Clear Skies

Chapter 15: Persistent Emotions

            The sunshine struck Mai as strange. She clutched the bag of belongings she had picked up from the hospital. A search of the other rooms told her Joey had already checked out. The other DOMA members were nowhere to be found.

She started towards her apartment. How long had she been out? Felt like months of darkness. The thought of her cat, Elegant, sped up her gait. She passed by televisions, which displayed newscasters babbling about the return of KaibaCorp and fall of DOMA. The CEO Dartz disappeared, sources claimed.

Mai sprinted up the stairs to her apartment. She jiggled the key to open the door faster. The expected scent of a rotting animal was absent from the place, however. Elegant sashayed up to her looking normal as ever.

The place was tidier than Mai had left it. Two bowls of food and three bowls of water rested on the kitchen floor. Mai's brow furrowed. She called, "Kid? Are you there?"

No response. She wandered about the place but found no traces of Rahlin's presence. Something suspicious caught her eye. Her bed had been made and her messy sheets smoothed.

A slip of paper sat on her pillow, and the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon plushie Mai had bought rested beside it. The note's handwriting was shaky and barely legible. Reminded Mai of a third grader's writing. She squinted as she made out the words:

i will never forget the kindness you shared with me

Mai's arm lowered. She gazed out her bedroom window and mumbled, "Where'd you go, kid?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Torchlight danced the man's shadow on the walls. He threaded his fingers together and observed the object floating before him. A purple diamond levitated in front of an altar laden with stone snakes. The violet, see-through cage was the perfect size to hold the girl suspended within.

Rahlin's body floated as though drifting in water. Firelight shone in the reflection of the man's turquoise and gold eyes. He sneered. "Stupid monster. You stab me in the back not once but twice. I'll not be making that mistake when I try next. Your desires may have changed; mine never will."

He removed the Orichalcos pendant around his neck. The six-pointed star glowed bright green. "I cannot have you leaking the truth. You are connected to this human form, Knight of Destiny. By removing your memories of this experience, you shall return to your state before coming to Domino City."

Dartz cast the pendant towards Rahlin's body. Runes glimmered in a circle around the violet diamond in reaction to his chants. The last word in the ancient language completed the new ritual.

The suspended body twitched its fingers. Its mouth formed a frown. A gentle light drifted from Rahlin into the pendant. Dartz dropped the necklace beside the silver cane on the ground.

He turned his back on Rahlin. "I hope you feel your human vessel rotting from the Spirit World."

Dartz walked away. His foot kicked aside something. His brow lifted as he picked up the half-white, half-black mask. Curious, but he did have many unusual visitors during what was meant to be humanity's last duel. Dartz tossed aside the mask and phased away from the ruins.

Rahlin's body lingered in deathly silence.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The pharaoh's spirit leaned upon the railing. He imagined the breeze hitting his face. His back faced a row of apartment doors. His partner, Yugi, shifted from foot to foot in front of the last room on the level. Yugi grasped the Millennium Puzzle around his neck and frowned.