Going On

Disclaimer - Still don't own them. If I did . . . oy, I shudder to think what Bakura would do with that detail.

Author's Notes - Oh, my! Look, she's updating again! Early! Yeah, yeah, don't everyone have a heartattack at once. Now that the writing for this is back on a roll, I'll probably update a bit more often than once a month (a year, I'm sure some of you are grumbling) So glad you all decided to withhold the rotten fruit and veggies for that last cliffy.

Anyway, lots of angsty, pain, and other stuff in this chapter. Kage is certainly back up to par.

and you haven't heard, or haven't seen it, I also have a new Malik/Marik AU story up called Dark Roses. Swing by and check that one out here on AFF.Net too. I think you'll find it interesting. That particular plot bunny is a rather ravenous and rapid little beasty spawned by lady_wolfTerri, so be sure to thank her if you like it.

With that said, on with the chapter!

Chapter 11 - Separate Pain


They gathered in the den to discuss what their next move should be, and to come up with a plan to rescue Yami, if at all possible. Settling haphazardly between furniture, walls, and in Bakura’s case, a window, it was several moments before anyone could say anything at all . . . but when they did, all eyes turned to the violet eyed, blonde Egyptian lounging arrogantly beside the door.

“What are you doing here, Malik?” Bakura snarled, his eyes narrowing at the other dark as Malik smirked slightly and shifted. “Where the hell did you come from? And what have you done to Marik?”

“I have done absolutely nothing bad to my weaker self,” the blonde replied coldly, spreading his hands in a gesture of surrender. “As he can attest to.” Silently, he released the seals he had placed upon Marik’s Soul Room, and the occupants of the den gasped as the youth flickered into being beside him, his transparent features reflecting amusement and . . . relief?

“He’s telling the truth, Bakura,” the youth murmured. “He’s done nothing to harm me. Kage . . . caught me in the apartment and my only chance at survival was to release Malik.”

“How long?” Kaiba asked abruptly, startling the young blonde as lavender eyes turned to meet the narrowed sapphire gaze. “How long have you known he was still alive, Marik? And why didn’t you tell us?” Marik sighed, shifting uneasily from foot to foot as his dark smirked slightly, leaning back against the wall carelessly.

*This should be interesting to watch you try to explain, little light,” he murmured through their link.

**Malik, shut up,** the boy snapped back. **This will be difficult enough with you adding your comments.**

“He’s been locked in his soul room . . . since Yami first shattered the Puzzle,” the lavender eyed ghost replied finally. “I . . . Yami said that banishing him would only cause more problems . . . that he didn’t want me to suffer the same fate as him if my darkness were to be completely gone. Light cannot be without darkness . . . or it becomes light no longer. Or at least, that was Yami’s explanation when I asked.” He sighed, and raised his head to meet their disbelieving gazes solemnly. “I didn’t tell any of you . . . because I was afraid of how you all would have reacted. Besides, there was no way for him to get out unless I released him, which I didn’t exactly foresee ever happening. We had . . . other things to worry about.” He shifted restlessly. “I’m sorry. But trust me . . . he’s not here to hurt any of us.”

Bakura waved aside his apology with a careless hand, red-brown eyes still narrowed.

“Why was he with Kage?” the thief asked. “And why hasn’t he returned control of your body to you yet if he’s not here to cause mischief?”

“I . . .” Marik began, only to be cut off as Malik shifted back to his feet angrily.

“Because I had hoped to get close enough to Kage that I could do something about this mess before it went too far,” the taller blonde snapped, baring his teeth at Bakura in a feral snarl. “If I could gain his trust, perhaps I could find his weakness for Yami to exploit. But the events of this night have screwed that plan all to hell, and now Yami is in Kage’s hands. Rather than worrying about me, we should be worrying about that, don’t you think, Tomb Robber?” Bakura stepped forward angrily, his hands balling into fists before Joey stepped forward to stop him from tearing Malik limb from limb.

