Tear Jerker / Between My Brother and Me: Mors Omnibus

Underneath Carroll City's charm and morbid fascination of "repurposing" people are a variety of broken souls that are struggling to survive.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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Chapter 4: Dragged Down To The Grave

• After a bit of back and forth in which Yvonne points out that she, May and Dawn have done what Yusho should've done — stay at Standard Dimension and train the Lancers instead of stupidly trying to convince Professor Akaba to stand down — there is an awkward silence and Yvonne looking quite sad as she wishes Yusho goodnight, particularly when she hopes that he dreams of being with his wife and son again. This becomes much much harsher ten chapters later...

Chapter 5: Cloak and Dagger

• Ruri's reactions to waking up in the Kougami Manor. She gets to wear a pretty dress and she's having a luxurious breakfast; something she hasn't had since the invasion. All she can think about is seeing her friends and brother together and upon biting some toast with jam, she bursts into tears. Poor girl.
  • She's also angry at Yusho when he reveals that he was flung to the Fusion dimension; she points out that he could've saved her and Rin instead of just hiding out. That's how much faith in him has been lost.

Chapter 6: Illusion Magic

• For those who read Legend of the Three Caballeros: Dark Signs of the Sun, there are hints of Sen having a tragic past. This story shows exactly what he's gone through.
  • The flashback starts with Sen staring at his Illusion monsters...and we find out that not only are they the souls of people he cared about but they don't remember that at all and are stuck in a limbo between being a monster and a human soul. Seto knows their real names, but he calls them by their titles (Illusion Defender = Mokuba, Illusion Oracle = Ishizu) because he knows that it hurts Sen to remember.
  • Worse, the monsters suffer from short-term memory loss: Sen will call them by their original names one day and then they completely forget it next time he summons them.
  • When Sen duels Dawn, Seto is trying to advise his partner to stand down. Sen tries to deny that it before cutting off the connection with, "I'll be okay."
  • The first two monsters Sen summons are Illusion Oracle (Ishizu) and Overseer of Illusion (Marik). Neither of them remember they are brother and sister and Overseer begins to break down with identity crisis.
  • When he summons Illusion Dragon Priest (Seth) the conversation he has over the snowball fight taking place is something he and Sen went through before. And when said Priest starts getting a headache, Sen waves the situation off with a promise that he'll explain everything with a tear in his eye.
  • When Illusion Defender (Mokuba) is destroyed, Sen gets a flashback...of the last time he and his Mokuba were together. Sen tried to summon a portal so Mokuba can escape. But Mokuba hurls Sen out of that portal to save himself. The last thing Sen remembers is Mokuba waving good-bye.
  Illusion Defender/Mokuba: (tears in eyes) Goodbye. I love you.
  • When Sen summons Raconteur of Illusion (Leonhart), the boy asks his big brother (Ziegfried) if it's morning already the implications being that the latter did't survive.
  Sen: Go back to sleep, Leon. This is nothing more than a dream.
  Raconteur: Okay...
  • His reaction to Dreamer of Illusion (Noah) is even worse as Noah is Sen's brother.
  • Monarch of Illusion (Atem) takes the cake as he sees Sen as his "Lord". The once brave Pharaoh has his entire identity wiped out.
  • Sen's strongest monsters are Xyz monsters: Hero of Illusion, Champion of Illusion and Monarch of Illusion...and they have the faces of Joey (Hero), Yugi (Champion) and Atem (Monarch). The original Kaiba saw them as his rivals, so seeing that they're Extra Deck monsters hits home how much he respected them in his world.
• The B-plot of this chapter is Ayu on her search to find Yuya and Yuzu. She bumps into Misty who gives a fortune that a "new purpose awaits"...and it ends with Ayu's throat ripped out by a Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound when she wanted to protect Celina.
  • Celina does not know who Ayu is, and is pinned down by Obelisk Force soldiers and begging them to stop attacking Ayu — who declared that she was Celina's friend even though they just met — and can only run away in shame for not being strong enough to save her.
  • The final scenes of the chapter is Ayu learning the cold hard truth at she's dead. This little girl has just found out that she is killed, that the girl she fought was from Academia and that if she takes Chacu Challhua's offer and she does, she will never have a normal life.
    • When she wakes up in the alleyway where she died, Misty is full of remorse for having foreshadowed Ayu's death and is immediately consoling the little girl in her arms.

