Return of the Demon

Solitaire: Well, five times now. Shouldn’t we win some sort of award for that?

Xpyne (singing): Revel, revel, bitch, bitch, rebel, rebel, party, party--sex, sex, sex, and don’t forget the violence...!

Solitaire: ...I, um, don’t know what to say. I’m tired, and just sad tad that this chapter is done. A big thanks to the Matrix CD, which really helped us write this.

Xpyne: Yeah, we basically sat for several hours with the CD player on repeat. The Reloaded soundtrack is awesome!

Solitaire: I’m so sad that we got kicked off again. All that progress...all those reviews. The tally is now, what? 296 lost, just on ff.net alone? Yay. -_- Well, so the unedited versions of all the chapters, including this one, are still on mediaminer.org and adult-fanfiction.org, which isn’t working right now...

Xpyne: Bite-Sized died.

Solitaire: No! ::cries:: I liked that one. We’ll have to do another chapter, and put the edited version up soon. u_u

Xpyne: I hate censorship. Down with the man! Or, um, most likely, the stupid little 13 year-old girl. You get the idea.

Solitaire: Well, enough of our (however justified) complaining. This chapter is nice and long to make up for the wait. Xpyne and I don’t own YGO--

Yugi: Yes you do, shut up!!

Xpyne: ::pets him:: No honey, we don’t.

Yugi: ::cries::

Solitaire: Yeah, you’d have a pretty sweet life if Xpyne and I owned the rights to YGO...

Yugi: ....No I wouldn’t. I’d be tortured constantly. But I’d get lots of sex with hot guys. ::pouts::

Xpyne: Ooh! This chapter contains, um, in its unedited form, the long-awaited R/J/B lemon threesome! ::cheers, juggling lemons:: So, in the words of the lovely Matrix song I was singing earlier, let us entertain you.


Chapter 11 - Excursion Through Shadows


Seto dropped behind, stopping, as the much smaller boy continued to trudge forward.

“Yugi...” The spiky haired teen paused, turning to face the other with a desperate, questioning look, one that clearly said, ‘We don’t have time for this.’ Kaiba let his eyes travel over the small boy; he had dark circles under his eyes and was clutching the puzzle around his neck so tightly his knuckles were white. “I think--” The brunette sighed, running a hand through his hair. He really hated to suggest this, but the Shadow Realm was clearly starting to take its toll on Yugi, and he would not allow anything to happen to the remaining of his two loves. “I think we should stop and rest for a while.” Cerulean orbs scanned for the non-existent horizon, seeing darkness and shadows pressing in from all sides. “This seems as good a place as any...”

“No!” Yugi cried, startling the other with his vehemence. “We have to keep searching for Yami. We’re getting closer--we have to be!” The slightly wild look in his eyes disturbed Seto, and he closed the gap between them to lay a comforting hand on Yugi’s shoulder.

“We’ve been walking for what must be hours. We need a break... You need a break.” He was worried by the physical and mental exhaustion the small teen was exhibiting. While he, himself, oddly enough, had yet to feel the strain of existing in a world that was not his own--while he felt a strange power coursing through him, even, getting stronger and stronger--Yugi was obviously pushing himself beyond the limits of his endurance.

The younger of the two abruptly shook the brunette’s hand from his shoulder, glaring up at him accusingly. “Maybe you don’t love Yami that much,” he hissed, “but I have to keep searching until I find him!” The young CEO took a step back, a deep hurt flashing through his eyes.

“You know that’s not true, Yugi,” he admonished softly. “I love him just as much as you do and will not leave this place until he is here, in my arms, but look at yourself. Would you have me lose you, too?”

Yugi knew his koi spoke with the utmost sincerity and lowered his eyes in shame. His bottom lip trembled before tears dropped from his lashes, face crumpling.

“But you don’t know how it feels!” he sobbed. “It’s like half of my soul is missing--my aibou. It hurts!”

