Hold On

Due to the fact that my head is currently trying to split itself in half, I'm not doing review replies right now. I became sick Friday night and I'm still cursing myself for doing this in a weekend, so please forgive for that. Anyway, R&R! That's what you're here for anyway XD
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--: 12 :--
Fight of Angels

Golden magic lashed out as Aknunkanon attacked, the magic reacting on it’s own as an automatic defence. Aknunkanon simply fought his way through it, though he had quite some trouble. It seemed these four worked together excellently, which would make it a lot more difficult to kill them all. The magic of one would defend another without even the slightest hesitation, so he couldn’t take them out one by one. He’d have to wear them out, and then kill them all at once.

He smirked. That was just fine by him. Like this he’d have time to play with his prey, and it would only increase their suffering in the end.

The dark shadow-like magic clashed with the golden, neither giving in but allowing both sides to test how far they could go with the other. All four angels could feel the incredible power radiating from the demonic overlord, and gulped silently at realizing what they were really up against. They could feel that the demon was still holding back his power, yet he was already gaining territory. It wouldn’t be long before the demon would be in range for an attack.

Yuugi winced as his magic was partly whipped to the side by a shadowy tendril. This wouldn’t work. If they wanted to win this they couldn’t simply keep trying to keep Aknunkanon at a distance, they’d have to actually attack as well.

He let his magic fade away from the magic defence he and the other’s had created – giving Aknunkanon an even bigger overweight – and closed his eyes, concentrating on a spell that might do some damage. As soon as the spell was fired, the entire magic defence vanished to make way for the spell. Aknunkanon rushed right into it since there was no longer something trying to stop him, and the spell hit him dead on. The only thing it did though was stop the demon in slight surprise. All angels stared as the spell hadn’t even left the smallest bruise.

“Was that all?” Aknunkanon laughed, “Well then I guess you’ll be dying sooner than I thought!” He created a ball of his magic in his hand and threw it straight at Yuugi. Yuugi’s own magic responded, combined with the magic of his friends and diverted the ball easily. They might be weaker individually, but together they could pack a punch.

Yami sighed in relief as the Shadowball hadn’t hit Yuugi. He had jumped backwards when the fight had begun, and was watching with awe as it continued, though worry could also be clearly found on his face. He watched as Aknunkanon charged at his friends again, the golden magic this time easily being penetrated and all four angels being thrown aside by one strong swipe of Aknunkanon’s claws.

Was this the power he’d also possessed in his pervious life? Aknunkanon had said that he’d been the strongest, most ruthless demon there was. So had he been even stronger than this? It seemed almost impossible. He had no idea how, but he could somehow sense the magic radiating off everyone fighting. Aknunkanon was stronger than even all four angels combined, though it would certainly take him quite a bit of trouble to beat them if they kept working together. Yami frowned at how he could actually sense all of that. He’d heard Yuugi talking about sensing auras, but how could he do it? He wasn’t a demon anymore.

Or was his power awakening since they were in Hell?

Yami shook his head. No, he wasn’t a bloodthirsty demon anymore. He was a human now, and he wouldn’t become a demon anymore either as long as he didn’t accept Aknunkanon’s deal.

Though he swore to himself that he’d sooner accept that deal, than let Yuugi and the other’s die because of his fight and problems.

Yami winced as Malik was thrown against a wall painfully, leaving a big crater where he’d hit it. Malik groaned as he slid to the ground and growled as he got up again, a glare on his determined face. Malik loved to tease people, but he had a temper to be reckoned with. It seemed that each of the angels had their own ability that worked together if they fought as a team. Was that why God had sent these three instead of stronger angels? Because if these four worked together they formed some kind of team that protected each other?

Malik seemed to be the fiercest of them all. Bad tempered and good on the offence. His spells were the strongest, and he seemed to have the most energy of all too.

Ryou wasn’t much for fighting, although he did fire attacks. His thing seemed to be more along the lines of healing, as his spells weren’t always fired at Aknunkanon. The spells he fired at his friends seemed to heal the so far small wounds they had, and slightly replenish their energy. He also seemed to be more of a defensive fighter, creating the strongest shields out of everyone in the group.

Yuugi was more strategically. With simple hand signs he seemed to tell everyone what to do, and all the others reacted to it without question. Each time Yuugi made a sign and one of the other angels fired an attack, it actually hit Aknunkanon, though Yuugi had yet to find a real weak point.

