Yugi, unfortunately, had not known one of the Judai's had left. Which is why when he had been walking in the park, when he saw one, he didn't hesitate to greet him. "Judai-san." He called, hurrying over to him. "Hey." He greeted when he got close, lifting up his hand in a wave. Of course, he was the real Yugi Mutou. The only reason one might doubt it was now he was obviously several inches taller than most know him as.
The very last person that Judai had even imagined he would meet in this glorified prison was the one currently calling his name and addressing him as though the two of them are supposed to be familiar with each other. Glancing in the general direction of that chipper voice, he is astounded to see a Duelist's whose face adorned thousands of fliers, posters and billboards -- one which had once been depicted within his own room, in the form of a naive, childish drawing.
It was none other than the Duel King, Yugi Motou -- as much as Judai may attempt to claim that the sudden shock of being brought to this place had left him prone to fits of delirium and hallucination.
And yet... he is far too youthful in appearance to be the Yugi that he had collided with, in that eventful afternoon, before his enrollment at the Academia. Golden eyes narrowing in instinctive distrust, he pins the other with a searching stare.
Yugi paused, looking confused as he stared at Judai. Something was...different. Judai seemed kind of like Haou. Well, before Haou made the turn around, anyway. Did another Judai come?
"Ah, you're new here, aren't you?" Yugi asked, looking sheepish. "And...this is my face?" That was a strange question to ask, nevertheless.
Refraining from grinding out an 'obviously' at the silly question -- of course he was new, it hadn't even been an hour since he had been torn straight from the Academia and transported in that frightfully white room -- Judai merely contends himself with nodding, while continuing to study every inch of the other by, frustration mixing liberally with puzzlement and keeping him from thinking in a very logical manner.
"That would be true only if you were older, boy."
He remembers Yugi Motou all too well and this child -- younger than himself, by all accounts -- cannot possibly be him.
Juudai stared at his double for a long, long time.
Something was quite different about him, so unlike the previous alternate version of him... It was difficult to put into words, but he reminded him so very much of Haou; minus most of the aggression, perhaps.
It finally occurred to Juudai that gawking at him wouldn't really go over very well if he noticed him, so he approached his double at last, forcing a small smile to try and lighten the clearly dismal atmosphere that surrounded him.
"It's a little shocking, isn't it?" he asked, already knowing the answer in truth. It was shocking for everyone, but for his alter, it seemed just a little worse in comparison.
A part of him recognizes the approaching presence even before it chooses to speak or even show itself, yet Judai instantly crushes the knowing little voice under a mental heel. Such a thing... it is utterly impossible, inconceivable for anyone still possessing the smallest degree of sanity.
Still, when he turns, it is his own face, schooled into a soft expression, which greets him. For one moment, he can do little but silently gape, golden eyes opening wide, visage twisted by a potent mixture of shell-shock, disbelief, bewilderment and, hidden within the depths, rising outrage.
No, no -- it is not him. Even though this creature wears his face, copies his body to the very last detail, it simply cannot be him. To be first robbed of freedom and then of self-identity... it is a prospect so terrifying that Judai's mind simply refuses to acknowledge it. Therefore what he is seeing is either a figment of his own exhausted mind, or a fragment from some forgotten nightmare, risen to mock him in his moment of weakness
( ... )
Juudai wasn't going to leave him alone that easily. He'd have to at least come to terms with it, the fact there was another of him here, as well as the other quirks of Econtra, if he was ever going to live in this place -- lest he get killed in another attack or something...
He cringed mentally. Don't think about it, he chided himself.
"There's two of a lot of people here. You're not the only one here who's ever been surprised by it, even denied it. It's a real shock at first, but... most of us get used to it."
It came out in a more dismal tone than he'd intended, particularly that last part. "Er... because it's really not so bad once you adjust, I guess," he tacked on, trying to sound more positive, figuring that stopping on a depressing note wouldn't go over very well.
Oh, if it all weren't so damnably confusing, Judai is quite certain that he would be laughing openly at the other's words. Doubles, alters, copies of the same individual... no matter how much he may think on it, Judai is simply unable to wrap his mind around the concept itself. Certainly, he knows of supposedly alternate worlds, but there is a pronounced difference between hearing of such things and having the proof that they truly exist standing right in front of you, while you attempt to furiously deny it.
