Authoress Notes That May Be Skipped Without Great Consequence
Yami is referred to as Atemu in this story because, quite frankly, it annoys me to refer to him as Yami when there are other "Yami's" in the series. They'll still refer to each other as yami and hikari, though.
Key for Mind Links is as follows:
Yugi/Speech/
Yami/Speech/
Ryou: /Speech/
Bakura: /Speech/
Portals
/Yami…./ Yugi blinked slowly through his sleep-induced haze/Wearing a hole in the floor isn't going to solve the world's problems. Have you been up all night?/
Atemu's ears pricked at the sound of his hikari's voice. /Gomen, Yugi. Did I wake you?/
Yugi felt a wry grin tug at his lips as he softly shut his eyes again. /Hai. Well, sort of. I guess I'm worried too./ He sighed. "It's been too quiet around here lately."
Yugi felt Yami shift back into the puzzle. /The problem is larger than just that, aibou. You've felt a dark presence lingering – as have I. This does not bode well./
Yugi rolled over to face the wall. "Hai, but that doesn't mean you have to always stress over it, especially when it's so early. It'll come to us when it's ready. And we'll find a solution, just like we always do, right Yami?" He turned again to fix the puzzle with a puppy dog stare that would forcehis dark to get some rest, regardless of whether or not 5000-year-old spirits genuinely required anything of the sort.
/Hai, aibou,/ responded a now-serene Yami. He chuckled softly. /Now go back to sleep. I'm going to explore the maze again./
'The maze', as it had been so fondly deemed, was the collection of twisted stairways and corridors in the spirit's mind. It brought Atemu tranquility to wander the hallways, and if he was at peace, Yugi's peace of mind generally followed.
Yugi closed his eyes again. /Alright, just don't get lost, please. You're the only one who can avoid those traps, you realize./ he said sourly.
/Isn't that the entire point of possessing traps?/
/….Possibly./ Yugi shifted again, denying with his entire being that the sun just might be coming up over the horizon. /What do you think is coming after us this time/
/…./
"Yami?" Worried, Yugi sent a projection of himself into the puzzle, staring around him in bewilderment.
/…./
But all Yugi felt was an empty space where his darkness had been not seconds ago.
"YAMI!"
Ryou awoke with a small start. /Bakura? Did you See that?/
Cursing could be heard from within the Ring as Bakura the oh-so-graceful thief tumbled off his soul-room bed. /See what, you worthless little ahou?/
Ryou scoffed quietly. The Thief King had changed for the better since their expeditions around Egypt had begun. No longer did Ryou have to worry about being hit with knives or Shadow blasts from every direction, and Bakura's threats had diminished to just that – threats. Which were actually quite affectionate, at times.
/That woman, represented by….a glitter-ey insect? She was being chased by something…something dark./
Ryou felt the sarcasm drip along their link. /Could you be a little more vague for me, light?/
Ryou blushed softly. /I'm sorry, Bakura. I can't get much more./
Bakura, now fully awakened by curiosity, materialized out of the ring. "Alright, baka, let's see what this is all about. Clear your mind, please."
Ryou complied quickly – he had learned long ago that when Bakura dealt with his prophetic dreams, it was best to do as asked, and quickly, especially if Bakura thought it important enough to include a 'please' in his vocabulary.
The thief king gently touched Ryou's temple and, softly humming, began to search through the boy's thoughts. Flashes of light could be seen, but no more. But there was, underneath it all, a small vibration of….
"Modern magic?" Bakura whispered softly. "Maybe….but it seems to be…weakened somewhat from ours."
Ryou lifted his head as he felt Bakura's presence retreat from his mind. "Can you track the place it's coming from?"
Bakura smiled and flipped a stray lock of hair from his face. "But of course, my dear Ryou. I am the King of Thieves, am I not?" His smiled quickly morphed into a smirk, however, as he calmly stated, "And as soon as my hikari has the presence of mind to find a shirt, we can be on our way."
Ryou glanced down at his bare chest and blushed fiercely. "Right then. I'll just slip something on…."
