Gravitation
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Yu-Gi-Oh › General
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Adult ++
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24
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Category:
Yu-Gi-Oh › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
24
Views:
4,728
Reviews:
225
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Ending and Beginnings
Disclaimer - Nope, don't own them or anything to do with them . . . outside of my duel decks and a dozen DVD'S
return of one of my favorite authors! Hope you all enjoy it . .
Chapter 21 - Endings and Beginnings
The taboo held for several minutes before Bakura found his voice.
“We know he gave himself over so you would let us go . . .” Bakura snapped. “But we’re not leaving him here anymore! You’re going to kill him!” He clutched Yami closer, pale arms tightening around the too gaunt form as Malik took a step towards them. “I will kill you, Malik . . . if only for the things you’ve done to Yami, I will tear you apart. Take another step towards us and so help me I will kill you.”
Malik stopped where he was, voilet eyes darkening in anger as he stood there.
“He’s mine!” Malik growled softly, his fingers tightening into fists. “I’m not letting you leave here with him.”
“He’s not property!” Marik said suddenly, surprising everyone with the sudden vehemence in his voice. “He’s a human being, not some toy that you can break and put together again at will!” He stepped away from the door, lavender eyes narrowed even as his frame shook from fear.
“Marik . . .” Bakura murmured as the blonde stepped in front of him, shielding Yami from Malik’s eyes with his body.
“No, Bakura . . . Yami was willing to risk his life so that I would remain safe. I can’t do any less . . . and I won’t let you have him!” he said, turning his attention back to Malik.
“How sweet . . . the broken toy wants to protect someone. Where ever did you find the strength and courage, Marik? Had I known this core of steel was there inside you, I would never have let you go . . .”
“It was always here, you bastard,” Marik replied. “It was just so buried by pain and humiliation that it couldn’t be found. Yami’s gift to me was the strength to find myself after you nearly destroyed me . . . and I won’t put him through that same hell.”
“Marik . . .” Bakura murmured. “We have to get out of here. Duke can’t create a distraction for too much longer . . .” He was startled when Marik pulled a gun from his back, where it had been hidden underneath his hair in the tight shirt.
“I know . . .” he said, pointing the gun towards his demented ex unwaveringly. “Move, Malik. We’re leaving . . . and Yami is going with us.”
“You won’t make it past Pegasus’ bouncers,” Malik said, his eyes never leaving the gun in the slim blonde’s hand as he stepped out of the way.
“Watch us,” Bakura growled, moving behind Marik towards the door, Yami still firmly clutched in his arms. He peeked out the curtain before turning back to his blonde friend and lover. “Marik, it’s about as clear as it’s going to get. Let’s go.” Marik glanced at him . . . and Malik moved.
Marik yelped in surprise and pain as his ex grabbed his wrist, twisting it so that he was forced to drop the gun. Bakura swore, swiftly setting Yami down to go assist his friend as the two blondes fought for control, Malik quickly coming out on top before Bakura joined the fray.
Marik cradled his broken wrist to his chest as he watched Bakura and Malik struggle. He stood slowly, planning on making his way to Yami . . . and froze as a gunshot rang out. Lavender eyes took in Bakura, bleeding from several cuts and a split lip, sprawled on the floor underneath Malik, pinned by one foot on his chest as the tall blonde held the gun, aimed straight for Marik.
“Now then, my toy . . . you’ve become more trouble than you are worth,” the demented blonde said softly, violet eyes glowing with an almost maniacal light as his finger tightened on the trigger. “Yami need never know that you are beyond his protection . . . so goodbye, little Marik.” Lavender eyes closed as the gun fired again, waiting for the pain that would end his life.
Wind began to pick up, causing Marik to open his eyes . . . and step back in shock when he came face to face with the bullet that should have taken his life. It was floating in mid-air, still smoking slightly from it’s discharge as it spun against the unseen fingers holding it in place. He glanced at Malik, who was standing frozen in horror, before turning his eyes to the only possible cause of the sudden miracle.
Crimson eyes blazed a fearful and angry red as Yami levered himself off the floor, wincing slightly as he regained his feet and advanced towards Marik, plucking the bullet out of the air as if it was no more than a stray mote of dust. The gun was suddenly yanked out of Malik’s hand, flying through the curtain out into the crowded main floor to be lost among the scuffle still taking place out there.
“Condition number two, Malik,” Yami murmured, his voice cold as ice, “You never touch them or harm them in anyway . . . ever.” Malik suppressed a shudder at the utter lack of emotion in the tri-haired man’s voice. “You broke the rules.” The blonde stumbled back as a sudden wind buffet knocked him off balance, freeing Bakura. The pale man tried not to gasp as he was suddenly lifted off the floor by an unseen force and set gently on his feet. “Bakura?” Yami asked quietly.
“I’m okay, Yami . . .” Bakura replied, making his unsteady way over to the crimson eyed man. “Marik?”
“I’m fine . . . the bullet never even came close,” Marik murmured, grabbing Bakura’s hand as he came within reach.
“We’re leaving,” Yami said, crimson locking with deep violet as he kept himself between Malik and his lovers.
“You can’t leave, Yami,” Malik growled, stepping forward before freezing again. “I will get you back, my pet . . . you cannot protect them forever.” Yami’s eyes, if it was possible, grew even colder at the bold threat, the air in the room growing frigid as it picked up in speed and intensity with his rising anger.
“I know . . .” he whispered. His hand rose, as if of it’s own volition . . . and Malik gasped, choking as his heart suddenly felt like it was being squeezed by a fist. “Which is why I cannot allow you to live.” Marik and Bakura both froze at this, unsure of what was about to happen, and not entirely positive that they wanted to stop it.
“Yami . . .” Bakura said quietly, and stopped as one lightly tanned finger came to rest against his lips.
“He cannot be allowed to threaten you again,” Yami murmured. “I can not allow it . . . he is a danger to everyone he touches. He . . .” his voice choked suddenly, before regaining strength. “He will not go away until he gets what he wants or someone dies . . . do you remember saying that, Marik?” Marik nodded, a jerky movement of his head as he recalled the conversation. “You were right . . .” Yami whispered. There was a choked scream from Malik, who fell to his knees, clutching at his chest as blood bubbled from his nostrils and ran from the corners of his mouth.
