Tearing Pieces from the Dark

See part one for details.

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The Pharaoh continued to pace in his small enclosure. The room was cement, with no furniture or windows and a single, bright fluorescent bulb buzzing on the ceiling. The only break from the grey stone and shadows hiding in the corners was the plain yellow door.

Yami's shoulders were bruised from throwing his weight against the door in an effort to break it open. He would have attempted picking the lock if he had any clothing to do so with, he would even have attempted to pry the hinges off with his fingernails except they were on the other side of the closed door. After several dozen unsuccessful attempts at jumping up to grab the fluorescent bulb in hopes of using it as a weapon all he could do was pace angrily.

He was enraged at the confinement, though the true core of the anger was feeding directly from his fear of how his aibou was. Yami was severed completely from the little one. He tried repeatedly to go through their link but was being blocked. He didn't know if the little hakari was alive, dead or somewhere in between. He had no idea if he was being harmed further or helped at all.

Considering the nature of their abductor, Yami suspected Yugi to be in exactly the same state that he had been when last his eyes were on the little light, if not worse. He also believed firmly that he would know if Yugi was dead, that he would feel it somehow even with the link severed. So, he would presume the little one still breathed until he was proven otherwise. And if Yugi still lived, it was his responsibility to get him away from this nightmare before any further harm came to him by any means necessary.

Yami momentarily halted his stalking as a sound beyond his prison captured his attention. Footsteps approached in a confident, rhythmic stride. These feet stopped just outside of the doorway. There was a moment of rustling motion, and then the unmistakable sound of metal mechanisms as the locks released was heard. The door proceeded to fly open and crash nst nst the wall causing the Pharaoh to lurch in surprise in spite of himself.

The door framed his captor, one hand splayed against the yellow door. The other carrying a bundle to his side. The man stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him wearing a cocky grin. The captor tossed the bundle carelessly at the Pharaoh's feet and leaned nst nst the wall with his hands pocketed. His strange eyes raking over the bronzed lean body bared and tensed with divine rage before him.

Yami stood defiantly in the room's center, his body language stubborn and aggressive. He felt the bundle brush against his feet as it came to rest there with a dull clink. "Where is my hakari?" his deep, resonate voice demanded.

Apophis chuckled, a dark serpentine sound in his throat. "Always with what is yours and your own hmm? The self-centered, spoiled Pharaoh still."

Yami's fists clenched as he folded his arms against his toned chest. The line of his jaw was hard and the crimson of his eyes raw with hatred. He refused to play with this fiend unless the rules were laid out fairly and Yugi was out of game bounds. "Who are you and what do you want with me? Why bring Yugi into this?"

"Who I am should be obvious enough. What I want is your abilities, your powers and those of the others in these delightful millennium itemoughough for the moment I would settle on you getting dressed. In all honesty I don't mind watching you flaunt your body…" the strange eyes moved from Yami's face down to his feet and back up again in a manner that left the Pharaoh feeling as though he had just been violated. "But, I would prefer presenting you to the world clothed. As you might frighten the children with that." He gestured to Yami's groin while maintaining eye contact. "If you're a good yami and get dressed, I will let you visit your little friend for a time."

Yami glared with crimson sparks roaring in the spirals of loathing in his eyes at the man before him, uncaring of his nudity, his pride remaining stalwart even in this awkward situation. "Tell me your name you lowly knave," the game Lord growled.

A slow, mirthless smile spread over the lips of the powerful man before him. Strong fingers reached up and caressed the edges of the millennium puzzle sending a surge of dark power through Yami's spine. The Pharaoh shivered slightly in spite of himself at the sensation that such a potent force emanating from this stranger caused in him. This man was extremely powerful and dangerous with a familiarity and intimacy of the shadow realm that disturbed the Pharaoh.

Without warning the flash of a serpent's eye torn through the link from the puzzle and radiated through Yami's consciousness. The Pharaoh cried out in surprise and raised his arms defensively falling back against a wall as the image blocked out the rest of the room. The pure consuming chaos and malice of the beacon caused fear to widen his features. A second later the image was gone and Yami was left gasping for air and forcing to still his hammering heart. "Apophis…" a stunned whisper topples from his lips.

"Indeed. You have…three minutes to get dressed, if you fail to I will take it that you don't care to see your useless Hakari ever again. Three minutes starting…" he glanced at his wrist watch. "Now."

Yami remained as he was for a full minute in a complete shocked daze attempting to understand the situation he was facing. The words Apophis spoke sunk into him and spurred him to his feet and the room's center. He picked up the clothing only to go wide-eyed in surprise to find what it was he was supposed to wear. The clothing style was that of his position in Egypt. Familiar with the garb he fastened theoratorated and beaded collar over his throat and shoulders as he slipped his feet into the hard sandals. He swiftly warped the gauzy white linen kilt low around his hips and held it in place with a low leather belt. Then placed the glittering ankh armband and the gold circlet with the symbol of Horus upon his brow.

