yugi said thoughtfully. "But what will happen if the remaining tree dies?"
"This island, this tower, and everyone on it will crumple and fall into the sea."
"What?" Yugi said in a panic though in his weaken state it was hardly above a whisper. "If we're in so much danger then why don't you do something?"
"I wish I could young one," Misasmador answered regretfully. "But my strength has waned. And in order to be summoned then I need the power of a pure light."
"In other words…" Yugi said as tears formed in his eyes. "You need my light to save Yami."
"… Yes."
"And I'll…?" Yugi asked, though knowing the answer.
"Most certainly die, all you must do is answer one final riddle, and it'll all end. Of course… no one is making you do this. The choice is… yours. What do you wish to do? But answer quickly."
Yugi was torn… he didn't want to die, was it painful to die? He never thought that it would end like this… no he couldn't do it… he was too scared. But…
He used what little energy he had to turn his head back towards the fight between father and son. Yami was on the ground holding a bleeding shoulder and looked to be in pain. He gasped as armor suddenly appeared on Yami's opponent.
Yami's father armor was thunderous clang, that formed one titanic, mailed warrior, whom the cavernous mouth uttered an earthly metallic bellow; his eyes glowed. In one hand he wielded an enormous, double-headed ax.
Yugi whimpered. He felt the ground tremble as Yami's father, ax raised, walked forward and stamped toward them. He had never felt more useless. He wanted to help, but he couldn't think of anything that he could do. It wasn't fair.
He realized that he couldn't take it. He wanted to be by Yami's side, he couldn't stand the thought that he was lying here like a rag doll when his friend was fighting for his life… he was going to help him… even if it did kill him.
"What is the riddle?" he asked quickly, "What can I do to save Yami?"
"Then you choose to save him?" the dragon's voice asked as if making sure what Yugi was saying.
"Of course I do!" Yugi said with as much force as he can. "I'm the only one who can right? SO I will. Besides…"
'Besides,' he thought to himself, 'I'm in such bad shape that I won't be around for much longer. At least this way… this way I can at least save Yami. I just hope that he won't be to mad at me later."
"Here is the riddle," said Misasmador.
If you break me
I do not stop working,
If you touch me
I may be snared,
If you lose me
Nothing will matter.
Yugi blinked several times before he gave a small smile. He knew what that riddle was right away… all he had to do was say the answer… and he will die. He looked back at Yami who got back up onto his feet and standing up to his father.
"If I do this…" Yugi began, "Then you have to promise me that you'll save Yami."
"Is that the condition for giving me your light?" asked Misasmador.
"Yes," Yugi said as Yami jumped and dodged as best as he could from his father's blows.
"Very well," said Misasmador, "You have my word that I'll protect him and do whatever I can to save him."
"Then… that's good enough," Yugi said as he let his tears fall. He shut his eyes, trying to block out the sounds of the fight before he whispered to himself, "If you break it, it doesn't stop working… if it's touched then it can be captured… if you lose it… then there's no point in living… the answer is…"
Yugi's life suddenly flashed before his eyes… he was back at his village and living happily with his parents before the plague took them both.
He was riding in the cart right after he left home.
He spent the night in the neighboring village and met Yami for the first time.
The few days that they spent together at the spring.
All their adventures on the road.
Yugi getting sick and meeting Ishizu.
Seeing the ocean for the first time…
Yami's face smiling and laughing as if he hadn't had a care in the world…
Yugi smiled a wide smile before muttering with his last breath, "The heart."
And then everything went dark as he felt his light leave, not only his body, but this world
*Yami*
Yami's father laughed his atrocious, dark, twisted laugh… and there he was. Yami looked up, trembling slightly when he saw who was standing there facing him. His dad then shot at Yami, the force of the attack slammed Yami into the wall behind them.
But when dad readied himself for another attack, Yami sprung to his feet. He wiped off the blood from his face just as one of his father's arms flew at Yami again. Yami dodged his arm then ran toward him; as if he was ready to throw a punch, but his father was one step ahead of him and used his other arm to block.
"You'll have to try harder than that to beat me Yami," he said.
Yami snarled, "Why dad? Wasn't my suffering enough? Leave us alone!"
"You really think that I could leave you alone after all this? I will never let you or your friend go!" his old man yelled.
Yami then charged in without thinking, angered by his father's taunts. His dad let lose another blast of light just as Yami goes around it, just barely dodging it; he looked behind him. When Yami turned around, one of the light beams slashed at his shoulder. Yami fell in pain, grasping his arm as blood began to flow.
Yami holds his shoulder with his left hand, trying to block out his pain. Light unexpectedly blinded him and he had to roll over onto his stomach to try and block it out.
"Witness!" his father yelled from somewhere behind him, "The power that I now control!"
The light died down slightly enough for Yami to force himself the blink and see what was going on. He gulped and for a moment wished that the light still blinded him.
Dad was now in a thick and powerful armor to protect him.
His father armor was thunderous clang, that formed one titanic, mailed warrior, whom the cavernous mouth uttered an earthly metallic bellow; his eyes glowed. In one hand he wielded an enormous, double-headed ax.
'The armor must've been made from the damn crystal,' Yami thought gritting his teeth. The floor trembled as his dad, ax raised, walked forward.
Yami let out a snarl, "Stay back!" but it was a mere squeaking sound in comparison to the terrible noise made by this Goliath of a demon.
He had never felt more useless. He couldn't think of anything to stop this guy, the best he could do was start running around at his feet, trying to avoid getting trampled.
Unexpectedly, a new sound appeared, startling them both.