With a worn sigh, Seto carefully sat on the ground and pulled the other into his lap, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Nuzzling the exotic hair and rocking slightly, the taller boy murmured small noises of comfort while his tiny lover wept into his chest. “Shh... I understand, Yugi.” He didn’t thie coe could ever hope to achieve a bond as close and complex as that which bound the little yami and hikari, but his soul was connected to theirs in other ways; he could feel it. Without Yami, there was a dull ache in his heart that ate at him, yes, but holding Yugi in his arms made it slightly more bearable. He didn’t think he could survive if he lost both boys. “I understand.” Yugi hiccupped.

“I-I’m sorry, S-Seto...”

“Shh. Don’t be,” he soothed, leaning down to kiss Yugi’s forehead. “I renew my promise to you: we’ll find him.” The multi-color haired teen let out a deep, shuddering breath and nodded, offering a weak smile. Seto gently took Yugi’s face in his hands and tilted it up to kiss away the salty wetness streaking his cheeks and clinging to his lashes. The small boy shivered at the feather-light touches and whimpered. The brunette pulled back slightly to look down at him, his gaze questioning, but infinitely patient. Yugi reached up and wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, resting their foreheads together and staring into those bottomless orbs, as blue as the ocean.

“Seto?” he whispered hesitantly.

“Hmm?” the other replied, in tones just as hushed.

“...Am I a horrible person for wanting you so much when my aibou is alone and in pain?”

The corner of the billionaire’s mouth curled up ever so slightly in a sad smile. “You could never be a horrible person...” He raised a hand to brush the backs of his fingers against the smaller one’s downy cheek. “But you’re in pain, too, ibi. Let me help heal you, if only for a little while.”

Yugi’s eyelids fluttered closed and he leaned into the caress. “Mmm...what does that word mean?” he questioned softly, resting his head wearily against the young CEO’s chest. He yawned and wrapped his arms around the brunette, his only source of warmth and comfort from the chill he’d noticed seeping into his bones. He’d been aware of it for some time now, but could easily overlook his own discomfort for the sake of finding Yami as soon as possible. “It sounds nice...”

Seto blinrapirapidly, not having realized he’d uttered the Egyptian endearment again. He hugged the small boy tighter to him. “‘My heart,’” he found himself saying.

Yugi smiled weakly, snuggling into the larger teen. “I like it.” He yawned again. “I’m so tired, Seto, and everything hurts. Maybe if I just take a short nap...”

“No, Yugi!” Kaiba pulled him from his chest and shook him gently. “You can’t fall asleep, not yet.”

Yugi blinked dull, amethyst orbs up at him and his lids drooped despite his best efforts, the dark bags under his eyes making them appear horribly sunken.

“Only for a few minutes, I promise. I’m so, so tired...” He curled up against the billionaire once more, his breathing becoming slow and shallow.

“Yugi?? Don’t make promises you can’t keep!”

“...sorry, Seto,” he was saying, his voice hardly more than a whisper. “I tried...so hard, but I guess I really am weak...not strong, like you and Yami...”

Seto clutched him even more fiercely, his heart starting to pound. Oh gods, not Yugi, too...! He could sense his koi’s life force, could feel the waning energy within the small teen. Damnit, why hadn’t he suggested they rest sooner?! It made him sick how Yugi’s very soul seemed to be fading away, while he felt more alive than ever.

“You’ll tell him, won’t you?” Yugi asked, so softly that he had to lean down to hear it. “That...that I love him, and I’m really sorry...?”


He finally stops struggling, stops the curses and insults, obviously accepting this was one situation he wasn’t going to be able to make a miraculous escape from. It surprised me, as I had expected him to go down, kicking and screaming, to the very end. He glared at me one last time, but it didn’t faze me in the least; he couldn’t possibly understand--his loss is nothing compared to mine...

He turned away, refusing to look at me, almost as if out of shame. I could tell that whatever he was trying to say cost him a great deal to do so.

“Will--will you tell Jono that...I love him, and...” His breath hitched and he squeezed his eyes shut. “And that I’m sorry, for everything.”

My mouth opened and closed soundlessly, words, for once, evading me. I never knew... I bowed my head, suddenly ashamed that I’d pushed my same pain onto someone else. ...But it can’t be helped now.

“Yes, I will tell him...”