“I agree,” Joey murmured, hesitantly placing a hand on Bakura’s shoulder. Friend or not, Bakura still had a violent temper, and it was in full swing at the moment. Usually only his hikari could get him to calm down when he was like this, but Ryou was upstairs keeping an eye on Yugi. “Malik’s appearance may be unexpected and unwelcome, but we need to worry about Yami now.” He turned to Malik warily, his own form stiff with apprehension. No matter his words, Malik was an unstable individual, and trusting him was going to be difficult, even with Marik’s backing. “Do you know where Kage might have taken him?”

Malik shook his head, settling back to the wall as his spiky blonde hair waved slightly with the movement.

“Kage remained in our apartment the entire time I was with him. He’s too smart . . . he didn’t fully trust me, so he didn’t even begin to show me everything he’s been doing. And I know he wouldn’t have taken Yami back there . . . it’s too obvious. So no . . . I have no idea where he might be holding Yami. I wish I could say that I did.”

The silence in the room thickened as they all realized just how much of a problem they now actually had.


*--------*--------*--------*-------*


Malik stood within the drawn chalk circle, watching the other’s through narrowed violet eyes coldly as they completed his lighter half’s last minute instructions, arms crossed over his chest.

Why this was so important when Yami lay within Kage’s grasp was beyond him. They should have been thinking of some way to save the Pharaoh, not worrying about whether or not he held Marik captive. But Bakura had insisted, and the others had agreed, so here he was. Or rather, here they were.

Honesty with himself was not one of his strong points, but he knew why he wanted this to wait. He ‘liked’ having Marik this close to him, and he knew that once they were separated he would likely never get close to his light half again. It was an irritating and weak feeling, but he couldn’t seem to banish it, which only made him more irritable. Why the hell had he come to love that pathetic brat? And why couldn’t he get rid of that glaring weakness?

“Malik?” Voilet eyes refocused on the ghostly lavender, a slight smirk crossing the golden features. Whether or not he ever admitted it out loud, he had a connection with the youth that couldn’t be ignored, and he actually did love the brat. Maybe two years in solitary confinement had driven him further into insanity . . . or maybe it had just made him face the truth of himself. Either way, he wanted his light to trust him . . . and to love him in return. He nearly started out of his skin when Marik reached up with ghostly fingers, tracing the dark lines below his eyes gently. “About what you said earlier . . . in my soul room . . .” Malik snarled at the ghostly youth, disliking the reminder.

Marik smiled slightly, before reaching up to plant a ghostly, chill kiss on his dark’s lips, smile widening into a smirk when the violet eyes widened and stared down at him in shock.

“You can deny it here, but I won’t forget what happened there, my darkness,” the young Egyptian murmured, staring up at his other with solemn lavender eyes. He stepped closer, to the point where their bodies would have been pressed tightly against each other if he hadn’t been no more than a spirit. “Did you mean it? Have you . . .”

Malik glanced around, violet eyes narrowing as he noticed everyone studiously ignoring the two blonde’s.

“Could we not discuss this here?” he growled, interrupting his light from saying out loud the last thing he wanted anyone to hear at the moment. Marik smiled again, but nodded.

“You’ll have to talk about that sometime, my dark,” he murmured, fingers drifting lightly over the pale lips before he faded from sight. “But later, as you wish.” Malik shuddered slightly as he felt Marik return to him before he met the red-brown gaze of the Tomb Robber.

“Are you ready, Malik?” Bakura asked coldly. Malik smiled back just as coldly . . . he doubted he and the Tomb Robber would ever get along, and the thief was obviously less than happy to see him returned to existence. No matter . . . he could care less what the pale man thought of him. He wasn’t here to win popularity contests. The others filed out of the room, leaving him, Bakura, and the stuck up millionaire alone. Even the thief’s hikari had gone, back to Yugi . . . which showed an uncommon amount of brains for someone who was intimately involved with the thief. “I need to you to give Marik back his body . . . the new body will be yours, after all.” He rolled his eyes and nodded, before silently handing control over to his light half.