Joey was the quickest and was the one that distracted Aknunkanon as much as possible from the other three or from an attack if it had been fired. He flew around taking a lot of risks by going near Aknunkanon, though his speed saved him each time.

Together their magic worked to protect each other, not letting one get hurt if something could be done about it. It didn’t even seem like they were thinking about it, it was more like an automatic response.

Yami had to be impressed by the teamwork, and he was pretty sure that it was the only reason why they had even laid a hand on Aknunkanon. Individually they wouldn’t stand the slightest chance, but together they could accomplish a lot.

Yuugi made a new sign with his hands, and Joey immediately dived forward, heading straight for Aknunkanon. The demonic ruler’s attention focused on the blonde, as a new Shadowball appeared in his hand. Before he had a chance of firing it though, Malik’s fist connected with his head and threw him off balance, the Shadowball in his hand exploding and only hurting Aknunkanon further. Joey and Malik gave each other a quick high-five, before scrambling out of reach. Yami had to smirk at the sight of a madly glaring Aknunkanon, as the man was obviously going mad with all the angels attacking him.

Yami suddenly heard his name being called and he looked into the direction of the cage Kumiko was in. His eyes widened as he saw the girl sitting on the ground looking straight at him, her eyes filled with tears and fear. Yami immediately ran over to her, almost being hit by a Shadowball but not caring.

“Kumiko!” He grabbed the bars of the cage but immediately let go as black electricity rushed through him. Okay, so touching the bars was a very bad thing.

“I-I’m s-scared, Mi-chan.” Kumiko cried, her arms still wrapped around her legs as she sat in the middle of the prison, staying as far away from the bars as possible.

Yami sighed and looked back at the fight. There was nothing he could do as long as Aknunkanon still lived, and this fight could go on for quite some time. He scowled in irritation at being so helpless. If he only had the power to help…

Damnit, he couldn’t think like that. The only way to get power was to become a demon again, and he couldn’t do that!

“M-Mi-chan?” Yami sighed again and looked at the girl sadly.

“I’m sorry, Tenshi. But I can’t do anything. Yuugi and his friends are the only ones that can get you out of there…” His gaze shifted back to the fight, not able to see his little sister starting to cry again. God how he wished that he could help…

Yuugi made a new signal and Joey once more started a distraction. Aknunkanon seemed to have learned from all the times he’d been attacked so far though and not only concentrated on Joey, but also on Malik. What he hadn’t expected was Yuugi and Ryou combining their magic and hitting the demon in his back. As Aknunkanon turned to glare at the two, Malik finally attacked, using a spell to hit Aknunkanon hard enough to blast him into the ground below.

Yuugi smirked. He wasn’t that cliché, and he knew that he couldn’t keep using the same tactics over and over again, especially when it came to someone like Aknunkanon. Did the demon really think that he was that dumb?

Apparently he did.

Aknunkanon rose from the ground, a glare on his face that promised nothing but pain. “That’s it! I’ve had it with you four!” With speed Joey could never hope to achieve, Aknunkanon flew up and grabbed the first angel he could get his hands on. Joey was unlucky enough to be that angel.

Without giving the other’s time to react and save their friend, Aknunkanon let Shadow Magic course through his veins and enter Joey’s body. The golden magic flared out to protect Joey, but the Shadows had already entered Joey’s body.

“Fear’s cage!” Aknunkanon laughed as he let Joey’s body go. The angel didn’t do anything though, not even flap his wings to keep him in the air. His eyes were wide and held a petrified look to them, as if the teen was in so much fear that he couldn’t even move a single muscle.

All three other angels cried out as Joey dropped to the floor, only being caught by Malik just in time. If he had been even two seconds later Joey would’ve hit the ground with full force, and in the state the blonde was at the moment it might have killed him.

Yuugi sighed in relief at seeing that his friend was relatively safe, and glared at Aknunkanon as Ryou flew over to try and heal Joey. “What did you do to him?!”

Aknunkanon simply smirked victoriously, letting Ryou go help his blonde friend as the demon already knew no one could break the curse he had just cast except he himself.

“Me? I just cast a little curse on him as you’ve been doing spells on me the entire time. He’s trapped in his greatest fears, and he can’t get out. The only ways to get out of this spell is if I let him, if I get killed, or if he faces each and every one of them.” The demon glanced at the whimpering angel in amusement. “He has quite some fears; he’ll never get out of this by himself.”

