Fleeing the Shadows

Sorry for the delay –RL is an absolute bitch right now! I have a list of people I would like to thank, before we continue on…


My special thanks to ObsidianJade, Moondalian, and Catti – you guys are so wonderful, and you keep me at least semi sane in this fucked up time. *sobs all over*

To all those who have reviewed: Rapid Puzzleshipper Saiko, EgyptianRose, VutiChan, UtterxDemise, tinkletimekelly (read_right_time),WonderfullyMade5, Dragonlady222, Wild4rose7cool, Nikki (huh, same name as me), Serzie, Angel Born of Darkness, Atemu Yugi Lover34, SuzaShizune, akina kumitami, Shamise, EJ, Yamino Tenshi, Rogue1979, Yoru Atemu, godaddydotcom, Esheyira, The Dragon of the Sky, Redconvoy, Alexander: The Holy Guardian, Daughter of Life and Death, Olesia.love, EternalEnds, TMX Archives, Ornvinge, Animehunter08, ONIX-21, Arion Girl, zypher, lo, Masami Mistress Of Fire, unseenwaters, rhiannon jones, ShadowGM, DragonSpeaker, sacuna, Evil Pharaoh Atem, Lasae, Trikki, Angel Dove, lokivsanubis, manga nut, esama, Cosmic tomato, Dragon Dancer

You guys are so very awesome!!! Thank you! It is for you that I continue this story. Right now life is getting very hard – my dad has been hovering between recovering and dying for the past month – yes, one phone call says he’s fine, the next he’s taken a turn for the worse (and I don’t see it ending any time soon), so please be patient with me while we sort this out. I will not forget you, or this story. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts with this!

And after that emotional thought – on with the next chapter!

“Is he the last one Bakura?” Isis questioned her nephew as she tucked the last of the blankets around Atemu’s unnaturally cold body. The young agent immediately curled around his lighter half, seeking warmth.

After making sure that he was sufficiently covered, Isis hurried over to where the white haired agent was settling his younger look alike down on one of the mattresses they had just moved in from another room. She watched the expression on her nephew’s face as he gently tucked the boy under the covers, wondering how far their relationship had progressed.

From Bakura’s devastated look, it seemed to have come pretty far. The very thought of her callous, often outspoken nephew finding his soul mate brought a tiny smile to her features before she turned back to the task at hand.

The second the blinding light dissipated Isis realize that she and Bakura were the only people left standing in the room - and barely at that. She took a count of how many people were wiped out by the amount of raw energy that the small boy who resembled her youngest son sapped from them. The expense was great, but what had been given in return was well worth the price, she soon came to discover. Thanks to Atemu’s little light Shadi was no longer hovering at the brink of death.

It had quickly been decided to throw four of the mattresses into one room. That would make it easier on the two of them, since they were rather exhausted as well, having not been left unaffected by the transfer themselves. As it was, there were four people unconscious and two drained to the point of confusion, leaving it up to her and Bakura to care for those who were most affected by the energy shift, on top of the two men who were injured in the gun fight from the night before.

They worked quickly and efficiently to gather blankets and pillows, pairing the victims up on mattresses in an attempt to create heat between their bodies before any of them developed hypothermia. Their skin was extraordinarily cold and clammy, as if all the warmth had been stripped from their bodies. Even Jou and Seto, who had remained awake long enough to somewhat assist Isis in getting them up the stairs, were shivering and chilled. It wasn’t too long after she tucked them underneath a sea of blankets that they too passed out.

After three trips each, Isis and Bakura had managed to move most of the group upstairs and into the bedroom. All that remained was to carry Shadi and Marik, and that was not a task that Isis was looking forward to. They were by far the heaviest, and neither she nor Bakura had much energy left.

“Yeah, that’s it…just what the hell can this kid do?” The white haired agent glanced down at the tricolor haired look alikes that appeared to be sleeping peacefully, curled up in each other’s arms.

“That kid has many differing abilities, but he can’t do it alone. He needs a platform from which to amplify his powers. Shadi will explain everything when he is feeling well enough to sit up.” Isis gave the group the once over as she talked to her nephew, before heading out of the room – going after the two injured men left downstairs.

“You mean he’s not awake already?!” Bakura asked his aunt, incredulously. “I thought they were healed.”