“No! I will not tell him!” Seto shouted suddenly, anger boiling within his veins. Anger that Yami had been taken from them, anger that Yugi was giving up so easily, and anger at his own inability to do a damn thing... “Don’t you dare, Yugi!” [ What use has my life, if I can’t even protect the ones I love?? ]

“You listen to me--” he threatened, “Your soul will not be consumed by darkness!” He held the smaller boy tightly in his arms, as if he could keep him with him by sheer willpower alone. Clenching his eyes shut, he refused to let his tears fall. Was he destined to a life of misery?!

“...I’ll never really leave you, Seto.”

“Shut up!” the blue-eyed boy snapped, pulling him impossibly closer and enveloping him completely in his arms. “I forbid you to talk like that!” His fingers were itching again and he shook his head furiously in refusal, saline drops escaping to trail down his cheeks, regardless of his efforts to hold them back. “Kekewey kheti em pen ka, pen sha-i!”

Seto’s eyes blinked open as he felt a burning sensation beneath his hand and he snatched it from Yugi’s cheek, only to discover the burning was not from Yugi’s skin, but his own. He stared down at his hand, entranced, as a soft glow emanated from his palm. Magic sang through his veins, a power that had lain dormant for 5000 years, reawakened, and the former mage suddenly knew what should be done, as easily as he drew breath into his lungs.

He gently laid the nearly unconscious teen on the ground, the rise and fall of his chest almost imperceptible. Placing a hand over Yugi’s heart, he repeated the words of power, his voice sure and commanding this time as he drew upon the magical reserves deep within him.

“Kekewey kheti em pen ka. Ahew rewi shesep, pehty a'nen. Tjaw ne anhk, hepet pen ka. Kekewey seki, pen sha-i!” {Darkness retreat from this soul. Pain take leave, strength return. Breath of life, embrace this soul. Darkness perish, I command this!}

The soft glow intensified until it became a blinding white glare surrounding the two of them and Yugi’s eyes snapped open as he drew in a ragged gasp, his back arching up off the ground as the power of the spell suddenly thrust more life and energy into him than he could handle. Violet orbs settled on the brunette, eyes closed serenely as his lips moved with an indecipherable murmur, the foreign words rolling off his tongue with practiced ease, and an other worldly aura about him.

“N-Nani?” the tri-color haired boy breathed in awe, feeling himself pull back from the brink of oblivion and filled with a warmth he recognized as purely Seto. He squinted against the brightness and tentatively laid a hand on his koi’s over his chest. “Seto?”

The young CEO’s long lashes lifted and he gazed down at Yugi with eyes the color of the sea as the brilliant glow slowly receded, fading away to leave them in the Shadow Realm’s inherent darkness once more. Seto smiled at him, and the rare expression on the brunette’s face made Yugi’s insides squirm pleasantly.

“Yugi.”

The younger teen struggled to sit up, his eyes wide in shock, and Seto was pleased to note that the shadows beneath them were gone.

“How did you...?” The billionaire looked down at his hands, turning them over as he studied them.

“I think--I think I’m starting to remember more than just Egypt.”

Yugi blinked giant, purple eyes. “...Wow.” Kaiba nodded absently in agreement before getting tackled and knocked onto his back with an “oomph,” hot, wet little lips attacking his neck and face.

“Seto-kun, Seto-kun!” The smaller one buried his face in his neck and the brunette could feel the warm wetness of tears against his skin. “Let’s get moving again; I’m all better now.” Kaiba didn’t believe him for an instant.

“No.”

Yugi frowned. He felt angry. This new energy that burned through his veins was goading him on, daring him to challenge Seto Kaiba, to achieve his ends no matter what the means. Even if the means involved sacrificing himself, he didn’t care. He would have his way or die trying. He sat up, straddling Kaiba and fixing him with a cold glare. The billionaire propped himself up on his elbows and stared in surprise at the frosty gaze focused on him, summing him up on one dismissive, contemptuous look.

“I don’t believe I feel like negotiating. The time to find him is now.” The icy violet eyed boy stood and took a step back, crossing his arms. “Try and stop me---if you dare.”

Seto could only gape at him for a moment, before the short teen blinked and made a derisive “hunh” noise, turning his back on the grounded brunette to start walking.