“Yami . . . don’t use your powers like this,” Marik murmured, hesitating before reaching out to rest a hand on Yami’s tense shoulder. “He’s not worth it . . .”
“But you are,” Yami replied . . . and squeezed. There was a muffled popping sound, like a balloon surrounded by cotton suddenly meeting a pin . . . and with a wheezing, high pitched scream, Malik toppled forward and lay still. Yami sighed, the wind backing off in the room . . . and then crumpled into Bakura’s arms, crimson eyes closing as darkness overtook him.
Bakura glanced down at the still form in his arms before looking at Marik, his eyes dark with horror . . . and satisfaction. He picked Yami up slowly, and whirled towards the curtain when it was suddenly shoved to one side. Duke stood in the doorway, his breathing ragged, but he was grinning insanely.
“Can we get the hell outta here now?” he asked. Marik nodded, and motioning Bakura ahead of him with his burden, they silently walked out of the club.
*-------*-------*-------*-------*
Marik opened the door into the house slowly . . . only to come face to face with the anxious amethyst eyes of his love’s small cousin. He held a finger to his lips and stepped out of the way as Bakura came up behind him, the still comatose Yami cradled like fine porcelain in his arms against his chest.
“You got him!” Yugi whispered, jumping up and hugging Marik enthusiastically.
“We told you we weren’t giving him up without a fight,” Marik replied quietly, returning the hug as Bakura moved deeper into the house, towards Yami’s bedroom. “Yugi . . . it will be a long time before Yami is back to normal. And we can’t stay here . . . there will be questions I think Yami would rather not answer right now. Pack your things, and Ryou’s . . . we’re going up to that cabin Yami has in the north.”
Yugi nodded and scrambled off to pack, casting one anxious look towards his cousin’s bedroom.
“Do you think he’ll recover?” Duke asked, closing the door softly behind him. Marik sighed, shaking his head.
“I don’t know, Duke. For someone like me, who’s naturally submissive, what Malik did wasn’t all that traumatic in the long run. But for Yami . . . I just don’t know. And I get the feeling that Malik pulled out all the stops once he had Yami. He never used to share his toys at all . . . but he turned Yami over to Pegasus without a second thought. I just . . .” His voice broke off, and he angrily dashed away tears. “I just don’t know. And then there’s what Yami did to Malik . . .”
The phone rang suddenly, causing everyone to jump before Marik moved to answer it. It seemed Yugi had beat him to it, because the little one arrived back in the kitchen after a few minutes.
“That was Tristan . . . he wanted to see how everything had gone. He says he’ll be over here with the other’s shortly.”
“Good idea. Kaiba’s already closed the club for the next couple of weeks, so we don’t have to worry about work.”
“You know . . . I’m still surprised he was willing to do it,” Marik said. Duke chuckled.
“As much as Kaiba and Yami are at each other’s throats, our boss really likes Yami. If it enables Yami to return to work, Kaiba’s all for it. He said with Yami missing business wasn’t as good anyway.” Marik snorted, but said nothing further, returning to the kitchen table, where he sunk down with his head in his hands. Bakura had insisted that he be the one to handle Yami . . . seeing what Yami had been through would be too painful a reminder of his own time under the psychotic blonde. He was worried though. Would Yami ever recover . . . both from what Malik had done to him, and what he had done to Malik?
*-------*-------*-------*-------*
Bakura lay Yami gently on the bed, tenderly brushing back stray strands of blonde before retreating to the bathroom to run a tub full of warm water. He stripped quickly as the tub filled, returning to Yami’s side and cutting away the poured on material of his slave outfit, his face set into a stoic mask as all the marks and bites on Yami’s once pristine skin were revealed to his eye.
He lifted Yami’s now nude body back into his arms, still shocked at how light his love was. Yami had lost weight that he could ill afford to lose . . . he had already been slight before Malik - now he was practically skeletal. The once lean muscle and sinew seemed to be gone, wasted away to practically nothing. He knew it hadn’t been starvation . . . Marik had told him that Malik would force Yami to eat if he appeared to be trying to starve himself. That only left one thing . . . the mental strain had caused him to not really eat as much as Malik had probably assumed he did. He wondered how many times Yami had regurgitated the contents of his stomach, unable to keep it down long enough to nourish himself.
He froze as Yami groaned when his skin hit the water, but relaxed and continued to sink into the water with the slight body pressed close to his. He was sure that Yami’s body was one big mass of pain at the moment . . . some of the wounds he bore appeared infected, but Bakura would be damned if he would take Yami on the road trip to the cabin without cleaning him first, washing the stink of Malik from his lover’s skin. He wished, as he rubbed gently at the lightly tanned skin, that he could as easily wash away the stain from his love’s soul.
The water slowly turned darker with dirt and blood as Bakura gently washed Yami, even going so far as to carefully dip Yami’s head into the water to wash the once vibrant tri-colored hair. The hair was lackluster now, it’s glorious crimson, black, and gold dulled by the lack of care it had been given.
Hesitantly, he took down the mental barriers Yami had taught him to build . . . and nearly dropped his love as waves of desolation, pain, anger, hatred, and self-loathing washed into his mind from his open link to Yami. He clasped the limp body closer to him, blinking back tears that threatened to blind him at the overwhelming flood.
“Oh gods . . . Yami . . .” he moaned, cradling the body close to his heart as he closed his eyes in pain. “It’s over now, and I am never letting you go again.” Rising from the tub slowly, Yami’s slick skin rubbing against his own, he toweled them both off carefully before returning to the bedroom with his precious burden. He dressed Yami carefully in a pair of soft white sweat-pants and a baggy white cotton shirt, wanting the cloth to be light and not stick to any of the newly washed wounds. Afterwards, he carefully wrapped his love in a light blanket before turning to get dressed himself. Once dressed, he quickly packed up what they would need for an extended stay in the northern woods.
A knock on the door interrupted him. Marik opened the door slowly, lavender eyes peeking around the door.
“Kaiba’s hired guards are here, ‘Kura,” he whispered, coming to stand over Yami’s still form, one hand reaching out to run delicately over one bruised cheek. “How is he?”
