Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or anything you recognize.
(please review content warnings, as they have been updated)
Thank you all so much for your patience. I decided to post this a little earlier than I anticipated. I figured, I can either sit on this FOREVER and keep obsessing over small edits... or just post and let it go. The important thing is keeping the story going. So, here you go :-)
THIS IS A DARK CHAPTER. That's not the first time I've said that. But I mean it. This is heavy. I literally cried typing out one of these scenes. You have been warned. But hey, you made it this far, right?
Thanks for waiting. I hope this is worth it.
xo ALG
Edit: There IS an edit due to a canon continuity error, pointed out by a couple reviewers (thanks for the catch!). I had to alter a few details from the canon to make it work. I hope it doesn't detract from the story.
Vices
PART IV: Complicit
11:58pm
The pharaoh stared grimly at the numbers on the digital clock on his nightstand, glaring a bright green in the dark room. He fiddled with the fabric of his white sleepshirt, where the edge of the Millennium Puzzle usually weighed against his torso. While manifested in the physical realm, he'd never been without it. The lack of its presence was disorienting, as he was conditioned to expect the gentle tapping against his ribs whenever he moved. He was anxious to hold it in his hands, to wear it once again, even if he had to relinquish it back into Téa's custody before leaving. He needed something familiar in this unfamiliar place, something that made him feel in control, protected, untouchable.
11:59pm
Taking a deep breath, Yami rose and exited the room, moving slowly as to not make a sound with the door. He headed up the staircase at the end of the hall to the third floor. The dorm facility was deadly quiet, save for the chorus of crickets piercing through the walls and windows, and the careful but still-resonant steps of his slippers. He ascended the staircase to the third floor, where a long hall of doors stretched down in front of him. Soft moonlight from the south-facing windows bounced off the polished tile floor, giving just enough light to reveal the bare, undecorated walls and doors. Not a single potted plant, painting, or item of décor in sight. It looked like something between a hotel and a high-end medical suite.
[ 30 ]
[ 31 ]
[ 32 ]
[ 33 ]
Yami drew out his breath as he slowly made his way down, seeing his shadow pass over each door he crossed from the corner of his eye. Everything around him was nudging at his senses, telling him to extract Téa from her room and make a run for it. She was quite emphatic on him avoiding being caught, yet reluctant when he insisted they leave right away. Téa was putting on a performance, and not the kind that involved dancing onstage—she was dancing on glass. She plastered on a smile when she knew she was being watched, and it always fell to concern and discomfort at any moment of privacy between them. She seemed to know something he didn't, and while he needed to know what it was, part of him was dreading to find out.
Finally, he came upon Téa's door.
[ 36 ]
He pushed down the brass handle and carefully opened the door. In the dark, tidy room, he saw Téa, dressed in a teal green robe, sitting at the edge of her bed facing the door. Her face was blank, clean of any trace of emotion—Yami had never seen her like that, having always been reasonably able to read her emotional state. He closed and locked the door behind him as quietly as possible, and turned around only to be bumped backwards by Téa rushing into his arms. Not expecting this, Yami braced his right leg back to steady them, and let his hands fall onto her back. She was trembling against him.
"Téa?" Yami whispered to her.
Her first response was her arms wrapping tighter around him. "Sorry I'm so sorry…" Téa's soft apologetic murmurs were muffled by his shoulder, and he could feel dampness on his shirt—tears.
"What's wrong, Téa? Are you alright?"
Téa lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. These weren't tears of sadness, or joy. The tears sitting on Téa's thick eyelashes were a side-effect of something else—fear, desperation, or relief, he couldn't be sure. One of her hands released his back to wipe at her eyes.
"Sorry, I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I was so afraid, I… thought… that… that you maybe… that I…"
Yami was growing more curious, and concerned, by her behavior. Téa was usually very sure of herself, well-spoken, and wasn't afraid to speak her mind when she deemed it necessary. Upon his arrival, however, she could barely get a word out, and she was shaking like a leaf.
"Téa," he tried again, his hands sliding up to her shoulders. "What's the matter?"
Téa released him, and stepped back a pace or two. Her face darkened and her jaw tensed. With shaking fingers, she rolled back her left sleeve. The light from her window was dim, but Yami saw what he needed to see—marks. Red lines, partially scabbed, cut across her wrist and on the inside of her forearm.
Yami gasped at the sight. He took her hand in his, and his other hand supported her forearm from underneath, bringing it closer to his face. He studied the scrapes on the pink skin, speechless, already feeling the anger budding in his chest. Téa withdrew her arm from his hold and hid it in her sleeve, turning slightly away from him in shame.
"Who did this to you?" Yami asked, seething.
Téa's lip trembled as she opened her mouth. "Gale," she whispered, sniffling.
Yami's eyes widened in disbelief. "Gale?" he asked incredulously. "She did this to you?"
She held a finger to her lips in a silencing manner before answering. "Well, some stocky guy who works for her did, technically. But Gale gave the command."
"What happened?" Yami asked in a hushed, urgent tone. "Tell me what happened. Please."
Téa beckoned him away from the door with her hand, and they sat beside each other at the foot of the bed. "Well, last night, someone caught me outside the building after curfew. The next thing I knew, I was being hauled into this room in the back of the sanctuary by two guys I'd never seen before. It looked like an office of some sort. The guys sat me down at the desk, and Gale was sitting behind it. She had a big smile on her face, and it just seemed like one big misunderstanding that would be easy to fix, ya know? She greeted me, and asked me how I was doing. I thought it was a weird question, since it was like two in the morning. I made a small joke, something like 'fine, probably supposed to be sleeping right now, right?' or whatever.
Then she showed me a picture on the desk—her as a little girl, with Galina Ulanova, one of my favorite ballerinas of all time. It was at a show of the 'Romeo and Juliet' ballet in London, dated 1956."
"Your friend Yugi mentioned at dinner that you're a dancer," said Gale as she handed the framed photograph to Téa for her to hold.
"Oh, well I guess he's partially right," Téa responded, blushing. "I want to be a dancer someday. I've been taking classes and looking into college programs, but I still have a long way to go."
"For ballet, I recall?"
"Yes ma'am," she confirmed. She looked down at the photograph, its colors washed out and faded with age. Young Gale, with tight brunette curls and a shy smile, stood beside tall and stunning forty-six-year-old Galina Ulanova in her 'Juliet' white deathbed gown, on the side of the Covent Garden Stage.