"Ah, far more suiting to be in linen and gold than cold imitation leather, wouldn't you agree?" Apophis smirked as he leaned casually against the wall, ankles crossed and fingers steepled over the millennium puzzle.

Yami regarded the other across the room. Reassessing his opponent's strengths and gauging him anew. His facial features revealing nothing of his thoughts save for the red rage of his irises. "The clothing means nothing to me, I'm still the same person beneath whatever you fancy to cover me with."

Apophis lightly fingered the puzzle hanging from his neck. "…indeed." Languidly he removed his weight from the wall and turned his back on the Pharaoh. "I promised you a bit of time with your obsolete accessory now didn't I? I suppose it only right to follow through on that. Come now Pharaoh. Follow your Master." He smirked coldly as he strode through the doorway.

Yami growled unhappily at the abomination's back as pieces of memories from his life came back to him. He had no idea where Yugi was or he would have attempted an escape. But since their link was severed he was forced to pursue Apophis' lead.

As the puzzle spirit walked the stagnant hallways lit by the sickly light of fluorescent bulbs his memory worked frantically. He tried to place the pieces of his shattered images together to give him an accurate picture of what he dealt with now. It was like trying to glue bits of a broken vase back together after seeing it smash across a tiled floor. The pieces were fragile and cracked, refusing to ever fit back together evenly again. There would always be fragments missing. It was best just to melt it down and start over…but these damned images that were engraved into the vase kept showing themselves. Forcing Yami to work on putting the little pieces back.

Anyone who said he didn't understand the Mind Crush was sorely mistaken.

Apophis had been a powerful mage…an enemy of Yami's father. He brought a pestilence and famine to the people of Egypt…there was war and much death…he had controlled the darkness…a master of shadow magics. After Yami had ascended to Pharaoh, he and Seth had come up with a plan. For the life of him Yami couldn't remember what it was. Somehow they succeeded in it though and the end result was that Apophis was trapped away and sealed living into a common tomb and left there. At least he thought he was.

Whether this was his reincarnation or whether he had used his shadow powers to gain immortality the Yami was not certain.

Their footsteps echoed in he silent corridors lined with locked windowless doors. A maze of white and grey under ill lights. After a time their footsteps became one.

//How quaint. You remember me.//

The mind-link to Yami caused him to lurch in surprise and snap back to Apophis with his own voiced thoughts, //Stay out of my mind fiend.//

A smile curved the tall man's lips as his strange eyes glanced back over his shoulder to Yami. //I'm your master and will do as I please. I own you Pharaoh. My darkness will consume and use your own for its own ends. A pity you can't remember the most important bit of our history. Remind me to tell you later. It's rather fascinating.//

"I don't care to hear anything you'd have to tell me Apophis," the lean tri-haired man growled.

//Your loss, though secretly I know you're eager to it it as well…we are linked Pharaoh, no secrets from me.// Apophis turned down another hallway.

Yami clenched his hands into fists at his side, his entire stance one of anger as he walked behind the other man. It was true that he was curious, but he refused to admit that to this creature.

Apophis moved fluidly and slowly in his walk. Hiding the true power and speed that his body possessed from the casual viewer. But now they were connected Yami could feel the physical power and sheer frightening capabilities this one had with the shadow realm. Not only did he control such powers and existed from them much like the yami's. Only the yami's had been born of the light and humanity. They had come to the darkness and harnessed it to their will. While Apophis was the dark…the shadow wasn't doing what he desired…he did as the shadow desired. A small difference perhaps, but one that made a vast variance in things. The spirits of the millennium s has had human hearts and frailties they were prone to love and sorrow. Apophis was beyond such things, his drives were for chaos and fear.

//Here we are.// The man reached out a long arm and opened a door. Yami trailed him into the room beyond to find it pitch black. He squinted his eyes with no effect. A click was heard and a bright overhead spotlight was thrown on in the center of the large cement room. Yami blinked repetitively as he took in the sheer size of the chamber and the scene that light revealed.

The light was only bright enough to illuminate the cage below it and left the walls and corners of the chamber in pitch-blackness. In the center of the cage, sprawled haphazardly on the ground, lay a small figure with pale skin and tri-colored hair. The youth was in tatters that were covered in his own spilt and dried blood. He was completely still.

"Yugi!" Yami cried out and ran towards the cage fearfully.

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Random thought: Yugi m Gam Games, Yami is the King of Games…why does this give me slashy slave/master thoughts? *Pause* never mind, pretty much everything gives me slashy thoughts -.-

Anyway,

Thank you for reviewing ShadowDove ^.^

*Hugs the plushies sent by Sansi* ^.^

Sorry I couldn't update sooner, soultaker, I'm not a quick updater, it's often weeks between posts.

I've been reading fanfictions and getting a better idea of the jist of things. Though I should really get my hands on more eps or the manga.