Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Dead to the World ❯ Slaying the Dreamer ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Hello again. Once more, I present you with the second chapter of Dead to the World… and I swear that this is the last time. I just… really wasn’t content with the previous version…. I’m not sure about this one either, though… I changed it so much that I had difficulties to keep it even somehow connected to the lyrics. But I think it’s ok…

Note: (in the case you didn’t notice my edit in the first chapter) if you are interested in hearing parts of some of the songs I use here, go here: www.nightwish.com and there to ‘MP3’. They have some samples there.

The song I used in this chapter, Slaying the Dreamer, was being just plain difficult. I wanted to use it, ever since I heard it for the first time I thought that it's about Ryou and his yami, but it wasn't easy. I’m not that sure how well the lyrics fit the fic at parts, but… let’s think about it as a whole, ok? That way it works better… It's a little weird song, one of the ‘heaviest’ from Nigthwish. Still, with Tarja’s voice…it gets quite a different sound into itself than what one would think from the lyrics. If you haven't heard her singing… she could almost be an opera singer. The tone changes quite radically, though, when Marco opens his mouth in the end… (in the part that begins ‘wake up’…) you can certainly forget the ‘opera’ there.

Disclaimer:I own neither Yu-Gi-Oh, nor this song. Blah.

SLAYING THE DREAMER

The darkness is… restless.

That is a weird word to use in this context, maybe, but it is the only one I can think of that would describe this feeling. The darkness is moving around me, swirling, whirling… it almost makes me dizzy.

I wish I could close my eyes, stop watching it for a while somehow…

Everything has been so calm for a long time, and I was almost lulled to sleep – who knows, maybe I was. Even the dreams were fading away; these days they were nothing else but pointless visions. I’m not even sure whether they have any truth in themselves or whether they were only some mad nightmares.

Now, though… the darkness is restless. It woke me up and now it is making me restless as well.

It is making me wonder…

All those pieces of dreams, visions, that I’ve been having… I wish I could connect them together. A dead boy, a singing girl, a man with tri-coloured hair, always somewhere far away, power, a golden ring… and blood. A cut throat, grinning mockingly at me…

The restlessness increases. As always, whatever there is in the darkness enters me too, takes over even though I try to push it away. I wish I could remember… why am I here? All I remember is death… someone died… for me? Or was it I who died for someone else…

What is the point of dying for someone if you can’t even remember it?

I'm a priest for the poorest sacrifice

I'm but a raft in a sea of sorrow and greed

You bathed in my wine

Drank from my cup, mocked my rhyme

Your slit tongues licked my aching wounds

…I think it is an understatement to say that the darkness is just ‘restless’. I’ve never seen it in turmoil like this. I can feel it dragging me – where, that I don’t know, and I’m not too eager to follow. I was quite content, sleeping here in peace. At least then I didn’t have to try to remember what the hell has happened earlier.

I concentrate on ignoring the pull and getting back to my dull state, but it doesn’t work. I am awake, and I just can’t help thinking…

I remember the golden ring in my hand, its heaviness, the way moonlight reflected from it – light – I really haven’t been thinking about that for long. I don’t remember what that thing was, but I remember its promise… of power.

The darkness tugs me forward again, and this time I can feel myself moving a little. I don’t care though, I’m thinking about the golden ring. The golden ring… shining…

Another pull, and I glide through the dark.

The Ring glows in front of me. I reach toward it, hesitantly, unsure whether I’m just dreaming again or whether it really is there. As I look at the shining circle, I suddenly see a small boy in the middle of it, dressed in rags, wandering alone on the streets of some city. In shock I stop moving… there is something familiar in the sight. Before I can realize what that is, he disappears and there is another sight, a big palace, a huge crowd before it, and… I start a little. That man with tri-coloured hair I remember from my visions is standing on a balcony. The crowd is cheering… except for one, a cloaked figure that stands in the background. The moment I notice him, though, the vision is changing again. Now I see the Ring, lying on a stone tablet, together with six other similar items.

And I remember. They were all in that tomb… but I didn’t have time to get but the Ring. If I got them all though… then I could finally get what I want…

My revenge.

Pharaoh-yo.

With that realization, everything around me breaks apart. The tugging is back, stronger this time, like a wind it gets a hold of me and whirls me around in the crumbling darkness. I barely notice the silvery cracks that split the blackness I’m flying through, as I’m facing a carnival of random visions – or not so random anymore. Now I can place, I can remember them…

The cold, lonely streets… the sky coloured golden by the flames of war… my mother, at times chastising me, at times lying dead on the floor… the shining ring… that boy, that damned nuisance who got us both killed… the excitement when I entered the tomb… the Pharaoh, always from the distance, riding in his carriage, standing on the balcony of his palace, living his live in luxury while war strives in the kingdom and murderers run free, nothing but a murderer himself…

For a long time I have thought that I’m only a bodiless being, some kind of a spirit floating in the darkness, but now… do I still have a heart? There is something, like a heavy burden in my chest, so much anger, rage, that it feels as if I couldn’t breath, more and more oppressive until I feel like exploding…

Silent scream escapes me, pounds in my ears, and finally the darkness shatters and bursts into bright light.