"Tell me then, alter... Does this place truly exist, or is it something that I've managed to dream up, a prison of my own making?"
Of course there is only one possible answer that he is willing to believe -- if the compound is not truly real, then the other him is a fragment of faded dreams as well. Any other possibility would serve to knock down far too many of his previously strong certainties and Judai is quite unwilling to lose or renounce anything else of the little that is still undeniably 'his.'
It was mildly surprising at first, for just a moment, seeing another Juudai at the compound already... it almost seemed tragic, considering what was to come, and how soon it would happen. Yubel sensed the power in this one right away, swirling at the forefront of his mind, much like it had when her own Juudai had become Haou.
Pity that bringing another of him here would wind up going to waste in a matter of days, perhaps.
"What a shame," she said simply from behind him, echoing her own thoughts, shaking her head with a slightly lunatic smile. She chose not to elaborate on what she meant quite yet... make him ask about it, she thought. Break him further than he already is with the promise of the future, or lack thereof...
Perhaps Judai had indeed lost all remaining vestiges of his sanity, in the wake of Amnael's appearance and the grueling betrayal that his actions had brought about. After all, hadn't he dreaded seeing those he had grudgingly come to love coming to any harm? Would it be too far-fetched to assume that knowing them to be the toys of a manipulating, power-hungry alchemist had caused him to completely shatter and fall into his own sea of blinding fears once more
( ... )
"Perhaps so," Yubel replied easily, smugly, "but you won't have much time to correct that, considering what is slated to happen."
Not that she really knew what he was talking about -- never had she encountered Juudai in a state in which he could take her down for good. But did it matter? It would all be over soon -- perhaps he would be able to witness it for a while before ceasing to exist, and then it would be only her Juudai and herself, forever and for the rest of eternity.
Indeed, it was mostly the Light that spoke in her voice now, in her form. Truly, it promised her, it was killing two birds with one stone -- the Light got what it wanted, purging the universe of everything and anything, and Yubel got what she desired, to live with Juudai forever.
Yes... that was what she wanted.
Of course it was, she reminded herself, swatting away the faint traces of doubt that began to surface with the Light's help and flashing a devious smile at Juudai, elongated fangs glistening menacingly with what light they picked up.
A part of him tenses in alarm at Yubel's words, but most of Judai's being utterly ignores them, his entire attention focused upon the Light, whose every ebb and flow he can feel within her. That vile parasite is lapping at her will, whispering its poisoned lies in her ears -- even though he cannot know for certain what those are, he is certain that they are precisely what she would wish to hear.
Every second spent in her presence makes Judai feel utterly sick, as the Light's accursed aura probes at his own power, not quite daring to fully touch it. An embittered smirk twisting his lips, the boy glares at Yubel, righteous fury, loathing and hatred clearly visible in his sickly-yellow eyes -- underneath which flickers some small spark of regret, one that he makes quite sure to hide well.
"You allow it to mold you utterly, as if you are some pathetic, powerless wretch. Why did you willingly renounce your humanity, Yubel if it made no difference in the end -- if you fell, just as any other mere mortal would?"
Usagi was walking around the compound. She supposed she needed some fresh air, staying inside all the time wasn't really good for her. When she noticed another person, the girl walked towards him. When she noticed he seemed to get shocked by the cuff, she started running. Her expression changed into a worried one. "Are you all right?" Usagi asked him.
Wincing at the feel of the electricity coursing through his body for a second, Judai glances at the approaching person from the corner of his eye, a bitterly annoyed grimace insinuating itself over his features.
"I have been deemed to be little more than another's already trained attack-dog. How do you think that would make one feel, girl?"
Judai's tone is sharp and not a little condescending, as he shakes his head slightly at the utterly obvious answer to her silly little question. Scowling, he places his right palm upon the cuff once more, releasing a controlled blast of dark power into the durable material...
Only to grit his teeth in pain once more, under the strain of another electric shock.