"I'll never forget that night," Gale said, tilting her head up thoughtfully. "My goodness, what an incredible performance. Ms. Ulanova was so beautiful, so graceful… an absolute angel."
"I'm sure she was," Téa said dreamily. "I have to admit, I'm a little jealous you got to see her before she died. And you even got a picture with her!"
"Be careful with jealousy, young lady," she warned with a wagging finger, "it veers too close to envy, and to envy is to sin." Her features softened slightly. "But, I do understand. I was very fortunate to experience that. My grandfather was the only one in the family who had a color camera, and he wouldn't let us leave without getting a photograph with her."
Téa's shoulders tensed. "That's when she changed," she told Yami. "She started questioning me. Asking me why I was out past curfew… apparently, that's strictly forbidden, and she lectured me about the rules of curfew like she was angry at me or something. I kept apologizing but she was persistent."
She continued with a wobbly voice, "So, they brought out this stick-looking thing out of the desk drawer. It was about this long"—she held her hands about three feet apart—"and made of some kind of flexible wood."
Yami's fists tightened on the blanket. He had an idea where this was going.
"Then Gale asked me to stand. I did, and then she looked me in the eye and said, 'so soon after you arrive here, you eat our food, wear our clothes, sleep in our bed with our roof over your head… and you're already romping around this place at any hour you please? Rambunctious girl you are… how can you ever become a prima ballerina if you're getting into so much trouble?' like she was my mother or something. She told me that, because it was my first punishment, the Great One will show mercy and cut the penalty in half, so long that I beg His forgiveness with an open heart."
"Penalty…" Yami echoed ponderously.
"Yeah," Téa confirmed, "I expected maybe kitchen duty, or laundry or something like that. Apparently… my 'half penalty' for my rule-breaking, which included being out past curfew and being uncooperative in an interrogation, is ten strokes, normally twenty." She looked away from him, holding her injured forearm protectively in her lap. "One of the men restrained me, while the other held my arm in place, with the cane in his other hand. Gale gave the order, and just… left the room. And the guy just…" she grimaced, "he… hit my arm real hard, ten times, all while telling me to beg the 'Great One' for forgiveness."
Yami growled. "That's sick. How dare they…"
"I was so terrified I finally caved towards the end and said whatever I could come up with to appease them," Téa admitted tearfully. "It hurt, but not as much as the shame I felt afterwards. I felt so humiliated, like I was a criminal or something." She shook her head. "They let me go, gave me an ice pack, and shoved me out the door. Gale was waiting for me, with this huge smile on her face, and proudly told me that the Great One was merciful on me, and that I should be getting off to bed. All of a sudden she was acting like she was at my graduation or something. And then as I was leaving, she was like, 'good night dear, I'll see you tomorrow morning at the service, we shall begin anew!' like I wasn't just horrifically abused seconds ago."
Yami sat in silence, processing the information he was just given. This must've been what he was sensing all along—a peek at Church Leviathan behind closed doors.
"Téa…" he breathed. "I'm so sorry you went through that. That is unacceptable."
Téa nodded in acknowledgement, but stayed silent with a somber frown.
"May I ask what you were doing out of the building?"
"Well, I was actually hiding your Puzzle," answered Téa.
"Oh," said Yami, perplexed. "Why hide it out there?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. I just didn't feel that it was safe in either of our rooms. Call it a gut feeling."
"You said two in the morning…" Yami murmured, "that's around when I had come back to my room last night."
Confused, Téa tilted her head. "Huh? You were out, too?"
Yami nodded. "Yes, I had gone outside, into the forest for a while. I needed to think."
"Oh. And you didn't get caught?"
He shook his head. "No. Because you were, instead. You took punishment that I should've received."
"We were both guilty of breaking the rules, Yami."
"Yes, but while you were trying to save us both, I was…" he scoffed at himself, "just screwing around again. Doing nothing useful. If it had to be one of us dealing with the consequences, it should've been me."
It should've been me, not him! It just isn't fair! Yugi… come back!
Yami stood, and grabbed Téa by the hand. "Get dressed," he told her. "After we retrieve the Puzzle, we're getting out of here."
"We can't," Téa objected, taking her hand back.
"Why not?" Yami demanded, almost too loudly. "After how they treated you, you're insisting we stay?"
Téa drew in a breath. "Haven't you heard what they're saying, about how Dartz's men have spotted the 'pharaoh and his hostage' at the Village of Sun?"
Yami looked up, remembering what Carter had told him the previous night. "It has been mentioned it to me, yes."
"Well," she continued, "at the service this morning, Anthea told me that 'Prophet Dartz' had sent more reinforcements out here. The Village of Sun and the surrounding area is swarming with soldiers and Dartz's henchmen right now, looking for us."
"We can take them," Yami insisted. "We have to."
"No, we can't take them," Téa argued. "You do remember what happened last time, don't you?"
Yami inhaled sharply. "I… haven't forgotten."
"Dakotah almost killed you, and—"
"I said I remember," Yami snapped through clenched teeth.
"Then you know why we can't just charge into enemy territory," she bit back. "We'd lose."
"We'd win," Yami countered.
"Oh?" Téa challenged. "Does that mean you are confident that Timaeus will help you again? Are you telling me that the Seal of Orichalcos is out of your heart… for good?"
"Yes," he affirmed.
She raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Really? Swear it to me then. Show me that you're absolutely certain the Seal will not influence you again, and that we won't have a repeat of your duel with Weevil, or the Village of Sun. If you can convince me, then I'll show you where the Puzzle is, and we can leave tonight." She pressed her lips together. "Just… remember that I'd be putting my full trust in you, and if we lose, we're both as good as dead. Not to mention what happens after that. Keep in mind what you're risking in this gamble."
Yami's eyes wandered to the wall beside him, his features tensed in doubt. It was uncanny, how well Téa could see right through him. "Then we just stay here?" he asked, "and hide while they're beating you into submission?"
She cringed, then shook it off. "We have no choice. At least until we figure out an escape plan…" she trailed off.
Yami observed her expression change. "There's something else, isn't there?"
Téa cleared her throat. "It's Anthea."
"What about her?"