Chapter 7: Changing Destiny

• After Ash duels Mieru, Serenity pulls him aside to ask him why he would go to duel her just to warn that a "new purposed awaited her", clearly shaken that Mieru will find herself dead very soon.
  Serenity: She doesn't deserve this!
  Ash: (staring at Serenity with a cold tone of voice) None of us did.
  (Ash then removes his shirt to reveal a huge scar over his heart)

Chapter 11: Escape From the Dark Dimension

• Yusho reuniting with his son after three years is absolutely heartbreaking. Yusho's already being reminded that he never got to explain why he left for Reiji's scheme, never realized that his actions really damaged Yuya and now Yuya is happily proclaiming that Yusho isn't his father all while dressed as a ringmaster puppet and hypnotized by Zarc who is absolutely gleeful at what he's unleashed. This is the last thing Yusho wanted to see and he will forever be blaming himself for this mistake.
• Serenity's worse fears become true: Mieru finds herself dead after taking three knives to the heart meant for Yusho. As Mieru finds herself dying, all she can think is "Yuya" and finding that she has been a fool for love the entire time.
  Yuzu: MIERU!!!!

Chapter 14/14.5: Big Win?/Full House

• When Yvonne talks to Lady Belladonna in the Euphemism, Yvonne drops her snarky act as Lady Belladonna talks about how she doesn't have to do what she's going to do later. Yvonne replies that she's gone too far to become the innocent girl that she once was before her brother died.
• As Zarc is about to end the duel by destroying El Shaddoll Construct, Yvonne and Yusho have a talk about how Yvonne could be a brilliant student under Yusho's guidance, with none of Yvonne's snark on display. Yusho telling Yvonne that prolonging the duel isn't going to solve their problems and even ends with Yusho patting Yvonne's head and telling her that he's ready "For what happens next", to which Yvonne briefly sees her older brother and a tear falls down her eye. This is only foreshadowing for...
• The end of the duel: Yvonne and Yusho may have lost, but they're still alive. And as Yvonne asks Yusho if Yuzu gave him the message, he asks, "What message?" Yvonne's response is to become utterly silent, look utterly scared before she apologizes and says:
  Yvonne: (grasping her stiletto above her head, hand trembling) Yusho...a...a...A new purpose awaits you!
  (cue her slicing Yusho's throat in front of an entire audience)
  • As Yusho lays dying, the last thing he sees is Yvonne's eyes filled with tears and his blood splattering her face. This is the first time in the story, outside of her Flashback of her about to be killed by the same man who killed her brother, that she's crying. She then breaks down to tears as her puppet strings wrap Yusho's body in a cocoon to take him who knows where before she collapses onto her knees. When Yvonne sees Yuya and Zarc watching her, she plays it off as a joke.
  Yvonne: (while holding Yusho's hat and cane) Hey Yuya, Zarc...I have a question for the two of you? Am I laughing or...or am I crying?
  Yuya: Why you're laughing of course. Why would a girl like you think you're crying?
  Yvonne: Because...because I’d kill myself if I found myself crying in front of a lovely audience such as this. (Cue her laughing once again before she cries)
  • When she says this, she's holding onto Yusho's hat close to her heart, the only thing that didn't go with him to...wherever she sent him to.
  • The reactions of the people in the audience is either shock or horror. No one — not Max, not Kaiba, not Lusamine, not Paul, not even Ryoken — is happy to see Yvonne doing such a thing. This makes everyone's reactions to whether or not Yvonne will be able to "Do it" more heartbreaking; all of them were aware that Yvonne had to kill Yusho.
    • Better yet the lack of reaction from Yuya. Yuya does not scream or get angry at Yvonne for killing Yusho. He just watches — Zarc's control of him is so deep that he does not care that Yusho is dead. The only time he reacts is when Yvonne is crying and decides that she needs to laugh to stop the tears. So if you put it in the sense that Yusho planned this out with Yvonne as a final desperation act to free Yuya from Zarc's spell this entire scenario was essentially All for Nothing.
  • Yuzu is screaming and now wants Yvonne's head on a platter for what she's done. After finally seeing Yusho in three years, it's taken away by the same girl who has been belittling her since Yuzu set foot in Carroll City.
    • Ruri would've also been crying because the last time she saw Yusho prior to Carroll City, he just vanished when the invasion hit. Even worse is that Yusho didn't forget her or Yuto because he had two Performapal Xyz monsters based on them. And remember, she chewed Yusho out for not coming to rescue her and Rin upon learning that he landed in Fusion many chapters ago. That would be the last time she talked to him before he died.
  • Yvonne herself: when it comes to killing Academia personnel or turning Sora into a puppet, she's all smiles and snark. The idea of having to kill Yusho is something even she doesn't want to consider but she has to do it anyway. This shows that despite her bluntness on Yusho's impulsiveness to leave his family behind, she still cared for Yusho.
  • If you go back through the entire duel, there are multiple hints that Yvonne is trying to not think about it — from telling Yusho to focus on his present and not his future, wishing that the duel could last forever, Yuya's prediction that someone will soon perish...this thought is on the back of her mind and she can't get out of it.
  • Lady Belladonna greats Yvonne with "Show Must Go On" which hurts Yvonne a lot because 1) it was her brother's favorite song and 2) the subtext that shows that she has to go on even after killing Yusho is hitting her.
  • The brief image of Yvonne seeing her brother in Yusho; she saw her brother in Yusho so she is essentially killing Xavier. No wonder this hurts her so much.
• The final scene of the chapter is Yusho waking in a strange world before he starts recalling what happened...and when he remembers, he starts laughing madly a far cry from the Nice Guy he was.
  Yusho: I'm ready, Yvonne...I'm ready...I'm ready! A new purpose awaits me! (cue laugh)
  • And then he finds himself face-to-face with Wiraqocha Rasca and is ready to become the Dark Signer for the raptor. Those who remember the Dark Signer arc can tell where this will end.
    • To twist it even further, remember that Yusho advised Yuya to laugh when he feels like crying. Yusho laughing is probably to hide how broken he is inside and what he allowed himself to get into.
• Basically Yusho Sakaki's death is a massive Tear Jerker all around.