Yuugi growled as he glanced at Ryou, seeing the helpless look on the white-haired angel’s face. Damn, this was bad. If Aknunkanon did this to each of them, there’d be no way for them to defend themselves. It didn’t seem like Joey’s magic was even responding to theirs even, which meant less power for them.

Yuugi shot one last glare at Aknunkanon before quickly flying to his friends. Aknunkanon watched him mockingly, not bothering to stop him. One by one he’d put them in the same state as he had put Joey, until only the look-alike of his son was left. That would be the last one Yami would see going into a state of pure fear, and the first to actually die. Of course he’d give Yami the chance of saving them all first by joining him as a demon again. If Yami refused, he’d first kill off the angels, then simply go on to that little brat that was currently trapped in a cage.

Yuugi stopped as he reached his friends, looking at each of them with a serious look that didn’t seem to suit his big eyes. “Put Joey on the ground, Malik. There’s nothing we can do for him right now. That bastard cast a curse that trapped him in his greatest fears, and there’s no way Joey’s getting out of all of them. If we want to help him, we have to beat Aknunkanon.”

Malik growled and glared up at the demon ruler, before laying Joey on the ground carefully, giving the other a worried look as the blonde curled up and whimpered more.

“So what now? We had enough trouble with him when Joey could still help, but now it’s going to be near impossible.” Ryou sighed in frustration, looking at the ground hopelessly. This was bad and getting worse by the second.

“I know, but we have to try. We can’t exactly escape so we’ll have to fight no matter what.” Yuugi’s eyes showed determination as he looked at both his other friends. Both angels nodded and they flew up again. Yuugi had no idea how the spell that Aknunkanon had used worked, but if he had to guess he’d say that Aknunkanon had to hold the person he was casting the curse on. Great, so if they couldn’t get near the other anymore, the only other option was firing spells from a distance. It would be a lot harder to win like that though, as Aknunkanon’s physical defence seemed to be lower than his magical.

A few new hand signals and Malik and he started a new attack, though staying away from the demon this time. Aknunkanon snorted. Did they really think they could still win? Or even stay away from him enough to not be hit by his curse? Fools. He was stronger and faster than each of them. He could get to any of them faster than their magic could start defending, so there was no escape. A wicked smirk graced his lips as he saw Yuugi fire quite a powerful magic attack at him. He dodged to the side, though he hadn’t expected Malik to be ready with a new attack for him. Aknunkanon barely managed to dodge that one, but was hit by one fired by Ryou.

The demon growled. Damnit, even with one gone the three remaining ones could still work together and hit him without that much trouble. Well, then he guessed he’d just have to take out a new one. Now which would be the best to go first; the blonde or the white-haired one?

Although the blonde was the one with the strongest attacks, those would only last as long as his energy. That energy was being replenished by the white-haired one each time… Well that settled it; the pale one was going down next.

As he saw Yuugi make some new signs – he was surprised the others understood what they meant as he’d been watching them for a while now, but still didn’t understand a single one of them – he sensed Malik firing an attack from behind, Ryou one from his left side, and Yuugi one from his right side. Aknunkanon scowled. It was obvious that this wasn’t all there was to this plan – either that or Yuugi was running out of ideas, but he doubted that – but he couldn’t figure out what their next moves would be. Instead of simply dodging and walking into their trap though, he flew straight at the spell Ryou had fired.

Ryou’s eyes widened as he saw Aknunkanon coming straight at him, the spell he’d fired simply being deflected by the Shadow Magic of the demon. He tried to get away as he heard his friend call out for him, but Aknunkanon had already grabbed him and there was no way of escaping the demon’s grasp.

Aknunkanon let his shadows enter Ryou’s body, smirking insanely as the boy’s eyes widened and his body tensed. The white feather wings on his back stopped beating, and the struggle the boy had been putting up instantly ceased. Aknunkanon could hear and feel Malik and Yuugi trying to get to their friend, though his shadows were stopping them from coming any closer. He chuckled as he turned to the two still conscious furious angels. “You want him? Fine, here he is.” He tossed Ryou to the two others as if he’d been nothing more than a rag doll, and smirked.

Yuugi grabbed Ryou the second the angel had left the shadowy aura. He cursed under his breath as he saw the form of his pale friend shaking in fear, eyes clenched tightly and whimpers escaping his lips.

“We have to do something about this. He’s picking us out one by one…” Yuugi hated to hear a desperate note in his friend’s usually confident and playful voice, but he couldn’t help but agree to the pessimism. They really were just like sitting ducks, just waiting to be shot by a hunter.