Isis shook her head, glancing back towards the man as they headed down the stairs. “No. Not directly. All the child did was give them the energy he drained from himself and the others. It will keep them alive and lessen the chance for infection. They still need to rest and finish healing.”

When they made it over to Shadi, Isis glanced down at her husband. His breathing was no longer shallow and erratic, and the dark, even coloring was returning to his excessively pale face. He was beginning to look a whole lot better, healthier. She ran her hand over that beloved face, memorizing the harsh, weathered features before reaching down to take a hold of his warm hand, grateful for the slight heat that was radiating from what was once too cold skin.

“Shadi” She murmured softly with a smile. Thank the gods for Atemu’s lighter half. If the boy wouldn’t have given Shadi what he had – even inadvertently – he would have surely died. Briefly, the brunette glanced over at her brother’s lover, pleased to note that he was also resting comfortably, his wound not as grievous it had appeared earlier.

“Come on; let’s get him upstairs with the rest of them.” Bakura reached down to take a hold of the unconscious man’s legs. It would take both of them to pick him up; Shadi was rather heavy as dead weight.

“Right” Isis grabbed her husband by the arms, mindful of the bullet wound in his shoulder and the one in his side.

She didn’t want to reopen Malik’s exceptional needle work. Her young brother had done a fine job with what he had to work with. They were all extremely lucky that the boy she once considered a lost cause had learned how to thread a needle during his short stint at juvenile boot camp. It had been an extremely hard decision to send him at that time. But one that she was thankful that she had made. In more ways than she could count.

Together, the two of them carried the unconscious man upstairs as carefully as they could. Once they reached the room, they were both out of breath from the exertion. After depositing their burden on the last empty mattress, Bakura slumped down next to the bed, breathing hard.

“Damn…(huff)man we’re…gonna…have to wait a…minute before…Marik.”

Isis leaned heavily against the wall, closing her eyes. “I…agree…he’s even heavier…than I thought.”

Bakura grinned up at his aunt. “Yeah…and Marik outweighs him…by at least thirty pounds.”

Isis groaned, before laughing giddily, covering her mouth with her hand. Soon Bakura joined in. Both of them were entirely too happy to have everyone safe and sound. At least for a little while. When the rest of the group woke up would be a good time to try and sort this mess out. But until then, it was good to be able to laugh with such a serious cloud hanging over their heads.

“How long do you think they’ll be out?”

Isis tipped her head to the side as she thought on the question. “Until tomorrow at the very least. The boy had to have transferred an enormous amount of their energy into Shadi and Marik in order to have the effect that it did.”

The white haired man grunted at her comment as he dragged himself up off the floor. It was time to retrieve their last ‘patient’. Isis followed him down the stairs. When they made it to the living room, the two of them took a long glance at the person that they would have to carry back upstairs. Marik had packed on quite a bit of muscle in the past couple of years, his black tee-shirt straining against the pressure of containing his rather well formed chest and arms.

“Gods he’s a moose!” Bakura commented in admiration.

He could hardly believe that he had laid the man out with one punch earlier. Marik outweighed him by a good fifty pounds. And the white haired agent was truly glad that it had not come to an all out fight between them, as he wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Isis agreed with her nephew. “That he is. Well, here goes nothing.”

She made her way to his shoulders grabbing them to test her strength against Marik’s weight. Bakura took the larger man’s feet. Together they hefted him off the couch, bobbling a couple of times before finding purchase.

“Okay…I just busted a nut…” Bakura groused painfully, almost causing his aunt to drop the man as she laughed at his plight.

It was a struggle, but after a few attempts, the two of them finally managed to make it up the stairs and into the bedroom. Getting Marik onto the bed proved to be a challenge though.

Bakura started swinging the unconscious man. “When I say three…we lift him over the side. One…two…three!”

For a second, he feared they weren’t going to make it, but the swinging motion gained them just enough leverage to haul Marik’s bulky weight up and onto the mattress. Once there, the heavy blonde was pulled into a sleepy embrace by his lighter half.

“I’m going to put a couple of stitches into that wound.”

“I’ll be here if he wakes up swinging, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to help much.” Bakura said truthfully as he sat down on the bed to watch over his aunt while she worked.

