Epilogue: Tears of a Rose


A.N. This is the final installment on Anzu's Yami. It was such a pleasure to write... my first fanfiction ever is now complete... *cries out of happiness that it's done, as well as sadness that there's no more to write* It was truly a great time. And thank you all for enjoying my story as much as I did!

Finally... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Ah, every cloud has a silver lining, and here the silver lining is that I won't need to write any more of these! At least not for this story, anyway. So, for the final time: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!!

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Floating and falling... cutting and healing... living and dying...

The Shadow Realm.

How long has it been...? Forever, and no time at all.

It's hot, and so cold. It's dark, and yet too bright. It's everything and nothing, perfectly mixed into one.

There's only one thing that doesn't have a counter here. The pain. The endless pain...

Oh, I hate it. I'm going to go crazy, and I know it. But I don't regret my decision. It's better than being alive in the real world, and living a lie. Because there you don't even have your own half-life to hold onto... you're not truly living at all.

But I almost want to go back. Because maybe I can make everything right. But maybe I can't. Maybe that's impossible.

Maybe it isn't.

It doesn't matter now, anyway. My decision was final. I couldn't return if I wanted to. But, like the eternal paradox of light and darkness in this realm, there is hope and despair. Hope that I'll find a way to leave, despair I'll be tormented here forever. Hope that I'll be here forever, despair that I must go. Hope and despair. Both and neither fill my soul... as I am slowly torn apart from my mind...

I'm neither asleep, nor awake. But still, I dream...

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I think I've had this dream before. It's hard to tell; by now, most of my memories have been destroyed. Destroyed with my mind, as one picture blurs into another. There's nothing much to dream, anyway. But I think I've had this one before.

I'm among the soft, wispy clouds. I don't know how, because I'm not flying, and I don't know how I know I am in the sky, anyway. And I'm not the doll, anymore, either, even though I'm still dressed as her. I have no clue how I can tell, because it's dark. Just dark. There's no light. There's no paradox. The simple darkness feels so good on my skin. Embracing it, I feel safe.

No, I haven't had this dream before. Though I do think, pure darkness is something from my subconscious memory. It must be, because there's no simple darkness in the Shadow Realm. It's not that easy. No, nothing's easy anymore... just simple. So simple, it's impossible to describe. Like anger, trust, hatred...

Or love.

The darkness receded, though you couldn't tell that from looking, either. Light didn't take its place, though there was a... lack of darkness. No light, but a lack of darkness.

No, there was light. I was the light. But the darkness was a part of me, too. Kind of. Nothing in this realm is definite... But the darkness isn't from this realm. For that matter, nor am I.

But us, the light and darkness, were separate. We didn't invade into each other, but rather stayed where we were. And there was a space of neither light nor darkness between us. It was a lack of everything, even though there was nothing to lack...

The darkness condensed, and unfurled itself into a new form. The embodiment of darkness, the darkness himself stood before me. His eyes, full of pain, penetrated my very soul, reawakening my memories. Memories that I had forgotten.

Yami Bakura... I didn't speak, though I knew he could hear me; he nodded his head slightly. Even such a simple action looked like a struggle.

Hikari Anzu. he responded, softly - he didn't have the strength to put the malice behind his words.

I wanted to cry. Look at what I've done to him! Look at how much he's in pain... his suffering is the unnecessary product of my foolish yearning to live in the real world without my yami... to live without someone else inside my mind... to live. Just to live, to want what was mine. It wasn't wrong, but I couldn't stop the consequences of my wish. It's my fault... I dragged him into this, and now he's suffering so. Yuugi thought he was saving me when he knocked me out of the way, but now I must live on, hating myself for what I have done to Yami Bakura...

It was destiny. Yami Bakura replied, hearing my thoughts. We are both destined to fail, it seems, just as Yami Yuugi is destined to win.

But... but it is my fault. My fault that you are here... suffering with me... I answered, as the tears began to flow from my eyes, trickling down my face.

One of my tears hit the rose, still in my hand, and began glowing. There's a reason that you chose the homeless doll over the angel, Hikari... it symbolizes your true nature. explained Yami Bakura. Lonely, torn, and tattered, yet still strong. You hold the rose - Life - in your hands; it is yours to destroy or to save.

I looked down. No... I couldn't save anyone. You're here because of me... I couldn't protect you, not even when I tried... I answered, holding back a soft sob.

He nodded, and our eyes met again. Suddenly, it was like we were back in the alleyway, where we understood each other for the first time. The pain melted away, the tears dried, and everything else was forgotten. Outside forces intervened. But that does not mean that the power is not yours...

Just like that, I understood. I hadn't been able to save Yami Bakura before, but now, now was different. Now I could make up for my mistakes, and set him free... I nodded my head, and we both smiled... smiled one last time at each other...

Bridging the gap between Light and Darkness, I held out the rose.

An orb of energy began to form between us. For the first time, there wasn't just definite light or darkness. The portal itself was a perfect mixture of the two, a blend of each...

Go... I can only hold open the gate between here and the real world for a short time... I told him.

He nodded, and stepped into the energy orb that would transport him back to Earth. Thank you, Anzu, he whispered. Not Hikari Anzu', but Anzu. For some reason, the simple word brought tears to my eyes...

He began to fade, like a hologram that's slowly being powered down. His smile didn't fade, though. It was a smile of both sadness and thankfulness. The look on one's face when they must say goodbye.

Now, he was almost gone... the tears were once again forming in my eyes, though it wasn't because I was sad he was going. No, I was glad... glad that I had finally done something right, that I had finally made up for my mistakes, and had been able to save him...

I love you. I whispered.

I didn't hear his response, because I too was fading, but in a different way. I had no more energy left to give... I fell backwards, slowly loosing consciousness. Through it all, our eyes never parted...

I smiled at my last thought. Yami Yuugi had, in fact, lost... there was a way to escape this eternal torrent of pain...

I closed my eyes as the darkness surrounded me, cradled me, consumed me. It wasn't death. It was freedom.

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With that, Anzu's Yami is officially complete. I'll have you know, I was crying as I wrote this. I had to make everything normal once again (to fit the actual Yu-Gi-Oh! story line), which meant Hikari Anzu couldn't stay, because she's still Yami-ish after the Duelist Kingdom. It was like torture, writing that... *sigh*

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this. I hope that I made this a satisfactory ending (as much as one could do under the circumstances, anyway...). I truly had a wonderful time writing this.

...Some of you guys have mentioned a sequel to this. I'd have to do some work, getting it to fit the story line, and I'd have to figure out what to do about Hikari Anzu's death. Also, maybe I'll write it from Yami Bakura's personality instead? I don't really know. Anyway, I most likely wouldn't get started on it right away, at least not until I know more about the season 3 story line (where I believe Bakura is killed, by Mariku/Malik if I'm not mistaken. However, because Yami Bakura sealed part of his soul into Yuugi's Puzzle, he's still alive. I don't know about Ryou, though... But there's hope! I hear Kazuki Takahashi's making a season 4, and it has to do with Yami Bakura's return... and Yami Bakura needs a body, right? So I don't think Yami Bakura or Ryou is permanently dead, but I could be wrong...). So if there is going to be a sequel, it won't be started immediately. However, if/when I do start it, I'd like to let those of you who want to read it know, so if you want to know, tell me your e-mail so I can keep you updated, okay? Thanks.

Questions? Comments? Do you guys even really want a sequel anyway? Please review and tell me!