Put a stake through my heart!

And drag me into sunlight

So awake for your greed

As you're slaying the dreamer

The floor is weird.

That is the first thing I can think of as I come to my senses again. I am on my knees on the floor, staring down at it.

I have never seen floor like this.

Carefully, I run my hand over it. It is smooth, very smooth… not wood, not stone, not… I press my nail at it and it leaves a small mark that slowly disappears.

Weird.

There are patterns on the floor. It takes me a moment to realize that they don’t belong to the floor… they’re made by light. I raise my head quickly. The light comes from a window… sunlight, I realize suddenly.

I get up and walk to the window, frowning at it. As the floor, it too is weird. Why is it that big, for one thing? It is highly unpractical to have… what?

I had tried to put my hand out through the window, but there is something on the way. I push my hand against it, then knock it. Whatever it is, it just… is there. Now that I’m closer I can actually see it…

Leaning forward, I stare at the… transparent thing that blocks the window. I can see my reflection on it, dimly… my white hair, and… hey, what’s this? I raise my hand to my face and touch my cheek. There is no scar. Nothing, just soft skin. As I look down at my body I can’t help but blink at the weird clothes I’m wearing. Even so, I’m more interested about other things than clothes right now… I feel my arms, explore my chest and legs, and…

This isn’t my body.

That realization is… a bit unnerving, so to say.

What is this?

Feeling panic growing in my chest I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Let’s stay calm now. Panicking won’t help anybody.

All right.Now, what do I know about what’s going on?

First of all there was the darkness. I was in the darkness… though I don’t know why.

What is going on here?

…don’t start that now. I was in the dark. In the dark. And something pulled me…

Who are you?!

I open my eyes with a blink.

That wasn’t my thought.

And that is even more unnerving than the fact that this isn’t my body.

I have to find out what this all is about. Closing my eyes again I try to ignore the world around me and concentrate on everything… inside me.

Now, of course, the voice is quiet. But I can feel something… hesitant. Something that is afraid, and it’s not me.

Good. Whatever it is, if it’s afraid of me, I have to be stronger than it is. There is no point in being afraid of something weaker.

Hey, I think, trying to address the thought to this… feeling. There is no answer, but something shifts nervously.

Do you hear me? I think, and even though I get no answer this time either, I am suddenly sure that whatever it is, it does hear me. Answer me! I yell at it, and there is the shift again. I concentrate on it, and suddenly I find myself standing in a small corridor. In front of me a young white-haired boy with a horrified expression takes few steps back.

…I know that boy.

“You.”

He blinks at me looking quite confused, but I don’t care about that right now.

“You of all people…” I feel a headache growing. “So it’s your body, is it?” I say, as I’m finally beginning to understand something. “Of course it is… how didn’t I recognize it immediately…”

I glare at the boy who apparently has no idea of what I’m talking about. Suddenly I’m seething with rage. “Just my luck, isn’t it? What the hell have I done to deserve this?”

Eyes wide, the boy backs a little further away. “Wha… what…”

I snort. “Never mind. So I’m trapped into your body now, huh? Well, I guess I’d better to make some use of it, then.”

Calming down a little I stop to consider the situation. So, I am trapped into this boy’s body for now. The good side of this all: I’m apparently alive again. Who knows, maybe I can now, finally, get my revenge… maybe this isn’t so bad, after all.

Ignoring the boy – pretty much forgetting that he even exists – I return to the real world. Yes, maybe this isn’t so bad… but there are many things I still have to figure out.

Swansong for the Wish of Night

God it hurts, give a name to the pain

Our primrose path to Hell is growing weed

I don’t understand anything.

As I stare at the spot where this… weird white-haired demon-person-whatsoever stood just a moment ago I try to comprehend what just happened.

I was simply walking across the room in my own home, taking a look at the present I had just gotten from my father, when I was suddenly thrown into a weird white room that has little furniture and… Amane’s picture on the wall. I walked out of the room into a small corridor – this corridor – where there is another door that seems to be locked… and then, when I was trying to figure out what the heck just happened… I started hearing voices to the boot.

Maybe I’ve finally gone nuts.

Who was that… that person? He talked as if he knew me… and didn’t like me much. I shiver a little. Not to mention that he looked… totally crazy.