[ What the hell did I do to him?? He’s acting like-- ] Realization smacked Kaiba rudely in the face. He began to laugh. The spiky haired boy paused at the sound, gazing back at him questioningly, raising a slender eyebrow. This only caused the other to laugh harder.

“What the heck is so damn funny?” Yugi demanded. Seto finally managed to sober and sat up to reach out and take Yugi’s hand, drawing him closer. Suppressing a smirk, he explained.

“You’re acting like me.” And then he crushed his lips to the ones open in protest before him. As Yugi’s tongue sought dominance, Kaiba felt the familiar churning of lust in his stomach and the unfamiliar churning of magic in his blood.

Suddenly Yugi pulled back, flush on his round cheeks and dazed look in his sparkling amethyst eyes. He clasped a small hand to his forehead, brows furrowing as he caught his breath. He looked up sheepishly at the brunette looming over him. Before Yugi could begin apologizing profusely, Seto cut in.

“I’m going to forgive that attitude simply because you do so often,” he said wryly. Yugi leaned over and kissed Kaiba sweetly on the cheek. Blinking a bit, he pleaded softly.

“Seto-kun, can’t we go on now? Please? Seto-kun? I’ll tell you if I get too tired--please, Seto? I...need my yami. Our Yami.”

Kaiba was at war with himself. The urge to give in to those giant purple puppy-dog eyes was enormous, but he didn’t let his internal conflict show on his face. “No,” he answered firmly. “Not until you’ve rested a while.” Yugi sighed unhappily and leaned against the taller kneeling teen.

“You may have fixed my body, Seto, but you know I won’t last long in this realm...or any other...without the other half of my soul.” Kaiba knew it. He wrapped his strong arms around his little koi, fighting the muted depression threatening to creep over him. He felt--he felt something awakened within him--a sense he’d never known as Seto Kaiba--and all illusions dropped from his mind. In a moment of clarity, he suddenly understood his vague uneasiness.

[ No, I can’t be right. ] Kaiba thought desperately. [ This can’t be what I think it is. Not in this lifetime... What’s happening to me?? ]

“Seto-kun?” Yugi’s soft voice caught his attention, and he snapped back to himself. The multi-color haired boy leaned back to gaze into wide blue eyes.

“Yugi!” Seto yanked the smaller boy into his grasp protectively, glancing around uneasily.

“Whussa matta?” came Yugi’s muffled voice from pressed against his boyfriend’s chest. He turned his head so he could breathe properly, concerned, as Seto was squishing him in his strong grasp.

“We--we’re not where we should be,” the brunette managed cryptically. “And we’re being watched.”


=Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q=


“Are we there yet?”

Bakura clenched his fists and stomped one foot. “For the last time, no! Stupid blonde,” he muttered, and continued to trudge on, Joey following.

“Stupid--eh... Whaddya call somebody with white hair? Blonde?”

“I am not blonde.”

“Well, people wit black hair are still brunettes; people wit white hair must be technically blonde.”

“I’m not blonde! Ra, you’re annoying,” Bakura growled. He stopped and pulled a piece of gum from his pocket.

“Ooh, gum!” Joey perked up, extending his hand. The former tomb robber slapped it away.

“Not for you.” Bakura set the gum down on the ground, then continued walking. Joey was puzzled.

“...You’re just leaving it there? Why?” The platinum haired fiend didn’t respond, and the blonde teen didn’t press. About half and hour later, though, the answer became apparent.

“Kuso! I knew it!” Bakura swore. The gum they’d left behind was now lying in front of them. Joey’s jaw dropped.

“How did...have we been walkin’ in circles?!” he exclaimed, disbelieving. Bakura grimaced.

“I’m afraid so. There went ten hours of my life I want back.”

“But--” Joey’s hand unconsciously sought Bakura’s for safety. “--What’s goin’ on?” The long haired boy pursed his lips.

“I’m not sure. But I don’t think we’re in the true Shadow Realm--I would know, thanks to that ‘pharaoh’--and I think we’re being watched.”

Joey wasn’t sure what to respond to first. “And it took ya `til now ta figure this out, Mr. I-know-everything-`bout-th’-Shadow-Realm??” The dark one growled.