“There’s no way to really know . . . until he wakes up,” Bakura replied, coming to stand behind the blonde and wrapping his arms around the slim form. “Gods . . . Marik, he seemed so cold. And he was shuddering when he touched me . . . what’s going on?” Marik sighed, but nodded.
“I was in mental contact with him . . . while he was following Pegasus’ orders,” he murmured. “He . . . was horrified when he found out it was us. I could feel his pain, ‘Kura . . . and his self-hatred. Malik . . . Malik nearly broke him completely.” He sighed, his eyes dimming as he stared down at the still form on the bed. “He’s nearly given up, Bakura. I could feel it . . . he was wishing he would die. I don’t know . . . if we’ll ever get him back.”
“We’re not giving up, Marik,” Bakura said softly. “We’ll undo what Malik did . . . no matter what may come.”
*-------*-------*-------*-------*
Bakura stared out the window into the still waters of the lake, listening to the lonely call of the loons floating upon the darkened waters. He was painfully aware of the man lying so still and silent behind him, even though he wasn’t looking at him.
Two days had passed since their rescue of Yami from Malik’s hands . . . and the tri-haired man still had not awakened. He sighed, turning from the window to glance at Marik, who was asleep in a chair nearby, his blonde hair tied back in a ragged tail that trailed slightly down his back. Marik was suffering as much as he was . . . the insecurity of Yami’s recovery was taking it’s toll on both of them.
The cabin . . . if you could even call a five room ranch house a cabin . . . was packed full of people. Mai and Joey, Tristan and Serenity, Duke, Ryou and Yugi . . . they were all here, out of the city and away from any questions that could possibly be asked about Malik’s mysterious death. Everyone was worried about Yami, though. You could see it in the quiet, desperate way that they went on with life, enjoying the impromptu vacation with all the love of someone heading inevitably to their deaths. Marik and he barely left the room . . . they’d even moved a cot into the room, leaving the huge bed to Yami while they took turns on the smaller bed.
Sighing, he retreated from the room to go take a shower, knowing that if Yami awoke he would feel it due to the light empathic touch he was keeping on his mind. He’d had to block off most of it . . . the tumult of emotions that Yami was emitting had nearly made him physically ill. It was such a mixture of the darkest nature . . . he’d never felt anything like it before, not even from Marik when the blonde had first shown up on his doorstep after escaping Malik. He stepped into the warmed water slowly, glad that it was late at night and no one in the house was awake except him. He hated being bombarded with questions he had no answers to . . . and he had no answers for the others on how Yami was. He truly didn’t know anymore than they did, and it scared him. He let the warm water wash over him . . . and in the relative solitude of the shower, he wept.
Crimson eyes opened as the lone howl of a wolf came from nearby, staring up at the ceiling in confusion before memory returned . . . and with it, the pain, anger, and humiliation. He arose from the bed unsteadily, making his hesitant way over to the window, staring out at the dark waters of the lake, unconsciously mimicking what Bakura had been doing minutes before.
Shudders wracked his body, the tumult of thoughts and emotions in his mind overwhelming in their intensity and darkness. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to hold in the howl of anguish as he thought over those last few minutes. Malik . . . or more appropriately, Pegasus . . . had managed to taint the one thing that he had struggled to keep pure and clean through his months of enslavement.
He gagged, a choked sob sticking in his throat as he thought of it . . . going down on Bakura by the will of another, slave to that other, turned over like a piece of property that was meant to be used and then discarded. That one act . . . that one horrific act had destroyed everything he had worked so hard to keep pure in his mind. And then there was how he had murdered Malik . . . he had never done anything like that with his powers before. Even the bar incident had been hesitant . . . this had been personal. He had felt Malik’s heart burst as he used his telekinesis to squeeze the life from it.
“Oh Ra . . .” he whispered, leaning his head against the cool glass as the tears trickled slowly down his face. How could he face them? How could they love him . . . when he was disgusting, even to himself?
The shuddering of his body only got worse, even as he tightened his arms about himself to try desperately to still them. He winced as he felt the pulling of the still healing wounds on his skin . . . but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart and his soul. He was a monster . . . a murderer.
Turning away from the window, he retreated into a dark corner of the room, huddling into a ball on the floor as the shivering continued.
Bakura returned to the room slowly, toweling his hair off absently as he was lost in thought. He froze as he entered the door . . . and found the bed empty. Chocolate eyes scanned the room in panic . . . and nearly missed the huddled form in the farthest corner of the room.
“Yami?” he whispered, crossing the floor quickly and going to his knees, reaching out towards the shivering figure. He stopped short when Yami looked up at him . . . and cringed.
“Don’t touch me . . .” Yami choked, his voice hoarse. “Gods . . . don’t touch me!”
“Yami!”
“Ra help me . . . just don’t touch me! Please . . . just go away! Let this be a dream . . . a nightmare, anything!” Yami whispered, his voice panicked. He pressed himself further into the wall, his panicked eyes meeting Bakura’s dark ones. “I . . .”
“Malik’s gone, Yami . . . it’s just us now. Marik and I are here . . . he doesn’t have you any more,” Bakura whispered, his hand fisting in his lap as he fought against the urge to reach out and gather his shivering love close.
“No . . .he’ll never be gone . . .” the tri-haired man sobbed, crimson eyes closing in pain. “I’m marked . . . gods, I’m disgusting! How . . . how can you want to touch me?! And I murdered him . . . I can feel his heart pounding desperately in my head even now!” He stood suddenly, running from the room . . . running from himself. Bakura was too stunned to move for a moment before pushing himself off the floor and racing after the slight figure, confused and suddenly terrified.
He followed the path of Yami’s passage out of the house . . . and towards the lake.
“Oh no . . .” he whispered, fearing the worst . . . and ducked as a tree cracked nearby, it’s thick trunk crashing into his path, slowing him down. He clambered over it quickly, running all out towards the pier . . . and froze as a wind suddenly picked up out of nowhere, his hair whipping around him in a frenzy. “YAMI!” he shouted, struggling to be heard above the howling maelstrom that Yami had summoned.
He fought, step by struggling step, towards the lake, coming to stand on the shoreline, waves crashing and breaking against his legs as the water roiled and tumbled as if a tsunami had been unleashed.
