This entire fanfiction is for entertainment purposes only and is never, in anyway, official/part of the canon. I do not claim ownership over Yu-Gi-Oh! and any copyrighted property and anything else that's not mine. Yu-Gi-Oh! and any other copyrighted property and everything else that's not mine belong to their respective owners. I express my deep gratitude to the respective owners for making things I could never have done in a million years and I hope I will not be sued for being such an expressive fan.
Reality Check (Please always keep this in mind when reading every chapter of every story):Stories are just stories... they are not real and are only for your imagination so DON'T apply into reality anything unreal, wrong, stupid, dangerous, and badly prejudiced... (duh!).
Author's notes (AN): Please refer to my profile if you have any questions regarding anything about the entire story. In my profile, there are certain sections that contain more info regarding my fics (Story Infos) and the way I represent thoughts, talking, and other stuff. ('Bout My Style). If the answers are not in my profile, then send me a message...
AN: Hey ya'll. Got another one for you. This is inspired by Between the Shadows, an awesome crossover fic made by the amazing DragonDancer5150. This is sort of like...its aftermath, assuming that Yami and Yugi escaped.
But no worries. I made this one in a way that it stands on its own. This is more focused on how Yami takes all the pressure. That's right folks. This is Yami-angst. But I do advise you to read DragonDancer5150's fic. It's awesome and will make you understand why I am giving Yami this disorder. lol.
Oh, before I forget for this little ficcy:
This is present time
These are flashbacks
"These are voices from memories"
On with the fic XD
Phobia
Within a secluded cave, the Pharaoh sat up after an amazingly quiet toss and turn. There was no way he was ever going to get some rest. Not after everything that just happened. Yugi's soul was just taken away by some monster.
But it was not the first time it happened.
"did you just see that?"
" 'S hard te miss. One moment 'e was sucked in and the next 'e was spat out like boilin coffee..."
The voices of his friends echoed around him even though he was currently within his soul room. He just couldn't believe it. It worked. Ratri and Melantha's plan had actually worked. But there were still seeds of doubt. What if this was another one of Anghrist's tricks? Or maybe he was in his dreamscape?.
"Yug's unconscious..."
"Obviously you moron."
No. This was no dream. He could feel the reality of his current surroundings. He struggled to stand. But it was no use. He was too weak.
"Other me..."
From the corner of his eye he could see Yugi running towards him. If he had the strength, he would have jumped a mile in the air out of pure joy. He looked nothing like the catatonic state he had been trapped in for so long. And he could feel no negative energy coming from him. With that he smiled. His gaze softened as Yugi got down beside him, bemusing him with that look on his face.
"Other me. Are you alright? You're colder than you normally are"
His throat seized. He gazed into Yugi's eyes. They held nothing but concern. And it bemused him. He should know that it took a lot of effort to escape. The battle against Anghrist should have made him as exhausted and weakened as he was (not that he was complaining of course). He should know why he was not feeling alright. After all. He was there. And they fought Anghrist together. "You don't remember?"
And then it clicked. How could he have not seen it sooner?
Yugi tilted his head. "Remember what, other me?"
There was no need to ask any further. He could feel from their link that his Aibou had indeed forgotten what they went through. Melantha did mention something about a side effect for Yugi to return to normal. This must be said side effect. Yugi completely forgot their past situation...
But he didn't care. Anghrist was gone. They were free. Free at last. He laughed slightly. It has been a while since he felt pure joy..... Ancient gods...thank you for everything...
"Other me, are you alright?"
He chuckled lightly. "I'm fine, Aibou. I just need some... Rest... That's all..."
And for the first time since his forty years of enslavement, Yami had finally gotten a well deserved rest.
But it did not last long.
Yami heaved a trembling sigh. On that day. That very day, they overpowered their so called master. Together, they accomplished what he had been trying for so long. It had never been easy. Anghrist proved to be powerful. But they still did it. They still won.
Yugi was truly back to normal. And indeed, he could not recall a single thing from that apocalyptic experience they both endured. For that he was thankful. His precious Aibou was spared from the horrible nightmares that began plaguing him night after night...
He still could not get over what happened. The humiliation, the defilement. The degradation. All of it was eating him away. He could not help but feel so humiliated and disgusted with himself.
And what's worse, fate didn't give him a decent time to heal.
"Is that supposed to happen..."
Slowly, Yugi got to his feet from where he had been lying. He turned around. What he saw made him freeze. The tablet was encased in ice...
There was a scream...And a whole new level of trouble arrived...
There was another trap lying dormant beneath Anghrist's - The Orichalcos, Yami had learned. And from that day on, things went worse...