"But if you keep going on like that, you will just get shocked again and again!" Usagi was still looking worried, she didn't like to see people get hurt. She was sure nobody was really happy with being stuck in this place with that cuff, but nobody else had been able to get the cuff off. And this boy didn't seem to be able to do so either.
He speaks coldly, not at all pleased by the idea of being controlled by this thing, as if he were little more than a stubborn animal which needed to be broken and tamed somehow.
Or at least, Larka had encountered one similar to it before. With two humans, actually, both of them named Judai - one who had recently vanished, the other who reminded her of her aunt in some ways.
She knew that form, too, as the Varg looked up at the human to whom the scent belonged, walking over out of curiosity. He certainly looked like the other two, though perhaps a little younger in body.
However, he was certainly not one of the ones that she had met before - the scent alone gave it away, being ever-so-slightly different. Which was why her words were observational and curious:
If he were to ever receive any kind of irrefutable proof as to the fact that he had utterly and unequivocally lost his mind, the sight of what appeared to be a white wolf -- possessing the capability of human speech -- most certainly had to be it.
Releasing a small, somewhat manic-sounding little chuckle, Judai glances down at the creature, yellowish eyes burning fiercely.
"So... you are the herald of my broken sanity, I take it?"
Ah, so this one considered her a hallucination derived from insanity. Understandable - when she first learned of her Sight, even Larka had had difficulty accepting the fact that she could speak to other species.
"I assure you, I'm quite real," Larka replied, walking closer. "If you want, you can pet me if you want to prove it to yourself. I don't mind."
It truly was a pity that he could not say for certain whether he was utterly delirious from far too many shocks suffered in a short amount of time, or whether Amnael had somehow taken his own soul into the Emerald Tablet, plunging him into an eternity of waking dreams. Either way, the end result was the same -- he was seeing what should not rightfully exist.
Frowning, a part of him naturally weary of anything that he could not understand, Judai reaches down and touches the wolf's head with two gloved fingers, before quickly pulling his hand away, as soon as he senses the feel of soft fur.
"Either you are as real as me, or this is a particularly vivid nightmare. I believe that I somewhat prefer the second option -- it makes far more sense."
Comments 81
Reply
It was none other than the Duel King, Yugi Motou -- as much as Judai may attempt to claim that the sudden shock of being brought to this place had left him prone to fits of delirium and hallucination.
And yet... he is far too youthful in appearance to be the Yugi that he had collided with, in that eventful afternoon, before his enrollment at the Academia. Golden eyes narrowing in instinctive distrust, he pins the other with a searching stare.
"Why do you wear the Duel King's face?"
Reply
"Ah, you're new here, aren't you?" Yugi asked, looking sheepish. "And...this is my face?" That was a strange question to ask, nevertheless.
Reply
"That would be true only if you were older, boy."
He remembers Yugi Motou all too well and this child -- younger than himself, by all accounts -- cannot possibly be him.
Reply
Something was quite different about him, so unlike the previous alternate version of him... It was difficult to put into words, but he reminded him so very much of Haou; minus most of the aggression, perhaps.
It finally occurred to Juudai that gawking at him wouldn't really go over very well if he noticed him, so he approached his double at last, forcing a small smile to try and lighten the clearly dismal atmosphere that surrounded him.
"It's a little shocking, isn't it?" he asked, already knowing the answer in truth. It was shocking for everyone, but for his alter, it seemed just a little worse in comparison.
Reply
Still, when he turns, it is his own face, schooled into a soft expression, which greets him. For one moment, he can do little but silently gape, golden eyes opening wide, visage twisted by a potent mixture of shell-shock, disbelief, bewilderment and, hidden within the depths, rising outrage.
No, no -- it is not him. Even though this creature wears his face, copies his body to the very last detail, it simply cannot be him. To be first robbed of freedom and then of self-identity... it is a prospect so terrifying that Judai's mind simply refuses to acknowledge it. Therefore what he is seeing is either a figment of his own exhausted mind, or a fragment from some forgotten nightmare, risen to mock him in his moment of weakness ( ... )
Reply
Juudai wasn't going to leave him alone that easily. He'd have to at least come to terms with it, the fact there was another of him here, as well as the other quirks of Econtra, if he was ever going to live in this place -- lest he get killed in another attack or something...
