Going On

Disclaimer - I don't own them, although I am now free to worship them to my heart's content without jealousy issues. Isn't life grand?

Author's Notes - As you can probably tell from the disclaimer, my rl issues have sorted themselves out. I am now officially a single mother of three kids. I find myself torn between relief and hurt, but I'll survive, I suppose. At any rate, here is another chapter of GO for you all to enjoy. I think you'll find this one . . . engaging. Just remember, if you come after me, you'll have 1 - a highly annoyed Tomb Robber on your hands and 2 - an unfinished story to deal with.
With that said, enjoy!


Chapter 13 – Desperation


Another session at Kage’s hands had left Yami on his knees, heaving and retching dryly in disgust as he spat the vile taste of his dark’s seed out of his mouth.

“You make a good whore, Pharaoh,” Kage murmured in amusement, zipping his pants again before planting a foot in the heaving ribs, loving the dry choked sound that came from the shuddering figure as it toppled to its side. He was less pleased as the crimson eyes glared up at him, narrowed in anger, disgust, and hatred.

“You’re not going to break me, Kage,” Yami snarled, and then coughed, an ache spreading across his chest with the dry hack. “You don’t begin to comprehend how to do so . . . and you never will.” Kage growled, another blow forcing Yami to curl into a ball before his shadow stalked away . . . but not before he heard the dry, dark chuckle the Pharaoh let loose.

“I will break you, Pharaoh,” he muttered under his breath. “I just have to bring in another . . . play-toy.”


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


Yugi paced the room angrily, his hands shoved into his pockets as he listened to the others debate as if he wasn’t even there.

He had told them what Yami had told him . . . that Kage was holding Yami somewhere in the warehouse district. They’d believed him to a point . . . until he’d told them exactly how he’d found out. Then they had been instantly wary. How could he be sure it hadn’t been Kage pretending to be Yami in order to get them to leave the house? How could he be positive it hadn’t been nothing more than a dream?

He was getting angry, and finally he snapped.

“Look, Ra damn it!” he shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to him in shock. He never raised his voice, and rarely swore. “I KNOW that it was Yami, and I KNOW it wasn’t a dream!” It was Ryou who first spoke up, as the others stared at him, open-mouthed. They’d never seen him lose his temper like this before.

“Yugi,” the white haired hikari murmured, standing up to approach his agitated friend. “We know . . . that’s what you believe. But please, you can’t blame us for being wary. It’s bad enough that Kage has Yami now . . . what will we do if we walk into a trap? We have to think this through . . .” Yugi threw off the comforting hands, stalking from the den angrily. Unlike his friends, he had felt his dark’s pain and disgust . . . he knew exactly what Kage was doing to Yami, and it was tearing him apart inside. Every minute they wasted here debating what he knew was fact was another minute Kage had to torture his beloved.

But there was nothing he could do about it, either. He had promised Yami he would remain safe . . . he had never broken a promise to his dark before. Could he seriously contemplate doing so now? He drifted up the stairs and down the hallway to his room, lost in thought.

He couldn’t leave Yami in Kage’s hands . . . it was a physical pain to him even now, knowing what Kage was likely doing to his dark. His stomach felt tied in knots, like he was going to bring up his insides any moment, and his heart felt like a leaden block in his chest. But if everyone was going to insist that the small amount of information he had was either a dream or a trap, then he was the only one that would do anything at all. He knew his friends wanted to help Yami desperately . . . but he also knew they wouldn’t do anything until they were sure it was safe. But it wasn’t safe . . . not for his beloved.

Walking into his room, closing the door softly behind him, he returned to his bed, flopping down onto it, his blue jean clad legs sprawled haphazardly off the side of the huge surface as he stared up at the ceiling. If he was going to break his promise to Yami, the least he could do was be well prepared.


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

Marik drifted into his room quietly, deep in thought. He knew Yugi was hurting . . . he couldn’t blame his young charge. To know that the one person you loved most in the world was somewhere in the city, being held against his will and being raped and tortured endlessly . . . was it any wonder Yugi was so anxious to do anything to help Yami? He only wished he could talk to him and get him to understand why they were all being so cautious . . .

He paused in the doorway, one hand pressed against the solid wood as he spied his dark sitting up on the side of his bed, his back to the door. From here, Marik could see the carved inscription all too clearly. Good gods . . . was that all that was on his back as well? No wonder it had hurt so much.