Chapter 15: Ultimate Offering

• Continuing with Yusho's death, the flashback reveals that Yvonne didn't want to kill him in the first place. When Yusho sarcastically asks if she was going to kill him, she only answers "Yes" before Yvonne states that she didn't want this to happen and cries in front of him.
  • To make it even worse, Yusho agrees to help out. He's giving Yvonne permission to kill him and Yvonne has to hypnotize him and put a Trigger Phrase so he remembers the information when the time is right. What's the phrase? "Yusho, we're ready to fight" — aka the message Yuzu was supposed to give Yusho four chapters ago.
• Yvonne explaining why she did what she did to Yusho and her feelings for him: when he appeared in Carroll City, he stayed at her house, made her smile and for three days it felt like Yvonne had her older brother back. She wanted Yusho to stay but let him go on his way to the Xyz Dimension.
  • Yvonne's loathing of herself is so deep that when Yuzu questions what would Xavier think of her if he knew what she became, Yvonne calmly states that she's asked that question to herself for the past six years. Remember, this girl is only 14 so she's hated herself since she was at most 8.
  • After Yuzu heads off to chase after Ruri and Rin, Saki tells Yvonne that despite Xavier being an amazing person he wasn't that good of a hero. Yvonne's response?
  Yvonne: At the very least, he was my hero.
• Ayu having to confess to her repurposing is sad in itself. The narration notes that she'll never grow up to be beautiful as her mother nor have any children. And speaking of her mother, Ayaka is horrified to find that her daughter has no pulse at all.
• When Reiji is talking with Yusei, Yusei shows a make-believe image of Reira about to be defeated by Infernity Doom Dragon and screaming for her brother to save her. While Reiji looks in horror, Yusei taunts Reiji by stating that Reira dying is his fault because he was too busy looking over data rather than looking over his little sister.
  Yusei: Poor little thing, all alone in the darkness. Her big brother couldn’t help her, disappointed her, left her to die. How cruel of you, Reiji…because you know what? This is all your fault.
• Reira's death. She gets a hug and a smile from her (brainwashed) older brother as Kiryu stands behind her. And then...
  Kiryu: Reira Akaba, a new purpose awaits you.
  (proceeds to give Reira a Neck Snap)
• Reira's situation in general. Himika forbades Reira to try to comfort and befriend Ayu and doesn't even celebrate Reira's own birthday and treats the little girl like a toy or attack dog. Not only that, but Reira is dueling for her life against Kiryu and it becomes very clear that by the time Kiryu has all three of his dragons out on the field that Reira is doomed. There is no one to save her — as her brother is too far away to get to her and under Yusei's control — and the only thing she can do is beg and scream for mercy as Kiryu is set to kill her.
  Reira: I'm scared Reiji. I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go...I don't...wanna go...
• Yoko's reaction to seeing Yusho at her doorstep. She's not glad to see him, she's quite the opposite. She slaps him across the face while asking him where he had gone, why he did this and what his stupid action in disappearing did to hurt Yuya. And then she learns how Yusho was repurposed...