Yami was above the water, his still shivering form barely able to be seen in the dark night, the wind whipping around him, but not touching him. Beneath him, the water appeared to be boiling, angry roils and fountains that looked for all the world as if the apocalypse had finally come. Trees cracked behind him, their limbs torn asunder as Yami’s telekinetic powers came to a peak . . . and stayed there.
“Why have you abandoned me!?” he shouted into the heavens, tear stained face turned up to the night sky. “What did I ever do to you!?” He could feel all his rage, all his hurt and suffering, all his disgust and hatred fueling the angry and suddenly freed power within him, and he knew he could not control it any longer. Too long had it been trapped away with no release as his emotions roiled within him like the lake water below . . . trapped and confined in order to ensure the protection of those he loved most in the world.
Marik came awake suddenly, the sound of something crashing into the side of the house bringing him abruptly from the exhausted sleep he had fallen into. He took in the empty bed at a glance, staggering up from his chair and stumbling out into the hallway . . . only to run into Yugi.
“Yami . . .” the smaller boy cried out as he spied Marik.
“He’s awake . . .but I don’t know where he is,” Marik said, shouting to be heard over the howling wind.
“We have to find him!” Yugi said, spinning on his heel and racing to the stairs. Marik followed him, bells ringing loudly in his head as the full extent of Yami’s powers unleashed nearly overloaded his own ‘sensitive’ abilities. The others met them at the door, looks exchanged in place of words. Duke looked at Marik, and nodded when he saw the panic in lavender eyes.
“We’ll stay here . . . take Yugi and find him and Bakura. They have to be out in this somewhere . . . try the lake. Yami’s teacher taught him to funnel everything into water if it ever got this bad . . . he’ll be there if he’s anywhere nearby,” Duke shouted. Marik nodded, and he and Yugi took off towards the lake.
They stumbled into Bakura completely by accident, the white haired man catching them before they could fall into the roiling waters.
“He’s out there!” Bakura shouted. “I can’t get to him . . . and I don’t think he has control of this!”
“We should get back to the house . . . it’s too dangerous!” Yugi replied, his small voice barely able to be heard.
“I’m not leaving him!” Bakura said, meeting Marik’s gaze over Yami’s cousin’s head. Marik nodded.
“Neither am I.” He knelt down to Yugi. “You go back . . . we’ll handle this.”
“If you’re staying, then so am I!” Yugi shouted. “He’s my cousin!” Marik nodded, and stood back up . . . and then whirled as a loud crack resounded behind them. He stared up at the falling tree in horror . . . there was no way they could get out of the way in time. He closed his eyes, waiting for the terrible impact that would probably kill them all.
Yami saw the tree falling towards them . . . and suddenly, his control returned. He pushed, sending his power into the tree . . . and it exploded before it could even touch them.
Bakura was looking at the tree, his eyes wide as he watched it simply disintegrate, small chunks of wood and leaf raining down upon them as they huddled together. He heard a splash suddenly, whirling towards the lake in time to see Yami’s head disappear below the surface, which was slowly calming.
Without pausing, he dove into the water, feeling Marik at his side as he entered the cool darkness. He swam quickly to where he had seen Yami go down, diving into the inky blackness and praying for a miracle. He returned to the surface after a few minutes, his lungs screaming. Marik surfaced a few feet away.
“Where is he!?” he shouted. Marik shook his head, taking a deep breath before going under again, Bakura following seconds behind.
Marik reached out, feeling in the dark water . . . and nearly cried in relief when he felt the light cotton of a shirt brush his fingertips. Snagging a handful of the material, he swam back for the surface, hauling his burden with him. He gulped in a lung full of air, bringing Yami’s head above the surface before looking around wildly for Bakura. He saw the pale hair surface moments later.
“Bakura! I’ve got him!” he shouted. Bakura raised a hand to signal that he had heard, and they struck out for the shore, Marik dragging Yami’s body through the water carefully, making sure he kept his head above the water. Bakura was already there to help him drag Yami out of the dark liquid, Yugi standing nearby with an armful of towels as the others rushed down the pathway towards the pier.
“”Kura, he’s not breathing!” Marik cried, and then started CPR. They had a harrowing couple of moments before Yami’s breathe hitched in his chest and he coughed. Bakura quickly rolled him onto his side as he choked up water and other lake debris before falling comatose, his breathing slowly evening out.
“Is he okay?” Tristan asked, kneeling down beside the still figure and taking a towel from Yugi, briskly rubbing at the damp skin to dry it as the cool night air settled around them.
“I don’t know,” Bakura murmured, sitting back with a sigh, his own muscles shuddering as the adrenaline left his system.
“He protected us . . . even with his powers out of control, he protected us,” Yugi said, amethyst eyes glittering in the moon lit night. “Ra . . . please let him be okay.”
“Lets all get back to the house,” Joey said, an arm wrapped around Mai. “We’ll need to keep a very close eye on him. Marik, you and Bakura need to sleep. I’ll take first watch . . . Tristan can take second and Duke can take third.”
Ryou wrapped Yugi in his arms as the smaller boy shivered in shock.
“He’ll be okay, Yugi,” the white haired teen murmured, slowly leading his lover back to the hut. “You’ll see . . . he’s strong. He’ll be fine.” Duke watched until they were out of ear shot, then turned back to Marik and Bakura.
“What happened?” he asked quietly as Tristan picked Yami’s limp form up in his arms and carried it back to the house behind the younger boys.
“He woke up . . .I was in the shower. When I came into the room, he was huddled in a corner, shivering. He . . . he wouldn’t even let me touch him! He said . . . that he was ‘marked’ and that Malik would never go away,” Bakura murmured. “Marik . . . I don’t know how to handle this! I think . . . I think Malik may have broken him after all.”
Marik wrapped his arms around Bakura, letting the white haired head fall on his shoulder as Bakura shivered uncontrollably in belated reaction.
“This was just backlash,” Marik said, looking at Duke and Joey over his lover’s shaking form. “He must have kept it pent up for so long . . . that when it finally got loose, it went wild. But he regained control at the last possible moment . . . although it completely overloaded him to do so. It should be easier from here on out . . . and we’re not giving up.” Lavender eyes hardened suddenly, a look that seemed strangely out of place on the usually calm and outgoing Marik’s face. “We just have to stay by him . . . and I hope Malik rots in hell for this.”