Marik shook himself, finding it strange to be back in a physical form before nodding to Bakura with a small smile. The thief acknowledged his return with a slight smirk before kneeling down, the Ring clasped in one hand and the Eye in the other, beginning the ritual. The blonde braced for what he knew was coming . . . having performed this same ritual for Bakura and Ryou, he knew it was going to be painful. They were separating two halves, after all . . . not something meant to be undertaken lightly.

He screamed as the chalk circle flared into brilliant life, something within him twisting oddly as the chant arose over his pain, wrapping him in dark magic. Malik answered his scream inside his head, making him clap hands to his ears to try and cease the tormented sound.

It literally felt like he was being torn in two, and only the magic kept him on his feet as he swayed, stars flashing before his eyes as the pain spread outwards from his core to encompass him entirely. It seemed endless, wave upon wave of pain crashing through him, threatening with each second that passed to pull him under into darkness. He gasped as it came to an abrupt end after what felt like hours, dropping to the floor to lay prone, his head coming to rest on something soft.

Lavender eyes flickered open hazily as Bakura crossed the circle, kneeling beside him and brushing the golden bangs out of his face.

“Ba . . .kura?” he croaked, his voice hoarse from screaming out his pain.

“It’ll fade in a bit, Marik,” the thief whispered. “Just lie still.”

“Malik?” he whispered. He started when Seto answered from nearby, wincing as the sudden movement sparked pain.

“You’re laying on him, Marik,” the brunette murmured. Marik turned his head carefully, lavender eyes widening as he beheld his makeshift ‘pillow’. His dark’s skin was a slightly deeper tan, the platinum hair spiky and shimmering in the dim light, but he was real. And he was breathing, which was always a good sign. Nodding slightly, he allowed the darkness that had been threatening on the edges of his consciousness to overwhelm him . . . unknowing that he had wrapped his hand around Malik’s, entwining their fingers inseparably.

Bakura stared down at the blonde’s thoughtfully, taking in the entwined hands and obvious worry that had been in Marik’s voice when he asked about his dark. There was something going on between those two. He wondered what Marik had been talking about when he’d asked his dark about events in his soul room earlier . . . had something happened between them? It was curious . . . but he had other things to worry about. He was relieved to have the two of them separated . . . but now they had to concentrate on Yami. He only hoped they could find him . . . before Kage destroyed the Pharaoh completely.


*-------*-------*-------*-------*


Yami moaned, opening his eyes only to close them again as bright light fractured through his skull like so many shards of broken glass. He tried to move his arms, and his eyes shot back open as he discovered them tied down . . . as were his legs. Craning his neck slightly, he got a good look at his surroundings . . . before an all too familiar voice spoke from somewhere nearby.

“So you are awake,” Kage said, stalking into Yami’s line of sight. “Good. I was beginning to wonder if I had somehow overloaded your mind by pulling you into the Shadow Realm. So glad to see I can have my fun after all.” Yami shuddered slightly with those words, causing a smirk to cross the sadistic features of his dark self. “What’s the matter, Pharaoh? Don’t want to play with me?”

“Where are we, Kage?” Yami snapped, straining against his restraints even as he knew it was hopeless. Kage chuckled, shaking his head.

“Nowhere you need to know, my weaker self,” he replied. “It won’t matter much anyway . . . you will have other things on your mind soon enough.” Yami shivered slightly as he felt deft fingers on his skin, and he realized abruptly that he was completely unclothed.

“What are you doing?” he whispered hoarsely, a jerk of muscles causing his legs and arms to tug at their restraints as Kage wrapped deft fingers around his soft length, teasing his body into betrayal. “Stop.”