"She brought us here," she explained, "therefore, she recruited us, technically. Think about what would happen if they found out you're the one they're after."
"She didn't do anything wrong," Yami defended.
"It's not what she did, it's what she didn't do," argued Téa. "She recruited us fully knowing who you are, remember?"
Yami paused to think, and looked up as the pieces came together. "She didn't turn me in."
"Exactly," Téa replied. "She took a huge risk telling us what she did." She held out her left arm again. "If this is just for being out past curfew, can you imagine what the punishment is for being complicit in the 'Nameless Pharaoh' eluding the Leviathan's judgement?"
"The Leviathan's judgement?" Yami echoed. He looked at her, his brow cinching in the middle. "Téa… you're starting to sound like you…" his breath hitched, "…like you believe what they say about me."
"I don't," Téa denied.
"You can't," he insisted, taking a step back. "You can't believe them, Téa, they're deceiving you—"
"I already said I don't," she assured. "I'm just saying that's how they see it."
"They are liars!" he whispered harshly, causing Téa to hold up her hand to calm him. "You can't ever believe them, you can't believe the lies they're telling you—"
"Stop it," Téa ordered, and Yami froze in his panic. "Sit down and get ahold of yourself, please. Let's not go down this road again."
After a tense few moments, Yami complied. He closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. When he opened his eyes again, Téa was beside him, watching him worriedly. "Yami… do you believe them?"
"Of course not," he answered weakly, averting his gaze away from hers. When Téa didn't respond, he admitted, "I just… can't disprove it." He stared blankly ahead of him, and shook his head. "I have nothing."
"You have your heart," Téa offered, "and all the good things you've done with it."
"It's not enough," Yami argued.
"You have the promise you made to me," she added, "at the river. You swore you'd take my word for it. What good is the promise if you're not going to keep it?"
"Téa…" Yami sighed. His chest tightened just thinking of his next words. "Do you remember the escaped prisoner, at the restaurant you worked in?"
She reared back in surprise. "Oh, you mean the one who blindfolded me and held a gun to my head? Yeah, I remember him. What about him?"
"Well… do you know what happened to him?"
"I heard he was killed in the restaurant," Téa recalled. "But that's all I know."
Yami paused. "So you don't know."
"Obviously I couldn't see anything, but I know that he lost the game you played with him. But aside from that, no. I was hauled out of the area before I could see anything. I just assumed he was killed while the police were trying to get him into custody or something."
In the darkness of her blindfold, Téa felt a hand tug her own, and heard a smooth voice in her ear beckoning her. "Come with me, Téa."
It was strange. Now that she could hear it so closely, the voice almost sounded like Yugi's, and yet... it resonated differently, and carried such edge and confidence that she hadn't heard before. Something about it comforted her, tempered her fears, made her feel safe.
As Téa was ushered away, the hand that held hers vanished. She took off her blindfold, and her eyes were assaulted by the brightness of the sun. The police and paramedics had already arrived, some of which were coming to her aid. Someone draped a blanket over her shoulders. Things were happening so fast around her, moving in indiscernible blurs and muffled voices. She could've been shot in the head today. That was enough for her mind to process for the moment.
But, that voice...
Tearing through her muddled thoughts was a shrill scream from inside. Next thing she knew, someone was urgently pulling her away from the restaurant. She turned and looked back to see if she could locate her savior, and was astonished to find little Yugi standing on the cement sidewalk, staring back at her, dazed as if he was just pulled out of a dream.
She just didn't understand.
Yami let his head drop in his hands for a moment, and rubbed at his eyes. "Téa… before I tell you, you have to understand… I had to save you. I had to get you away from him, and make him unable to harm you ever again."
Téa's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying…?"
"I'm saying I did what I had to do," Yami explained. "In our game, I played him into a corner. He couldn't kill me without dealing himself a terrible fate, and… his cheating ways did the work for me."
"So if I'm remembering things correctly," Téa began thoughtfully, "your game involved a lighter, cigarette, and alcohol. The object of the game was to find a way to kill each other, with one finger. You had him cornered. Then, he must've…" she paused to put the pieces together, and her jaw dropped.
Yami said nothing, but his lack of response was all the confirmation Téa needed. She stared blankly at the wall opposite her, and cupped her nose and mouth in both her hands as the disturbing truth sank in.
"Oh… no…" she murmured into her hands, horrified.
"And now, I invite you to reconsider everything you think of me," said Yami, "and you were right. I was not able to make you that promise to begin with, not while withholding this information from you. I'm sorry."
Téa dropped her hands, but kept her eyes forward. "I thought the game was just a diversion."
"It was supposed to be only that."
"Who else?" she asked between shuddering breaths. "Who else have you killed?"
The accusatory question felt like a stab to Yami's chest. "No one," he asserted. "The prisoner was the only one who perished because of me."
"Are you sure?" Téa asked skeptically.
He nodded. "Yes."
She gripped her knees with her hands, and rocked backward slightly. "What did you do to Kokurano?"
"I also played a game with him for your freedom, in which he cheated, and lost." He remembered how long he had stared at the chloroform bottle shattered on the floor besides an unconscious Kokurano, imagining himself dragging a shard of it across the con's neck, before he had come to his senses. "He was subjected to the same chloroform he used on you. I left him sleeping on the floor, unharmed. He was found the following morning, and was exposed as the fraud, and criminal, he was."
"And you saved me," she confirmed.
He nodded again. "I carried you away from the science lab until you started to wake up, and then I left you on the bench outside the main office."
"That would explain me waking up there, with no one around," Téa recollected. She looked at him, lowering her brow. "I don't understand. Why did Kokurano get to live, while the convict had to die?"
"Because, at that point, I realized that your safety was more important than vengeance," Yami answered honestly. "While I didn't directly kill Prisoner 777, I was complicit in his death." He turned his head slightly away from Téa's attentive gaze. "Because I knew what would likely happen, I could've saved him. But if he had decided to kill me anyway, you'd be in even more danger. So, in that moment I decided, instead, to let him die." His eyes flickered to the wall. "With Kokurano… the opposite happened. If I simply did nothing, he would live. It would've been easy to kill him, and make sure he never harmed you or anyone else again. But… getting you out of danger was the priority."
"Geez," Téa breathed in wonder. "All this time, I had no idea that the man I saw as my savior was capable of all this."