He cringed mentally. Don't think about it, he chided himself.
"There's two of a lot of people here. You're not the only one here who's ever been surprised by it, even denied it. It's a real shock at first, but... most of us get used to it."
It came out in a more dismal tone than he'd intended, particularly that last part. "Er... because it's really not so bad once you adjust, I guess," he tacked on, trying to sound more positive, figuring that stopping on a depressing note wouldn't go over very well.
Reply
"Tell me then, alter... Does this place truly exist, or is it something that I've managed to dream up, a prison of my own making?"
Of course there is only one possible answer that he is willing to believe -- if the compound is not truly real, then the other him is a fragment of faded dreams as well. Any other possibility would serve to knock down far too many of his previously strong certainties and Judai is quite unwilling to lose or renounce anything else of the little that is still undeniably 'his.'
Reply
Pity that bringing another of him here would wind up going to waste in a matter of days, perhaps.
"What a shame," she said simply from behind him, echoing her own thoughts, shaking her head with a slightly lunatic smile. She chose not to elaborate on what she meant quite yet... make him ask about it, she thought. Break him further than he already is with the promise of the future, or lack thereof...
Reply
Reply
Not that she really knew what he was talking about -- never had she encountered Juudai in a state in which he could take her down for good. But did it matter? It would all be over soon -- perhaps he would be able to witness it for a while before ceasing to exist, and then it would be only her Juudai and herself, forever and for the rest of eternity.
Indeed, it was mostly the Light that spoke in her voice now, in her form. Truly, it promised her, it was killing two birds with one stone -- the Light got what it wanted, purging the universe of everything and anything, and Yubel got what she desired, to live with Juudai forever.
Yes... that was what she wanted.
Of course it was, she reminded herself, swatting away the faint traces of doubt that began to surface with the Light's help and flashing a devious smile at Juudai, elongated fangs glistening menacingly with what light they picked up.
Reply
Every second spent in her presence makes Judai feel utterly sick, as the Light's accursed aura probes at his own power, not quite daring to fully touch it. An embittered smirk twisting his lips, the boy glares at Yubel, righteous fury, loathing and hatred clearly visible in his sickly-yellow eyes -- underneath which flickers some small spark of regret, one that he makes quite sure to hide well.
"You allow it to mold you utterly, as if you are some pathetic, powerless wretch. Why did you willingly renounce your humanity, Yubel if it made no difference in the end -- if you fell, just as any other mere mortal would?"
Reply
Reply
"I have been deemed to be little more than another's already trained attack-dog. How do you think that would make one feel, girl?"
Judai's tone is sharp and not a little condescending, as he shakes his head slightly at the utterly obvious answer to her silly little question. Scowling, he places his right palm upon the cuff once more, releasing a controlled blast of dark power into the durable material...
Only to grit his teeth in pain once more, under the strain of another electric shock.
Reply
Reply
He speaks coldly, not at all pleased by the idea of being controlled by this thing, as if he were little more than a stubborn animal which needed to be broken and tamed somehow.
Reply
Or at least, Larka had encountered one similar to it before. With two humans, actually, both of them named Judai - one who had recently vanished, the other who reminded her of her aunt in some ways.
She knew that form, too, as the Varg looked up at the human to whom the scent belonged, walking over out of curiosity. He certainly looked like the other two, though perhaps a little younger in body.
However, he was certainly not one of the ones that she had met before - the scent alone gave it away, being ever-so-slightly different. Which was why her words were observational and curious:
"Another one."
Reply
Releasing a small, somewhat manic-sounding little chuckle, Judai glances down at the creature, yellowish eyes burning fiercely.
"So... you are the herald of my broken sanity, I take it?"
Reply
"I assure you, I'm quite real," Larka replied, walking closer. "If you want, you can pet me if you want to prove it to yourself. I don't mind."
Reply
Frowning, a part of him naturally weary of anything that he could not understand, Judai reaches down and touches the wolf's head with two gloved fingers, before quickly pulling his hand away, as soon as he senses the feel of soft fur.
"Either you are as real as me, or this is a particularly vivid nightmare. I believe that I somewhat prefer the second option -- it makes far more sense."
Reply
Leave a comment