Chapter 16: Blizzard Princess

• Yusho is verbally torn apart by Wiraqocha Rasca's grandiose rant on how Yusho is a pathetic waste of skin who abandoned his family for glory and that he has failed at all accounts. This causes Yusho to shout before unleashing a Big "SHUT UP!" at the Immortal, clearly at his breaking point.
• When Max and Aso discuss what's going on with Ryo, Aso mentions that Ryo mentioned a brother. Yes, this means Sho Marufuji exists in this world and considering what Academia is like, it shows that Ryo truly did care for someone...and hopes that Sho is okay...
• In the dressing room, Yvonne, May and Dawn are tired over the events that happened the entire day. At this point, Dawn and May have to point out that Yvonne's attitude and her pedestal problem have gotten out of hand. Yvonne is stubborn, having gone through a lot in being forced to kill Yusho and her belief that all the students in Academia will get off lightly for their crimes in genocide. She proceeds to add how much all three girls have suffered — Yvonne losing her brother, May lost her family, Dawn is undead and her mother took her own life — before she breaks down in tears at how angry she as at her life being absolute shit.
  Yvonne:...I never asked for this. All that I wanted was to be happy and innocent, have a simple life with mom and Xavier...and then life and that Viren asshole — may he forever rot in hell— just goddamn took my brother away and never gave him back! And then it took Dawn's mother and her chance of growing up, and I'm gonna have my own grandchildren mourn for me while she's stuck eternally 11. And yeah not all those Academia students are 100% evil but you can never be so sure! People change and they usually change for the worse. They have no consideration of good people's work as long as it benefits them and their selfish desires. It’s all because of Akabastard that this entire situation is fucked up. Yusho would be home happy and with his son if he just thought for a few seconds what his consequences would be. Why didn’t he just think about his family and make sure they were taken care of before going on some crusade that wasn’t any of his business to begin with? And no matter what we accomplish, the bad guys always win; their impact lasts a lifetime and maybe even more. It affects so many other people. That bastard is going to get away for his crimes and goddamn it I wanna slice his throat and not Yusho's! And look at me! I'm just one girl, one girl whose life is insignificant in the long run...and for once, just for once I want to be in control. I didn't want to be pushed to the sidelines or just sit there while everything burns to ashes. I wanted to seize life by my own hands, tell it that it messed with the wrong person and then hurl it to the fucking ground and see it shatter into a million pieces, each piece goddamn fully aware of how broken and shattered it is so it would know of all of the horrible things it gave me!
• The Bracelet Girls aren't faring better as Ray finally rears her ugly head and reveals that she was going to keep erasing the memories of Yuya, Yuto and Yugo every time they got too close showing that even she didn't care about their safety. Which culminates into...
  • Ruri and Rin fighting over whose side to be on: Ruri sides with Ray and Rin sells her soul to Zarc for power. Even YMD are unable to change Rin's mind.

Chapter 16.5th: Frozen Soul

• Rin is successful in winning her duel against Dawn so the tears goes in both ways:
  • On Rin's side, Rin finally gets to be with Yugo after who knows how long, with Yugo acting like he was prior to Zarc coming in, and Rin just bursting into tears at finally being together.
  • On Dawn's side, she can only say her farewells to her older brother before Zarc rips her soul out of her body, with Yusaku holding her in his arms and him utterly furious at Zarc telling Rin that a soul is good as a bargaining chip or power source. Yvonne has lost it at this point, as this will be the second time she lost her friend.
• Ruri accepts how she has fallen and joins Ray's cause if it means being with Yuto once more.
• The chapter ends with Yoko learning everything Yusho has gone through...and she's not happy in the slightest. She tears into her husband's foolishness, questioning why he let a 13-year-old boy go through all this trouble and break their own son's heart before Yusho weeps at every single mistake his made, at how he wanted to make a Big Damn Reunion for Yuya and now he'll never get that chance.