Lavender eyes took in the strange way his dark was sitting, smiling slightly as he watched Malik examining his hands and fingers, clenching and unclenching them like a young baby discovering that particular appendage for the first time.

“It’s strange,” Malik said suddenly, startling Marik. “All this time, I inhabited your body . . . yet this feels so different. Is this what it’s really like?” Marik shrugged slightly before entering the room the rest of the way, shutting the door quietly behind him before going to stand beside the window.

“I don’t know, my dark,” he murmured in reply, staring out at the city absently. “I know . . . that it felt strange when I finally regained control during that final duel. Other than that, I can’t really comment on how you might be feeling.” He sighed slightly, leaning his head against the cool glass as he closed his eyes wearily. “Gods, I’m so tired,” he muttered. He gasped in surprise when warm arms suddenly came around his waist, pulling him back against a firm, smooth chest.

“That spell took a lot out of both of us, even without us performing it,” Malik murmured, making Marik shiver as warm puffs of air hit the outer shell of his ear. “You should rest more.”

“I can’t,” he responded quietly. “With Yami in Kage’s hands . . . none of us can really afford to rest.” He tried to relax into the light hug, but his muscles remained tense, apprehension buzzing in the back of his mind with his dark’s nearness. This sudden change in his yami was still too confusing for him to simply accept it, even though Malik’s actions had hinted to the truth of the matter.

“You still fear me,” the deep tenor voice said softly. “Marik . . .”

“You kissed me,” Marik said, cutting his dark off. “In my soul room, you kissed me . . . and said that you had fallen in love with me. Malik . . . how? I thought . . .”

“I hated you,” the dark finished for him. “Yes . . . I did. But as I said . . . two years being trapped inside your mind, with nothing to do but listen to you and learn about you, is a very long time.” He moved away, returning to the bed where he sank down upon it, meeting the confused lavender gaze of his lighter half across the soft white carpet that stretched between them. “I cannot explain it, little light . . . I don’t even comprehend it myself.” He sighed, running a hand through his spiky blonde hair in consternation. “I just don’t know how to prove this change to you . . . if I ever can.” He closed his eyes, shaking his head in an attempt to clear the confusion from his mind. “This is all simply too new . . .”

“I agree,” Marik murmured, and Malik’s head shot back up to meet that lavender gaze from mere inches away. When had his light moved so close? “It is too new . . . to simply accept without thought. I admit that . . . but at the same time, if Bakura of all people can change, can’t you as well?” He leaned forward, brushing his lips lightly across his dark’s before pulling away again. “I’m at least willing to give you a chance . . . my yami.”

Malik stared into those lavender eyes for a moment, shocked into stillness by the brief contact of his light’s lips against his own. It was nothing like what he’d felt when he’d done the same thing in Marik’s soul room. With a low growl, he pulled Marik into him, tugging the lithe golden frame up onto the bed astride him, and taking those soft lips with his own aggressively. The lighter half moaned deliciously, his hips pressing into his dark’s, creating a delicious friction between them.

Tongues dueled for dominance before Marik submitted, allowing his dark to taste him thoroughly. He felt his dark’s hand come up to caress his back, hiking the black shirt he was wearing higher to expose more flesh as light fingers ran over the scarring on his back, the Pharaoh’s memories engraved into his flesh. He writhed against Malik, the overly sensitive flesh sparking and flaming with each light brush of fingertips, and he felt Malik groan beneath him, hips bucking up slightly into his own, making him gasp.

“Malik,” he whispered, “you know I’ve never . . . I mean . . .” He was silenced by another kiss, this one deeper and longer before his dark pulled back to suck in a harsh breath of air.

“I keep forgetting I have to breathe,” Malik muttered, annoyed at the deficiency that kept him from doing everything he wanted to at the moment. “And yes, little light . . . I am well aware that you’ve never done this with someone . . . at least, not while you were in control of your body. I’ve been with you since your childhood, remember? I am quite well aware of most everything about you . . . but still you surprise me.” He bucked his hips up into Marik’s again, eliciting another sharp gasp from both of them. “I’m sorry for the things I’ve done to you, Marik,” he whispered hoarsely. “Gods forgive me.”