"And now you know the truth," Yami muttered solemnly. "If I'm capable of all this, who's to say I didn't rule with such cruelty when I was pharaoh? How can I deny their claims that I was an evil king, while I have blood on my hands?"
Téa opened her mouth, but couldn't produce a response in her shock. Still unable to look her in the eye, Yami stood once more, and walked forward a few paces, briefly crossing the beam of moonlight before stepping back into the shadows. He kept his back to her.
"Make no mistake. We are getting out of here, one way or another. Because, like you've said, I am the only one equipped to face Dartz in battle and get Yugi's soul back, therefore his restoration is my responsibility. Whether or not my past is tainted with nefarious actions… I cannot let it get in the way of Yugi living the full life he deserves, the life that was his—and only his—to begin with."
He sighed, and shook his head. "But I will not move forward pretending to be some champion of honor I once pretended to be. Simply deciding that your life is worthier to live than someone else's doesn't make me a hero."
Yami looked up to stare at his shadow stretching along the closet doors. It reached up to the ceiling, lanky and slightly curved in on itself; the silhouetted spikes of his hair and bangs spanned out like a flaming sun.
"Please say something."
Téa stammered upon the sudden request. Finally, she found her voice. "Honestly, I have no idea what to say." Her hands fidgeted in her lap. "What do you want me to say?"
Yami took a long breath. "I want you to say that you were wrong about me all along. You no longer see me as your savior, and your feelings for me are buried for good."
Téa held her tongue, and the silence between them stretched into almost half a minute before Yami fully turned to face her. "Say it," he commanded.
In matching teal-green robes, Gale and young Kelley made their way down the long corridor of the dorm's third floor, followed by three guards. "I think it was that room, right there," Kelley whispered to Gale, pointing about two doors ahead.
"And you're sure that's what you heard?" Gale inquired.
"Yes, I definitely heard a male's voice in her room," she confirmed.
Gale shook her head. "The Great One will not be pleased." She patted Kelley on her shoulder. "Go off to bed, dear. We will deal with this."
Kelley bowed in prayer and whispered "we shall begin anew" before turning around and heading down the hall to her room. Gale pushed her long gray hair, worn down rather than the usual tight bun, behind her shoulders. She came up to room 36 and leaned in to listen, picking up soft murmurs of conversation on the other side, indeed what Kelley had reported to her earlier: a quarrelsome exchange between a young man and woman, on the woman-only floor, well past acceptable hour.
"Say it," said the man.
"I can't," responded the woman.
"Just do it, get it over with. I need to hear you say those words."
"You know me. You know I don't say things I don't mean."
"Why? Why wouldn't you mean it?"
The woman grunted in frustration. "Because… I still have a lot to process, okay? This is all new information for me. I don't really know what to say, or even think yet."
"If you're as self-possessed as I know you are, then this should be simple for you."
"It's because I'm so self-possessed is why I can't tell you what you want to hear." There was a pause, and a long, exasperated sigh. "I think you should leave."
"Téa…"
"Please," Téa implored, anxiously grasping her own left forearm again, "don't force me to say something I don't want to. I've already had enough of that. Just… just leave."
Yami watched sadly as Téa sat upon the bed, her posture withdrawn. Her supposed 'discipline' was far from the worst physical harm she had endured, but nothing seemed to tear at her spirit quite like it appeared to have done.
"I'm sorry," he said sorrowfully. "Just… don't forget what you've heard tonight. You will come to resent me, even hate me for what I've done. When that moment comes, don't be surprised when I accept it in full."
Téa looked up at him, her blue eyes burning into his. Her lips sank into a disappointed frown, and she shook her head in disbelief. "After all this time… you haven't learned a damn thing, have you?"
Yami gulped, having no proper response to offer. Instead, he retreated to the door, and opened it to come face-to-face with Gale's folded arms.
"What is the meaning of this?" Yami demanded as he struggled rebelliously against the two guards restraining his arms. A third guard stood beside Gale in the back room of the sanctuary, holding a thin rattan cane in his hands.
With a friendly smile, Gale seated herself behind the long oak desk. "Gentlemen, let him have a seat, please."
The men forced Yami into the chair facing the desk, and released him. When Yami tried to stand, they leapt forward and pushed him back down with a firm hand on each shoulder. Yami grunted as one of the man's fingertips dug into his flesh through his thin shirt.
"Let me go!" he ordered. He received no verbal response from either guard. They tentatively let go of his shoulders, but remained closer to him than before.
"Yugi," Gale addressed him calmly. "just relax. We're not here to hurt you. We have something important to discuss."
"Why the force, then?" Yami demanded. "Why am I being held here against my will?"
Gale shrugged. "It's just protocol."
Yami scoffed. "Protocol? I was just dragged here in the middle of the night, and you're being awfully cavalier about it."
Gale's smile fell slightly, and she folded her hands on the desk. "Young man, in the outside world you may be used to doing as you please. It's unsurprising, really, when you look at how far the world has sunken into a cesspool of sin." She tapped her finger on the desk. "But while you are sleeping under our roof, eating our food and wearing our clothes, you are under the law of the Great One. Now, I understand you are new, and unfamiliar with how things are run around here. For that, I will grant you some reprieve. But you must cooperate, if you are to learn. It is so that we may protect you from His wrath."
"Protect me? It seems that all you're doing is a graduated form of bullying. I, for one, will not be bullied for any reason, and I will not allow you to bully Téa, either."
To his surprise, the response he received was a short laugh. "My goodness, you are tenacious, aren't you?" Gale paused to swipe flyaway strands of silver hair from her forehead. "Yugi, how old are you?"
Yami's eyes narrowed at the unexpected question. "Sixteen. Why?"
Gale nodded. "Ah, that explains a lot."
"About what? Where is Téa?"
Gale's eyes seemed to brighten up. "Right. Yes. Let's talk about Téa."
"Where is she?" Yami interrogated again.
"She's fine. She's just outside, and she can't hear you. So you can be as truthful as you want."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Gale smirked at him. "You're at that age now. A wonderful age, but a confusing one, that is for sure."
Yami crossed his arms. "I fail to see the point in this."
"Do you like girls, Yugi?"
His eyes widened, and he felt his neck and ears grow warm. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"No need to be embarrassed. Like I said, you're at that age."