It was a roar that sounded like the ultimate war cry, one that rang with centuries of wisdom and power; and from behind his father something suddenly came charging at him… Yami's jaw dropped…
It was a dragon.
The dragon had entered the tower from the outside. Easily fitting through the open walls, it's wings spread wide in warning. It was a dragon with piercing red eyes and scales as black as the night…
*Red-eyes black dragon!*
The dragon let out another roar as it advanced towards them, it let lose an inferno ball of fire towards the man in metal. It reflected of it as easily as if it was water. The dragon came in closer, and it claws were able to leave a large gash across the shield. Yami's father was not done yet however, he sent an energy shock that blasted the dragon away from him and forced it back outside. Once the dragon was out of sight, he turned back towards Yami.
He had come close enough to aim a massive ax blow at his son, but Yami rolled out of the way just in time. The attack missed him, but gashed a great fissure on the wall and floor where Yami had laid not only seconds before.
A fountain of sparks spurted from the steel axhead, forcing Yami to run past the giant feet, but dad jerked rapidly around and smashed his ax down again with both hands. Screaming, Yami leaped, and the ax hammered the ground between them, burying itself among shattered paving stones. The colossal withdrew it effortlessly, and now, crouching, he delivered a scything swing at them. He threw himself flat, and heard the ax whiz over them with a noise like an ignited rocket.
The descending ax carved a slice off a buttress. Blow followed blow. Each one would have left no more of Yami than there is of a bug squashed on a wall. All that had saved them so far was the inflexible, jerky motion of his father's attack, which gave them a split second's forewarning of where the next annihilating crash was aimed.
It was only a matter of time before he finally hit Yami, when suddenly the dragon appeared again and continued the battle.
Yami's father received all the blows the dragon kept dishing out at him. The black dragon kept firing fireball and fireball at him dad while at the same time, standing between Yami and the brute killer. That was when Yami realized that the dragon was protecting him.
Yami began to tremble, he didn't want to watch but he knew that he had to do something…
That was when he had an idea… it was crazy and what he was about to do could get him killed… but it would also give the dragon a fighting chance.
"HEY YOU GIANT SCRAP HEAP!" Yami yelled, trying to get his father's attention. "OVER HERE!"
His father heard the insult and turned back towards Yami, "THIS IS THE END FOR YOU YAMI!" he yelled as he then tossed his ax, so blinded to kill Yami that he failed to notice where Yami was standing…
Right in front of the crystal of power.
Yami dived out of the way once again as the ax went flying pass him before it embedded itself in the crystal that his father was so obsessed with gaining.
"NO!" his old man yelled as power came spilling forth from the jewel's power, which gave the dragon time to attack when his enemy was weakened.
Yami didn't bother to watch; he leapt up one final time and streaked towards Yugi, who was lying motionless on the stone floor. Just as Yami reached him, he dove right on top of him to try to shield him from the ongoing battle.
'Just hang on a little longer, Yugi,' he prayed as he tried to ignore the sounds of fireballs and metal scraping across the stone, and as the rocks began to fall from around them. It was like the end of the world was happening, and they were right smack dap in the middle of hell.
Yami didn't know how much time had passed… but finally, after what felt like an eternity, the sounds of fireballs quieted down and the stones stopped falling.
When the screaming had died down… the sounds of metal fell to the ground with crashes. Slowly, afraid of what he would see, raised his head slightly to get a peek at what was going on. What he saw shocked him to the core.
His father was standing there, his armor almost completely destroyed, and blood dripping onto the floor. He stood there for a moment before what was left of his shell all fell to pieces. It was as if years of corrosion were coming by in seconds until, all that was left was a pile of twisted metal and rust. The dragon was still standing tall, but had deep gashes and wounds all over its body.
Yami looked at his father's defeated form… he hated him for everything he'd done… and yet…
Slowly, as if moving against his will, he stood up and began to approach the man that had caused all this pain and suffering…
His dad was looking at the ground, breathing hard, as blood dripped from his burnt and open injuries. As Yami got closer, he could hear some of the things that he was saying:
"Oh, how did this happen? Where did I go wrong? Just where did I go wrong?"
Yami walked forward a few more steps until he stood a few feet away from his father. Dad finally looked up at him.
"Was there no other way?" Yam asked quietly.
His father smiled… yet it wasn't the mad twisted smile that Yami had seen… for a moment, he looked like his old self… before mom had died… back when he was still a loving father… Yami felt tears beginning to form again. He was crying for his father, for the old days, for everything that happened here. He just couldn't figure out why this had to turn out.
"Spend your pity elsewhere. If you are so set on running… shouldn't you be off? Fool of a son," he whispered as his eyes closed and he fell forward… dead.
It was all over.
And Yami was still alive.
Yet why did he feel like he lost something important? Why did he feel like it was a hallow victory?
That was when it hit him… Yugi still needed help.
In a panic, he ran back to his friend who still didn't move an inch and began to shake him. "Yugi? Yugi, wake up! We're safe now! We can go!"
But Yugi didn't answer.
Yami didn't like this, so he gently turned him over onto his back so that he could see his face. "Yugi? Can you hear me?" Yugi still didn't move or respond to him. Yami shook him softly, screaming his name.
"YUGI? YUGI? YUGI, PLEASE WAKE UP!"
He screamed until his voice was hoarse, but it didn't make the slightest difference.
His dearest friend wasn't breathing and his heart, his strong and pure heart was no longer beating.
Yugi was gone…
(Sorry for taking so long with this story. but i've had a lot on my mind lately. This story is finally almost over, only one more chapter and the epilouge to do. If you're upset about Yugi, just remember the story isn't over yet! Please review!)