[Scrapped] The Maiden of Kul Elna
Oct. 30th, 2017 11:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aftanithTitle: The Maiden of Kul Elna
Author: AFTanith
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Notes: This is yet another aborted opening for Bound by Gold, aka the Battle City finals era installment of The Maiden of Kul Elna.
No one moved for a moment. No seemed to be able to process the impossible thing that had just occurred before their eyes. The Pharaoh had never lost before.
The referee never got the chance to declare Marik the winner; Tea's scream shattered the silence as Joey and Tristan launched themselves into the arena, seizing their fallen friends body, as if the could shake the consciousness back into it; and then a moment later, Joey was on his feet again and throwing himself at Marik, who was laughing hysterically.
It took both Duke and the referee to hold Joey back, but Marik passed him by as if he hardly noticed their struggle; he stopped in front of the elevator, waiting for its return--Kaiba had already dragged Mokuba downstairs, grumbling his disinterest toward the whole event.
Finally the door opened with a ding, and Marik disappeared into the tiny room. The door sealed him away from them, and Joey finally stopped struggling.
Emily Robinson had watched this entire ordeal with utter shock. It simply wasn't possible. There was no way the Pharaoh could lose to some simple maniac. If he could defeat the Spirit of the Millennium Ring, how couldn't he defeat a mortal Tomb Keeper? It just didn't make sense.
Tristan heaved Yugi's soulless body into his arms, and Joey pulled Tea against him. She sobbed into his shoulder as they moved toward the elevator. They passed Emily without a word, but Duke stopped and looked at her. With a small wave of his hand, he said, "Come on. I think you'd better stick with us from now on. I don't think it's going to be particularly safe around here any more."
Emily nodded mutely, ever more surprised. She settled into a pace beside Duke, with the referee pulling up the rear of their little parade; for the moment, he was busy with his radio, calling the blimp's doctor to bring up a stretcher for Odion. Then they piled into the elevator, and descended the tower.
To Emily's vast relief, there was no sign of Marik when they reached the bottom floor. The others, however, didn't take that as a sign of comfort.
Joey, having heard Duke's comment to Emily, positively glared at the blimp. "If that fucking freak comes near Mai and my sister, I'll--"
"Joey," Tea interrupted. "Please. Let's just... let's just get there quick, okay? We'll be safe if we stay as a group."
For a moment he seemed ready to make some snide comment, but then he nodded grimly. "Yeah."
The small group pressed on, their pace hastened. The KaibaCorp employee behind them seemed even more on edge than they were, likely because he seemed far less aware of the situation. There was little doubt in Emily's mind that he was starting to wonder for the first time if perhaps there really was some danger to this Marik character.
They reached the blimp within a few minutes, and Joey didn't waste another moment. He broke out into a run as soon as they were inside; the guard called out to him, warning him to slow down and be careful, but he payed no mind. Neither did he heed Tristan's word of caution. "Joey, you don't want to go running head-first into Marik, do you?"
But Joey was already gone.
Tea laughed weakly. "Always so headstrong."
Tristan shook his head disapprovingly as they followed their friend. Yugi's weight seemed to be starting to wear on him, and his pace was noticeably slower than before. "He'll be fine. We just need to get back to Domino, then we can figure what we need to do about this."
"That's not good enough," Tea interrupted. "Right now we're trapped, but so is Marik. And as much as I'd love to be home and away from him, the thought of him running free through the city is terrifying."
Emily shuddered. "Maybe... Ishizu?"
Duke cast a sharp glance at her. "What about her?"
"Well, she's not safe, right? Marik's probably going to go after her first. And she might be our only chance to stop him."
"How do you figure?" Tristan asked gruffly, a hint of his fatigue reaching his voice.
"She's his sister, and she had the Millennium Necklace. Maybe if we can get it back to her, she can do something to hold him off... or, I don't know. There has to be something we can do."
"I don't think a necklace is going to stop Marik, even if it is a Millennium Item."
"It's something, though. And she might have some other idea."
After a moment, Tea nodded. "No, guys, she's right. Ishizu might be in danger right now, way more danger than we're in. Marik's proved he's willing to mess with us, but he hates her. She's not safe here, definitely not by herself."
"And what do you suppose we do," Duke asked. "Fight Marik off?"
"We have to try something," Emily pressed. "It's not fair to leave her to fend for herself."
Duke shrugged. "Of course it's not, but I'm not putting my life in danger over it. When we get back to the room, we can tell Kaiba that we think she should have a guard posted outside her door until we get back to Battle City."
"You know that's not good enough. Marik can get through a guard in a second. Marik can control the damn guards if he wants to."
Duke turned away. "I'm not dying because of her. I'm sorry; I know it's selfish, and I don't care."
Emily bit her lip, a wave of desperation washing over her. "I can't... I can't leave her to die alone. I won't do that." She turned to go.
A female hand on her wrist stopped her. "Emily, please. If you run into Marik, you're the one who'll be killed. Or worse. Don't be stupid. We can protect Ishizu another way. We don't have to put ourselves in any more danger."
They were almost to Mai's door at that point, and Emily cast a glance toward it. "Look, you go in there, and you beg Kaiba to send protection for Ishizu, alright? But in the meantime, I'm going." She hesitated. "I want to take the Necklace with me."
Tristan spun on her faster so fast that she nearly fell over in surprise. "You think I'm going to search Yugi's body for some damn Necklace?"
Her brow furrowed. What the hell did Yugi matter at this point? His soul was gone, and it wasn't coming back; he didn't need the Necklace, and it might mean the difference between life and death for Ishizu.
Tristan didn't care. Emily could see that fact etched into every contour of his face. So she turned on her heel, damming the urge to cry or scream, and starting off at a run down the hallway that lead toward Ishizu's room.
