Fallen
by
xXx MissHaun†ed-MoonLigh† xXx

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Title: Fallen

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!

Rating: R

Summary: Stolen from his friends mere minutes after receiving his own body, Yami returns months later on the brink of death. With his spirit broken and his captor always lurking, the gang must free his mind from the depths of depression before it's too late. AU

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! but the Pharaoh owns me … I do own Macros, though, but you can have him if you want. He's creepy … All recognisable characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi, so send the thank-you letters to him.

Warnings: Dark! Torture, so mentions of blood, abuse, suffering … yeah, you get the picture. Read at your own peril.

Author's Notes: This is my first YGO fic, so any and all comments are appreciated. Set after Dawn of the Duel, where Yami has his own body but doesn't leave for the Afterlife, hence the 'AU'ness. Yugi possesses the Egyptian God Cards.

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"We might as well be strangers in another town
We might as well be living in another time
We might as well be strangers,
For all I know of you, now."

- Keane, 'We Might as Well Be Strangers'

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Prologue

An ear-splitting, agonising cry ripped through the sleepy silence like a gun-shot.

With mortified shrieks, a family of birds took flight in terror, soaring off into the night sky without a backwards glance as it echoed ominously around the secluded clearing. Even the hisses and crackles of a dying fire were drowned out by its intensity, and the mocking laughter of the creature standing tall, caped in blackness as it raised a blood-soaked claw to the writhing being before it, was momentarily smothered.

One long, heart-wrenching note pierced the air as said blood-soaked claw tore through damaged flesh, before it fell victim to the manic chuckles and sounds of scampering wild-life as small animals scurried away in search of shelter. His voice finally ripped away from him, Yami became eerily silent, the gentle chinking of rusted chains echoing around his pounding head, sounding its knelling call as he shuddered once, and was still.

"Had enough yet, Pharaoh?"

Yami couldn't suppress a tiny whimper of pain and his head inclined once in assent, silently pleading for it to stop.

Yet even amidst the agony, he was able to tell himself that it wasn't going to. Curse his stupid rationality. It seemed it existed to accomplish nothing but to depress him further in his darkest hour.

Which was fast beginning to become his every waking second.

Sauntering over to the fire and plucking up a glowing stone, the creature cradled it as though it were its flesh and blood, feeling the searing heat through the thick, leather gloves encasing its hands protectively, its claws poking out through the tips and glinting menacingly in the dim, earthly light of the clearing.

But the Pharaoh had no such protection.

Practically skipping back to Yami's side, the cloaked creature flashed him a manic grin, hands clasped over the red-hot stone behind its back as it bounced up and down on the balls of its feet.

"All you gotta do is tell me what I wanna know, Pharaoh," it said gleefully, eyes dancing with malice. It contemplated the trembling form of the once King of Egypt and licked its lips in delight, tracing the path of a solitary bead of blood with eager eyes as it snaked a tentative trail down Yami's exposed neck. "I already know I gots the wrong guy, so just tell me where I can find the runt and you're free to go."

Yami bit his lip and shook his head, regretting the motion a second later when the world lurched horribly, the blackness at the edges of his mind suddenly seeming irresistibly inviting.

With a mock-sigh, the creature clicked its tongue in disapproval, the harsh, clipped sound ringing in Yami's ears as he mentally willed himself to give himself up, to drift away into the darkness before the pain could start again.

But he wasn't quick enough.

The stone made scorching contact with the ashen skin of his collarbone and he screamed despairingly, no longer able to fathom what was happening.

There was nothing but heat and pain.

And a resonating, gut-twisting laugh of delight over-riding his cries.

Just when he thought he was to be forever lost to it, the pain diminished slightly as the creature pulled away, the heat lingering a moment longer, no doubt radiating from his own neck, chasing away the biting chill of the early-morning air.

"I will get what I want," the creature said happily, Yami only just managing to focus on its drawling words as the world fogged around him. "It's simply a matter of patience. And after being trapped in the Shadow Realm for nye on 5'000 years, you can bet I've got a Hell of a lot of patience."

Yami shuddered violently, then with a great effort of will, he shook his head again.

But the creature didn't like that.

Leaning in, it hissed malevolently, its forked tongue darting over parted lips as it raised a threatening claw.

"I know all about the ancient scriptures, Pharaoh," it whispered confidently. Barely listening, Yami found himself thinking about how right Yugi had been – evil psychopath murdering wannabe-world-dominators sure did like the sounds of their own voices. But wait … his captor was speaking again … what was he saying? He could barely distinguish between the words being spoken to him. Every syllable seemed to drag into the next forming one never-ending and utterly pointless word of little importance to Yami in his current predicament. He couldn't say he was all that interested in what the Beast's true intentions were. But as the searing heat slowly began to diminish and Yami's eyes dragged themselves once again into focus, he found the rest of the ramble left him with a great deal to think upon and fret over: "… About the power I'll obtain from possessing the 3 Egyptian God Cards along with the Millennium Puzzle. And I also know that I've got to win them from their previous owner … but you see, that's where the problem poses. I can't find said previous owner. So where is he, Pharaoh? Where's your Hikari, hmm?"

Yami managed a half-smile for the first time in weeks.

'You're a genius, Aibou.'

Willing his voice box to procure sound, though admittedly unable to remember exactly how he was supposed to do it, Yami looked up at last, meeting his captor's gaze with a blazing, defiant glare of his own.

"If you h-haven't found him yet," he rasped, the firelight reflected twice over in his pain-racked, crimson orbs, "I'm h-hardly going to t-tell you now, Macros."

The creature scowled, dark eyes dancing with anger and frustration as the claw he'd raised came slashing down again. The world spinning, Yami jammed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as immense pain shot like wild-fire up his right arm, another deep and bloody gash adding to the thousand and one others that maimed his body.

"Wrong answer," Macros spat savagely, pulling back and turning away. Suppressing a cry of rage, he pulled a filthy cloth from the folds of his black cloak and stomped to the other side of the clearing, wiping his claws clean and scowling in annoyance. "Guess we'll just have to try again tomorrow night, won't we?"

Then without so much as a backwards glance, Macros vanished into the undergrowth, the rustles of bushes and snapping of fallen twigs successfully disguising Yami's agonised whimpers before fading out of existence.

Silence fell like a smothering veil over the entire clearing, and only then did Yami let one single, solitary tear create its own falling path from his dulled orb, mingling with the blood from a gash on his cheek before plummeting to the crimson-stained grass beneath his broken body.

'I knew you'd keep yourself safe, Yugi,' he though dismally, falling limp in his bindings and welcoming the darkness at last, 'but I just don't know how much more of this I can take.'

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To Be Continued …

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Thanks for reading! More up soon!
Blessed Be!

Hugs,
xXx MissHaun†ed-MoonLigh† xXx