A couple of minutes later and Isis cut the piece of thread she used to stitch the man up. Marik hadn’t even flinched. She looked up at Bakura and nodded before drawing the blankets over the sleeping pair. They had done everything they could, it was time to rest. The white haired agent crawled up on the bed containing his lighter half, pulling the shivering boy into his embrace.

“Get some sleep Isis. If by some miracle of hell they manage to find this place, I’ll know the minute they get within a five mile radius.”

Feeling slightly reassured, the exhausted brunette crawled into bed with her husband and wrapped her arms around him, dropping off into sleep within minutes.

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“Ow…ow…ow” Yugi sluggishly pulled his hands over his face as he groaned, attempting to open his eyes. The brilliant light from the open curtain was giving him even more of a headache than he already had. Then just as suddenly, the blinding light was gone.

“How are you feeling young one?” A feminine voice came from the other side of the room, where Isis closed the curtains.

Yugi turned towards the sound of the pleasant feminine voice, only to realize that even the tiniest movement sent violent pain shooting through his head. “Hurts…what happened…all I remember is a bright light…”

“You were the cause of the light young one.” Isis made her way over to the boy, fervently wishing there were something she could do to ease his pain. “And for that I thank you. But for now…you need to rest.” Resting her fingertips on the sides of his face, she began to massage his temples, watching as his eyes fluttered once before closing completely.

Yugi hovered on the edge of oblivion for a moment, hazily pondering the woman’s enigmatic comment, before the nagging thought that had caused him to wake in the first place pulled him back to awareness. “Atemu!” The small teen bolted up with a cry, instantly regretting the action.

Isis pushed him firmly back down against the bed. “He’s right beside you little one. He’s okay, he’s resting. Lay back down and rest…you are going to need your strength.”

The boy resisted for a moment, before realizing that she spoke the truth. Then, with a content sigh, he curled up against his unconscious look alike. Isis crept back to the other side of the room to settle back onto the bed. That boy was the last one she expected to wake up. Since he was the cause of the energy transfer, it stood to reason that he would be the most drained by it.

Isis turned to Shadi, wanting to cuddle with him for a few more minutes, to find expectant blue eyes staring up at her. She almost couldn’t believe it. “Shadi?” She questioned tearfully.

“Hello pretty lady…how are you feeling?”

The blue eyed Egyptian found himself with an arm full of his wife as she sobbed her troubles out against his shirt. He held her tight as he listened to her account of the past two days, his fists tightening in her clothes as she explained the group’s reaction to knowing that he was going to die. And then he listened to her as she recounted how Atemu’s small look alike saved him and helped Marik. When she was finished an hour later, his shirt was wet from her tears, and a complacent smile was forming on his features. It was nice to know how much the others cared for him.

“Hush now…I’m here. Everything is going to be fine.” He soothed his wife quietly. “God I love you Isis.”

“Oh Shadi…I was so worried…it all looked so hopeless.” Isis memorized the man’s face with her hands, willing herself to believe that he was really here, that he was the one holding her so tenderly. “I love you too…”

The two shared a gentle kiss in the silence, unwilling to let go for even a second. The moment didn’t last for long, however, and soon various moans and groans were heard from all corners of the packed room. The couple gazed at each other fondly as they resigned themselves to the fact that the rest of the day would be nothing but pure chaos.

Once the whole group was finally awake and coherent, Isis began directing their movements. She managed to get everyone fed, showered and dressed in a reasonable amount of time. The only way she kept their collective cooperation was to withhold answers to all of their questions on the grounds that they needed food first in order to regain their strength…and that there were about four people who really needed to wash the stench from their bodies – she couldn’t concentrate with the smell of sex overpowering her senses.

The group took her comments laughingly as they scattered after breakfast to find the showers, allowing her to help Shadi down the stairs and onto the couch. She could tell his wounds still pained him, but he was alert and at least halfway mobile. The rest would heal in time.

Even Marik’s wounds seemed to have healed a bit – if that could be judged by the way he limped quickly down the hall, chasing after his boyfriend when Malik pinched him in retaliation for some whispered comment. With those two back to normal, and her youngest son and nephew finding their soul mates, Isis knew the next couple of days would be interesting.

