I gotta say and I very pleased with the reception this story has been getting both on FanFiction and on A03 it really make those three months of editing and block worth it :)
Dedication: To all of my reviewers! There has been a serious lack of them as of late and it really means a lot to me to everyone who's taken taken that extra step! Thank you all so much!
Disclaimer: I own everything but the characters and the songs of the Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack (Characters belong to Takehashi Songs belong to Danny Elfman and Tim Burton-all three are personal heroes who I would never steal from)
as always, read, review, critique, comment, ask questions, post theories, flames must have logical backing or they will be ignored and otherwise go nuts!
Chapter 3: The Chase
(Track—Christmas Eve Montage/Poor Jack From the Nightmare before Christmas Soundtrack and Film)
Yugi's sensitive hands and feet slapped heavily against the rough rocks. He hunched back into a spring and leapt to the far boulder. Gripping tightly with his claws, he quickly climbed up and over the crevice. He landed clumsily: for all his grace in the trees his raccoon flexibility made him awkward and gawky on the ground.
Footsteps galloped behind him. The thunder of hooves and hounds, too swift and silent to be human-bred creatures. The scrapping of claws against stone, the snapping of vicious jaws, the frustrated snarls and howls of hounds clamoring over each other, desperate in their chaise and too eager for a kill. Spurred into action, Yugi climbed to the top of the rock formation, scrutinized everything quickly and formed a plan.
He waited until they were at his heels, poised to pounce. The hounds leaped: fangs bared and claws flexed. With a fearless little leap, Yugi dropped. Sliding down the crack in the slope, ignoring the mud soaking his hands and the rough stone scrapping his feet. His claws locked, slid then stilled.
The hounds missed their prey completely. Too much power had gone into their legs and they jumped over the rocks and crashed, rolling down the stony slopes on the other side and into the rocks below. They yowled with pain and frustration. At the base of the rocky cliffs, the horses jerked on their reigns. Shrieking with whines of protest as they slid to a stop and kicked up their front legs in protests. Their riders cursed and steadied their mounts. Frustration and rage evident in their words as their path was blocked and their prey nowhere in sight.
They recalled their hounds and changed the direction of their mounts. Yugi smirked as they galloped away, staying still and hidden until the thundering of hooves and bloodlust barks were nothing more than a distant whisper.
He exhaled a breath of relief and crawled free from the crack, shaking out his hair and tail. "That was close."
The creature landed on the bounder above him with such force that the ground shook, knocking Yugi off balance and stealing all the breath in his body. His heart froze in his chest, his face lifted slowly, unwillingly to stare at the creature standing above him. This was not one of the faeries' hunting dogs: this was a wolf, massive and muscular with powerful legs and hunched shoulders and fur so black if not for the red outline of its fur he would've blended into the night itself. Everything about him spoke of power and grace and hunger and sovereignty. The wolf arched up in a swagger and when Yugi's narrowed-eyed glare met its amused eyes it did something really disturbing—it smiled.
It leapt into the night vanishing in a whirlwind of shadows and landed not five inches from Yugi's feet, but instead of a wolf the Shadow King smiled down at him, eyes bright and gleaming.
"Very," he purred, impressed. The sound low and deep and nothing like the challenging snarl Yugi had sent his way. "But not enough." He sounded almost disappointed.
He flew into the air and in a wisp of black smoke, a black hawk dived towards Yugi. To the King's surprise and amusement, Yugi did not move. He stood claws flexed at his sides, feet firm and securely in place. His glare, a narrowed unreadable gaze, never once left Atem's sharp talons.
Atem dove closer: his talons flexed and ready. Still Yugi did not move. The King's talons were upon him now, curling to enclose around his soft flesh. Then Yugi danced out of the way and struck him palms flat across the bird's breast and wing, sending it—and the reversed Shadow King—sprawling.
Quickly, Yugi jumped between the gap, again, bracing his fall with his claws and feet. Hissing as the rocks scrapped the skin of his palms. He jumped and rolled into a clumsy four-legged sprint.
The King collected himself. Yugi expected to hear snarls of aggravation and rage. Instead the King laughed: a loud, high-pitched, mad giggle that erupted into a boisterous laugh. It transformed into a delightful cackling as he transformed into a raven and flew off after his prey.
He flew in circles, spirals and aerial dips. The coon's white and red skin bright and glowing in the darkness. With a curious, cackle, the Shadow King descended on Yugi like a murder of crows.