“I know more than anyone else in the loser squad, and lucky for you, I know how to get us out of here.”

“How?” Joey asked promptly. The shorter boy rolled his eyes.

“Come here.” He drew the lean blonde into his pale arms and let out a slight sigh at the contact. “Where is the eye?”

“In my back pocket.” He tensed as two hands slid into either of his jean pockets, one curling around the golden eye, the other around his rear. A thrill of emotion coursed through his body as the act reminded him of the guilty pleasure he’d gotten on that boat a few days ago. He tightened his grip on the spirit.

“This might hurt a bit. Just don’t let go.” His voice was low, warm breath caressing Joey’s neck, causing the fine hairs on it to rise. The blonde felt a tingling sensation shiver through him.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

A soft light began to emanate from Bakura, encircling them both. The sennen ring on his chest and the eye behind Joey grew violently bright and glowed white hot.

“--Ah!” Joey cried, his grip faltering as the ring on his front and the eye on his back started to burn, their magic overwhelming him. An equally scorching kiss pressed itself gently to his neck.

“Just don’t let go.”

Joey dug his fingers into the supple flesh beneath them. He felt as if he were melting. He couldn’t let go of Bakura--he wouldn’t. But he strained to pull away from the searing magic. It hurt. He gripped the platinum haired boy’s back harder, even as he tried to struggle out of his touch. A pained moan escaped his lips.

“Hold on a little longer. Please, Jounouchi.” His voice sounded far away and strange. The air crackled with energy and he felt like his body was falling away, molecule by molecule, until suddenly, with a tremendous lurch, he was pitched forward.

He blinked open honey-colored eyes, vision spotted by the recent brightness, and took a deep breath. It was over. He glanced around in shock. He appeared to be in some kind of forest or jungle. Everything was grey-green, brown and dank looking, a sort of wet, cold, crawly feel to it. Except for the ground. The ground was warm and lumpy. It squirmed beneath him.

“Get off of me!”

“Oh!” Joey rolled off his koi, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry.” Bakura frowned, sitting up and brushing off his clothes.

“Hmmph.”

Joey was already on his feet and offering him a hand. He took it, but instead of helping himself up, he pulled the blonde down.

“What?”

The white haired yami fidgeted, beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. He swiped them away in annoyance. Joey guessed what the boy wanted, but what pride wouldn’t allow him to say.

“I--” he began. Joey cut him off.

“As long as we’re sittin’ here, can we take a break? I’m tired.” Joey shrugged out of his black jacket and made himself comfortable on the ground. Bakura raised an eyebrow.

“What do you have to be tired about? I’m the one carting our asses through multiple realms.” Joey rolled his eyes and pulled a surprised Bakura into his arms.

“Give it a rest, Kura.” He pressed a soft kiss to the other’s cheek. Bakura made a face.

“Must you always be so...touchy-feely?” he demanded, but made no move to pull away. He sighed, allowing himself to relax fully for the first time in a long while, enfolded in Joey’s arms. Dark lashes fluttered closed. “Wake me if a man-eater bug comes our way, ne?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

A smirk graced the tomb robber’s sleepy features. He murmured a last response before snuggling de int into Joey’s embrace.

“...Maybe.”

“Great.” As soon as the slender boy had fallen asleep, Joey felt the irresistible urge to sleep as well. [ No, must stay... awake...nnuh-- ] Joey’s head jerked up. He yawned. It was just too comfortable to be curled up with the somniferous yami. [ Need... to be... look-out.... crap... ]

“Joey.” Bakura’s lips spoke, but the white haired fiend seemed to still be deep asleep.

“Nani?”

“I’ll watch over us. You sleep, too. I’m not tired.”

“Ryou?”

“Un.”

“..Okay...thanks...” he managed, before drifting off as well.”


=Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q=


“What do you mean ‘We’re being watched’??” Yugi suddenly glanced around himself nervously, clutching to Seto’s waist with one hand and the chain of his puzzle with the other. He hadn’t really noticed if before, but now that Kaiba mentioned it... The brunette growled low in his throat.

“I don’t know...but I can feel it.” It made his skin crawl in a way that reminded him of when Yami had come to retrieve his soul from the “graveyard” and he’d woken to find himself chained to Pegasus’s bed.