"I…" he stuttered. "I-I guess so? I don't know."
Gale propped her chin on her hand. "Yugi, what were you doing in Téa's room?"
Yami's breath caught. "We were just talking."
Gale raised an eyebrow. "Just talking, huh?"
"Yes. We're friends."
She scrunched her nose. "I know for a fact you've been told that the Great One strictly forbids an unmarried man and woman to share a bed, friends or not. And you shouldn't even be out of your bed past curfew. And yet, we received a report that you were in Téa's room, unsupervised, at half past midnight."
"A report? Who reported us?"
"A concerned member of the church," Gale answered vaguely. "Who it was doesn't matter. I can confirm it with my own two eyes." She held her hands out in an expectant manner. "Care to explain yourself?"
Yami glared at her. "No, I don't. Not until you do."
In the next instant, Yami's shoulder was again squeezed tightly by the enormous hand of the guard on his right, and he groaned in pain. He reached for the offending hand, but it only tightened on him like a vice.
"Show some respect when speaking to her!" the guard growled angrily.
"Easy, Rob," Gale warned with her hand held up, and the guard gradually eased his grip. "He's new, and he's learning. Let's not end the night in the infirmary."
The guard named Rob backed away a pace, and Yami rolled his shoulder, grimacing.
"Alright, Yugi, I'm willing to compromise." She laced her fingers together on the desk. "When responding to the report, I first suspected some 'midnight mischief' to be happening, if you know what I mean. Teenagers are the most vulnerable to such temptations, after all."
Yami turned his face away, unable to stop the incoming blush. Though Gale's deduction was far from the actual truth, just the idea of it, even hypothetically, stirred something inside him. He'd be dishonest if he said that, ever since their undressed liplock in the river, the thought hadn't crossed his mind once or twice…
"But I overheard some of your conversation with Téa. And what I heard was… concerning."
Mentally, Yami began to panic, and his heartbeat picked up pace. If she had heard the wrong thing, wouldn't he be getting his soul extracted by now?
"Again, you're at that age where you're trying to figure yourself out, and your wild hormones aren't making things any easier. We've all been there." Her smile turned sly. "And, if I may, you certainly have great taste. She is very beautiful, and smart, and kind. And I'm sure she is a talented dancer, as well. No one can really blame you." The smile fell away. "But, your actions not only break our rules, but infringe upon Téa's right to personal safety within our walls."
Yami furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? What exactly did you hear?"
"I heard enough." Gale splayed her hands flat on the desk, and leaned a bit closer to Yami. "It is my understanding that Téa does not return your feelings in the way you want her to."
Yami blinked. "What?"
"I promise you, Yugi, denial will not fool me, and, more importantly, it certainly won't fool our Savior. I dislike meddling in other people's personal business, but more than that, I am a dedicated servant to the Great One. We are all beholden to the law of our omniscient, omnipotent Serpent God, and it is my duty to enforce it."
"This is ridiculous."
She tapped her chin. "I distinctly remember there being something you were trying to have her say out loud to you. I didn't hear what it was exactly, but context is hardly needed to infer what it might've been."
"What do you think I was trying to have her say?"
Gale tilted her head. "It's all but spelled out. You were seeking a confession from her, that she returned your feelings. Feelings she doesn't have, from what it sounded like."
He shook his head. "You have it all wrong."
Gale leaned back in her chair, and brought her hand under her chin. "Oh? Enlighten me, then. What am I misunderstanding? What crucial detail am I missing that exonerates you?"
Yami opened his mouth, but shut it when he realized he had no defense. For obvious reasons, he couldn't admit the true nature of their conversation, and Gale's watchful gaze was unrelenting. Instead, he simply stated, "It's just not what you think."
For a moment, the air hung thick with suspense while Gale glanced at the wall beside her and contemplated his answer. For a moment, she looked indecisive, as if looking for a reason to give him the benefit of the doubt. Finally, she stood, and looked down upon him in disappointment. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that's not good enough. In light of your inability to provide a proper explanation for your actions, you and Téa will be receiving due punishment as according to His law." She put her hands on her hips. "If you were paying any attention to the passage you read at our service this morning, you know what happens to those who spit in the face of our Savior. Don't make the same mistakes the most infamous sinner of mankind made, Yugi. It doesn't suit you."
She looked at Rob and the other guard. "Have Charles bring her in, please."
"Wait!" Yami shouted, rising to his feet. He braced himself for the guards to jump him again, but they instead stood by at the ready. He took a deep breath.
"You were right," he capitulated. "I came to Téa's room, without warning or permission. I told her how I felt, and she turned me down. She then asked me to leave, as you heard. This is all my fault. Téa is completely innocent."
Gale raised her eyebrows. "Ah, the truth comes out."
Yami sighed. "Yes. Now let her go. I've put her through enough already."
She touched his sore shoulder, causing him to flinch. "Don't worry, we'll make this quick. It's touching, how much you care about her. You are a fine young man, and you have your whole life ahead of you, in our glorious New World, to date pretty girls. After the Holy Cleansing, there will only be girls with kind and pure souls to choose from. If you think about it, our Great God Leviathan is doing you a favor by weeding out the bad ones!" She humored herself with a laugh, and turned to the guards. "Bring her in."
"What?" Yami questioned as the guards nodded and headed towards the door. "I thought you were going to release her!"
"I will," Gale assured him, "after she corroborates your story."
A fourth guard brought in Téa. Like all the other guards Yami had seen, Charles was a large, well-built man in a long-sleeved black shirt and dark green pants, with an Orichalcos emblem on his belt buckle. Unlike Yami, Téa opted to come quietly, held only by one arm in a lax grip. Her blue eyes stared blankly at the floor ahead of her. Gale stepped forward and regarded her with a gentle voice. "Téa, you're here right now because we need you to verify something for us, okay? Can you do that?"
Slowly, but surely, Téa brought her head down to nod.
"Can you tell us why Yugi was in your room tonight, unsupervised, and so late?"
Téa's lip quivered in hesitation. Gale reached over to tuck a lock of hair behind Téa ear. To Yami, the interaction almost resembled a grandmother consoling her crestfallen granddaughter, if not for the insidious context.
"It's alright, dear, you're not in trouble, as long as you tell the truth, God Leviathan as your witness."