“You need to learn who is the master, Pharaoh,” Kage replied, staring down into the panicked crimson eyes of his other as he pumped at the hardening flesh. “I am the master . . . and your flesh is all too willing to submit to me. As was Yugi’s . . . as was Tea’s . . . they all submitted to me. And you will too.” He leaned in closer, biting down on one nipple as Yami screamed in pained pleasure at the harsh treatment. “Your body will enjoy this, even as your mind fights against it . . . and you will truly understand why our aibou can no longer love you . . . because you are a disgusting creature of the flesh that enjoys other people’s pain, as well as your own.” He stood upright again, and took Yami’s face in his hands, forcing the passion hazed crimson to meet bloody-red.

“But first,” he whispered, “I’m going to give you what you have so badly wanted since your reawakening.” Yami screamed as he felt fingers probing at his mind . . . and gasped as a door that had heretofore only been cracked was flung wide, connecting him abruptly to his light.

“NO!” he screamed, as his mind flooded with the emotions and thoughts of his hikari . . . and he felt Yugi respond to his.

Across town, Yugi sat bolt upright in the bed, dislodging Ryou with a thump to the floor at his abrupt movement. Amethyst eyes flew wide, and he clutched at his head in pain as Yami’s thoughts and feelings flickered through him . . . pain, pleasure, disgust, longing, denial, need . . . all of it washing over his mind in a horrid wave of despair.

“Yami!” he whispered. “Oh gods . . . no . . .” He felt hands on his shoulders, shaking him as he looked up into worried chocolate eyes.

“Yugi! What is it? What’s wrong?!” the white haired youth asked urgently, worry and confusion warring within his voice as he watched Yugi’s hands clench into fists beside his temples.

“Yami . . . Kage is . . . oh gods, he’s torturing Yami! He’s using Yami’s body against him . . . and he’s opened the link. Oh gods, Ryou, I can feel everything!” He fell forward into Ryou’s arms, shuddering uncontrollably as Yami’s pleasure and hatred flickered through him, along with a healthy dose of self-disgust. He tried to fight against the tide, to send Yami his love, his understanding, but the emotions flowing through their link were too strong, and he could only fall back to shudder helplessly on the bed as Kage tortured them both. He barely even felt Ryou rise from the bed, nor did he hear the door of his room open as his fellow hikari shouted for his yami. He was drowning in what was happening to his love . . . just as Kage wanted.

Yami moaned, his head flipping from side to side as he tried to fight what Kage was doing to him, trying to push back his body’s betrayal as his dark suckled at his hardened length. He couldn’t stop the torrent of emotions going through the link . . . it had been opened so suddenly, and he suspected Kage had something to do with his lack of control over it. He couldn’t even feel Yugi’s emotions anymore . . . he could only hope that his light had managed to block his end of the link.

He writhed against his bonds, a scream of pain escaping his throat as Kage thrust his fingers into him, un-lubed and unprepared.

“That’s right . . . scream for me, Pharaoh. Scream for me, and for your hikari . . . scream for your master, even as you fight it.” The breath’s of air against his sensitive flesh caused Yami to struggle harder, and Kage chuckled before ramming his fingers back into the bound figure’s warmth, loving the scream of pain all the more for Yami’s attempts to choke it back.

Yugi writhed on his bed, his hands clenching in the blankets as he felt Yami’s pain as if it were his own. Flashes of the night Kage had done this to him passed before his eyes, and he screamed soundlessly as his head tossed against the coverlet, amethyst eyes squeezed tightly shut as he tried to block that horrible nightmare from his mind. He felt cool hands pressing against him, holding against his arms and legs as he struggled, Bakura snarling out some command to someone in the room.

“YUGI! Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!” Ryou said, struggling with one arm as Duke held the other fast. Bloody furrows marred the tri-haired duelist’s cheeks, where he had been trying to claw his own eyes out to block the images unconsciously. “Bakura, what can we do?” he whimpered helplessly.

“We have to sedate him . . . and give me the Ring,” the thief snarled back, lying across Yugi’s legs so that he could accept his Item. Ryou pulled it over his neck quickly as Joey stepped forward to hold the arm firm, handing it to his dark quickly as Kaiba strode into the room, a hypodermic needle in hand.