As he pushed back the sudden wave of nausea that accompanied that thought, the young CEO realized he was crushing Yugi and loosened his grip. The smaller boy turned his face up to gaze at him with startled amethyst orbs.

“And what do you mean, ‘We’re not where we’re supposed to be’? Yami was taken to the Shadow Realm! We both saw it happen.” He clenched his small fist in the fabric of Kaiba’s shirt. “He’s here, and we’re going to find him!” he insisted desperately. Seto shook his head slightly in frustration.

“No, it’s like...it’s like everything is...muted, as if underwater.” He stared absently at his hand before reaching out with his palm outward, as if he thought he could touch the shadows that pressed so eagerly in around them, rather than have his hand pass through them. “Don’t you feel it, Yugi?” The brunette closed his eyes and sat up straighter, a look of concentration crossing his face. “It’s like being in a dark room, and hearing voices on the other side of the wall, but--”

“But you can’t make out what they’re saying.”

Kaiba looked down, surprised, at the boy in his lap. “How--?”

Small hands released their death grip on boyfriend and sturdy metal chain alike to gently lift the timeless golden puzzle that hung from his neck. “I think I can feel it, too.”

Seto hated to ask, after what they’d just been through. He let out a small sigh. “Can you transport us to the true Shadow Realm?” he questioned quietly. He felt so helpless--so useless; he had this power in him, he knew--yet he didn’t know how to use it. It was like trying to comprehend a nonsensically encrypted computer program; frustratingly familiar, but ultimately foreign. He could not navigate such a system any more than he could harness this new power.

“When I--was bonded with Yami, I just...knew what to do. His power was mine, ours. I can control the millennium puzzle,” he asserted, wetting his lips as he gazed down at the pyramid. “But I don’t have Yami’s power to sustain me...” Seto cupped his hands over Yugi’s, the puzzle looking near delicate, dwarfed as it was by the brunette’s broad palms.

“I’ll sustain you.” Trusting amethyst orbs trained themselves solemnly in the lanky teen’s face. “We’ll do this together.”

The petite one inclined his head slightly. “Together.” With that word of affirmation, the puzzle began to glow. Yugi’s violet eyes turned a luminous white, and the sennen eye etched itself on his forehead. A similar symbol scrawled onto Kaiba’s forehead as well. The glow became a blinding, white hot glare, and the youilliillionaire squeezed his eyes shut against it. He felt, more than heard, Yugi whimper in pain, his fingers trembling under the nearly blistering heat that emanated from the puzzle but never loosening, his determination overriding the pain.

[ The pain is because he can’t handle the power. He can control it, but he can’t sustain it. I need to hold the power for him. It’s hurting him. ] Still, Kaiba didn’t know what to do, or how to do it. The slender little teen was quaking, tears of light streaming down his round cheeks. His agony was almost tangible, the air thick with his suffering. [ My failure is hurting him! ]

“Yugi!” he cried, his voice rough and muted. [ What do I do?! ]

“S-Seto--” came the strangled reply, “--please!!”

[ Gods, what the fuck do I do?!?! ]

“Yugi--!”

// Yugi!! // (A/N: Imagine Seto’s hot Jap voice here. ^_~) In a sudden blaze of connection, the energy rushed into the brunette in a torrent.

“Aah--” The puzzle bearer nearly sagged with relief, his anguish dissipating as his koibito drew the overwhelming magic into himself. The world around them swirled and shifted.

\ Seto... \ he sighed, basking in the familiar feeling of being bonded with someone on a level beyond words or even comprehension.

Kaiba struggled against the tide of Millennium magic that washed over him in an onslaught of such raw power, it stole his breath and he began to tremble. The power wove its seductive spell ardently about the brunette, and he was suddenly struck with the distinct impression of something he had known intimately once, long, long ago; something that stirred him in a way he had thought only Yugi and Yami could, and aroused an insatiable lust deep within him that had nothing to do with pleasures of the flesh.

The former mage-priest retained the puzzle tightly in his grasp, even as he sensed the item’s flow of power into him waver, the object becoming dormant once more. He clutched the sennen puzzle more fiercely as its tendrils of magic withdrew from his body, stubbornly refusing to relinquish the euphoric sensation until a pained whimper hed hed his ears.