Chapter 21 - Endings and Beginnings
The taboo held for several minutes before Bakura found his voice.
“We know he gave himself over so you would let us go . . .” Bakura snapped. “But we’re not leaving him here anymore! You’re going to kill him!” He clutched Yami closer, pale arms tightening around the too gaunt form as Malik took a step towards them. “I will kill you, Malik . . . if only for the things you’ve done to Yami, I will tear you apart. Take another step towards us and so help me I will kill you.”
Malik stopped where he was, voilet eyes darkening in anger as he stood there.
“He’s mine!” Malik growled softly, his fingers tightening into fists. “I’m not letting you leave here with him.”
“He’s not property!” Marik said suddenly, surprising everyone with the sudden vehemence in his voice. “He’s a human being, not some toy that you can break and put together again at will!” He stepped away from the door, lavender eyes narrowed even as his frame shook from fear.
“Marik . . .” Bakura murmured as the blonde stepped in front of him, shielding Yami from Malik’s eyes with his body.
“No, Bakura . . . Yami was willing to risk his life so that I would remain safe. I can’t do any less . . . and I won’t let you have him!” he said, turning his attention back to Malik.
“How sweet . . . the broken toy wants to protect someone. Where ever did you find the strength and courage, Marik? Had I known this core of steel was there inside you, I would never have let you go . . .”
“It was always here, you bastard,” Marik replied. “It was just so buried by pain and humiliation that it couldn’t be found. Yami’s gift to me was the strength to find myself after you nearly destroyed me . . . and I won’t put him through that same hell.”
“Marik . . .” Bakura murmured. “We have to get out of here. Duke can’t create a distraction for too much longer . . .” He was startled when Marik pulled a gun from his back, where it had been hidden underneath his hair in the tight shirt.
“I know . . .” he said, pointing the gun towards his demented ex unwaveringly. “Move, Malik. We’re leaving . . . and Yami is going with us.”
“You won’t make it past Pegasus’ bouncers,” Malik said, his eyes never leaving the gun in the slim blonde’s hand as he stepped out of the way.
“Watch us,” Bakura growled, moving behind Marik towards the door, Yami still firmly clutched in his arms. He peeked out the curtain before turning back to his blonde friend and lover. “Marik, it’s about as clear as it’s going to get. Let’s go.” Marik glanced at him . . . and Malik moved.
Marik yelped in surprise and pain as his ex grabbed his wrist, twisting it so that he was forced to drop the gun. Bakura swore, swiftly setting Yami down to go assist his friend as the two blondes fought for control, Malik quickly coming out on top before Bakura joined the fray.
Marik cradled his broken wrist to his chest as he watched Bakura and Malik struggle. He stood slowly, planning on making his way to Yami . . . and froze as a gunshot rang out. Lavender eyes took in Bakura, bleeding from several cuts and a split lip, sprawled on the floor underneath Malik, pinned by one foot on his chest as the tall blonde held the gun, aimed straight for Marik.
“Now then, my toy . . . you’ve become more trouble than you are worth,” the demented blonde said softly, violet eyes glowing with an almost maniacal light as his finger tightened on the trigger. “Yami need never know that you are beyond his protection . . . so goodbye, little Marik.” Lavender eyes closed as the gun fired again, waiting for the pain that would end his life.
Wind began to pick up, causing Marik to open his eyes . . . and step back in shock when he came face to face with the bullet that should have taken his life. It was floating in mid-air, still smoking slightly from it’s discharge as it spun against the unseen fingers holding it in place. He glanced at Malik, who was standing frozen in horror, before turning his eyes to the only possible cause of the sudden miracle.
Crimson eyes blazed a fearful and angry red as Yami levered himself off the floor, wincing slightly as he regained his feet and advanced towards Marik, plucking the bullet out of the air as if it was no more than a stray mote of dust. The gun was suddenly yanked out of Malik’s hand, flying through the curtain out into the crowded main floor to be lost among the scuffle still taking place out there.
“Condition number two, Malik,” Yami murmured, his voice cold as ice, “You never touch them or harm them in anyway . . . ever.” Malik suppressed a shudder at the utter lack of emotion in the tri-haired man’s voice. “You broke the rules.” The blonde stumbled back as a sudden wind buffet knocked him off balance, freeing Bakura. The pale man tried not to gasp as he was suddenly lifted off the floor by an unseen force and set gently on his feet. “Bakura?” Yami asked quietly.
“I’m okay, Yami . . .” Bakura replied, making his unsteady way over to the crimson eyed man. “Marik?”
“I’m fine . . . the bullet never even came close,” Marik murmured, grabbing Bakura’s hand as he came within reach.
“We’re leaving,” Yami said, crimson locking with deep violet as he kept himself between Malik and his lovers.
“You can’t leave, Yami,” Malik growled, stepping forward before freezing again. “I will get you back, my pet . . . you cannot protect them forever.” Yami’s eyes, if it was possible, grew even colder at the bold threat, the air in the room growing frigid as it picked up in speed and intensity with his rising anger.
“I know . . .” he whispered. His hand rose, as if of it’s own volition . . . and Malik gasped, choking as his heart suddenly felt like it was being squeezed by a fist. “Which is why I cannot allow you to live.” Marik and Bakura both froze at this, unsure of what was about to happen, and not entirely positive that they wanted to stop it.
“Yami . . .” Bakura said quietly, and stopped as one lightly tanned finger came to rest against his lips.
“He cannot be allowed to threaten you again,” Yami murmured. “I can not allow it . . . he is a danger to everyone he touches. He . . .” his voice choked suddenly, before regaining strength. “He will not go away until he gets what he wants or someone dies . . . do you remember saying that, Marik?” Marik nodded, a jerky movement of his head as he recalled the conversation. “You were right . . .” Yami whispered. There was a choked scream from Malik, who fell to his knees, clutching at his chest as blood bubbled from his nostrils and ran from the corners of his mouth.
“Yami . . . don’t use your powers like this,” Marik murmured, hesitating before reaching out to rest a hand on Yami’s tense shoulder. “He’s not worth it . . .”