Yugi waited until the sound was a piercing shriek in his ears and rolled to the left, spiraling sideways across the ground in a roll and the King ensnared only dirt. Yugi rolled into a crotch and changed directions, taking off for the trees. His sprint was clumsy, his longer legs and shorter arms stunting and stumbling over the other but he had teeth and claws and wits and he knew how to use them. He knew when to run away from a challenge and when to face one. When to fight and when to run. To hide. To strike from below—and that aroused a challenge in the King so fierce it all but consumed him.
This child was clever and strong. He was cunning and fierce. He was spunky and indomitable. He was not prey but a survivor—one who challenged the order and triumphed. But he was also kind in the way he treated others, never letting the harshness of his world and his life diminish the purity and integrity of his soul. There was admiration in such a strong spirit, and an almost savage beauty to him that his mud stained hands and feet, his bare arms and legs decorated with scraped and bruises and unruly mess of hair only highlighted rather than diminished.
He was everything Atem had wanted and more—and the King would be damned if he let him escape. Leaping into a sprint, he donned the swift speed and clever cunning of a fox and took off like a shot. Catching up to Yugi quickly, a plan already forming in his mind—for there was one last trick the King had never used in a hunt before, a trick that made him King in more ways than his uncountable number of shapes did.
Yugi doubled his speed. Twigs snapped, leaves crunched and dirt rustled as he tore through the clearing, relying on speed alone. The woods were achingly close yet so tantalizingly far, promising freedom the way a trap promised a free meal.
Something snapped at Yugi's feet, and Yugi almost stumbled, losing precious momentum. He gasped! He'd known the King was behind him—he could smell the thrill of the chase rolling off him in waves—but when did he get so close?
Yugi was disgusted by the fear coursing through him at that moment. He swallowed it and did a double take, forcing the fox to slide sharply in the dirt in order to change direction. Still he kept up with him. The King was swift and followed Yugi's every step with a leap.
Yugi tried to put on another burst of speed but failed and a half-exhausted half-fearful yelp tore out of his throat. His lungs constricted painfully from the extended run, unused to such exhausting speed for so long. His legs were numb and his arms screamed at him to stop. Too late he realized his change in direction had led him astray from his destination, his focus having been entirely on running and not where he was going. The woods were adjacent to him now, he curled left ready to redirect his course—
And was blindsided by an enormous black lion's paw connected to the body of a fox. Yugi screamed. His feet were swept out from under him sending him spiraling. He crashed and rolled. His exhausted limbs landing painfully against the hard ground and his vision whirled. Overcome with dizziness, he struggled to his feet and braced to run but was cornered once again by the King. He'd traded his fox form for that of a wolf, the form leveling its gaze with Yugi, who hadn't failed to notice the lustful gleaming in those eyes nor the curl in his smirk.
Yugi rolled onto his hands and feet, spine arched like a cat's, teeth bared in a challenging hiss and claws flexed to strike and bite. A thrill galvanized Atem's spine. Even when he knows he's caught, he fights. It made him shudder. He smirked and shifted only slightly, waiting. Yugi struck blindly, hissing and made a rash leap to escape—only to be struck hard and forcibly pushed onto his back, robbing him of breath. His chest and hips pinned at once and his wrists pinned level with his head by clawed hands. Yugi yowled and struggled but the grip upon his wrists and limbs was too strong. He steadied when his wrists were squeezed painfully.
Yugi's glare intensified. The creature above him wore the mask of the fae: ethereal and hauntingly beautiful and doing nothing to hide the playful, casual cruelty of all his kind. And this was there King.
His smile curled at the corners: red eyes bright and blazing with triumph and a mad delight, and a lustful tongue licked his lips revealing fangs. "Magnificent!" He praised, awed. His words all breath. "You were the most spectacular hunt I've ever encountered. Such a raw wit, such talented tricks, such a passion for survival." He breathed managing to sound starved and satisfied all at once. He leaned closer until their foreheads were pressed together and whispered, purring in Yugi's ear when the smaller turned his head away in disgust. "Never have I been so satisfied with my victory. Never have I known such challenge…" he trailed off.
Yugi shot back to glare at him, hissing and refusing to bare his throat. This creature would get no submission from him.
Then Yugi smirked.