“I don’t know about the gods,” the lavender eyed Egyptian murmured, leaning down to run his tongue across his dark’s lips in a teasing caress. “But I know that I forgive you.” They both bit back a curse when there was a knock on the door.

“What!?” Malik snapped, craning his neck to glare at the door as it opened, to admit a rather bedraggled and haggard looking Bakura.

“Yugi’s gone.”


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


It had been surprisingly easy to hotwire a car from Kaiba’s garage. Driving through the warehouse district proved to be more difficult, concentrating as he was on the dim feeling that flickered through the link to try to locate Yami. He didn’t know what he would do when he found the warehouse . . . would he go back and report to the others? It was what he should do . . . he couldn’t handle Kage alone. But that would waste valuable time, allowing Kage to perform some other torture on his already weakened and battered love.

He decided he would cross that bridge when he came to it, narrowly avoiding a lamp pole that seemed to materialize in front of him. Getting into an accident right now would not help him any. He was sure his absence had already been noted, and that the other’s were probably already scrambling to find them. Actually, he was hoping for it . . . because if they found him at the same time he found Yami, then they couldn’t simply turn around and go back into hiding.

“Gods, Yami . . . hold on, I’m coming to get you,” he whispered, his fists clenching tightly to the wheel of the black Jaguar as he maneuvered it at far too high a speed through the Domino streets. The feeling of Yami was getting closer . . . he was almost there. He could feel it . . . and he only hoped that he wasn’t too late.


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


Yami’s head arose from where he had been letting it hang, simply too tired and in too much pain to do much more than dangle from the shackles that held him upright. There was a slight tickle at the back of his mind, from the direction of his link to Yugi. If he had to hazard a guess . . . he would have said that it felt like Yugi was getting closer. But that was impossible . . . his aibou had promised him he’d remain in safety.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the sudden reappearance of Kage, who was shrugging into a black trench coat as he stalked across the bare floor to his captive. Yami couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his features, an expression that in that moment was eerily similar to Bakura’s. He could tell his darkness was frustrated . . . Kage couldn’t begin to understand the depths of his strength when he didn’t understand love, or compassion. No matter what Kage had done to him so far . . . the rapes, the whippings, the humiliations . . . Yugi’s love provided a shield to his heart and soul that Kage could never break, not unless he broke Yugi first. And Yugi was safely beyond his reach – or so Yami thought.

“You’ve left me with little options, Pharaoh,” Kage snarled, once again breaking into his train of thought. Crimson eyes rose to meet bloody-red, before the back of one hand came across to wipe the smirk off his face. Yami merely allowed his head to roll with the move, spitting out blood before he turned it back to Kage, one eyebrow rising mockingly on the aquiline face, bruised and battered though it was.

“How could I leave you with little options, Kage?” he murmured. “I’m the helpless one, remember?” He grunted as a fist slammed into his gut, his wrists yanking in their restraints as he instinctively tried to wrap his arms around the area to protect himself.

“This little show of power is nothing, Pharaoh,” the shadow snarled, raising the crimson eyes back to his with a fist full of tri-colored hair as leverage. “You think you’ve got me beaten . . . but I know your one weakness. He can’t stay hidden forever. He must be terribly anxious to get you back . . . so anxious, in fact, that I’ll bet he would do anything to do so . . . even risk himself.” Yami chuckled, and Kage pulled back in surprise at the strange sound. That was the last thing he had expected the Pharaoh to do at a threat to his hikari.

“Yugi will not do anything but sit where he is safe, my darkness,” Yami said, wheezing slightly to regain his breath. “He made a promise to me, and one thing my aibou never does is break his promises. He is as safe as I can make him without being by his side . . . and you will never get past Kaiba, Marik, and Bakura to get at him.” He chuckled again, gasping as the movement shot pains up his back. “Do what you will to me, Kage . . . but you’ll never break me while he is safe.”

Kage wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his other’s face. Snarling, he spun Yami towards the wall, undoing his pants as he forced the slim hips upwards, before burying himself to the hilt in the unprepared flesh. He delighted in the agonized cry that tore from that golden throat, the spine bowing backwards in a vain attempt to escape the pain as Kage rammed himself home again and again.

