Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Clear Vision ❯ Chapter Twelfth ( Chapter 12 )

Clear Vision

A Seto/Joey fanfic by subaruxkamui4ever

AN: Well, hi there. Look, I know that Joey getting run down by traffic wasn't very nice of me. I'm sorry, Joey. But it was necessary, I needed him to be unconscious for a while! And he was running around all crazy like, what did he expect? Trust me, this is the only way to the happy ending I so desperately crave! Just one, I know I've got one in me somewhere! I've been constantly building and re-building my SetoxJoey website (see my author page), so that accounts for a lot of my time, but I've been doing a lot more writing as of recently, so this story should be wrapping up soon. It even seems almost over, all Seto and Joey need to do now is fall in LUUUUV.…

As I continued to fall deeper within myself, the world continued as scheduled, stopping for nothing and no one. Whoever it was that had hit me had called for help immediately, and within minutes my body was on its way to the nearest hospital, taking me along unaware. My descent into the darkest recesses of my own self continued for some time, so I feel that you should know what Seto is doing as this is happening to me.

Seto, upon hearing some awful commotion just outside of his house, remembered at once my sudden departure and threw himself out of bed, running over to the window across his room and threw open the drapes for the first time in so long, letting the forbidden light of the sun stream into his room unbridled. Blinking and squinting into the daylight, his eyes focused slowly and took in the scene that lay just beyond the edge of his property. As the details of the accident came into focus, the already frigid blood in his veins nearly iced over completely as the reality of the situation formed in his mind - I had been struck down, and possibly killed. And in Seto's mind, it was all his fault. All the pettiness and harsh words of the last moments we had spent together came at him all at once in a tangled mess of regret and grasping desperation. It couldn't end this way, he thought. Even if I had been annoying and oppressively happy, the moments he had spent in solitude after my leaving had already sent the pangs of loneliness into his heart. And now, I might never come back. Even if he had decided to come and claim me, now he wasn't sure if I would even be there for the taking. That final thought proved to be too much for Seto to bear, I had to be alive, he wouldn't allow me to die before he could claim what was rightfully his! Seto grew angry with himself for not acting sooner, but he knew that no matter what, I would be his and only his the second that I regained consciousness. Sethe would have to get his own undeserving boy to insult.

In all honesty, whoever this Sethe really was, he had most certainly worn out his welcome as far as Seto was concerned. Especially after that last little outburst, when he had taken over Seto's body for a few moments. Not long enough to make his presence known, but just long enough to cause plenty of damage to me, which had really done nothing but piss off Seto to no foreseeable end. No, this little game that the Priest was playing with Seto's mind was about to come to a close. Nobody takes control of Seto Kaiba. With that final thought, Seto rushed out of the room, and into the blinding light of day. He had so much to make up for, and precious little time to do it in, if he had the time left at all. Each step placed more quickly than the next, Seto Kaiba left his house, armed with nothing but the furious intent to reclaim what had always been rightfully his, and no others.

Meanwhile, as my body was being rushed around an emergency room hallway in the hopes that I could be revived, I found myself quite awake, although not at all in a place that I found familiar. I had not woken up at all, I realized as I turned my head each way and saw absolutely nothing in every conceivable direction. I was surrounded by an impenetrable black void from all around, and even as I looked down to see what it was that I stood upon I saw only darkness beneath my worn and tattered shoes. I realized, after looking down at the floor of nothing, that I had been here once before. This was the place inside my soul where Zahra remained, residing deep within me in a place that was so very hard to find. But I had come here again at last, and I intended to finish this once and for all. The last time I had been here I was able to communicate with Zahra through my own reflection that manifested in the dark floor under my feet. Remembering, I crouched down just as before and looked into the place just below my face, leaning in as far as I could without actually making contact with the reflective surface. But this time, there was nothing at all. How could that be? Blinking in confusion, I drew my head back a little ways, wondering if I had done something wrong. Maybe it didn't work the same every single time. It's not like I was an expert in this sort of thing, but I had to figure this out.

Trying it a second time, I leaned in to the perceived floor only slightly, hoping that maybe the first time I was just looking too hard. Still, I saw no reflection, only endless black depths below me. And then, just before I stood back up in defeat, I caught something out of the corner of my eye, and I looked closer at the space just under my left foot. There, not so clearly at first but becoming more visible as I stared at the right spot, was a boy who looked a good deal like me, but it wasn't at all a reflection. It was too far away, and while he bore a striking resemblance to me, there were still clear differences, even though he seemed to be at least 8 or 10 feet away. I saw him from the side, he looked as though he were lying on the floor, crying. He was alone, and I instantly felt his sorrow upon noticing it, making the connection between us real. He must have felt my eyes upon him, because he turned to face me and met my eyes in a way that made it clear he was able to see me, just as I could see him. I felt a single tear slowly run across my cheek, I knew exactly how he felt, for I felt the same rejection and pain that he did. The same tear made it's way down his own face, and he knew that I could feel what he felt.

"Zahra!" I called out to him and lifted my hand towards the floor, reaching out to him and hitting an invisible surface, the same surface that had reflected my own image previously, and the one that I was able to stand upon at that moment. It was as if a transparent barrier separated us, an endless wall of glass that kept his memories and broken feelings apart from my own, ensuring that he would not be lost within the true Joey, the only Joey that was meant to exist today. This must be where he had been hiding all this time, how I was able to live my life and not realize his existence until he made himself known to me intentionally. Placing both hands upon the barrier, I called his name again, hoping that he would respond, and perhaps come and speak with me a second time. He heard me, but he did not respond, and instead turned his back to where I knelt. Slowly standing up from where he lay, I saw that he was still dressed in the same clothes he has been wearing when he and Sethe were killed, the same clothes from my dream.

Standing still for just a moment with his back turned to me, I saw his hesitation when I called his name a second time, and for just a second I thought that he would respond. But then, as if in a panic, he took off running, and disappeared into the darkness below. My head dropped down in defeat, was there any way for me to contact him again? I began to wonder if he knew of my intent, or if he was just deeply hurt by the sharp and cutting words of the priest earlier this morning. Zahra would no doubt react the same way to both threats to his existence, but I had no intention of harming him in any way. I wanted to show him how we could both be happy, if he would be willing to listen. I had to find Zahra, and show him the way to rest.

I would have to follow him into his own memories and thoughts. It was a terrifying notion, but I knew that there was no other way, he wasn't going to come out on his own, and I couldn't go on living with him holding that space in my heart hostage for a man I did not love. I made up my mind at once, but still I was unsure of how to pass through the wall that separated the two of us. Pushing experimentally on the surface below me, it was just as though I were standing on any solid ground, and was obviously immovable. An idea came into my mind suddenly, and I stood up immediately, realizing exactly what it was I had to do in order to follow him.

I had to let it all go.

I took a deep breath and steadied myself on my feet, drawing my mental body up to it's full height. This was for Seto, I repeated over and over as I prepared for the descent. Lifting my arms until the were parallel to the floor beneath me, I stretched them outward as far as they could reach, away from my sides, and from far away I looked almost to be crucified upon absolutely nothing at all. Resolving myself fully, I understood what it was that I needed to breach within myself, and in that moment I was as ready as I would ever be.

I let it all go, and I slowly allowed myself fall backwards into the transparent nothing below, trusting in my heart that I would make it through.

AN: OOOHH! I'm so excited to know what happens! These sequences that take place in the landscape of Joey's mind are by far my favorite parts of this story to both read and write. I wish something cool like this would happen to me! But alas, it never does….where are my inner demons? They're not doing a very good job at possessing me.