“But you are,” Yami replied . . . and squeezed. There was a muffled popping sound, like a balloon surrounded by cotton suddenly meeting a pin . . . and with a wheezing, high pitched scream, Malik toppled forward and lay still. Yami sighed, the wind backing off in the room . . . and then crumpled into Bakura’s arms, crimson eyes closing as darkness overtook him.
Bakura glanced down at the still form in his arms before looking at Marik, his eyes dark with horror . . . and satisfaction. He picked Yami up slowly, and whirled towards the curtain when it was suddenly shoved to one side. Duke stood in the doorway, his breathing ragged, but he was grinning insanely.
“Can we get the hell outta here now?” he asked. Marik nodded, and motioning Bakura ahead of him with his burden, they silently walked out of the club.
*-------*-------*-------*-------*
Marik opened the door into the house slowly . . . only to come face to face with the anxious amethyst eyes of his love’s small cousin. He held a finger to his lips and stepped out of the way as Bakura came up behind him, the still comatose Yami cradled like fine porcelain in his arms against his chest.
“You got him!” Yugi whispered, jumping up and hugging Marik enthusiastically.
“We told you we weren’t giving him up without a fight,” Marik replied quietly, returning the hug as Bakura moved deeper into the house, towards Yami’s bedroom. “Yugi . . . it will be a long time before Yami is back to normal. And we can’t stay here . . . there will be questions I think Yami would rather not answer right now. Pack your things, and Ryou’s . . . we’re going up to that cabin Yami has in the north.”
Yugi nodded and scrambled off to pack, casting one anxious look towards his cousin’s bedroom.
“Do you think he’ll recover?” Duke asked, closing the door softly behind him. Marik sighed, shaking his head.
“I don’t know, Duke. For someone like me, who’s naturally submissive, what Malik did wasn’t all that traumatic in the long run. But for Yami . . . I just don’t know. And I get the feeling that Malik pulled out all the stops once he had Yami. He never used to share his toys at all . . . but he turned Yami over to Pegasus without a second thought. I just . . .” His voice broke off, and he angrily dashed away tears. “I just don’t know. And then there’s what Yami did to Malik . . .”
The phone rang suddenly, causing everyone to jump before Marik moved to answer it. It seemed Yugi had beat him to it, because the little one arrived back in the kitchen after a few minutes.
“That was Tristan . . . he wanted to see how everything had gone. He says he’ll be over here with the other’s shortly.”
“Good idea. Kaiba’s already closed the club for the next couple of weeks, so we don’t have to worry about work.”
“You know . . . I’m still surprised he was willing to do it,” Marik said. Duke chuckled.
“As much as Kaiba and Yami are at each other’s throats, our boss really likes Yami. If it enables Yami to return to work, Kaiba’s all for it. He said with Yami missing business wasn’t as good anyway.” Marik snorted, but said nothing further, returning to the kitchen table, where he sunk down with his head in his hands. Bakura had insisted that he be the one to handle Yami . . . seeing what Yami had been through would be too painful a reminder of his own time under the psychotic blonde. He was worried though. Would Yami ever recover . . . both from what Malik had done to him, and what he had done to Malik?
*-------*-------*-------*-------*
Bakura lay Yami gently on the bed, tenderly brushing back stray strands of blonde before retreating to the bathroom to run a tub full of warm water. He stripped quickly as the tub filled, returning to Yami’s side and cutting away the poured on material of his slave outfit, his face set into a stoic mask as all the marks and bites on Yami’s once pristine skin were revealed to his eye.
He lifted Yami’s now nude body back into his arms, still shocked at how light his love was. Yami had lost weight that he could ill afford to lose . . . he had already been slight before Malik - now he was practically skeletal. The once lean muscle and sinew seemed to be gone, wasted away to practically nothing. He knew it hadn’t been starvation . . . Marik had told him that Malik would force Yami to eat if he appeared to be trying to starve himself. That only left one thing . . . the mental strain had caused him to not really eat as much as Malik had probably assumed he did. He wondered how many times Yami had regurgitated the contents of his stomach, unable to keep it down long enough to nourish himself.
He froze as Yami groaned when his skin hit the water, but relaxed and continued to sink into the water with the slight body pressed close to his. He was sure that Yami’s body was one big mass of pain at the moment . . . some of the wounds he bore appeared infected, but Bakura would be damned if he would take Yami on the road trip to the cabin without cleaning him first, washing the stink of Malik from his lover’s skin. He wished, as he rubbed gently at the lightly tanned skin, that he could as easily wash away the stain from his love’s soul.
The water slowly turned darker with dirt and blood as Bakura gently washed Yami, even going so far as to carefully dip Yami’s head into the water to wash the once vibrant tri-colored hair. The hair was lackluster now, it’s glorious crimson, black, and gold dulled by the lack of care it had been given.
Hesitantly, he took down the mental barriers Yami had taught him to build . . . and nearly dropped his love as waves of desolation, pain, anger, hatred, and self-loathing washed into his mind from his open link to Yami. He clasped the limp body closer to him, blinking back tears that threatened to blind him at the overwhelming flood.
“Oh gods . . . Yami . . .” he moaned, cradling the body close to his heart as he closed his eyes in pain. “It’s over now, and I am never letting you go again.” Rising from the tub slowly, Yami’s slick skin rubbing against his own, he toweled them both off carefully before returning to the bedroom with his precious burden. He dressed Yami carefully in a pair of soft white sweat-pants and a baggy white cotton shirt, wanting the cloth to be light and not stick to any of the newly washed wounds. Afterwards, he carefully wrapped his love in a light blanket before turning to get dressed himself. Once dressed, he quickly packed up what they would need for an extended stay in the northern woods.
A knock on the door interrupted him. Marik opened the door slowly, lavender eyes peeking around the door.
“Kaiba’s hired guards are here, ‘Kura,” he whispered, coming to stand over Yami’s still form, one hand reaching out to run delicately over one bruised cheek. “How is he?”
“There’s no way to really know . . . until he wakes up,” Bakura replied, coming to stand behind the blonde and wrapping his arms around the slim form. “Gods . . . Marik, he seemed so cold. And he was shuddering when he touched me . . . what’s going on?” Marik sighed, but nodded.