"This card holds more power than the three Egyptian Gods. And are as old as time itself." Gurimo hissed. "The Seal of Orichalcos" He revealed the card to the Pharaoh "The magic infused within this card existed long before the sands of Ancient Egypt were formed, Pharaoh" Gurimo continued, holding the card high above his head as a mystical wind blew. "Now experience this power for yourself" And he inserted the card in the slot.
The symbols on his disc began to glow. Clouds formed in the sky, allowing a green circle to come down upon them, trapping the two duelists.
Yami looked around him, alarmed. This could not be happening. Not another summoning circle. He couldn't be enslaved again. He looked down, eyes turning into measly pinpricks of fear. He began to tremble.
"Other me! Are you alright?"
Yugi had appeared beside him, worry apparent in his eyes. He turned to him. The last thing he wanted was to make his Aibou worry. So he mentally slapped himself. The pinpricks vanished. The trembling stopped. The confident and stoic mask was back on as always.
"I am fine Aibou..." He said quietly, glaring daggers at Gurimo. "Tell me what's going on..."
And he made sure it stayed on. For Yugi's sake. He defeated Gurimo despite the advantage the monocled man had against him. He kept his cool when Professor Hopkins and the Dark Magician girl told him about the new and obvious threat that would require his strength once more. When they got Pegasus' desperate call, when they were attacked by the bikers, when they discovered that Mai joined Doma, he kept calm and collected. Despite all the insults thrown to bring him down, he still kept himself composed.
But the fear he had buried beneath the mask of confidence, righteousness, and cool only grew, festering horribly as more and more of the pain he felt was buried. And that ultimately made the green gem glow.
"It won't work, Yugi..." Rafael sneered as he drew more cards from the effect of the Card of Sanctity Yami played.
Yami ignored him, choosing to look at his cards. But in truth, he was too frightened. His heart began to pound mercilessly. He must never allow himself to lose. If he did, he would be dominated, enslaved. He would never go through with it again.
Memories began to flash in his mind's eye. Hell Hole, The Torturian Stronghold. Lilia, Anghrist, Yugi suffering in his place. Every bit of pain was being flooded into him, driving him to the edge. He began to tremble. He couldn't take this.
In response to the negative energy he was giving off, the green gem he wore began to glow against his chest. Defiantly, he clutched it. It had been glowing a lot since the beginning of the duel. Slowly he looked at his hand. The Seal of Orichalcos was right there, taunting him. He reached for it, trembling with the intense fear of the memories and his current situation.
"NO OTHER ME"
Yami's eyes snapped open. He turned to his upraised arm to see Yugi clutching desperately it. "Aibou.."
"You musn't play the card, other me. They are only waiting for you to use that card..."
Yami frowned. "This is the only way, Aibou..." He said, looking away. He must never fail. Failure brought about pain and suffering. He could not fail. He must never fail. No matter what the costs. Wrenching his arm free from Yugi's grasp, he played the Seal.
He let out a pained whimper, keeping it low so as not to awaken Anzu. He never meant to let the Seal take Yugi's soul away. The last thing he wanted was for Yugi's soul to be held captive by another monster. Slowly, he curled up even tighter, fighting back the stubborn tears that were threatening to fall.
After Yugi's soul was taken, he began reliving the true meaning of misery.
"T-that' a lie" Rebecca gasped, trying to look into the Pharaoh's face. "Y-you. Change back into my darling right now!"
The Pharaoh's throat seized. But he mustered the courage to speak. "Rebecca." He started. "I'm sorry..." He could feel the weight of her stare upon him. So, despite the pain brought about just by having to say it, he said it again. "Aibou..." His throat seized again. The pain was just too much. His Aibou pushing him from the seal, sacrificing himself in his place was just too much to think about. But for their sake, they had to know the truth. "He...he became my substitute.."
Everyone fell in remorseful silence...
"Why?"
The Pharaoh looked away as Rebecca stepped up to him, fists clenched before her chest. "Why did you have to share my darling's body?"
That hurt. That hurt a lot
But she was not done. Pointing an accusing finger at him, she continued. "Why is it that you stayed while he was taken away?"
He kept his ground, quaking only on the inside. He barely even reacted when Rebecca began pounding his chest weakly, blaming him, demanding that he return Yugi.
000
"STOP SAYING THAT"
The next thing he knew, Jonouchi was holding him by the scruff, boring down on him. It was not the action itself that he truly feared. Rather, it was the memory that came with such an act. His eyes turned into pinpricks. He recalled the days when Anghrist would grab him like this and then...
If Jonouchi had not punched him, sending him down the ground, he would have put up a nasty struggle. The pain was just too much.