Chapter 17: Shadow of Eyes

• Ruri says that she wants to help May by bringing back her parents. Max and Brendan state this is a bad idea, as May has finally accepted that their parents are dead and will never return. And May is hiding tears when Ruri brings that up.
  May: Don't do this to me...don't give me hope!

Chapter 18: Mask Change

• Remember the bet that Saki and Yvonne made? It turns out that if Saki summoned Reing-Beaux during the festival, Yvonne would use her brother's deck in the final duel. It's a melancholic moment, especially since that deck hasn't been used in years.
• Saki has a flashback to when she and Specter go to give Yvonne the deck. Yvonne is broken at this point: having to kill Yusho, Rin leaving for Zarc and Dawn losing her soul, has made this proud boastful puppeteer into a broken mess. She starts getting into an argument with Specter in how the latter doesn't know how she's feeling...but Specter retorts that he does, he knows what it feels like to do a repurposing and to just bottle up all that despair and sadness in ones heart. Yvonne is utterly speechless at this, and it doesn't help that Specter changes tactics and comforts her before her duel with Yuzu which makes Saki look in horror...because he was doing stuff Xavier did to comfort Yvonne.
• Yuzu is utterly lost at this point and has no idea how to get out of this mess. Doesn't help that Ruri has Ray possess her to get her ready to murder Yvonne. Which leads to...
• The duel itself. Yvonne is snarky but you can tell that she's not putting her whole heart into it and Yuzu just wants nothing more than to murder her. At one point in the duel, Yvonne is praying for her brother to guide her as she goes to get an Action Card...just as Yuzu uses an Action Card to deal effect damage that strikes Yvonne in the side and sends her falling into a glass sheet and into a coma. The crowd is horrified and Saki is afraid that she'll lose another child to this.
  Serenity: Ash...Ash what's happened? Where's Yvonne?!
  Ash: Ren...Yvonne...she's...gone.
• The final scene of the chapter has Yvonne waking up to find someone with her...
  Yvonne: Xavier? Is that...you?
  Xavier: (smiles) Hey sis.

Chapter 18.5th: Return of the Doomed

• Yvonne learns that she's in the Sunken Realm and confesses to her brother that she fucked up big time and doesn't know what to do now. Not once is Xavier angry at her, making s'mores for her to eat, hugging her, and telling her that she still has a chance to make up for her mistakes.
• Upon seeing her son possessing Yvonne's body, Saki has to hide her tears on seeing him after seven years.
  Saki: After all this time?! Why did you have to appear now?!
• Xavier and Yvonne talking about what has happened, bringing up all the puppet shows she did for him while in the hospital with Dawn. At this, Yvonne has to choke back tears since her friend's soul is in Zarc's hands.
• Specter confesses to Saki that he sometimes feels that he's nothing more than a replacement for Xavier. It doesn't help that Saki's name for him (Daiki Maxa) was originally Xavier's name.
• The end of the chapter reveals that Mieru had been eavesdropping on Zarc's family since May and Ruri's duel. She knows everything that Yvonne had planned and is at a loss as to what to do next.
  Mieru: Oh god...

Mors Tua

In The Night Garden

• How do you make the lives of the Kaiba brothers even more depressing? By having it reveal that Seto was hung by an irate drunk and to have his little brother return from a game of hide-and-seek to see his own brother's corpse dangling on a branch. Mokuba is looking in horror at the site and then — if Dawn's narrations of the story is accurate — he was hearing his older brother to "stay with him"...and the horror settles in when the next scene cuts to another corpse hanging next to Seto's...
  • To hammer it home, Trip's continuation of the story had the villagers bury both brothers in a grave together...
• Dawn goes to the Night Garden and has to duel Shirobara. A brutal attack causes Dawn to collapse...and burst into tears as she feels she is utterly foolish to have gone to the Garden alone.
  • Her backstory as to how she became repurposed — her mother hanging herself after the Lost Incident took a toll on her, Ryoken hypnotizing Yusaku, isolated from her friends, before she got kidnapped and then died via suicide bomber...how she manages to keep smiling is a miracle.
• Despite Shirobara's actions, the Kaiba brothers truly do see her as their mother and are shown weeping when it looks like she died. Thankfully she survived.