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Yu-Gi-Oh GX - Crossroads (5/11)
Story Title: Crossroads
Chapter Title: Mystery
Author: Heleentje
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Rating: T
Characters: Johan, Yubel, Judai, Gem Beasts
Word Count: 2165
Warnings/spoilers: spiritshipping-if-you-squint, psycheshipping-if-you-look-sideways-and-s
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any of its characters
It was a relief to get back to his apartment, the warm weather had left him in serious need of something cool to drink. Johan placed his shopping bags on the counter and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, turning around just in time to see Amethyst Cat and Sapphire Pegasus appear. They both looked rather sleepy, Amethyst Cat yawning and stretching, and Sapphire Pegasus briefly unfolding his wings fully before folding them back up again. Johan watched them fondly.
“Good...” - he glanced at the clock - “afternoon. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes.” Sapphire Pegasus answered. Amethyst Cat nodded in agreement. “How about you?”
“I’m fine. No more nightmares”
“At least you look better,” Amethyst Cat observed. Topaz Tiger strolled into the kitchen, greeted his friends and slumped down onto the ground.
“What’s the matter?” Johan asked.
“It’s warm outside.”
Sapphire Pegasus and Amethyst Cat exchanged puzzled looks.
“You do know we can’t actually feel the heat, don’t you?”
“It’s the principle of the thing.”
Johan laughed. Sapphire Pegasus turned back to him.
“When are you going to contact Manjoume?”
“I will, I just need to think of what exactly to ask.”
Sapphire Pegasus didn’t seem entirely convinced, but nodded anyway. Johan placed the bottle back into the fridge, took an apple and headed back for the living room. He sat down in front of the tv, but didn’t switch it on, instead taking out his deck and sorting through it.
“Watch where you put that apple!” Amethyst Cat warned when he took a bite and placed it precariously close to her card. He quickly moved it away and started sorting out his deck by type, placing the Gem Beasts together on one side of the table and going over the Trap cards. He paused when he found Trap Strap.
It was a weird card, he decided. He watched the image carefully, looking how Ruby appeared with Hero Signal being discarded above her. The card was oddly specific.
Industrial Illusions had a habit of sending him Trap and Spell cards that were connected to the Gem Beasts, since he was the only one actually using them, so they would be worthless for the general public. A few more copies had been released, as collector’s items, but normally only Johan got all the relevant cards.
Receiving Trap Strap had been a surprise, though. Not so much for its effect, which was rather ordinary, albeit very useful, but for the artwork. Hero Signal wasn’t exclusively used by Judai, but it was definitely one of his signature cards and seeing it show up together with Ruby had been surprising. He doubted that it was a coincidence. He knew that Industrial Illusions kept a close watch on him, and he wouldn’t put it above Pegasus to pull such a stunt. It didn’t really matter, he reflected. Trap Strap was a useful card, and whether it was intentional or not, it reinforced his connection with Judai.
... Maybe he should add a copy of Polymerization to his side deck, on the off-chance that Judai was unable to summon Rainbow Neos if they dueled together once more. It couldn’t hurt.
And Change of Heart couldn’t hurt either. However much he enjoyed teaming up with Judai, he still wanted to beat him, and Judai might have the advantage of Super Fusion, but that didn’t mean he had to be the one controlling Rainbow Neos. After all, there was more than one way to fuse opposing monsters together.
On the other hand, it did bother him to take control of his opponent’s monsters. It didn’t feel fair, somehow. He wasn’t planning on adding those cards to his main deck anyway, they wouldn’t be of much use.
He yawned and looked at the clock, surprised. There was really no reason for him to be tired. He had been wide awake ten minutes ago, so why did he feel so sleepy all of a sudden? It didn’t make sense.
Then again, a lot of things didn’t make sense these days, he reflected wryly. He gathered his cards again and thoroughly shuffled his deck. He didn’t want to end up with all his monsters bunched together the next time he had to duel, given the small number of monster cards he actually possessed.
He had been accused of cheating before, since he always managed to have several monsters in his opening hand, but he figured that it was one of the advantages of having such a close bond with the Gem Beasts. They were always by his side.
As if to prove his point, Amethyst Cat jumped onto the sofa next to him.
“Are you tired again?”
He should’ve known that she would notice.
“Yes, I don’t know why. I was fine a few minutes ago.”
“You’re not getting ill, are you? I wouldn’t be surprised. Did you take a coat with you this morning?”
“No, but have you been outside yet? It feels like summer.”
Amethyst Cat only shook her head, and at that moment Johan realized just how much she was like an older sister. It felt good, even though she was a bit overbearing at times.
“I”ll be fine, don’t worry about it, okay?”
He pocketed his deck and lay down on the sofa. A short nap would be enough, hopefully.
“You’re going to sleep again?” Amethyst Cat asked, “You’re sleeping a lot lately.” She didn’t look happy.
“Just a short while. Wake me up in half an hour, okay?”
“If you say so. Well, sleep tight.”
Johan nodded and closed his eyes. He lay awake for a few more minutes, but his mind was remarkably empty. He only hoped it would remain that way. He wanted to spend a few more weeks without going anywhere, and after that he would just have to see where life took him. It would turn out alright, though. He was sure of it.
There’s pain, so much pain. It feels like he’s being torn apart, piece by piece and burned to ashes. He’s blinded, the light’s flooding his eyes and burning him, and he’s falling, falling until only the smallest pieces remain.
But he’ll live. He has to, because there’s work to be done. Revenge to be taken, and he’ll pay for doing this to him. It will be spectacular, beautiful, and it will be so easy. They broke him so thoroughly, and now it’s their turn. How dare they... How dare he.