"Go ahead," he spat vicious with victory. "Kill me, Shadow King. Claim your prey and take your prize. I may have failed to escape you but the others didn't. My life is a small price to pay for their freedom."
Something about the confidence in that statement, about how little Yugi considered his own life infuriated him. The way his pride and willingness to risk and even sacrifice it for others enthralled him. Such a beautiful, noble creature…
All at once the King recognized the hungry, possessive excitement that crashed over his thirst for the hunt. This was not the thrill of the chase, no simple desire to chase and capture nor was it the lust and excitement that came from the hunt, and sedated with the triumph of the catch. Nor was it the desperation for a challenge the King craved every year. No, this was stronger, fiercer, more primal and personal, and far more unquenchable.
This hunger…this desire…this need to capture, to hold, to have, to chase, to catch, to claim over and over and over until his very spirit abandoned his body, this…this was arousal. And this hunger would not be satisfied until he'd claimed this beautiful, magical, fiery little creature beneath him, body and soul.
The King smirked. "I am not going to kill you." He said, grin widening at the shocked bewilderment on Yugi's face. All earlier confidence and triumph gone from his expression.
"This night is about the Hunt, not the blood that is spilled. The catch and capture is all the gratification we need, not the red equivalency that is the way of our Earth Mother. It is she who orders Death and Decay, we simply relish in her choice" he explained calmly, his half-starved voice sounding hungrier and hungrier by the second. "And you," he praised staring Yugi dead in the eyes: blazing passionate fire burning fiercely into bemused amethyst and he could hear the younger's heart rapidly pound. "Have provided me with a challenge far superior than I have had in years." The emphasis of the word was a mere shadow of how long it had truly been. "And such a talent deserves only the highest of rewards."
Without warning, he yanked Yugi off the ground and pulled him into his arms, carrying him like a bride, rather than a prize. Yugi thrashed and squirmed but the King caught his flaying limbs and held them tight while the other hissed and threatened.
Then the King started walking back to the clearing where a circle of stallions and hounds all mounted with knights glad in armor were patiently waiting. Yugi froze in an instant when he saw what exactly they surrounded: the children, the other captives, all of them who he'd freed and urged to run while he stalled for time, all of them were there, looking broken and defeated and all on the brink of terrified tears. The faeries above them gave triumphant cheers as their King returned with the last of their game.
"Well done!" The King's voice boomed, then all was silent. "Have they all been captured?" he asked his generals.
"All of them!" Bakura nodded, eyes still bright and wild. "They got pretty far! Almost made it."
"Indeed! That was the finest hunt we've had in seasons," Otogi agreed.
"Yes," The King nodded, radiating a passion and pleasure his men and kindred had not seen of him in ages. "And it's all thanks to this little one," he praised, but Yugi hadn't heard him. His eyes were locked on the children, the captives he thought he'd freed. He'd bragged that he'd freed, and yet here they all were. He struck him instantly that they never had a chance of escaping. This had been their real game—and they lost.
Yugi's whole body shuddered, broken with defeat and wetness stung his eyes as he broke down in the King's arms before he could stop himself.
"There, there now, little one," The King's voice was surprisingly soothing. "There is no need to weep. Your friends are all well. As I said, it is the chase we enjoy, not the kill. We are not beasts." It did little to comfort him, so the King shifted his hold, and set Yugi down against a nearby rock, his body too weak and devastated to run.
The King turned back to his captives, took a single step and then swooped down into an elegant bow. He dipped so low the tips of his bangs brushed the ground. "My dear, honored quests." He favored each captive with a look and an address, his tone pleasant and polite. "You have done us all a great honor this night and provided us with a Hunt far more spectacular than we could have ever have hoped for and for that you have not only our deepest gratitude but our esteemed honor as well." The royal plural suddenly made him sound elegant, regal even, but Yugi didn't trust it.
"However, you are all here because you trespassed on the hallowed places on this sacred night when such things are forbidden in our world as well as yours. For that, you have done a great wrong, but you have served that debt, and we hereby pardon you all for that transgression." He bowed again and this time all of them—even Yugi—looked up at him curious and bewildered.
"As a reward for such wonderful sport," the King began. "The majority of you will be returned to your mortal world in the same place that you were taken, your memories spelled and you will be convinced all was but a disturbing dream." A rush of relief so strong and forceful it nearly made them all sick swept through the crowd.
