Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Dreams Come True ❯ Chapter Twenty Six: The Chapter Before The Chapter Before The Last One! ( Chapter 26 )

Chapter Twenty Six: The Chapter Before The Chapter Before The Last One!

As she ran, the various brambles ripped at her skin and shredded her arms to the point where it looked like she had arm-wrestled a rosebush.

Not like she cared.

Letting her legs fly as fast as they would go, leaving her blood behind on thorns and plants, she ran along, sobbing still--so confused. Her mind supplied her with no sympathy, no consoling. And now…there was no one to hold her and tell her it was going to be allright.

Because they both knew.

It would not be allright…

Tripping every few steps, she finally came to a crashing bang onto her knees, feeling the stabbing pains in her arms for the first time. In a slow, dazed way, she looked at the red blooming from the scratches, and she shook her head, bringing it with a dull thud against the trunk of a nearby tree.

The sobs racked her body until she couldn't move anymore, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All she wanted to do was fall asleep and never wake up…but something in her shook her roughly awake, and she pulled herself wearily to her feet, looking to the west. To where the castle was, her father. She could see him now… I told you so.. I told you, didn't I? Your father's been around the block more than once, Princess, he knows what he's talking about. And Mina found herself-for the first time in her life-hating her father. Because this was his fault. He had destroyed the only thing that could make her happy, and Seto had fallen right into the trap with his hotheaded temper and jealousy.

Jealousy.

The word made her grit her teeth in anger. What had he had to be jealous about?

She would punish them. Hurt them so badly by hurting herself so that they were beyond repair. And when she was somewhere, safe from them all, she would stand and laugh, she told herself.

But for now, she was sobbing, arms wrapped around her thin figure as she shook violently and let her knees buckle again, sending her to the ground.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seto stood silently, his eyes closed, trying to calm himself down. Meanwhile, behind him, Joey had recovered and was dusting himself off.

"We need to go after her," The blonde said, eyes dark.

"Who's we?" Seto snapped, tensing again.

"Fine. You."

This was answered by silence. And then..

"This is my fault," Seto said, opening his eyes and sighing, shoulders drooping slightly. "I had no reason to get so madly jealous. It's like ripping the wings off of a butterfly, the way I had a grip on her. No, no…. This isn't good. She's going to try and hurt herself, I know it." He straightened again, scowling.

Behind him, Joey stared at his own duelist's glove and pondered something. And then..

"She'll head for the castle, I bet. Here, take my three starchips-You'll need them more than me." He popped the three golden stars off of his glove and tossed them at Seto, who caught them with a quick reflex.

"Why are you doing this?" Seto asked softly, staring at the chips in his hand skeptically.

"Just think of it as being done for the sake of love, Kaiba." With that, he smiled briefly and put his hands in his pockets, not expecting a thank you. Turning around and beginning to walk off.

Seto stared after him with something very akin to respect written in his eyes, and he knew now who really was the stronger. Joey could have done a lot with that money-but instead, he had given his only shot at it to Seto, who had recently beat him. And…Yugi had been right. It was the one with the biggest heart that always came away the victor.

Now, Seto had his own fight to win. As he snapped the three last starchips into place, he felt his pockets for his deck and hardened his resolve.

He was going to find her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Mina? What's wrong?" Pegasus hadn't expected this. His daughter was a wreck. Regardless of the blood streaming down her arms and legs and onto the marble floor, however, she was smiling brightly. He hadn't seen the almost manic gleam in her eyes.

"Nothing daddy, had a bad fall is all," She said, and dashed away before he could ask her more.

As he watched his daughter retreat, Pegasus began to Doubt his Own Judgment. (Author's note: Yes, in capital letters, exactly like that!) Mina had inherited her mother's volatile temper, and even though she had to be nearly pushed off the edge to ignite it, it was here now. Something about her smile was off…But Mina was too young and silly to do anything stupid, wasn't she? Pegasus gave a shrug and walked off to do some paperwork, putting the disturbing picture of all the blood out of his mind for now.

He hadn't realized that he had broken the first rule of Life As We Know It:

Never Assume.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mina burst into her father's main study, eyes dark as she ripped the chain from around her neck and took the ring off of it. Taking the Aqua Spirit card out of her pocket, she lay it on top of Pegasus's current gameplay deck and put her index finger right on the picture of the girl with the water droplet of magic. Closing her eyes, she slipped on the ring…

And was immediately gone into the card.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She landed with a teeth-rattling jar on her knees, and when she regained her head and wits, she stood slowly.

A black void surrounded her, and the ground beneath her feet was the only thing that actually looked solid. The card was gone. The ring was not on her hand.

But she was not afraid. Not even when she heard the soft, thin crying, like a shard of glass in the utter stillness. Forcing her legs to work despite their pain, she ran towards the fragile sound, finding that she was nearing a bright, luminescent light-like one at the end of a hallway…

And when she reached the light, what she saw shocked her beyond belief.

"Help me…" Murmured the soul of the card, her eyes dull and glassy, her delicate wrists bound in thick chains. Her ankles were bound as well, and the crystalline tears that rolled down her cheeks landed on the ground and formed small pools, that glittered softly in the light that her aura gave off.

"Oh.." Mina murmured, taking a step back. The plaintive cry for help was there again, and Mina shook, but couldn't move any further back. This is why the power of the cards did their masters bidding.

They had no other choice.

Help me, help me, help me.

The tears came faster now down the Aqua Spirit's face, and she reached a delicate, perfectly formed hand towards Mina, letting her mouth curve into the smallest of hopeful smiles, she murmured her plea again. And Mina did not resist. Her pale hand reached out and touched the gloved one, and a delightful blackness engulfed her as the Spirit took possession of her mind.

Thank you…

A voice that was not her own spoke of gratitude in her head, but something was going wrong. Mina's desire to hurt him who had hurt her was too strong, and instead of the intended murder of the human girl, both the Spirit and the mortal were mixed and formed as one:

The Blue Destiny.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seto stalked through the winding passages of the castle, knowing them well by now. And why not? He had a good memory. The end of his search brought him to the arena room's door, and he opened it with no small noise, eyes flashing as he glanced about for the computer screen that had been there before.

"Pegasus, you coward, get out here and duel me, damn you!" He yelled, angry now. "This isn't about me or you anymore, understand? It's about Mina!"

His voice echoed into the silence, but then Pegasus (with a small entourage, of COURSE) entered through a door to Seto's left.

"Is it, then?" He asked, his hands behind his back. "Then as you wish, Kaiba boy. We'll duel now, for the fate of my daughter. How nice, isn't it?"

The arena materialized before them, and the opponents slammed their decks down in the respective areas, the life points setting themselves automatically.

Pegasus drew first. He stared at his hand, his mouth dropped open in a perfect O shape, and he visibly balked.

"I…skip this turn." He said faintly, and Seto smirked. His hand was awesome. In fact, It consisted of all three of his Blue Eyes-and a polymerization card!

"Hah, what are the chances of this?" He asked of no one in particular, and then raised his voice. "I summon the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!!"

But as the giant monster reared up with a sudden flash of light, Pegasus just laughed.

"Then I summon The Blue Destiny!!" He called with a Pegasus-esque grin, as the Spirit materialized.

And Seto gasped.

Because the Blue Destiny…

Was Mina.