Kaiba’s eyes snapped open and he dropped his hands abruptly, staring at Yugi in shock.

[ What did I...what was I doing?? ]

The smaller boy had to peel his hands from the golden item, hissing in softly between his teeth. He kept a brave face, but the brunette knew that had to have hurt. Seto winced as he realized he probably hadn’t helped any by crushing the other’s hands, and for the second time wondered what the hell that had all been about, ashamed that he’d hurt his koi with his own hedonistic behavior.

“...Seto?” Yugi ventured, gazing up at his boyfriend worriedly. \[ That look in his eyes, when he touched the puzzle... ]\

“I’m sorry, ibi, I don’t... Are you alright?”

The multi-color haired teen breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Whatever it had been, Seto seemed normal now. “Un.” He nodded and gave the other a small smile. Glancing about himself, he blinked several times. “Where are we?” he wondered aloud.

The larger of the two lifted his head to survey the area as well. Rather than the monotonous, barren landscape of tast ast several hours, they now sat amidst a heavily wooded area. Whatever little light that had been available to them previously was now completely blocked by the encroaching trees and vines; the two could hardly make one another out, despite the fact that they were less than two feet apart.

“I haven’t a clue,” the brunette remarked dryly, though for some reason it sounded oddly strained to Yugi. Kaiba reached out, fumbling blindly, until his hand landed on a shoulder. He pulled the smaller boy close, his hand sliding down to grip Yugi’s back tightly. The amethyst-eyed teen winced as strong fingers dug into his flesh through the material of his sweater.

“Ow! It’s okay, Seto; it’s not like I’m afraid of the dark,” he joked. He frowned in concern when he felt how rapidly the young billionaire’s heart was beating.

“........I’m sorry.” Still, his grip didn’t loosen until a soft glow had radiated from the puzzle, gradually intensifying until the pair were wreathed in a small circle of light. Yugi blinked up at his love questioningly, but found the brunette avoiding his gaze.

“Se--?”

“Can you sense Yami now?” Kaiba interrupted. The multi-color haired teen shut his mouth and turned his attention inward, eyes glazing over as he sought the thread of connection to his other half. He breathed a sigh of relief as he found the link slightly stronger, and coming from a definite direction now. He thought he also felt the faint pulse of another magic, but couldn’t be sure.

“Aa,” Yugi was glad to report. “This way. I think the others aren’t too far off, either.” He stood, Kaiba doing the same, and offered the blue-eyed boy a hand, which was quickly enfolded in the other’s much larger one.

“....You tell me the second you feel too tired,” the brunette demanded.

“Hai.”

Yugi held Seto’s hand tightly as he quickened his step to match the leggy CEO’s stride, the two navigating their way though the dense forest by the halo of light provided by the puzzle.

\ Hold on, Yami, \ he thought. \ We’re coming. \


=Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q=


“Why?”

Pegasus started as Yami broke the silence that had been hanging over them like a pall since the other had left, claiming he had things to attend to, and instructed the silvery haired businessman to keep an eye on their little captive.

“Why what?” the American inquired flippantly. “Why kidnap you and bring you here? Why hold such a vendetta against you and all you hold dear? Why try to rule the world?”

“Why help him?” the multi-color haired boy growled. “ I know we’ve had our conflicts before, but I had never considered you truly evil. To side with--”

Pegasus laughed suddenly, the sound hysterical and unsettling, and it set Yami on edge, no doubt in his mind now as to the man’s waning sanity.

“‘To side with such a demon,’ ellipsis. What a dramatic way of wording things, as always...” He giggled. “Do you think I had a choice?!”

Sharp crimson eyes regarded him solemnly. “There is always a choice.” This sent the other man into further gales of laughter.

“Do you truly believe that, Yami no Yugi?” he demanded harshly.


“I’m...sorry, Sekhmet. I have no choice.” He grabs my upper arms roughly and I wince at how his fingers dig into my flesh.