“You . . . will . . . break . . .” he grunted into one ear, before burying his face in the joint between neck and shoulder and biting down hard enough to draw flesh blood. Yami whimpered in pain, but otherwise remained silent and limp until at last Kage came with a low growl, spilling his seed deep within the torn flesh. “Console yourself with whatever lies are necessary for you, Pharoah,” he murmured, licking at one ear teasingly as he withdrew and dropped the limp form to dangle from his wrists. “But when I claim your hikari, and break him before your very eyes . . . you will fall to me.” He turned the head towards him roughly for a brutal kiss, pulling back to find the crimson eyes vacant and unfocused. Yami had passed out, his body escaping the pain the only way it could. With a smirk, he redid his pants and stalked away, ready to implement his plans to bring the Pharaoh to his knees . . . through his hikari.


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


Yugi stood in the shadows of the warehouse, his hand clapped over his mouth as Kage left his love hanging against the wall, leaving a clear view of the ruin that had once been Yami’s back. He’d arrived just in time to hear his dark scream . . . and all he could whisper in his mind was the simple litany of ‘oh gods’. A whimper of horror managed to sneak past his tightly closed lips, and he choked back the tears and the bile that threatened to spill forth, waiting for several moments before carefully moving forward, toward that terribly still figure.

Pale fingers reached out toward that limp form, shaking visibly as they came in contact with the blood and grime streaked skin. A low moan escaped his throat, an animalistic sound of pain and horror as the filth flaked off against his fingertips.

“Oh gods . . . Yami . . .” he choked, and he was surprised to see the crimson eyes flicker, life entering them again as they met amethyst from inches away.

“Aibou . . .” Yami whispered, his voice hoarse. He coughed, wincing as the abrupt movement reminded him of just why he had passed out. “Yugi . . . what are you doing here?”

“We have to get you out of here . . . oh gods, Yami, how could you just take this the way you have been?” Yugi answered quietly, beginning to fiddle with the shackles that were locked around his dark’s wrists. He had to stand on tip-toe and lean against Yami to do so, which he did with a murmured apology to his dark as Yami shifted and hissed in pain at the contact.

“I had no choice, aibou,” Yami whispered, before choking back a shout as one arm suddenly came free. “I told you . . . as long as he was busy with me, you were safe. But you broke your promise to me, little one.” He closed his eyes wearily, exhaustion taking its hold on his mind.

“You can punish me later,” Yugi muttered back, busily working on the second wrist, swearing under his breath as the blood coated metal slipped under his fingers. “The others didn’t want to listen when I told them I had information where we could find you . . . I couldn’t just leave you here.”

“I’m so glad you felt that way, little hikari,” a voice growled behind him, just as Yami came free and slumped to the floor, unable to hold himself up. Yugi turned slowly, fear making it seem as if time had stopped as he came face to face with Kage. “I’m ever so glad you could come to play.”

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


“Can’t this thing move any fucking faster?!”

Malik glanced over at Bakura, a frown marring his features for a moment before he glanced to the two individuals in the back seat. His hikari, and the Tomb Robber’s both sat back there, keeping their eyes anxiously glued to the road. He would rather have brought neither of them . . . but Marik had told him in no uncertain terms that he was going, and Ryou had argued that Yugi would need someone a bit gentler and of a non-combative nature when they found him.

“Left, Malik!” Bakura snapped, and Malik rolled the wheel over, hoping that he didn’t roll the whole damn contraption over while he was at it. Yeah, Kaiba’s Hummer was great, but even this poor vehicle was having problems with what they were asking of it. The thief’s eyes were glued upon the Ring in his hands, said item glowing almost white hot as the thief poured all his energy into using it to track down the single piece of the Millennium Puzzle that Yugi carried with him everywhere.

“I just hope we make it in time,” the blonde murmured, and pushed a little bit harder on the gas pedal.


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


Yugi gasped helplessly as pale fingers tightened around his throat in a vice-like grip, a grunt forced from his trembling frame as Kage slammed him back into the wall.

“So nice of you to make my job easier, little Yugi,” the fiend whispered, leaning in to lick teasingly at the smaller man’s lips, a smirk of satisfaction crossing his features as Yugi shuddered helplessly with the wet caress. “The Pharaoh hasn’t been cooperating with my plans . . . but I’m sure between the two of us we can convince him to do so.” His hand crept beneath the waistband of Yugi’s slacks, and the tri-haired duelist screamed as his most private area was squeezed roughly.