Then the King's eyes darkened. "But let it also be a warning not to transgress on our lands again." He was firm in the declaration but there was also fairness. Everyone nodded.
"And for the minority of you…" he added with a swift smirk. "Those who have proven themselves more capable than most, and more valuable to us than to your mortal kindred, you shall remain here," he opened his arms in a gracious welcome. "And received all the blessings of a member of my court." There was a few raised eyebrows and gasps of surprise and a few murmurs but otherwise no one spoke. "Those few of you have already been chosen," the King smiled. "For I've seen all and know all from my men and my lands, and I assure you, you will be secure under my protection and well pampered under the care of my many courtiers." Then he spun and his eyes suddenly fell on Yugi.
"And you, my precious one, who was the architect of this magnificent night, will be given the greatest gift of all…" He let those words hang in the air like brilliant glowing fireflies trapped in mason jars.
His courtiers all looked surprised, unused to the glitter that flickered unabashed in the King's eyes. Yugi shuddered. He did not like that look in the King's eyes.
"You, little one," he purred bowing down to meet Yugi's gaze. Yugi looked at him with all the uneasiness of a frightened kitten staring up at a large dog. "You, will remain forever at my side, and right-hand…"
A deliberate pause and Yugi's eyes bulged with understanding.
Atem smirked. "As my Consort."
Yugi's heart dropped into his stomach. Subconsciously, he shook his head. Atem's smirk did not falter. His eyes flickered with amusement. He rose a hand and curled his forefinger towards him. Yugi shook his head again and tried to scramble backwards but the rock stopped him. Vaguely, he wondered if the Shadow King had done that on purpose. The King let out a sigh and stepped towards him but Yugi bolted up and shook his head. The King curled his fingers again motioning to come, again Yugi shook his head and stepped away but the King matched his retreat step for step.
Eventually, the King grew tired of their game and motioned to move left. His plan worked and Yugi sprang right. Too late he realized his mistake when the King doubled back and he landed right in the man's arms. Yugi screeched and hissed, clawing and scrambling to get away but the King's hold was like iron. In an act of fear and desperation Yugi bit hard into the King's arms. He winced when Yugi's raccoon fangs pierced the skin of his arm, but shook him off easily.
"None of that now, little one," he playfully scolded, grabbing Yugi's flailing fists and crushed him to his chest. Yugi just hissed though his eyes looked like he was about to break, the sudden situation overwhelming him. Atem frowned, sympathetically and wanting nothing more than to banish the fear from his new lover's face, but crushed the guilt forming there. He would show the little one the joys of his new position soon enough.
Behind him Bakura and Otogi, dismounted their steads and snickered.
"I don't think he likes you, Atem," Bakura chortled in amusement.
Atem only snorted.
"You know," Otogi suggested. "We could always make him more compliant for you?" They snickered like bachelors discussing their latest conquests. Yugi heard it too, and something about it terrified him in a way Atem didn't like.
Atem's head snapped over his shoulder and barked. "Enough of that! What would Ryou think hearing you speak such nonsense," he retorted so harsh they both stopped. Then a cruel smile slit his face. "What would Tea think?"
Fear suddenly filled their eyes. Bakura glared ready to protest, but Atem's smirk confirmed the threat was no mean words, and bit his tongue.
With a victorious smirk, the King commanded. "See to our new guests, and see that they are all returned to their proper homes and places safely and with care."
Only when they nodded obediently did he turn back to Yugi smiling. "I will see to my mate."
It wasn't the word that made Yugi gulp. It was the hungry leer in the King's eyes.
"Now then," The King purred. "Let's see if some soap, water, and fresh lacings will tame you, my little savage."
Yugi definitely did not like that look.
I love that last line!
Ironically, the original song for this chapter was To The Rescue from the NBC soundtrack, but halfway through writing the second part I realized it fit the next chapter better and while editing this one i found the Fast pase of the Christmas Eve Montage fit the chase scene while Poor Jack fit Yugi's depressed state as well as Atem's complete and total jubilation and inspiration after such an intense hunt,,,interesting how that all worked out.
I had tons of fun writing this scene! it was especially tricky because Yugi is a raccoon and while they're swift tree climbers, very dexterous and clever, they're clumsy runners so it was clear whatever escape methods Yugi attempted, he couldn't outrun Atem, but it was a TON of fun having him outsmart him-especially since that only seemed to make Atem want him more ;)