And… a bit like me…

Maybe I did go crazy. Maybe that’s the crazy me… I wonder if I’m schizophrenic or something…

Suddenly I notice that I’m sitting, leaning my back to the corridor’s wall. Well, this is as good place to sit as any… for some reason, I don’t want to go to that white room again.

Hey, you!

I start. It’s him again…

…what? I ask after hesitating a while.

What the hell is this?

What? I ask again, since I obviously have no idea what he’s talking about.

This! he yells and suddenly I see through my eyes again. I’m standing in the living room, apparently, and pointing a kitchen knife towards the television. The television is on and showing some children’s program. Two multi-coloured cartoon cats are currently talking with each other.

Oh. It’s… television. It’s not dangerous.

Television?And exactly what is that? he asks, still suspicious.

It… umm, is a thing, with which you… can see stuff… Like…

See? he asks, suddenly interested. Feeling what he’s thinking I cut him off before he continues.

No, it’s not anything magical. You just see what others show you… like different plays and such,I try to explain. It can be watched for fun or for getting information.

Oh. And which category this falls into? Fun or information?he asks, gesturing with the knife towards the screen where a steamroller is just running over another of the cats.

…it’s for kids…I say lamely, and more feel than hear his snort.

Crazy kids you must have,he states and suddenly the only thing I see is again the corridor.

I have a bad feeling about this…

Put a stake through my heart!

And drag me into sunlight

So awake for your greed

As you're slaying the dreamer

I wonder how long it’s been.

I’ve went back to the white room – after all, even though I don’t like it, it is much more comfortable than the corridor. There’s even a bed there.

No clock, though. I have no clue how long it has been… I can’t help feeling quite worried about what that… that… I’d really need a name for him… is doing with my body. A lot worried, really.

Then again… isn’t he just me? The crazy me?

Then…I’m being a lot worried about what I’m doing with my body.

…if I’m not mad yet, I swear I will soon be at this rate…

Hey, you!

I roll my eyes. Someone should teach me manners – talking like that to myself…

Are you listening to me, twerp?

Yes…

Who is this?

And suddenly I see the world again. This time we… I mean I am in my bedroom, looking at a picture that was taken last summer in the park. My finger is pointing to Yuugi.

“A… friend of mine,” I say hesitantly. I feel him frowning a little at the word ‘friend’. Now, what is this?

“So he’s alive?” he… me… whatever asks, and I try to nod but find out that I can’t control my head.

“Yes,” I mutter, wondering about this sudden interest in Yuugi.

I feel my fingers flipping through other pictures and suddenly stopping when one picture of Kaiba – probably the only one I have – comes up. “Yes…” I hear my lips muttering. “I remember. The priest.” For a moment I stare at the picture.

“I see.” My body throws the pictures on the bed and glares at the mirror. It is quite frightening – I have tried glaring at myself at times via the mirror, but it has never worked this well before. “You will show me where that guy lives. The first one with tri-coloured hair, that is.”

I gulp mentally. “…why?”

The glare sharpens. “Because I say so. And that is enough for you.”

I’m not going to give up that easily. I’m not going to lose to myself.

“Why?” I ask again, and this time my voice doesn’t quiver.

There’s a moment’s silence.

“I didn’t remember that you were this stupid.”

“What…?”

“This stupid. You really think I’m just fragment of your imagination, don’t you? A dream? A nightmare? Something that will fade away when the sun rises? News to you, the sun won't rise. I'm here to stay. And you'd better start to obey me.” He pauses for a while, and I can feel him concentrating. “And I am very much real!” he yells, pushes me and I stumble a little, trying not to fall down but fall anyway, on the soft carpet of my bedroom. I blink slowly as I get up and stretch my fingers unable to believe that I really can move them again.

Am I myself again?

“Very much real,” I hear a quiet voice from behind me and froze for a moment. As I turn around I see him, standing there by my bed, staring at me with annoyance.

I gulp once. This is crazy. I really am crazy, aren’t I?

He sighs. “Think like that, if it makes this easier. The fact is, still, that I am here now. And you will do what I tell you to do. Otherwise you’ll just mess everything up again… fool.”

“Wha-what?”

“Wha-what?” he mimics me rolling his eyes. “What part of that you didn’t understand?” He glares at me again. “You do what I say. And now… you will show me where that ‘friend’ of yours lives.”

He almost spits that word out of his mouth. This is not good.

“I’m not going to let you hurt my friends,” I say quietly, and he blows up.

"Damn you!" He grasps my collar and throws me at the wall. I stumble quickly away from him, afraid that he's going to come at me again, but he remains staring at me where he is.

"It's all your fault, anyway," he mutters. "You messed up in your previous life, and even here you’re just planning to cause trouble…”

I blink. My fault? What the hell he's talking about?