Author: AFTanith
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Notes: This is yet another aborted opening for Bound by Gold, aka the Battle City finals era installment of The Maiden of Kul Elna.
No one moved for a moment. No seemed to be able to process the impossible thing that had just occurred before their eyes. The Pharaoh had never lost before.
The referee never got the chance to declare Marik the winner; Tea's scream shattered the silence as Joey and Tristan launched themselves into the arena, seizing their fallen friends body, as if the could shake the consciousness back into it; and then a moment later, Joey was on his feet again and throwing himself at Marik, who was laughing hysterically.
It took both Duke and the referee to hold Joey back, but Marik passed him by as if he hardly noticed their struggle; he stopped in front of the elevator, waiting for its return--Kaiba had already dragged Mokuba downstairs, grumbling his disinterest toward the whole event.
Finally the door opened with a ding, and Marik disappeared into the tiny room. The door sealed him away from them, and Joey finally stopped struggling.
Emily Robinson had watched this entire ordeal with utter shock. It simply wasn't possible. There was no way the Pharaoh could lose to some simple maniac. If he could defeat the Spirit of the Millennium Ring, how couldn't he defeat a mortal Tomb Keeper? It just didn't make sense.
Tristan heaved Yugi's soulless body into his arms, and Joey pulled Tea against him. She sobbed into his shoulder as they moved toward the elevator. They passed Emily without a word, but Duke stopped and looked at her. With a small wave of his hand, he said, "Come on. I think you'd better stick with us from now on. I don't think it's going to be particularly safe around here any more."
Emily nodded mutely, ever more surprised. She settled into a pace beside Duke, with the referee pulling up the rear of their little parade; for the moment, he was busy with his radio, calling the blimp's doctor to bring up a stretcher for Odion. Then they piled into the elevator, and descended the tower.
To Emily's vast relief, there was no sign of Marik when they reached the bottom floor. The others, however, didn't take that as a sign of comfort.
Joey, having heard Duke's comment to Emily, positively glared at the blimp. "If that fucking freak comes near Mai and my sister, I'll--"
"Joey," Tea interrupted. "Please. Let's just... let's just get there quick, okay? We'll be safe if we stay as a group."
For a moment he seemed ready to make some snide comment, but then he nodded grimly. "Yeah."
The small group pressed on, their pace hastened. The KaibaCorp employee behind them seemed even more on edge than they were, likely because he seemed far less aware of the situation. There was little doubt in Emily's mind that he was starting to wonder for the first time if perhaps there really was some danger to this Marik character.
They reached the blimp within a few minutes, and Joey didn't waste another moment. He broke out into a run as soon as they were inside; the guard called out to him, warning him to slow down and be careful, but he payed no mind. Neither did he heed Tristan's word of caution. "Joey, you don't want to go running head-first into Marik, do you?"
But Joey was already gone.
Tea laughed weakly. "Always so headstrong."
Tristan shook his head disapprovingly as they followed their friend. Yugi's weight seemed to be starting to wear on him, and his pace was noticeably slower than before. "He'll be fine. We just need to get back to Domino, then we can figure what we need to do about this."
"That's not good enough," Tea interrupted. "Right now we're trapped, but so is Marik. And as much as I'd love to be home and away from him, the thought of him running free through the city is terrifying."
Emily shuddered. "Maybe... Ishizu?"
Duke cast a sharp glance at her. "What about her?"
"Well, she's not safe, right? Marik's probably going to go after her first. And she might be our only chance to stop him."
"How do you figure?" Tristan asked gruffly, a hint of his fatigue reaching his voice.
"She's his sister, and she had the Millennium Necklace. Maybe if we can get it back to her, she can do something to hold him off... or, I don't know. There has to be something we can do."
"I don't think a necklace is going to stop Marik, even if it is a Millennium Item."
"It's something, though. And she might have some other idea."
After a moment, Tea nodded. "No, guys, she's right. Ishizu might be in danger right now, way more danger than we're in. Marik's proved he's willing to mess with us, but he hates her. She's not safe here, definitely not by herself."
"And what do you suppose we do," Duke asked. "Fight Marik off?"
"We have to try something," Emily pressed. "It's not fair to leave her to fend for herself."
Duke shrugged. "Of course it's not, but I'm not putting my life in danger over it. When we get back to the room, we can tell Kaiba that we think she should have a guard posted outside her door until we get back to Battle City."
"You know that's not good enough. Marik can get through a guard in a second. Marik can control the damn guards if he wants to."
Duke turned away. "I'm not dying because of her. I'm sorry; I know it's selfish, and I don't care."
Emily bit her lip, a wave of desperation washing over her. "I can't... I can't leave her to die alone. I won't do that." She turned to go.
A female hand on her wrist stopped her. "Emily, please. If you run into Marik, you're the one who'll be killed. Or worse. Don't be stupid. We can protect Ishizu another way. We don't have to put ourselves in any more danger."
They were almost to Mai's door at that point, and Emily cast a glance toward it. "Look, you go in there, and you beg Kaiba to send protection for Ishizu, alright? But in the meantime, I'm going." She hesitated. "I want to take the Necklace with me."
Tristan spun on her faster so fast that she nearly fell over in surprise. "You think I'm going to search Yugi's body for some damn Necklace?"
Her brow furrowed. What the hell did Yugi matter at this point? His soul was gone, and it wasn't coming back; he didn't need the Necklace, and it might mean the difference between life and death for Ishizu.
Tristan didn't care. Emily could see that fact etched into every contour of his face. So she turned on her heel, damming the urge to cry or scream, and starting off at a run down the hallway that lead toward Ishizu's room.
