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higuchimon · 4 years

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[fanfic] To Awake

He wasn’t sure of how long he’d lain there. He didn’t remember where he’d been before here, or if he’d even been anywhere at all. There wasn’t much in his head, other than the fading sense of pain centered in his chest, and some sort of weight on his back.

He twitched. He couldn’t get up, not yet, but he tried to move and couldn’t. A fading instinct told him that he should breath but it wasn’t wrong to not breathe either. Everything seemed heavier now. It wasn’t a wrong feeling and he wasn’t sure of what he was comparing it to. But he felt heavy. He knew that much. Heavy and with a weight on his back.

Slowly he tried to open his eyes, at least. He could manage that. He lay on what looked like a beach – though how he knew what a beach was, he couldn’t have said. But this was a beach, though not one he could say he’d ever seen in his life – however long that might have been. The sand he could see was a pale red, and if he fought hard enough to raise his head, he could see equally red well, it wasn’t water, but it was liquid, at least.

“Are you sure you saw something this way?” A voice spoke. It wasn’t a voice that he recognized but he knew it was a voice regardless. Someone else was there – at least two someone elses.

He tried again to lift his head, twitching it to the side, and couldn’t quite make it.

“It won’t be them, Durbe,” the voice said, not waiting for an answer from whoever their companion was. The speaker’s voice held pride – he recognized that much, if nothing else.

“I’m aware of that,” the other voice finally replied. “But it could be something useful. Did you want me to call Vector for this?”

The proud voice, growing closer now, sneered. “No.”

The nameless one could hear the faint crunch of footsteps now and he made one more attempt. A sudden spike of strength came from an unknown place and he found himself sitting up. The weight on his back shifted, and he flopped half-over as he did. He tried to get a good look behind himself and couldn’t get his head bent around. Something was in the way – large and hard and a deep shade of blue.

Was it him? Was that a part of him?

Then he turned his head around to stare at the two who stood not that far away. Both of them seemed created of rock, just like he was. One’s skin was shades of gray, while the other in brilliant gold. The gray one didn’t seem to bother with anything like clothes, while the golden one wore a sort of sarong-like item, and had long golden hair as well.

That was the one that spoke, though neither of them possessed a mouth. But the nameless one knew the words came from him.

“Who are you? What are you doing here in the Ocean of Ill Will?” He bent closer, sharp eyes skimming up and down. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

For a brief second, the nameless one thought that he should move lips that he found out in this moment he didn’t have. But the words sounded regardless.

“I don’t know.”

The golden one turned to the gray one. “He’s new. A new Barian.” There was a definite hint of wonder in his voice and the gray one nodded slowly before turning his attention there.

“Do you remember where you came from before here?”

Slowly he shook his head, trying one more time to move. This time he had better luck, since the golden one reached out to help him up. When he came to his feet, he tried to look at his back again, and saw the blue – whatever they were – there still. He reached one hand to brush against it and twitched – not just his hand, but the things there.

“Those are wings,” the golden one told him. “You have wings – not many Barians have those.”

Barians. Like so much else it wasn’t a name that he recognized, but it felt right even as he heard it. He stared down at himself. His skin was as hard and rocky as theirs, but a deep shade of blue. Tiny jewel were set on his joints, but they offered no impediment to moving. What held him before seemed to have only been weariness.

“I don’t remember anything,” he said at last, turning to look at them. One hand moved and there was a flicker of blue energy that became something solid – a deck of cards.

Oh. Yes. He knew now. He was a duelist. He picked up the cards and rifled through them cautiously. Cyber Dragons – the wings looked like what he could see of his own, even with tiny threads of metal there.

“I’m Durbe,” the gray one introduced himself before gesturing to the golden one. “This is Mizael. We’re two of the Barian Emperors. You, it seems, are a new Barian.” He gestured again, this time to some of the scarlet towers that now could be seen rising in the distance. “What Barians there are live there, except for the Emperors. We live there.” Another gesture, to a taller tower.

Mizael continued to regard him. “Are you certain you don’t know your name?

He knew that he shouldn't know it. But the question stirred up a small thought, a sensation that wriggled a trifle closer. He reached for it; was it his name? He thought it might be. It felt like a name.

“Lesath,” he said at last, and while he had no tongue to taste the words with, it did feel oddly right. Yes. His name was Lesath. It didn’t entirely feel right, but it felt like it was his.

Mizael held out his hand. “Let me see your deck,” he ordered. Lesath regarded him, the wings on his back flickering.

“Why?” This deck was precious to him. He knew very little, but he knew that at least. He wasn’t going to hand it over to just anyone.

“Because I want to see how good of a duelist you are,” Mizael said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You can either show it to me or duel against me.”

Lesath didn’t know much. His location, his name, the names of these two near-strangers, and that he carried this deck. He drew himself up and his wings spread broadly.

“If those are my options, then I will duel you.” He believed he could remember how to duel.

Durbe stepped to one side, a hint of interest in his eyes. Mizael took two steps back, his own duel disk appearing.

It was a short, rough, powerful duel. Lesath learned quickly that he did indeed know how to duel and he seemed to be reasonably good at it. Mizael was no slouch either, and their monsters roared in rage at one another. Lesath wondered if he heard words in those roars.

One other point he learned quickly – they used different styles. His was something called “Fusion”, while Mizael wielded a style called “XYZ”. Their talents were close enough that the duel ended in a stalemate, neither claiming true victory. But Lesath could not say he was unsatisfied with the results. Fighting someone this strong felt right in ways that he couldn’t deny.

Mizael brushed himself off after the duel. “Barians like you work for us,” he said a trifle gruffly. “Those are allowed to live in our palace, to make it more convenient. I want you to join the ranks of my servants.

Lesath shrugged. It wasn’t as if he had anything better to do with his time. He did need to learn about where he was – and maybe learn about where he was and how he’d gotten here. Who knew if he’d ever learn anything but it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.

And he really wouldn’t mind learning more about Mizael, either. That clearly visible pride attracted him, a mirror of his own.

“Vector will probably throw a fit that you picked him without giving anyone else the chance,” Durbe offered, definite hints of amusement in his voice. Mizael only shrugged.

“I don’t make my decisions based off of what Vector thinks,” he declared. “If he wants to argue with me about it, that’s his problem. Lesath is mine.”

Lesath didn’t think anyone had ever claimed him like that. He didn’t want to argue the point either. He wasn’t sure of who Vector was but he also didn’t care. He far preferred the company of Mizael and Durbe already. He wondered if he’d feel differently in the future.

He glanced at the ocean, then to the scarlet skies, and the red crystal tower that dotted the landscape. Not a world he knew anything of, but he thought with a little time, he could come to call it home.

The End

Notes: Lesath is the name of one of the stars in the constellation Scorpio’s tail. The only birthday ever given for Ryou is November 1, which makes him a Scorpio.

One day I will write more about Ryou’s time as a Barian and his adventures there. He might even remember his real name one day.

#fanfic #higuchimon writes #gxmonth2020 #ygo gx #ygo zexal #marufuji ryou #mizael #durbe #ryou x mizael #mizael x ryou #neoprideshipping

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