There’s hatred, filling his entire being, and yet not. But hurting and protecting at the same time is so easy, ‘cause he’s doing it for him. There’s no turning back. This world, it will never be the same again.
“Johan!”
He jerked awake, groaning and shakily getting up. Sapphire Pegasus was standing over him, and once again, he could see the other Gem Beasts materialize. They were staring, all of them.
“Johan, what’s happening to you?” Topaz Tiger moved closer carefully, “You were screaming, and then you were mumbling, you sounded angry -no, hateful- It was so weird. Weirder than the other times, much weirder.”
He didn’t answer, only buried his head in his hands. The pain was overpowering and there really was no way that a dream should invoke such a potent physical reaction.
“Johan... Was it the same dream again? Was Judai in it?” Sapphire Pegasus asked.
Judai... The pain immediately disappeared, only to be replaced by a different, far more ugly feeling.
“Judai left us,” he hissed through clenched teeth, “he left me! He never even cared, never!”
“Johan! What’s wrong with you!” Amethyst Cat shouted, “What’s going on! This is not like you!”
Johan abruptly came to his senses, shocked and gasping for breath. He felt ill, almost filthy, and there was such emotion running through him. Hatred, desperation, and an insane lust for revenge. What was happening to him?
“What’s happening to me...” He was afraid now. Judai was his best friend, why would he want to hate him? What was causing all this?
It couldn’t be... Darkness was gone, he had been beaten, so why now?
“Johan...”
“It’s not Darkness, is it?” He asked frantically, “He’s gone, isn’t he?”
It was impossible. He had his darkness under control, he was sure of it. It couldn’t be overpowering him.
But this hatred, all focused around Judai, why now? Was he so desperate to beat him? He felt an echo of anger well up and forcefully suppressed it. He couldn’t give in. Not now, not ever. Impossible.
“Johan, what happened...?”
“My darkness... I think it’s my darkness, it’s overtaking me,” he shook his head and almost whimpered, “it hurts.”
“Johan, that can’t be true. Why would it happen now? Darkness has been beaten, he’s gone!”
“What else could it be?!”
“Johan, stop it!” Amethyst Cat said forcefully. “There’s no evidence for that at all. Okay, so you’ve had a few weird dreams, and you’re angry with Judai, but Darkness has been defeated. He can’t hurt you!”
“He’s not gone... He’s never gone, as long as there are people on this earth, he’ll never be gone. And me... I’m the worst of them all.”
“How can you say that!” Emerald Turtle said, “You’re one of the nicest people we’ve ever known!”
“But it’s true,” Johan pressed his palm against his chest, “Judai’s a wonderful person and I only want to beat him. Hurt him.”
“Exactly, beat him!” Amethyst Cat hissed, “But that’s normal, didn’t you say so yourself? And did you ever want to hurt him?”
“Yubel...”
“Don’t you dare say it! You know that wasn’t you, you weren’t conscious, your soul wasn’t even in your body!”
But that did nothing to help him.
“My soul wasn’t in my body... Why could it be removed so easily? What if it wanted to hurt Judai all along, what if that’s the reason why it didn’t try to cling to this body?”
“Johan, that’s ridiculous and you know it. I don’t even know how you got to that conclusion!”
“Martin’s soul...”
“Was still in his body, yes. And wat does that prove? How do you know that Yubel didn’t get stronger? That she didn’t need the soul to sustain the body anymore?”
Johan looked down, keeping silent. He felt terrible. What if his darkness was taking over him? When had it started? He had seen the infected Polymerization card...
“Oh, no, not again.”
“What is it now?”
“Judai’s Polymerization card. I could see its aura. I knew it was infected.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Amethyst Cat snapped, thoroughly frustrated.
“Could any of the others see it? Could they?”
“Look, Johan,” Sapphire Pegasus butted in, “I don’t know, and neither do you. But you try so desperately to pin the blame on yourself. Well, if you really want to know, there’s a very simple solution.”
“What solution?” Johan asked weakly.
“You are going to contact Manjoume, right now. I don’t care how, but you’re going to do it. It’s still possible that every one who can see monster spirits can remember people or see auras. If you don’t ask, you will never know.”
Johan nodded mutely and got up. He had to grab hold of the sofa, to stop him from falling over when his legs refused to properly cooperate. The Gem Beasts waited for him, following him when he went to the study and booted up his computer.
It took a long time for the computer to start up - too long, in his opinion -, and even longer before he got to the right page, his nervousness causing him to click the wrong link several times. He finally managed, though, and the next few minutes were spent trying to constitute a coherent message. He and Manjoume had never been close, only very rarely having an actual face-to-face conversation, but this was absolutely necessary.
From: Johan Andersen
To: Manjoume Jun
Subject: Darkness
Manjoume-kun,
I am very sorry to bother you. However, I need two questions answered and you are the only person who can answer them.
When Darkness invaded the world, did you ever see the darkness manifest itself? As in, did you ever see an aura of darkness coming from cards or people?
Also, could you remember any of the people Darkness beat?
Help would be very much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Johan Andersen
He read over the message several times, before finally clicking the ‘send’ button and leaning back in his chair. Writing had had a calming effect on him, and he felt the panic slowly ebb away, although he could still feel the pain and anger lingering at the edge of his subconscious.
He turned to the Gem Beasts, who were all watching him carefully.
“I’m sorry, I panicked.”
“We noticed,” Sapphire Pegasus responded, though not unkindly.
“It’s okay,” Amber Mammoth told him, and the other Gem Beasts nodded in agreement. Ruby chirped softly.
He nodded at her: “Yes, now we just have to wait.”
Right now, waiting was all he could do.