“This should help,” he murmured, stalking across the room before swabbing a vein in the arm Joey was now holding and injecting the sedative. “But it’s going to take a little bit to gain hold.” Bakura nodded.

“I’m going to try to close the link . . .” the thief murmured, and placed the Ring over Yugi’s heart with his hand resting on top of it. Summoning his Shadow Powers, the Ring flashed into brilliant illumination, pulsing in time with his heartbeat as he fought to gain entrance to Yugi’s mind. “Kage . . . is blocking me,” he snarled, struggling against the others power as he poured more of his energy into the Ring. He felt Kaiba’s hand on his shoulder, and nodded slightly in thanks before adding the reincarnated priest’s power to his own, fighting Kage’s power for control over the link to Yami in Yugi’s mind.

Barely conscious from the pain, Yami wasn’t even aware of being released and moved until he found himself suddenly on his hands and knees, shackles around his wrists preventing him from moving at all. The cold of the floor had brought him back to reality, but it was only for a moment as he felt Kage position himself between his bent legs behind him.

“Time for you to learn who is in charge, mighty Pharaoh,” the shadow hissed, before plunging himself into the tight, overwhelming heat of Yami’s virgin body. Yami bucked against the intrusion, blood beginning to well from his wrists as they tried desperately to pull away, to escape the pain of the intrusion even as Kage moaned above him. “So . . . tight, my weaker self . . . so like your hikari before I took his innocence. Will you be as broken as he when I am done?” He drove deeper in to the unwilling body harshly, loving the choked shout of pained pleasure that was drawn from his victim’s throat, feeling the blood that made his passage easier. “Oh yes . . . do that again. I want to hear more, weakling.”

Yami bit his lips, tasting blood in his mouth as he fought back the scream that threatened to burst from his throat as Kage hit his prostate, bringing a burst of pleasure through the unbelievable pain of his rape. He would not give Kage that pleasure . . . not if he could help it. But it felt as if his insides were being torn in two with each harsh thrust, and he knew that keeping back his cries would take more than he could give.

Yugi screamed, his back arching off the bed to the point where only his restrained limbs still rested on the coverlet.

“Damn it, Bakura, do something!” Joey snarled. The thief was just as quick to snarl back.

“This isn’t a game, mutt!” he snapped, struggling to push aside Kage’s power. Even with Kaiba’s assistance, they were making little headway . . . and now he could feel exactly what was going on, and was fighting his own wish to scream. “One wrong move and I could destroy his mind entirely! So shut your trap and let me concentrate!” His concentration snapped when the body beneath his suddenly went completely limp, the amethyst eyes rolling back to show only the white’s as Yugi finally passed out, his mind unable to withstand the assault any longer. They all breathed a sigh of relief . . . before Bakura suddenly stood and rushed to the bathroom, where he was violently and loudly sick.

Yami screamed as teeth bit into his shoulder, Kage suckling at the blood that welled from the wound as he continued to thrust painfully into Yami’s tight passage. He trailed bites down the arched spine, loving each moan and scream of pained pleasure that he drew. He’d felt Yugi’s collapse . . . but the damage there was done anyway. All that was left now was to finish with his annoying other . . . and he grunted as he felt Yami cum, the muscles around his length tightening gloriously until his own passion spewed forth. He rested for several moments, enjoying the sight of blood trailing across the golden skin of the abused body beneath his before he pulled out and stood, chuckling at the sight of the fallen Pharaoh.

“Enjoy your rest, Pharaoh,” he murmured, watching the shudder that passed through the golden frame at his words. “We’re not finished yet. We will be done . . . when you call me master.” He turned and stalked away, never seeing the crimson eyes that rose to gaze coldly at his back.

“I will see you in hell first,” Yami hissed at the departing figure, and then lost himself in the pain. *Yugi . . .* he whispered into their link. *Forgive me, little one . . .*