"Where's your honor as the Game King, Yugi?
He clutched the sides of his head, eyes closed, and body trembling. It was just too much. Everything was just too much.
"There was once a powerful civilization back then." The voice of Professor Hopkins echoed in his head. He moaned softly, pleading with his own mind to stop.
"Atlantis. It had a broad territory and was considered as the paradise of the world."
"I am not evil..." He whispered softly, a mantra to himself.
"Everyone thought that the peace would forever reign in it."
"That was, until a monster, brought about by an evil king destroyed the land..."
Was he the evil king who destroyed an entire civilization? Was that the reason why he was banished within the puzzle, deprived of his memories?
"Nameless Pharaoh.."
He cringed. Now it was Rafael's voice.
"There must be darkness lying inside your heart..."
"Can you say you were a good king?"
Yugi did tell him about being erased from history as a major punishment used by the ancients. He whimpered.
"You mean to tell me that the title I have given you atop the Duel Tower was taken by someone else!"
The Pharaoh kept his eyes down, unable to focus when Kaiba's bullhorn voice took its turn to torment his fragile mind.
"I think I have judged you the wrong way..." The Kaiba voice in his mind growled. "I have nothing to say to a stray dog like you!"
A dog. Anghrist called him that once. Told him that he needed to be 'trained'. He remembered the first days of his enslavement. Every mistake. Every eye contact made with his 'superior'. Every bit of movement he was not told to make. Every act of disrespect and defiance, he ended up beaten, tortured, burned, electrocuted, and even forced to watch his precious Aibou's body sliced open.
The same painful emotions slammed back into him with a two ton force. He felt twice the humiliation, twice the pain. New wounds were lashed over the still unhealed ones. What if he truly was a worthless good for evil Pharaoh? What if his mere presence was the reason why everyone he cared about suffered? What if he was meant to be nothing more than either a sacrifice, a slave, or a dangerous psycho who deserved to be locked away?
The patter of tears sounded as it landed on the cave floor and he did what he could to silence the sobs. Even though he was fighting, he could still feel himself being dominated. The people after his soul were playing him like a cat would to a mouse. They were toying with his mind and his heart. And the pain it brought was equivalent to a thousand of Lilia's 'playtime'.
He remembered the rage and pain that consumed him when he trampled Haga on their little duel. He just couldn't stop himself. It was like instinct for him to react the way he did. The way Haga taunted him with Yugi's soul reminded him of the many times Anghrist used his hold on Yugi to keep him in line. All those threats, the promise of suffering to his Aibou drove him to give in to whatever Anghrist craved.
But with Haga and to anyone else who would use his Aibou against him, it was going to be different. He wasn't going to plead. He wasn't going to submit.
He was going to fight. By any means. And so he unleashed raw untamed anger at the unsuspecting insect lover. No way will he allow himself to be dominated ever again...
Having someone hold Yugi against him the way Anghrist did was pure torture to his psyche. The painful memories and humiliation would burn him once again, shredding his already tattered pride. No. He couldn't go back to Anghrist. He would never be able to stay sane if he would.
And then there came his duel with Yugi. By the gods, he ended up fighting against the one he has sworn to protect. It hurt more than Lilia's barbed whip. It drove him to near insanity. He wanted to scream, to go down on his knees and plead with his Aibou to stop. It was pure torture. His Aibou intent on punishing him. He just couldn't deal with it. He just couldn't deal with the fact that his own Aibou would attempt to subdue him.
He wanted to give in. But he could not. Self preservation called for him to fight, to ward off any threat to his fragile mind. He can't allow himself to be subdued. He can't allow himself to be defeated. Even if it was by the hands of his Aibou.
He hated being dominated. He hated people cornering him and attempting to subdue him. He hated people using those he love to keep him in line to their personal gain. He hated it.
But more specifically, he feared it. He feared being controlled. Why can't anyone understand that? Why can't anyone see that being pushed around was slowly eating him alive? Why can't people understand that he feared being under another Anghrist?
Making sure that he wouldn't wake Anzu up, he curled up into a ball and wept. He made one mistake. And everything went for the worst. He could have prevented it. He had a choice after all. He could have chucked the card away and thought of another strategy. Yugi would never have been captured. But his fear drove him. His fear drove him to play that cursed card.
Everything was his fault. Every bit of horror they were going through was because of him. All because he let his fear take control.
AN: And there it is. Done and done. I have used various symptoms for PTSD and mixed it with the kind of personality the Pharaoh has. And this is what came out. I just gave the Pharaoh PTSD and Survival Guilt. Am I just the sweetest?