“I was in mental contact with him . . . while he was following Pegasus’ orders,” he murmured. “He . . . was horrified when he found out it was us. I could feel his pain, ‘Kura . . . and his self-hatred. Malik . . . Malik nearly broke him completely.” He sighed, his eyes dimming as he stared down at the still form on the bed. “He’s nearly given up, Bakura. I could feel it . . . he was wishing he would die. I don’t know . . . if we’ll ever get him back.”
“We’re not giving up, Marik,” Bakura said softly. “We’ll undo what Malik did . . . no matter what may come.”
*-------*-------*-------*-------*
Bakura stared out the window into the still waters of the lake, listening to the lonely call of the loons floating upon the darkened waters. He was painfully aware of the man lying so still and silent behind him, even though he wasn’t looking at him.
Two days had passed since their rescue of Yami from Malik’s hands . . . and the tri-haired man still had not awakened. He sighed, turning from the window to glance at Marik, who was asleep in a chair nearby, his blonde hair tied back in a ragged tail that trailed slightly down his back. Marik was suffering as much as he was . . . the insecurity of Yami’s recovery was taking it’s toll on both of them.
The cabin . . . if you could even call a five room ranch house a cabin . . . was packed full of people. Mai and Joey, Tristan and Serenity, Duke, Ryou and Yugi . . . they were all here, out of the city and away from any questions that could possibly be asked about Malik’s mysterious death. Everyone was worried about Yami, though. You could see it in the quiet, desperate way that they went on with life, enjoying the impromptu vacation with all the love of someone heading inevitably to their deaths. Marik and he barely left the room . . . they’d even moved a cot into the room, leaving the huge bed to Yami while they took turns on the smaller bed.
Sighing, he retreated from the room to go take a shower, knowing that if Yami awoke he would feel it due to the light empathic touch he was keeping on his mind. He’d had to block off most of it . . . the tumult of emotions that Yami was emitting had nearly made him physically ill. It was such a mixture of the darkest nature . . . he’d never felt anything like it before, not even from Marik when the blonde had first shown up on his doorstep after escaping Malik. He stepped into the warmed water slowly, glad that it was late at night and no one in the house was awake except him. He hated being bombarded with questions he had no answers to . . . and he had no answers for the others on how Yami was. He truly didn’t know anymore than they did, and it scared him. He let the warm water wash over him . . . and in the relative solitude of the shower, he wept.
Crimson eyes opened as the lone howl of a wolf came from nearby, staring up at the ceiling in confusion before memory returned . . . and with it, the pain, anger, and humiliation. He arose from the bed unsteadily, making his hesitant way over to the window, staring out at the dark waters of the lake, unconsciously mimicking what Bakura had been doing minutes before.
Shudders wracked his body, the tumult of thoughts and emotions in his mind overwhelming in their intensity and darkness. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to hold in the howl of anguish as he thought over those last few minutes. Malik . . . or more appropriately, Pegasus . . . had managed to taint the one thing that he had struggled to keep pure and clean through his months of enslavement.
He gagged, a choked sob sticking in his throat as he thought of it . . . going down on Bakura by the will of another, slave to that other, turned over like a piece of property that was meant to be used and then discarded. That one act . . . that one horrific act had destroyed everything he had worked so hard to keep pure in his mind. And then there was how he had murdered Malik . . . he had never done anything like that with his powers before. Even the bar incident had been hesitant . . . this had been personal. He had felt Malik’s heart burst as he used his telekinesis to squeeze the life from it.
“Oh Ra . . .” he whispered, leaning his head against the cool glass as the tears trickled slowly down his face. How could he face them? How could they love him . . . when he was disgusting, even to himself?
The shuddering of his body only got worse, even as he tightened his arms about himself to try desperately to still them. He winced as he felt the pulling of the still healing wounds on his skin . . . but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart and his soul. He was a monster . . . a murderer.
Turning away from the window, he retreated into a dark corner of the room, huddling into a ball on the floor as the shivering continued.
Bakura returned to the room slowly, toweling his hair off absently as he was lost in thought. He froze as he entered the door . . . and found the bed empty. Chocolate eyes scanned the room in panic . . . and nearly missed the huddled form in the farthest corner of the room.
“Yami?” he whispered, crossing the floor quickly and going to his knees, reaching out towards the shivering figure. He stopped short when Yami looked up at him . . . and cringed.
“Don’t touch me . . .” Yami choked, his voice hoarse. “Gods . . . don’t touch me!”
“Yami!”
“Ra help me . . . just don’t touch me! Please . . . just go away! Let this be a dream . . . a nightmare, anything!” Yami whispered, his voice panicked. He pressed himself further into the wall, his panicked eyes meeting Bakura’s dark ones. “I . . .”
“Malik’s gone, Yami . . . it’s just us now. Marik and I are here . . . he doesn’t have you any more,” Bakura whispered, his hand fisting in his lap as he fought against the urge to reach out and gather his shivering love close.
“No . . .he’ll never be gone . . .” the tri-haired man sobbed, crimson eyes closing in pain. “I’m marked . . . gods, I’m disgusting! How . . . how can you want to touch me?! And I murdered him . . . I can feel his heart pounding desperately in my head even now!” He stood suddenly, running from the room . . . running from himself. Bakura was too stunned to move for a moment before pushing himself off the floor and racing after the slight figure, confused and suddenly terrified.
He followed the path of Yami’s passage out of the house . . . and towards the lake.
“Oh no . . .” he whispered, fearing the worst . . . and ducked as a tree cracked nearby, it’s thick trunk crashing into his path, slowing him down. He clambered over it quickly, running all out towards the pier . . . and froze as a wind suddenly picked up out of nowhere, his hair whipping around him in a frenzy. “YAMI!” he shouted, struggling to be heard above the howling maelstrom that Yami had summoned.
He fought, step by struggling step, towards the lake, coming to stand on the shoreline, waves crashing and breaking against his legs as the water roiled and tumbled as if a tsunami had been unleashed.