Téa looked up, and her blue eyes found Yami's. Their gazes locked, and Yami knew she was reading him. "Well, he came to my room, and we were talking…" she began. "And… then he left. I'm sorry, I know it was late, but he needed to tell me something urgent, and I—"
"Don't defend me, Téa," Yami told her sternly. He stared intently at her, hoping she'd get the message. "Tell them the truth. It's alright."
"Remember that the Great One is always listening," Gale reminded her, "and always judging."
After a moment, Téa's eyes hardened, and her jaw tightened. "He didn't tell me he was coming. I asked him to leave, and he was about to when you were outside the door."
"And what did he come to your room to tell you, exactly?"
She paused, and rubbed her arm nervously. "Well… he… um…"
Yami turned to Gale. "Gale, please, this is…" he glanced at Téa with the corner of his eye, "…embarrassing enough for me as it is. Don't make me hear it from her, not again."
Gale shook her head. "Sorry Yugi, but this is a necessary part of this. I know it's uncomfortable for you, but try to learn from it." She gestured to Téa. "Go on, dear. Tell us what happened."
Téa took a deep breath. "He told me… that he wanted to be with me," she finally responded, her voice breaking slightly. "And he was convinced that I felt the same way. He wanted me to admit it to him, but I couldn't. Then, I told him to leave."
"And that is the truth?"
She looked at Gale. "Yes."
Gale nodded her head. "Charles, please escort Téa back to her room." With nimble fingers, she plucked and discarded a few loose strands of hair that had fallen and clung to Téa's robe. "And Téa, don't worry about any of this. We will deal with this accordingly, and Yugi will not bother you again. Try to sleep… and if you can't, try counting ballerinas, okay?"
As the guard named Charles opened the door and gently ushered her out of the room, Téa turned back to look regretfully at him one more time. "Yugi…"
Yami mirrored her look, with earnest apology in his eyes. "Téa… please forgive me. But if you can't, I understand."
Téa maintained eye contact with him, until she was forced to break it as she was led out of the room. Charles closed the door behind them, and Yami was left with Gale and the remaining three guards.
Gale sighed. "Poor girl. I do hope she gets a good night's rest tonight."
"You had her beaten," Yami reminded her with venom in his tone, "simply for being out of her room past curfew. How can you say, with any sincerity, that you give a damn about her?"
"You must understand, Yugi," she coolly replied, "it's because I'm concerned for her that she needed to be corrected. As unpleasant as it is, we've found that corporal punishment is the most effective method in enforcing the Great One's law, and guiding His children to righteousness." She motioned to the door. "And I think it works quite nicely. Didn't you see how polite and cooperative she was?"
"That is horrible!" Yami criticized, furious at their treatment of Téa. "You cannot govern people by bullying them into submission. If your so-called 'god' is only great because his people follow him under threat of violence, then he is not a true god!"
The second the words left his mouth, Yami was seized by the throat and shoved into the wall behind him with such force, the impact sent a tremor through his bones. The guard, who had been standing opposite Rob, tightened his thick fingers around Yami's neck, causing him to claw at his hand as his airways were constricted.
"That's enough out of you," Gale reprimanded sternly. She watched passively as Yami struggled against the guard's grasp. "Yugi, you're a great kid, but you can be quite volatile. I know you might still be shaken from the incident tonight with Téa, but you must always show respect for the Great One, the True Arbiter of Justice, for He is always listening and always judging. He is here to save us, after all, and so He deserves our utmost respect, for it is His wisdom that will lead us into a prosperous new era."
"Better watch your words, runt," the guard holding Yami snarled. "The Great One doesn't like rude little snots like you, and neither do I."
"Clark," Gale warned, "easy. Speaking of volatile… you and Rob could use a lesson on it as well."
With a dissatisfied grunt, the guard named Clark released Yami, who gasped and grabbed his throat in relief, his face flushed.
"It's getting late," Gale continued with a noticeably wearier voice. "The Great One shall give you the same treatment as Téa—first timers receive half punishment, but beyond tonight, you will receive all future punishments in full." She nodded towards the guard at the desk behind her, who held the cane, and the guard stepped forward. "Between being out of your quarters past curfew, pre-marital cohabitation, harassing another member of the community, non-compliance in an official interrogation, and lastly, multiple counts of blasphemy… you've racked up quite a rap sheet in such little time."
"None of those things warrant your abhorrent policy of penalization," Yami panted.
Gale continued as if she didn't hear him. "Normally, these transgressions would accrue a hundred strokes, but today, it will be fifty. As you receive them, you will beg forgiveness from the Great One, or it will only continue from there."
The guard holding the cane stepped forward, and Yami saw that he was even bigger than the others—the giant of a man was built like a lineman and couldn't have been less than six and a half feet tall. With a massive hand, he grabbed Yami's left arm by the wrist. Yami tried to resist, but the guard's hold was too strong—his thumb was almost half the width of his wrist. Another guard's long, muscular arm reach around him from behind and restrain him against a large, hard chest. His right arm was held and pinned painfully against his back. Yami continued to struggle, but between the two much larger men, he was easily overpowered.
"You will accept your punishment with an open and honest heart," Gale instructed, hardly blinking at the scene before her. "The pain you feel is the sin leaving your body. Embrace it, for He is cleansing your soul." Looking satisfied, she yawned into her hand and headed for the door. "This is for your own good, Yugi," she told him. "Soon you will see the light, and you will thank us."
"Where are you going?" Yami demanded, as the guard twisted his left wrist so that the inside of his forearm was facing up.
"To bed," Gale answered simply, and left the room.
Yami scowled after her, but his attention was quickly taken by the guard holding his arm. "Now we get to fix that rude mouth of yours," Rob said with a twist of a grin on the corner of his mouth. "Time to beg forgiveness from the Great One, kid."
"I don't beg," Yami refused.
"Well, you're begging tonight," insisted Rob. There was a sick humor to his tone that wasn't there before. Their mannerisms seemed to change significantly as soon as Gale left.
"Fuck you," Yami spat, surprised at his own vulgarity.
The cane came down on his arm with the velocity of a whip, making a horrible thwacking sound on his skin and striking a thin red line a few inches below his wrist. Yami flinched from the unexpected attack. He groaned in pain as the sting worsened, and could feel his own accelerating pulse pumping against the pressure of the guard's thumb on his wrist.