Bakura, now well into the next room, grinned as he heard Ryou move towards the closet door.
"Bakura! What did you do! Everything's….it's all…. leatherized! You horrible little thief! Where's all my old stuff?"
'Wait for it…." Bakura told himself quietly.
"…Is that SPANDEX?"
"Damn straight," muttered a gleeful thief.
The first thingAtemu noticed was the odd pulling sensation somewhere at the back of his head. It became stronger, more insistent, and he could eventually hear….chanting? It reminded him of an odd Sci-Fi movie he and Yugi had watched – without Joey's commentary included in the background.
Then suddenly, in a swift series of jerking motions, he was transported straight through a black abyss – the Pharaoh instantly recognized the comforting feeling of the Shadow Realm around him.
Drawing the Shadows close, he waited. Resisting the Shadows when they were so insistently pulling him towards a destination could result in complications that were….rather unhealthy.
In a smooth flowing stop, the Shadows announced silently to their master that the destination had been reached. They veiled him faithfully from the view of the people below.
Atemu turned his eyes upon the scene below him, crimson eyes glowing like embers. In the middle of a forest clearing, a pack of ten men, all dressed in matching black cloaks, surrounded a broken woman crying on the ground.
"Again." A cruel, cold voice hissed from the surrounding trees. "And finish her."
The men lifted their arms simultaneously, revealing long shafts of wood, and together chanted a single word.
"Crucio!"
Screams exploded from the woman, her back arching and her body writhing from intense pain. Eventually, the screams died, but her mouth remained open, vocal cords straining to continue the sound.
The shadows writhed restlessly around Atemu, whispering that the woman did not deserve a fate such as this. Whispering words about justice, truth, and honor.
Atemu's eyes flared up, fire surrounded by eyes perfectly outlined in kohl for a truly intimidating illustration. The Pharaoh stepped out from his veil of Shadows, voice cold and deathly precise as he stated five words. "You. Will. Not. Harm. Her." The Shadows wrapped themselves around their master, feeding off his anger and power.
Atemu, feeling the Shadow's support, allowed them to quickly wash over the men in fierce wave. As it hit each man, they flinched and screamed, quickly falling to the ground, trapped in their worst memories. The Pharaoh dispassionately noticed that a few even pointed their odd sticks at him, mumbling something akin to 'Expecto Patronum'.
But the odd silver creatures that were born from the words simply turned on their masters once they were summoned.
Atemu smiled as he watched his Shadows play. For something so dark, they were quite innocent. They almost reminded him of his aibou…
Yugi. Yugi would not wish him to hurt these men. With an audible sigh and a touch of regret, he reined the Shadows back in, just as the last man fell to the ground.
/Ahou? Where, exactly, are we going again?/
Ryou sighed, rather exasperated at this point. It had been enough trouble convincing his yami that the jet was, in fact, not going to kill either of them, steal their valuables, or crash into an ocean. /England, yami, we're going to England. The spot you pointed out on the map. The one you insisted upon visiting./
/Right. Though I still don't see why you wouldn't let me move us through a Shadow Portal./ The disgruntlement was portrayed clearly through their link. /It would have been faster!/
'Not to mention more dangerous,' Ryou whispered to himself. /Are you saying you're afraid of a flying hunk of metal?/
A mental spluttering was heard. /I…what? You! Of course not!/
/That's what I thought./ Ryou radiated self-assurance as the plane glided smoothly onto the runway. Finally, he was home. No more sushi/Welcome to London, yami!/
/Focus, ahou. We're here to find something, not take a….ummm…../
/Vacation? Yes, I know, Bakura. But still….it's nice to be home./
Ryou felt a shifting from within the ring. /How rare can they make my steak?/
Smiling, he replied /So rare you can hear it moo./
/I think I'll like it here./
Any good? Horrible?
Yes, I know this was just mainly YGO characters. I promise good old YYH will come in later ones. I'm just having issues getting them all together.
This one amuses me highly enough that I think it'll keep going! YES! And actually plan to post when I'm supposed to.
Plan to, anyway.
Ja ne!