Now if only she could knock some sense into the two people who were still fighting their attraction towards each other. It figured that her eldest son would fight the inevitable. And it looked like the boy he had chosen was fighting just as hard, if their snippy comments this morning were anything to go by. The pair started arguing from the moment they woke up, and hadn’t quit since. It seemed that neither of them held well to the idea of waking up in bed together.

The brunette put her hands to her head, in an attempt to soothe the oncoming headache. If those two didn’t figure it out soon, their whole group would be at a disadvantage. Even if the two boys weren’t like the others, they were still an important part of this fight. Now how to tell them that without offending one or the other of them?

“Isis, are you alright?” Atemu’s deep voice startled the woman.

With a smile, Isis stood up and reached out to brush a lock of wayward hair out of his face. “I’m fine…and you?”

The young agent shrugged nonchalantly. “A little tired, but other than that…”

With a wistful smile, she whispered “My little flame” Loving it when his face reddened at the nickname. “Where’s the young one?”

“He’s finishing up. He’s become a little shy around me lately.” He grinned.

Yugi had kicked the agent out of the bathroom as soon as he was finished with his shower, stating his need for privacy, his face the shade of a ripe tomato. To Atemu it was adorable how the teen blushed brightly and began to stutter when confronted with nudity – either his or Atemu’s. The small teen was beginning to act like he had before the two of them had started making out all those many weeks ago. And the agent had to wonder on the personality change.

“…?”

“Sorry, what were you saying?” Atemu snapped back to his and Isis’ conversation.

“Isis was wondering if his character has reverted to who he was originally…before the two of you…found each other interesting.” Shadi piped in from his place on the couch.

“Well, now that you mention it, yes…that’s exactly it. What’s that all about?”

The question was left unanswered as what sounded like a herd of elephants descended the stairs at a high rate of speed. Jou skidded to a stop at bottom of the stairs only long enough to take a quick glance back up, before attempting to escape into the kitchen, Seto right on his heels. Bakura, Malik and Marik followed the duo, laughing wildly at their behavior.

“What, in the name of all that’s holy, is going on?!” Isis nearly screeched, her voice bringing the group’s attention back to her.

Jou tripped over his feet at her voice, and since Seto hadn’t been given a chance to stop – he tripped over Jou, both of them landing in a heap on the floor, where they immediately started wrestling against each other. The rest of the group broke out into raucous laughter at their antics. Shadi gave into a pained chuckle, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Even Atemu cracked a smile. Isis, on the other hand, glared death at the pair rolling around on the floor like a couple of kids.

Having lost what little patience she had left, Isis stormed over to the group, and before any of them could utter a word – promptly smacked both Seto and Jou upside the back of their heads, ceasing their movements. Seto gave a harsh glare in her direction as he brought a hand up to his head. Jou just looked up at her with his jaw dragging on the ground, not daring to comment. Her warning glare wiped the smiles off the other offenders’ faces rather quickly, as they knew well what she was like when she was in this mood.

“I have had just about enough of this. You two had better figure out where your problems lie. If you would please stop behaving like a pair of juveniles and take your seats, we will attempt to find a way to stay alive…unless you have a death wish. Then by all means…continue.” Turning her attention to Atemu, she asked “If you will retrieve your little one…”

Atemu inclined his head, having no wish for her to focus her wrath on him this time. “Of course.”

As the tricolor haired agent made his way up to the second floor he clearly heard Jou’s loud protest as to who had started their fight. He barely made out his adopted mother’s hissed reply, which had something to do with ‘crush’ and ‘denial’. A smile made its self known on his face as he realized that his cousin had definitely met his match in the defiant teen.

Walking past the first room, on his way to his and Yugi’s designated bathroom, he almost missed the familiar figure sitting on one of the mattresses, along with another slight figure that was curled into a ball. Only a glimpse of that well recognizable hair stopped him from continuing. He backtracked to the door just in time to overhear part of the conversation.

“…It’s okay to be afraid. Everyone is scared at some point. But you can’t let it control you. You’re stronger than you know, or you wouldn’t be here today.”

Atemu’s heart swelled with pride. With everything that the boy had been through, he still had enough heart to know when someone else was hurt. And he still tried to help. The young agent almost felt guilty about breaking up a conversation that would only be beneficial to the slender, white haired teen, but they really had pressing matters that needed to be seen to.