Blame me, it's me

Coward, a good-for-nothing scapegoat

Dumb kid, living a dream

Romantic only on paper

With few quick steps he's standing beside me and grasps again my shirt pushing me against the wall.

For a moment he stares me in the eyes. I'd like to look away, but I don't dare to.

“Now get this straight,” he spits at my face. “First of all, you obey me from now on. You can forget those silly little dreams you had, forget the stargazing, forget your life… I’m in the control now. Yes… I do know about it all. Everything about how you sat in the trees at night and dreamed about ‘making the world a better place’. Why so surprised? You did think that I am you, after all, didn’t you?” He pauses for a while and I try to start breathing normally again – I hadn’t even noticed I was holding my breath. “Secondly, you will not use the word ‘friend’ of that creature again.”

After that he lets go and I lean heavily against the wall, afraid that I’m going to fall down. Without giving me one more glance he stomps out of the room. I watch after him and feel my knees fail me.

Why? I'd want to scream the question after him but, again, I don't dare to. Why do you hate Yuugi so much? And me? What is my fault? What are you talking about? I just don’t understand…

Tell me why you took all that was mine!

Stay as you lay - don't lead me astray!

Tell me why you took all that was mine

Stay as you lay - don't lead me astray...

I walk right out of the house and leave that fool sitting on the floor.

Idiot.Stupid little twerp. That I had to end up tied like this just to him…

In my rage, it takes a moment for the surroundings to register in my brain. As they do…

What kind of a place is this?

The buildings are high and look weird, I don’t understand what they’re made of… some kind of stone, maybe… Everywhere there are flashing lights, chasing away the darkness of the night, and…

Something flashes by, some kind of a coach without horses, rumbling as it goes, and for a moment I have to fight the urge to get back in.

No. If I am going to live in this world, I have to face it. Still angry I start walking down the street, determined not to let anything shake me. I wonder how long it has been since my time… it must have been long.

Attempting to ignore everything around me I return to my earlier thoughts. About the idiot. The twerp. Ra damn it, why?

Such an innocent little fool… How can he have such a naïve view of the world? Maybe, with time, I can show him what the world really is like – no, I don’t believe it has changed at all, no matter how long it has been. ‘Not going to let you hurt my friends…’ hah. Go ahead and stop me then. Kill me, why don’t you? As if he’d have the guts for that… &nbs p; & nbsp; &nbs p; & nbsp; &nbs p; & nbsp; &nbs p; & nbsp; &nbs p; & nbsp; &nbs p; & nbsp; &nbs p;

Wake up, mow the weed

You'd be nothing without me

Take my life if you have the heart to die

Friends. I wonder if this ‘friend’ of his, the Pharaoh look-a-like… if he really is the one I think he is… Then again, whether he is or not hardly matters. He has the Puzzle, after all, I could see it in that picture. Besides, I don’t think it’d be possible for someone to look that much like him and not to have anything to do with him.

There were other people in those pictures as well… clearly his friends. I ponder about that for a moment.

Yes, I think that I have to get rid of them some way. It will be far easier to get the Pharaoh's Puzzle when he stands alone.

Have to get rid of them. Besides, it is only fair. It’s time to teach the Pharaoh what it’s like to lose everything…

You don’t know anything about that, do you, Pharaoh?

What did you know about anything, living your life in the luxury of your palace? What do you know here? Already with a new ‘court’, new loyal friends, like that twerp… Well, keep them as long as you have them. That isn’t going to be long.

I walk forward with quick steps, paying no attention to where I'm going. For a moment I'm worried that I might get lost in this monstrous place, but I shrug the thought off. I don't get lost that easily.

A lot of time must have passed, though. I wonder if there is anything left of the greatness of my time but ruins. My time. I almost get sentimental about this – why do I have to live if my time is long dead? – but throw determinedly these thoughts out of my head.

You bastards tainted my tool

Raped my words, played me fool

Gather your precious glitter and leave me be

The Great Ones are all dead

And I'm tired, too

I come to a bridge and stop at the middle of it. A constant flow of those coaches goes under it, and I lean on the railing watching them.

The Pharaoh and his court…

I truly hate you all!

Reading this chapter through, I got yet another Nightwish’s song playing in my mind, Dead Boy’s Poem. “Never sigh for better world, it’s already composed, played and told…” …not sure where that came from…

Anyway. It’s done… this time for good.

The next chapter… will be done some day. I can’t promise anything, though. It’s a bit problematic one, and besides, I have this nagging feeling that there’s a hole between this chapter and it. Things start proceeding a little too quickly. Not to mention that the original version of that chapter was so cliché that it makes me sick…