I stained my lips with foul words, which the Great One does not approve of. He is always watching, always judging.
"Defiant and potty-mouthed?" Clark jeered as the silent guard brandished the cane. "You're in for a world of hurt, kid."
"A world of hurt is exactly what you're trying to impose, is it not?" Yami questioned, "Isn't that what Church Leviathan endeavors to do?"
Rob suddenly burst into laughter from beside him. "Ha! It's been a minute since we've gotten one of these."
"Alright, alright," Clark chided from behind Yami with a chuckle, "quit messin' around, let's get this over with. Alec, do the honors?"
Suddenly, the quiet guard spoke up for the first time—unlike the other two, the guard named Alec spoke dryly with a more serious tone, without a hint of humor. "For your crimes, you must beg forgiveness from the Great One. If your soul can be cleansed, He will be merciful. You must show remorse for your sins to achieve true atonement. Open your heart to the Great One, and show Him your devotion." His voice was low and gruff, reminding Yami somewhat of the aptly-voiced Catapult Turtle in his dream. Pulling Yami's arm closer to him, Alec struck his arm again, this time closer to his elbow. Yami grit his teeth to contain the pain.
"Beg," ordered Alec.
Yami held his tongue, bracing himself for the next strike, which came moments after. The flesh was already starting to swell. Again, and again, the cane struck him in a metronomic rhythm, sometimes in the same spot as another. The pain intensified as his punishment continued, provoking him to struggle against his restraints.
"Beg."
"No!"
Thwack!
"Beg forgiveness!"
"Never!"
Thwack!
"This one's a fighter!" said Rob, who was spectating with an amused grin as if he were at a professional wrestling match.
"Yeah," agreed Clark with a strained voice, tasked with keeping Yami contained. "He's givin' me a real workout, here."
Rob cracked his knuckles. "Here, I'll help you out. Alec, step back for a sec, wouldja?"
Alec lowered his weapon, and stepped off to the side. Rob came forward and, with a smirk, threw a strong punch into Yami's stomach. Yami wheezed from the blow, almost ready to heave from the impact, and his knees buckled. Clark and Alec had to hold him up by his arms.
If you really were a great Pharaoh, you would've never done that to poor Yugi! It just isn't fair! It should've been you, not him!
"Not so tough now, are ya?" Rob jabbed. "You gonna start beggin' or what?"
Yami coughed from the impact, struggling to support himself again. "You're nothing but a bunch of bullies," he accused, his voice weak and winded. He raised his head, still gasping for breath, and stared at Rob with all the contempt he could muster. "Go to hell."
Rob nudged a stony-faced Alec with his elbow. "Getta load of this guy!"
Clark snickered from behind Yami. "What is he, one of those 'social justice warrior' types? Do we get to smack him for that, too?"
Rob shook his head in the middle of a chuckle. "Look, kid, I was bullied in school, okay? Bullies… they're just big kids pickin' on little kids. The innocent ones who don't fight back. They're angry, insecure, and selfish." He stepped closer to Yami, looking down on him from almost a foot of additional height. "This is the real world, not a playground. We ain't bullies, and you ain't innocent."
"Then what do you call yourselves, if not bullies?" Yami asked with disdain.
This time, Alec spoke up, his expression still stoic. "We serve the Great One, our God Leviathan, the Arbiter of Justice. We are enforcers of His law, protectors of His children, and guardians of His New World."
"So basically, we're almost like cops," Rob clarified simplistically, "'cept we ain't crooked. We're actually here to protect you. 'S long as you don't give us trouble."
"On the contrary," Yami countered, "I find your methods of 'enforcement' quite crooked."
Rob sighed. His smile remained, but he sounded exasperated. "You are one stubborn dude. You've got balls, though, I'll give you that."
With that, he reared back, and swung at Yami's face, clipping his lower lip with his fist.
Get a grip, Pharaoh! If we're gonna rescue Yugi, we have to move ahead, not look back!
Rob continued while Yami reeled from the assault, "But my job is to make a faithful servant of the God Leviathan outta you, so you're gonna have to show a little humility and start asking forgiveness from Him."
Yami glared silently at Rob. Alec stretched his left arm out again, cane at the ready. "I have plenty of things to ask forgiveness for," Yami growled bitterly. As he spoke, he felt blood trickle down his chin from his swollen lip. "but none of them concern you, or the Leviathan. He is no God to me."
"That's enough!" Alec snapped out of nowhere, and smacked the cane onto Yami's arm again. Yami cried out in pain—his arm was on fire from the repeated assaults, and he could feel Alec's vindictiveness in his strike.
"Easy there, Alec," Rob cautioned, with his hand up. "We still got about eight strokes to go. We don't want his arm to fall off, eh?"
"I refuse to hear this man denounce my Savior in such a way!" Alec shouted, whacking Yami's arm again.
"Dude, Alec," said Clark, "you gotta relax, man. He's new, he'll learn eventually. The Great One wouldn't like you gettin' all heated up on someone on His behalf like that, you know that."
"Why don't you cool off for a sec, bud," Rob suggested. "I think I can help everyone out here tonight, even this little firecracker."
Still working down his blood pressure, Alec nodded, though he didn't seem pleased about it. He released Yami's arm to Clark, and stepped back behind the desk. Rob looked upon Yami's face with softened features.
"Look, man, I'm going to be honest with you right now. I know your type. I was your type, once. It doesn't matter if we beat you into dust—if you aren't willing to open your heart up to our Savior, we can't force you. But while you're here, there are rules you should follow, whether or not you're buyin' what we're sellin'. Understand?"
Yami lowered his brow. "No, I don't."
"If you can't find it within yourself to open your heart to the Great One, open it to someone," he suggested. "Start a dialogue with them, right here, right now. Bring all that regret to the surface. That'll help you get to the place you need to get to. You mentioned you have other people you want to ask forgiveness from, right?"
Yami stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alec step forward from behind the desk, cane in hand. All eyes were on him.
Yami took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He cleared his mind of all thoughts but the one. "I'm sorry," he muttered.
"What was that?" asked Rob, craning his ear.
"I'm sorry," Yami repeated, his voice croaking. "You saved me. You loved me. You showed me the light. And I betrayed you."
