Tearing Pieces from the Dark

See part one for details.


==== @-}--}--- ====

The excruciating pain and light faded from the Pharaoh's scarlet eyes. Hot pavement lay beneath him as the brutal razorblades of a gasp of air filled his tortured lungs. He was aware of a tanned hand laying in his vision. His awareness honed in on the fact that it was his own hand. Every inch of his body felt as though it had been burned and then had peroxide poured upon the open wound which had left him paralyzed with the pain.

But somehow he was catching flickers of the scene in his consciousness.

A sound of tires squealing near at hand as a large white van slammed to a halt. Movement around him. The voice of the owner of the palm with the eye. "Take that one, bind him, and bring the brat's pendent to me!"

"What about the kid?" Another unrecognized voice.

A snort. "The Pharaoh won't have any use for his light now he's mine. Extinguish it." The sound of a chain moving. The dull noise of a foot connecting with skin followed by a muffled whimper.

"Yugi…aibou…" Yami's voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper, his mouth dry. He was stunned, confused and pained. His only tangible thought was that he needed to protect his hakari. He must have taken over the body…but…it wasn't right…this was all wrong…he couldn't understand or think clearly through the pain as the words of the stranger sunk in. Extinguish the light…they would kill his aibou! Struggling with what little strength he had he dragged himself to his hands and knees. He raised his head, eyes as bloody in colour as his intentions.

What he saw froze him in place.

His eyes went wide in shock and all he could do was stare open mouthed at what lay mere feet from where he did. "Yugi…? How…"

His little hakari lay just out of reach. In his own frail body as real as the body Yami now possessed. But to Yami's horror his Yugi's form was in far worse shape than his was own. The youth's ivory skin was deathly pale and gaunt. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth and from his nose. His chest was red and raw, his clothing torn to shreds as though something had ripped from him through them. His hair was limp, his large fathomless eyes sealed shut. He looked far thinner then he had moments before and another burn mark was on his forehead where the hand had pressed. Around the small body there were blood spatters and upon the wall he had leaned char marks radiated outward. Even now the residue of the magic that had been used still pulsed through the air and caused Yami to shiver. He began to drag his protesting body forward to touch his desecrated angel. "Yugi…" he whispered again reaching out, still clearly in shock.

"Amazing…he has strength yet to move." Muttered a voice. "I eagerly await to know the full extent of his powers."

Yas das dark hand tenderly reached out, his long fingers brushlighlightly against the soft skin of Yugi's cheek with a painful gasp. "You're real…my precious aibou…what have they done…?"

At this moment five men descended on the stunned Yami. They forced him easily to the ground and began to restrain his arms and legs. All the while he simply stared in dumbfounded shock at Yugi's motionless, devastated body.

At least that was until one of his aibou's small hands twitched and a raspy whimper gurgled from his throat.

Yami's eyes widened in realization that his aibou was not dead as he had begun to fear. But if something was not done he soon would be. With a sudden rage and renewed purpose the pharaoh began to struggle violently against his attackers. How dare they do this! A fierce growl rose from his throat as he tossed one man over his shoulder and used his elbow to slam into another's face. "Get off of me scum!"

Yugi opened his tear-blurred eyes to a world of confused pain. Automatically he reached for the reassuring presence of the millennium puzzle about his neck. To his horror he found that it was no longer there. Panic struck him and he attempted to sit up. Only to fall back with a cry of pain to lay helplessly on the pavement. "Yami!" He reached out with his link desperate for his dark spirit's protective comfort.

"Yugi! Stay there!" his dark yami shouted a heartbeat away.

The small boy became aware through the pain of the struggle beside him. He turned his head to be stabbed with nauseating pain at the motion. He whimpered and closed his eyes for a moment as he fought back the urge to be ill or black out again. After a moment of composure he forced his eyes open and stared. His shock at what he was seeing momentarily blocking out the pain.

His Yami was there. Not as a spirit but in a body. He was physically fighting some of the men who had surrounded him earlier. Yugi had no idea how this was possible. How his Yami had gotten out of the puzzle to be there in a body…a naked body…Yugi's deathly pale face pinked slightly and he closed his eyes firmly shut.
le ale all this was occurring the lone figure with dark brown eyes observed coldly. In a sensual manner his fingers played over the lines of the millennium puzzle now hanging from his neck against his muscular chest. A slight leer twisted his features as his eyes drank in the glory and power of Yami defending his useless hakari. He walked leisurely over and squatted beside the fallen brat. Grabbing a fistful of the freakish hair in his hand he dragged the boy to stand and wrapped his large hand over the delicate white neck.

Yugi felt himself being hauled upward, the extra pain in his scalp only vaguely noticed among the raw agony of the air on his punished skin. He couldn't muster the strength to hold his legs up and resulted in leaning completely back on the figure behind him. He felt the familiar shape of the hard edges of the millennium puzzle press into his back and he gasped. His large violet eyes were clouded and drooping as he struggled for consciousness. He could see lights dancing in the corner of his vision and an uneasy numbness was taking over. He hung helplessly against this man, held up by his hair. He was ghostly white and but for the open eyes and fresh blood he appeared to be dead.

"Pharaoh." The voice in his ear was flat, casual. Yugi felt the fingers around his neck caress the skin tenderly as his Yami paused amid his struggle to look.