“Aibou…” He said hesitantly, his guilt tripling as he watched the white haired boy flinch as if assaulted.

Yugi turned to look, a smile gracing his features as he spied his lover’s form in the doorway. “Atemu…I was just talking to Ryou.”

“We’re needed downstairs, Ryou included.”

“Are you up to it Ryou? Bakura’s down there…right Atemu?”

“That he is; why don’t we join him and the others?” The ruby eyed agent gestured for the two teens to follow him.

Yugi got up off the bed and held a hand out to his new friend. He had heard so much about the shy, quiet teen from Jou. And when he walked past the room earlier, he heard the other teen’s soft, distressed sobs. He couldn’t just walk away. So he tried to make simple conversation with the terrified boy. And terrified he was, the moment Yugi walked into the room, Ryou’s memories of his not so distant past assaulted his brain, telling Yugi exactly why the other teen was so afraid of people.

His desire to help the other increased ten fold. After his initial overture was rejected, Yugi began to talk about his own life, and problems, delighting when Ryou started to respond. At first it was just a look, and every once in a while a small comment. Soon the small tricolor haired teen was able to coax part of Ryou’s own tragic story out of the shaking teen. They were in the middle of talking about fear when Atemu made his entrance, pushing the teen who was starting to open up right back into his shell. As much as Yugi loved Atemu, he really wished the man had better timing.

‘Oh well…too late for that.’ The small teen thought to himself.

‘I heard that little one, and it’s time to go, the others will not wait much longer.’ Atemu smirked back at the boy, reminding him of their mental link.

Blushing brightly, Yugi grasped the hand that Ryou held out, gently pulling the other teen off the bed and out of the room. When they made it down to the living room, it was to find that the rest of the group was currently in the middle of a loud discussion concerning Jou and Seto’s relationship, or lack thereof.

They stood off to the side, not really wishing to get caught up in the barrage of insults that not only Seto and Jou were slinging, but Bakura and Malik as well. It seemed that not only had Jou won over the prank pulling white haired agent, but the man’s younger uncle as well. If the obnoxious comments they were making towards Seto were any indication.

“If you didn’t have such an ego problem…” Bakura snapped at the icy brunette.

“Amen…” Malik jumped in.

“…Mind your own fucking business!” Seto snapped back, feeling cornered. Everyone was against him. It was bad enough to know that Jou hated him, that everyone else did as well just made it all the worse.

“Boys!!! This is not ‘let’s point out Seto’s flaws’! Give it a rest!” Isis shouted as she spied the threesome standing by the foot of the stairs. Everyone had been so caught up in Seto and Jou’s problems that they failed to notice that the rest of their family had made it back into the room. The instant she raised her voice, everyone in the room quieted.

“Is everyone present?” Shadi asked from his seat on the couch.

“I believe we are all here…physically. I truly doubt that you will have everyone’s mental presence though.” Atemu gave Seto a deep glare, thoroughly incensed at his cousin’s rough treatment of Yugi’s blonde friend. Never had he seen his older cousin get this worked up over another person’s presence.

The pissed off brunette glared back, folding his arms over his chest defensively. He had to figure that his younger cousin would side with the rest of them. Fortunately, they didn’t have the chance to voice their comments.

“If you three will be seated…we will begin.” Isis indicated the many chairs situated around the large room.

When the tricolor haired doubles moved away from the stairs, Shadi’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the boy that Bakura had saved from the slavers over six months ago. How had he missed that? No one had even caught a glimpse of the boy before his nephew had whisked him into hiding. The first thought that popped into his mind was that this couldn’t be happening. He glanced over to Marik and Malik sitting on the couch, before his gaze touched Atemu and his little one, finally returning to Bakura’s smaller look alike, his mind reeling.

Atemu glanced over the chairs which were situated at the corners of the room and then walked over to the middle of the floor in front of his adopted father and sat down, pulling Yugi down onto his lap. Ryou, left on his own by the stairway, looked around timidly until Bakura took pity on him and walked over and pulled him back to the couch where they sat side by side with Malik and Marik.