“I won’t give up.” Yuugi muttered under his breath, flying to the ground and laying Ryou down next to Joey, before flying back up to Malik.

“We can’t give up, Malik. We just can’t.” Malik gave Yuugi one hesitant glance, but at seeing the determined look in those amethyst orbs, he nodded, his own confidence returning to him.

“Okay Yuugi, let’s go beat this bastard!”

Aknunkanon laughed at those words, “You really think the two of you can still win? Ha! You couldn’t even beat me when all four of you were still conscious. Don’t make me laugh.”

Yuugi glared. “I don’t care if you’re so much stronger! I won’t give up!” he’d promised, he’d promised Yami he wouldn’t give up and that he’d get Kumiko back. He was not going to break his promise.

“Then come and get me.” Yuugi and Malik both launched forward, figuring that Aknunkanon would get them whether they stayed away from him or came close. Malik managed to land a punch in Aknunkanon’s stomach shallowly before being thrown back by the shadows, and Yuugi was thrown back even before he could land a single punch. Both regrouped and formed an attack together that was strong enough to penetrate the shadows protecting Aknunkanon, but the attack was deflected by a simply wave of Aknunkanon’s arms. Yuugi and Malik growled and tried again, only getting the same result.

They split up, firing spell after spell from different angles. But even though Aknunkanon had trouble keeping up with the two, he dodged each and every spell. Without Ryou there to replenish their energy, it wasn’t long before they were both panting heavily, their energy levels low and decreasing with every second.

Aknunkanon laughed again. “You see? It’s useless to try and beat me. I’m the most powerful demon! The only one that can rival my power is standing down there!” Aknunkanon pointed to a helplessly looking Yami, a look of worry and fear on his face.

Yuugi glared, “Leave Yami out of this!”

Aknunkanon chuckled, “If you’d forgotten, this fight is about him. But if you don’t want to talk, I’ll just take your last friend away as well.”

Yuugi’s eyes widened as he saw Aknunkanon grab Malik, again going so fast there was no way any magic or physical responses could’ve happened. He closed his eyes as he saw Malik undergoing the same process as his two other friends. Now he was the only one still fighting. He was the only one who could stop Aknunkanon and save everyone. But how? He was just alone; he couldn’t do anything against this.

For the first time the full truth hit him in the face. There was no way he could win. There hadn’t been a way to win from the start. Aknunkanon had always been stronger than them, physically and magically, and they’d been doomed the minute they entered Hell.

He opened his eyes again to see Aknunkanon throwing Malik to the ground. The platinum-blonde was lucky that Aknunkanon hadn’t been that far up, so the fall barely hurt him even in the state he was in now. Yuugi still winced though, realizing he’d soon be joining his friends.

He didn’t do anything as he sensed Aknunkanon coming closer, didn’t struggle as he felt the demon’s hands wrap around his throat, and didn’t even look up as he heard the other laugh maniacally.

“Well at least you’re smart enough to see that it’s really hopeless, although it did take you long enough.” Aknunkanon merely smirked at the angel in his grasp, “Any last words you’d like to say to your lover?”

Yuugi finally looked up sadly, though he didn’t pay any attention to Aknunkanon’s smirking form. His gaze went to Yami, wanting the other to be the last thing he saw. He could see the panic and anger in Yami’s eyes, hear the desperate shouts from the other’s lips, and sense the teen’s distraught, but he couldn’t do anything… he was too weak.

“I’m sorry… Yami.” Yami couldn’t believe his eyes or ears. Yuugi was really giving up. What had Aknunkanon done to the cheerful determined teen he’d fallen in love with?

He could do nothing as he heard Aknunkanon shout: ‘Fear’s cage!’. He could only watch as Yuugi’s eyes widened in fear, before closing completely. He heard Aknunkanon laugh as the demon released Yuugi from his grip. Yami ran forward, catching Yuugi in his arms and clutching the other to his body desperately.

“No… Yuugi… Aibou… Please no.” Yami’s eyes clenched as he felt tears stinging in his eyes. Yuugi and his friends had wanted to help him even though it wasn’t their problem, and look at where that had gotten them. He’d finally found friends, and now this happened! Yuugi was being taken away from him… Aknunkanon would surely kill them all now that they were defenceless. He couldn’t let this happen! He just couldn’t!