Yami froze and glared hatefully at the man holding his hakari so abusively. His red eyes sparked to life and churned with an inner flame of bloodlust. "Let.Him.Go." he hissed. His body moving with smooth feline grace to a crouching position prepared to launch himself to his hakari's defense and slaughter anything that dared to be unlucky enough to get in his path.

There was a dark chuckle beside Yugi's ear and the hand that had been resting tenderly tightened its grasp from feather to iron about his slight neck. He gasped and weakly forced his arms up, desperately clawing at the strangling hand stealing his oxygen with failing fingers. "Listen closely to me spirit. Considering your devotion to this whelp, I am willing to let him live. But only if you stop fighting." The hand tightened and Yugi made a harsh wheezing noise, his lips turning blue as his eyes bulged out distressfully. His small feet limply kicking with what strength he yet possessed.

Yami froze his eyes darting frantically from his fragile light to the chiseled features of their assailant. Just a moment ago he was threatening to do away with the little one, as though he were nothing but a worn out sock. Now he was offering to release the boy should Yami go with him? The v fee feeding the Pharaoh's lean muscles were standing out against his skin from the tension and pain in his body. His scarlet eyes moved from the chain holding his millennium puzzle now hanging from the stranger's neck to the small hand's and traumatized features of his sweet aibou now tinted blue and going slack. Yami was in the ultimate stalemate. He had no idea how much power this man already possessed. He had already torn Yami out of Yugi and used the little one's body to give Yami's own form. The Pharaoh had come to the conclusion that was what had been done to them…it was the only explanation as to why both he and Yugi were separate and why Yugi was so mutilated and thin.

There was no guarantee that if Yami were to attack this new foe he would prevail. And a very slim chance his little aibou would not suffer harm in the processes. He could unleash his shadow powers…but…if he sent them hurtling towards this fiend he would have to send them right through Yugi. A thing he was not willing in the least to do. His eyes continued to dart between them. He could not have Yugi harmed…but he loathed leaving the boy. He could only guess at what this man wanted with him and the millennium puzzle and that guess was as rather bleak. Yami had no idea if the puzzle would still bind him…though considering it was intact as he was he had the suspicion it would. Then he wondered why was this man not simply forcing him to obey? Or lashing out against him. Obviously he didn't want toage age Yami terribly, but he had no care of what happened to Yugi.

The Pharaoh opted to base str strategy on this. Since this foe cared nothing for the welfare of the little one, it was logical to think that he would just leave him there if Yami went with him. Slowly the now physical spirit eased out of his crouch and stood. "Let him go…and I will come."

"Good." The man opened his hand and Yugi crumpled to the pavement in a heap. Gasping horribly but too worn to move from the position in which he fell. The man stepped over him unconcerned and nudged his mutilated form aside with his foot.

Yami's eyes went wide and he launched forward to fall to his knees at the small youth's side. He reached out and touched his pale, fragile face in his large hands and regarded him with open concern. "Yugi. Be calm, breathe little one. Where's your cell phone? You need to call your friends to come for you. Yugi, please, don't go to sleep!"

"Yami…what's going on?" the soft ragged voice asked amid harsh pained breaths. Small hands clutched meekly at his Yami's arms, clinging to his comfort and guardien, terrified of losing him. "Don't go Yami…help me…please…don't go!"

Yami began to make soft hushing sounds in his throat as he stroked the limp hair from Yugi's gentle, frightened face. Blood smeared from the boy over the white skin and Yami's eyes began to grow frantic with concern. "Yugi, shush, it's ok, everything will be fine my aibou, I have to go, I'm sorry, call your friends, please, they need to take - NO!" The men were pulling him away from his little one and forcing his arms back behind him. Binding them roughly.

"Yami! Let him go!" Yugi's voice called out in desperation as he reached for his protector. "Yami! Don't leave me! Yami!" A foot pressed down on his chest sending waves of renewed agony through his already searing body. His pleas ceased and all he could do was stare ashen faced at his tormentor.

"Leave him be!" Roared the dark and his legs were bound. "You said you'd let him go!"

"Take him to the van." The figure ordered with a flick of his hand as Yami was gagged, his binds tightened to cut off the circulation in his hands and feet. One man took a chain and attached the ropes holding his legs and arms together so his movement was further diminished. He struggled and thrashed violently shouting curses through his gag as his blood red eyes remained fixed on his fallen aibou. They widened with a scream of hatred and fear when the man pressed his foot down hard on the little one's chest, blood seeping from his lips the little one's eyes closed into unconsciousness. The man bent and grabbed him by the hair, dragging the small body over the pavement leaving a trail of living crimson.

He paused at the door as Yami was tossed in to a compartment in the back of the vehicle and forced down awkwardly bound. The stranger reached out and took Yami's chin between powerful fingers and Yami watched his tongue dart out to moisten thin lips. "I never said I'd let him go my foolish slave…I said I'd let him live." He caressed Yami's cheek, a lustful darkness nearly obliterating the irises of his brown eyes. "I shall savor you and your strength…you are mine Pharaoh. Get used to it."

Yami was thrown back and the lid of the compartment slammed down over him. The sound of the back doors of the van shutting and the men scrambling in as the tires below the Pharaoh screamed to life. The sound of the tires covering his howl of unadulterated rage behind the gag into the darkness that surrounded him.

==== @-}--}--- ====