“Holy hell…” Shadi breathed in awe. He had all three sets right here in the room. The only three left from that terrifying time three thousand years ago. Would he be able to save them all?

Once everyone was comfortable, Isis turned her attention to Shadi. While everyone was busy getting ready for the day, she had brought her husband up to date on what had happened since she found him lying in a pool of blood two days ago. He caught her glance and nodded.

Clearing his throat, the elder agent began their long awaited discussion. “I believe that you all have questions concerning the events that have come to pass in the last three months.”

All heads nodded, but no one spoke.

“But before I get into that…Bakura, the old Henderson place? I have to commend you for that thought.”

Bakura grinned widely up at his uncle. “They’ll have to do a lot of digging to come up with anything to tie us to this place.”

When the white haired agent was still a teen, he had become extremely close to a childless elderly couple. How, he never said. But when the couple had died seven years later, they named him as their only heir. The privilege didn’t entail much but a broken down farm and a couple thousand dollars. But to Bakura, whose parents were even now unwilling to acknowledge his existence – it was one more piece of evidence that he wasn’t that worthless.

That feeling of uselessness had remained with him despite all of Shadi and Isis’ assurances that he was anything but. To have not only one, but two couples that he had admired in his youth acknowledge him, it gave him the confidence that he started lacking when his parents finally told him that he was no longer a part of their family. He wrapped his arms around Ryou and silently urged his uncle to explain their unusual situation.

Yugi timidly raised his hand, catching Shadi’s attention immediately. “Yes little one, what is it you want to know?”

Blushing at being the center of attention, the small teen managed to stutter “I-I w…want to kn-know what ha-happened yesterday.”

“I will get to that one, but I would like to explain how something like that could occur in the first place.” Shadi began. “Is that alright with everyone?”

The group nodded as one, all eyes centered on the elder agent as he began talking again.

“I know that the past three months…at least; have been very, ah, confusing…for all of us. For me, the last piece of the puzzle just fell into place today. Atemu…you’ve read the information that I sent to you concerning your state…”

Atemu inclined his head. The others gave the tricolor haired agent questioning looks.

“Bakura, you have listened to me rant on the subject many times. As for the rest of you, I’m only going to give the basic information that we managed to find.”

Shadi went through the explanations of half souls, light and darkness for the entire group. Atemu sat with Yugi in his lap, his attention centered more on his little love than what his adopted father was talking about. He had already heard this part. The young agent’s head snapped up when he heard his name being called.

“…?”

“Sorry…I wasn’t exactly paying attention.” Atemu said sheepishly.

“That’s what I thought.” Shadi grinned at him. “You need to hear this. This is where the book is wrong; at least as far as the six of you are concerned. I don’t think it made allowances for this unusual situation.”

Taking a glance at each of them in turn, Shadi continued. “Bakura, Atemu, Marik the three of you are dark halves, each a part of a soul that was torn apart by unnatural and violent methods. Yugi, Ryou, Malik - you three are the light halves to the others darkness. Each and every one of you exhibits some special abilities. Some of you may have more than one…and you may even have them in common with one another…I don’t know.”

“Then why am I here? What do I have to do with this?” Jou spoke up from one of the chairs in the corner of the room.

“You are here as an unfortunate bystander…as you were the last time.” Shadi pinned the boy with his unusual blue eyes, making him squirm in his seat.

It wasn’t a glare, it was just a look, but nevertheless it was unnerving to Jou to be caught in those intense sky blue orbs. Not quite like Seto’s sapphire gaze, but close. The blonde ducked his head, averting his eyes. “Oh”

“Now then…how you all came to be here as you are.” Once again the elder agent glanced around the room to make sure he had everyone’s complete attention, and then slowly he began his story.

“I have walked the earth for around three thousand years in many forms…each lifetime imprinted on my memories to be used in the next. It was the result of a spell that I was able cast right before my soul was torn in two – my light half stolen from me. I was one of the unlucky ones…as was Isis. You see, this is our punishment…for not being able to save our young Pharaoh, the rest of the priests, the light halves of our souls. We doomed ourselves to remember every failure…every disappointment, until we could redeem ourselves by saving those who were torn apart that ungodly night…with the help of a traitor…”

Please review – (and if possible make them funny, I could use a sense of humor right now even if it is constructive criticism) Thank you