“Well, now that that’s been taken care of, the real fun can begin!” Aknunkanon grinned insanely as he looked at all his victims. “Killing them all! Now who shall I start with? You know, maybe I’ll just start with… her.”

Yami’s eyes shot open as Aknunkanon said that. There was only one girl in this room, and that was Kumiko. He could hear the girl crying harder; see Aknunkanon flying towards her cage. He wouldn’t… he couldn’t… not Kumiko!

“No, leave her alone!” Yami clutched Yuugi to his chest as he watched Aknunkanon cast a spell, making the cage disappear and the girl fall to the ground. Kumiko cried harder, the fear in her eyes growing as Aknunkanon grabbed her.

Aknunkanon looked at the girl with mock comfort, before looking back at Yami, “Don’t worry, as soon as I’m done with her, your little angel will be next, then all the others. There is of course a way to stop all this. You only have to agree to become a demon again, then I’ll stop this all.”

Yami froze. If he agreed, he could save all their lives. He could stop all this madness by just giving up his soul. What was his life compared to those of his friends? He was nothing, they were angels, and Kumiko had much more of her life ahead of her than he did. She could actually become someone useful to society.

But… No! He couldn’t do this. Yuugi fought so he wouldn’t have to lose his soul. This man had hurt the two people in his life he cared about most, and he was just going to surrender? No, he’d never do that. He’d get back at this man for hurting the people he cared about, even it was the last thing he did.

Yami’s eyes turned to Aknunkanon, the crimson turning to a garnet colour to show his anger. Aknunkanon froze and stared at him as if he’d just grown a second head, but Yami didn’t care. This man wanted to kill Kumiko and Yuugi, together with the other three angels. He would not let that happen. They had tried to protect him with their lives, tried to solve his problems for him, tried to save Kumiko even though it was his responsibility. It was time to help them now, pay them back for everything they’d done for him.

Yami placed Yuugi on the ground softly and stood up slowly, his furious gaze never leaving Aknunkanon’s form. Black electricity sparked around him, as golden restraints appeared on his body; the restraints that were holding in his demonic powers. More electricity sparked, weakening the binds, as the shadows around him already responded to his awakening, magic. Flashes of everything that had happened in his life and the good Yuugi had brought into it shot through Yami’s mind’s eye. And this man, Aknunkanon, who claimed to be his father wanted to take that away from him? He was no better father than Yoru in that case.

Yami’s eyes narrowed at that thought, and the magic in his body sparked further, the binds holding it weakening further until they were nothing more but thin threads.

One last memory flashed through Yami’s head as the black electricity sparked fiercely, and the golden bind finally broke. A large amount of energy, magic, knowledge, and memories he had forgotten rushed over Yami, but the teen couldn’t care. He felt something sprout out of his back, and could see black leather-like wings spreading from the corner of his eyes. The black electricity that had been sparking around him irregularly now blazed around him, forming a shield to protect him from any and all attacks, and a shadowy aura flared out around him. Yami could suddenly sense everything around him happening, could feel shadows shifting at his every will, and power flow through his veins.

He remembered his previous life and everything he’d done, and the knowledge of how to use all his powers washed over him. Yami’s form stiffened slightly at the amount of information that was being processed all at once, but relaxed again as soon as the sudden assault on his brain ended.

Yami’s eyes focused on the shocked form of Aknunkanon, his eyes staying the furious garnet colour they had been the minute the transformation had started. He saw the other’s eyes shift over his form, taking in every detail and seemed not only shocked, but puzzled as well, though the glint of something that must’ve been happiness for the man was undeniable.

“My son, you’ve-“

“Shut up.” Aknunkanon looked at his son in shock. The other had obviously broken the binds keeping his powers in check, so why was he telling him to shut up? Sure, Aknunkanon was puzzled by the fact that Yami had only regained his wings but the rest of his demonic features hadn’t come back, but he guessed it was just because Yami was in fact a human. It didn’t mean anything… did it?

“What’s-“

“I said, shut up.” Yami growled out for a second time, his wings spreading to emphasize his point. He could see the confusion in the other’s eyes, and merely narrowed his own further, “I’ll kill you.” Yami attacked, not giving Aknunkanon any time to even so much as process what he had just said, let alone think of a possible defence.
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Okay.... So yeah, another cliffhanger ^^;; Uhmn... it's because... I'm sick? Just forget that this was written ages ago, it's because I'm sick!
Oh well, I don't think I need any help being killed right now, I'm doing a pretty good job of that by myself =.=;; Please Review!