Yami was above the water, his still shivering form barely able to be seen in the dark night, the wind whipping around him, but not touching him. Beneath him, the water appeared to be boiling, angry roils and fountains that looked for all the world as if the apocalypse had finally come. Trees cracked behind him, their limbs torn asunder as Yami’s telekinetic powers came to a peak . . . and stayed there.
“Why have you abandoned me!?” he shouted into the heavens, tear stained face turned up to the night sky. “What did I ever do to you!?” He could feel all his rage, all his hurt and suffering, all his disgust and hatred fueling the angry and suddenly freed power within him, and he knew he could not control it any longer. Too long had it been trapped away with no release as his emotions roiled within him like the lake water below . . . trapped and confined in order to ensure the protection of those he loved most in the world.
Marik came awake suddenly, the sound of something crashing into the side of the house bringing him abruptly from the exhausted sleep he had fallen into. He took in the empty bed at a glance, staggering up from his chair and stumbling out into the hallway . . . only to run into Yugi.
“Yami . . .” the smaller boy cried out as he spied Marik.
“He’s awake . . .but I don’t know where he is,” Marik said, shouting to be heard over the howling wind.
“We have to find him!” Yugi said, spinning on his heel and racing to the stairs. Marik followed him, bells ringing loudly in his head as the full extent of Yami’s powers unleashed nearly overloaded his own ‘sensitive’ abilities. The others met them at the door, looks exchanged in place of words. Duke looked at Marik, and nodded when he saw the panic in lavender eyes.
“We’ll stay here . . . take Yugi and find him and Bakura. They have to be out in this somewhere . . . try the lake. Yami’s teacher taught him to funnel everything into water if it ever got this bad . . . he’ll be there if he’s anywhere nearby,” Duke shouted. Marik nodded, and he and Yugi took off towards the lake.
They stumbled into Bakura completely by accident, the white haired man catching them before they could fall into the roiling waters.
“He’s out there!” Bakura shouted. “I can’t get to him . . . and I don’t think he has control of this!”
“We should get back to the house . . . it’s too dangerous!” Yugi replied, his small voice barely able to be heard.
“I’m not leaving him!” Bakura said, meeting Marik’s gaze over Yami’s cousin’s head. Marik nodded.
“Neither am I.” He knelt down to Yugi. “You go back . . . we’ll handle this.”
“If you’re staying, then so am I!” Yugi shouted. “He’s my cousin!” Marik nodded, and stood back up . . . and then whirled as a loud crack resounded behind them. He stared up at the falling tree in horror . . . there was no way they could get out of the way in time. He closed his eyes, waiting for the terrible impact that would probably kill them all.
Yami saw the tree falling towards them . . . and suddenly, his control returned. He pushed, sending his power into the tree . . . and it exploded before it could even touch them.
Bakura was looking at the tree, his eyes wide as he watched it simply disintegrate, small chunks of wood and leaf raining down upon them as they huddled together. He heard a splash suddenly, whirling towards the lake in time to see Yami’s head disappear below the surface, which was slowly calming.
Without pausing, he dove into the water, feeling Marik at his side as he entered the cool darkness. He swam quickly to where he had seen Yami go down, diving into the inky blackness and praying for a miracle. He returned to the surface after a few minutes, his lungs screaming. Marik surfaced a few feet away.
“Where is he!?” he shouted. Marik shook his head, taking a deep breath before going under again, Bakura following seconds behind.
Marik reached out, feeling in the dark water . . . and nearly cried in relief when he felt the light cotton of a shirt brush his fingertips. Snagging a handful of the material, he swam back for the surface, hauling his burden with him. He gulped in a lung full of air, bringing Yami’s head above the surface before looking around wildly for Bakura. He saw the pale hair surface moments later.
“Bakura! I’ve got him!” he shouted. Bakura raised a hand to signal that he had heard, and they struck out for the shore, Marik dragging Yami’s body through the water carefully, making sure he kept his head above the water. Bakura was already there to help him drag Yami out of the dark liquid, Yugi standing nearby with an armful of towels as the others rushed down the pathway towards the pier.
“”Kura, he’s not breathing!” Marik cried, and then started CPR. They had a harrowing couple of moments before Yami’s breathe hitched in his chest and he coughed. Bakura quickly rolled him onto his side as he choked up water and other lake debris before falling comatose, his breathing slowly evening out.
“Is he okay?” Tristan asked, kneeling down beside the still figure and taking a towel from Yugi, briskly rubbing at the damp skin to dry it as the cool night air settled around them.
“I don’t know,” Bakura murmured, sitting back with a sigh, his own muscles shuddering as the adrenaline left his system.
“He protected us . . . even with his powers out of control, he protected us,” Yugi said, amethyst eyes glittering in the moon lit night. “Ra . . . please let him be okay.”
“Lets all get back to the house,” Joey said, an arm wrapped around Mai. “We’ll need to keep a very close eye on him. Marik, you and Bakura need to sleep. I’ll take first watch . . . Tristan can take second and Duke can take third.”
Ryou wrapped Yugi in his arms as the smaller boy shivered in shock.
“He’ll be okay, Yugi,” the white haired teen murmured, slowly leading his lover back to the hut. “You’ll see . . . he’s strong. He’ll be fine.” Duke watched until they were out of ear shot, then turned back to Marik and Bakura.
“What happened?” he asked quietly as Tristan picked Yami’s limp form up in his arms and carried it back to the house behind the younger boys.
“He woke up . . .I was in the shower. When I came into the room, he was huddled in a corner, shivering. He . . . he wouldn’t even let me touch him! He said . . . that he was ‘marked’ and that Malik would never go away,” Bakura murmured. “Marik . . . I don’t know how to handle this! I think . . . I think Malik may have broken him after all.”
Marik wrapped his arms around Bakura, letting the white haired head fall on his shoulder as Bakura shivered uncontrollably in belated reaction.
“This was just backlash,” Marik said, looking at Duke and Joey over his lover’s shaking form. “He must have kept it pent up for so long . . . that when it finally got loose, it went wild. But he regained control at the last possible moment . . . although it completely overloaded him to do so. It should be easier from here on out . . . and we’re not giving up.” Lavender eyes hardened suddenly, a look that seemed strangely out of place on the usually calm and outgoing Marik’s face. “We just have to stay by him . . . and I hope Malik rots in hell for this.”