Yami struggled to rise, but his body, already weakened beyond the point of easy tolerance by Kage, refused to cooperate with him. Each gasp and cry from his aibou was like a burning brand to his soul, forcing him to try again and again, despair threatening to engulf him when his body simply wouldn’t obey his commands. He shuddered as a new voice added itself to the mix, almost collapsing in relief as he recognized it.

“YUGI!” Marik cried out, bursting from the maze of crates at a dead sprint, Bakura and Malik on his heels. Ryou had been left with the car, in case they needed to get out of there quickly. Kage snarled, pulling the smaller man off the wall and against him as a shield, glaring at the newcomers hatefully. How had they found him?

“Let him go, Kage!” Bakura snapped. “You’re outnumbered by three to one, and even your Shadow Powers can’t measure up to all of us.” Kage chuckled, clutching the wiggling Yugi tighter.

“You won’t risk me hurting him,” he snarled back, a grim smile fluttering across his features as he glared at them over one slim, struggling shoulder. “Spare me the empty threats. You can’t stop me . . . none of you can.” He stepped backwards, reaching out to the shadows to hide him and allow him to make his escape with his prize . . . and snarled in rage as he found his access to the Shadow Realm blocked.

Yami chuckled weakly from where he had collapsed, drawing those blood red eyes to him.

“Not that easy this time, Kage,” he murmured hoarsely, raising his head with an effort to meet that angry glare with cold crimson eyes. “I may not be able to stop you physically, but I can prevent you from doing anything magically.” He chuckled again, his breath wheezing slightly as the rib that Kage had cracked with an earlier kick poked into his lung with each breath and movement. “Give up, my darkness. You are trapped this time.”

“Not likely!” Kage snarled. He threw Yugi toward the three rescuer’s, turning and snatching Yami from the floor, one arm twisted up high behind the Pharaoh’s tattered back, the other tight around the slim throat, cutting into the air supply. Yami whimpered in pain, but otherwise remained silent, crimson eyes closed. Yugi was safe . . . Kage could do whatever he liked to him, as long as Yugi was out of harm’s way. “Get us out of here, Pharaoh . . . or I kill you.”

“Kill me then, Kage . . . but I won’t help you escape,” Yami choked back. “This time it ends . . . and if I have to die along with you, so be it.”

Kage growled, his grip tightening on the limp form as Bakura and Malik stalked forward, leaving Marik to soothe the shaking Yugi behind them. He was becoming desperate . . . he could not lose, not at this stage in the game! His plans had come too far! But he wasn’t ready for the final step . . . Yami’s will was still too strong! There was no other option though . . . not if he was going to survive.

“You won’t die, Pharaoh . . . but I will make you suffer for this,” his shadow snarled, and pressed his lips to Yami’s.

Yami struggled as he felt Shadow Magic rise, cocooning him and Kage together as the others shouted in horror. Kage’s powers were blocked . . . he had to be using something as a storage vessel, some item that he had charged with power! What was Kage doing!? He gasped as he felt a presence invading his mind, like an oil slick through his soul, and realized what was happening. Kage was saving himself in the only way possible . . . by rejoining his soul with Yami’s.

He fought against it, fought to break free of the hold on his body and soul that Kage had, but he was too weak, too much had happened. He was going under, drowning in the presence of that filth in his mind and soul. He threw out one last effort, sealing the links between his body and mind, and his link with Yugi, before he succumbed to the darkness. He only hoped it would be enough.

When the shadows parted as suddenly as they had closed, Bakura and Malik rushed forward as one to catch the lone figure that they released, lowering the limp, battered form carefully to the ground.

“What the fuck?” Bakura muttered, glancing around. “Where’s Kage?” He growled as a tight grip on his arm stopped him from stalking off to find the demented shadow, and turned to glare at Malik. “Let me go, Malik. We have to find him.”

“I think we already have, Tomb Robber,” Malik murmured, and then showed him what he had seen, holding one eyelid back carefully so Bakura could get a look at Yami’s eyes. They were dull, lifeless . . . and flickering incessantly between the usual cool crimson of the Pharaoh . . . and the dark, bloody red of his shadow. “Kage is here . . . within Yami. He’s retreated back to his host as a lost resort.” He shifted uneasily, glancing back at the two hikari’s sadly. “We rescued him . . . but at what cost?”

Author's Final Note - DON'T KILL ME! *scrambles to hide behind Bakura*