“There is always a choice!” he shouts at me, hard sapphirine eyes flashing in anger. I hang my head, unable to respond. Why is he making this so difficult?? Can’t he understand--? His hands suddenly drop from me and he takes a step back.

“And I see you’ve made yours,” he states coldly.


“Yes, I made my choice! Rather than die here, wasting away as the darkness encroached on me, more suffocating every second, forcing me to face the horrors of my own soul, I chose to make a deal with the devil, so to speak. Without the Eye, I am unable to sustain myself here. In exchange for my servitude, he maintains my existence.” The businessman cast a circumspect glance over his shoulder before stepping closer; close enough to lay a hand on the diminutive pharaoh’s shoulder, and leaned in, his hot breath sliding over the shell of Yami’s ear. “And he’s promised to return Cecilia to me,” he whispered excitedly. “My dear, dear Cecilia. My wife; the love of my life!”

The bound teen shuddered violently and pulled back to meet Pegasus’s gaze incredulously. “You can’t really believe--”

The older man began laughing again, so hard his shoulders shook and tears leaked from one sienna brown eye and one empty socket. He threw his hands into the air and tossed his head back, the crazy laughter still bubbling up from deep within his chest.

“I have to believe!” he cried. Yami shut his eyes and turned away.

\[ In that, at least, we are alike. He must believe that he will see his wife again, while I must believe my friends will be strong enough to stop this madness...and that I’ll be able to see home again, to hold Yugi and Seto in my arms... ]\ Gradually, the horrible chuckling subsided, and the hand returned to his shoulder.

“It’s the only thing that’s kept me going,” Pegasus confessed, his hand sliding up along the curve of the ancient spirit’s neck to caress his cheek. “That, and the thought of seeing dear Yugi-boy again. Such an innocent, beautiful child...”

Yami felt the bile rise in his throat and jerked from the other’s touch. “I will die before you get your hands on him,” he hissed. Pegasus laughed softly and lowered his lips to the multi-color haired boy’s ear once more.

“Oh, you’ll die alright. You’ll all die,” he promised. Yami’s jaw clenched and the white haired man smirked. “All except Kaiba-boy. Poor beautiful, damaged, delicate, tragic Seto...my ‘master’ has plans for him...”

The chained teen gaze a bitter laugh, his eyes holding a cold triumph as they slid to meet the other’s singular gaze. “Sekhmet will die by his own hand before submitting to that monster’s tyrannies again.”

“Do you really think so, Ouiji?” Pegasus’s eye flicked up toward the intrusion and he took a step back as the other approached.

“Your friends have been detained longer than expected, and I only enacted a simple spell.” He shot a conspiratorial smirk at the American. “What chance could they possibly have against the full range of my powers? Especially if Sekhmet sides with Maximilian and myself...”

Yami scowled darkly. “Sekhmet despises you even more so than I do, if such a thing is possible.” The demon graced him with an oily grin.

“He betrayed you once. What makes you so certain he won’t do it again?” he inquired, his eyes glittering coldly like two black marbles.

“Damn your lies, you hateful serpent!” Yami shouted, his blood boiling at the mere suggestion, and he struggled against his bonds. He trusted Seto with his life and soul--with Yugi’s. “He would never!” he spat.

The dark sorcerer’s brows lifted in surprise before a perverse grin slowly crept onto his lips. Yami’s blood ran cold at the implications that hideous smile held.

“My dear pharaoh...it appears the millennia have taken their toll on your memory.” He reached out and took the boy’s head in his hands, tilting it back so he was forced to look up at him. “Or perhaps...” he murmured speculatively, “you repressed the memory, your heart unable to bear the treachery of your beloved--”

“Ger!” {Be silent!} Yami roared, straining against his chains more fiercely than ever. Of course he hadn’t regained all his memories yet, and the fact that this...this asshole would try to use that to his advantage...

“True, I am missing some of my memories,” Yami declared, not about to admit that by ‘some’ he meant ‘most,’ “but your lies will not deceive me. I know what I feel in my heart.” It was stated confidently enough, for a boy bound by chains of some of the strongest magic Egypt had ever known, but what worried Yami--what made the fear crawl though his stomach like a living thing--was the knowing sneer smiling down at him.

“We shall see.”

=Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q= =Q=