Clark tightened his grip on him. "There we go. Keep going, buddy."
"I turned my back on you."
Alec raised the cane and struck him again, this time a bit softer. "Continue," he ordered pitilessly.
Yami bit his lip. "I was selfish and careless. You were wise, and I was a fool."
Thwack!
"My soul is dark… rotten… corrupt."
Thwack!
"All I ever wanted was to please you, to make you happy and proud. To make your wish come true."
Thwack!
"I failed you."
Thwack!
"I don't deserve you."
Thwack!
"Please, forgive me!"
Thwack!
"I beg your forgiveness!"
Thwack!
The pain grew worse as seconds passed—Yami's forearm looked as if it were compromised to a sinister disease, with red lines streaking over flushed, swollen, flaking skin. Against his wishes, tears began to form in his eyes, and he had no free hands to wipe them away.
"One more," Rob encouraged, with what appeared to be a look of sympathy on his face.
A tear fell from Yami's eye, running over the slit on his trembling lip. He inhaled a shaky breath. "Please, forgive me… my savior."
The cane struck one last time, and somehow Yami could hardly feel it at all. His arm felt numb. Everything felt numb.
Clark released him, and he collapsed onto one knee, with his non-injured arm holding him up from the floor. As he stared at the off-white tile, his head started to spin. With his other hand, he wiped the blood from his mouth and chin. Alec tossed the cane onto the desk, and stood over Yami, towering over his crumpled frame. "The Great God Leviathan is the True Arbiter of Justice, the Savior of the World. You have atoned, and He has shown you mercy."
The room fell silent, save for Yami's short gasps. He glanced up at Alec—the man stared coldly back at him, as if his anger at Yami's defiance had carried over. His head blocked the light of the lamp behind him, silhouetting his head, and Yami thought he caught a streak of red flash across his eyes, but it was gone before he could be sure.
Yami felt Clark pull him up by his injured arm, and he winced from the tenderness it caused. He then felt something cold placed in his hand—an ice pack, fresh from a freezing unit, wrapped in a thin green towel. From where it came, he had no idea.
"That'll help with the sting," Rob told him. "And it'll bring down the swelling on your face, too. Sorry I had to do that, man. It ain't fun for me. It's just protocol."
Yami narrowed his eyes at him, but kept his mouth shut. Truth be told, it did look fun for him. When caught up in the moment, the guards looked every bit like the number of bullies who had targeted Yugi in school, who found his small size and submissive personality amusing. The laughter and taunting was just as much a part of it as the extortion itself. While Yugi had dealt with this cruelty on a daily basis, this was the first time in Yami's recent memory that he had been subjected to such treatment, made more serious by the lack of protection from his Millennium Puzzle. He'd never admit it aloud to these men, but it rattled him. It somehow reached down, deep into his core, and struck him cold. How Yugi had endured so much of it was beyond him.
Rob looked back at him, a small smirk on his lips. "You got somethin' to say?"
Yami scowled, a biting response waiting on his tongue. Normally, he'd whip out his dueling deck and issue a challenge, more than ready to take the wind out of his antagonist's sails. But, without the Puzzle, his deck, his duel disk, his partner… he was unarmed, powerless. Even if he had all he needed, the possibility of another unfavorable outcome, whether he won or lost, was too much for him to face. Even his confidence in his dueling abilities had faltered, after Rafael had outmaneuvered him so skillfully, and even Weevil had him on the ropes. He truly had nothing left to fight with, and no manner of defense, either.
So, instead, he said nothing.
Rob nodded in satisfaction. "That's what I thought. Alec will escort you back to your room." Behind him, Alec pulled the door open. Rob placed a closed fist over his own heart, and Clark followed suit. "We shall begin anew."
Holding the ice pack to his arm, Yami wordlessly exited the room, with Alec pulling the door shut behind them. They crossed the courtyard to the dorm facility, past the water-swishing fountain sculpted into the Leviathan's likeness, illuminated by the lighted fountain ring and standing luminously against the dark night sky. Just looking upon it made Yami sick to his stomach. His senses stirred again, and he wondered if there really was a serpent deity watching him, lording over him as his 'prophet' surely was.
We shall begin anew…
Yami shook his head. He couldn't give these fanatical notions an ounce of credence in his mind. That was how decent people came to believe horrible things.
The skin on his arm burned and itched from the cold towel, but nothing compared to the ferocious pain in his heart. While his body received the physical trauma, his pride was crushed underfoot. For all his preaching about confronting problems face to face, he still had lost the battle, and had nothing to show for it. Never had he felt so empty, so stripped of dignity, so crushed in spirit.
At least… not since he lost Yugi.
Perhaps, he relied on the Puzzle far more than he realized. Hiding his identity as a pharaoh suddenly became a bit easier. He couldn't possibly feel less like a king than he did now.
At that point, he understood Téa's behavior. He understood everything.
[ 01 ]
[ 02 ]
[ 03 ]
Alec broke the silence that had lasted the entire walk, causing Yami to flinch. "You are not to leave this room for the rest of the night. If you are caught, you will be punished further."
Yami stared grimly at the doorplate '03'. As he pushed down the handle, he heard Alec turn on his heel to leave. "We shall begin anew."
His hand paused. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he listened to Alec's heavy-gaited footsteps diminish as he walked down the hall and exited the building. With a shaky whisper, Yami responded, "I suppose we shall."
The room was just as dark as he'd left it, with only the bright green digital clock reading 1:56am emitting light, but now it was also quite cold. The window above his bed was left open, letting a cool draft creep in. Yami placed the ice pack on the nightstand and crawled onto the bed, the box spring creaking under his weight. Standing on the mattress, he reached for the window sash to close it, and froze.
Yami hardly used his window. Earlier that evening was the first time he'd even touched it, and it was because the room was a little stuffy. He hadn't paid enough attention to notice that, just fifteen yards beyond it, was a clear view of the southeastern region of the forest in Shifter's Valley. Standing at the very edge, watching him with a pair of sad violet eyes beneath a fan of spiky hair…
Yami's fingertips brushed the window pane. "Yugi…"
No, it wasn't Yugi. He knew that. But there he stood, looking just as real as the glass beneath his fingers. The forest of Shifter's Valley probed his memory of every detail about his partner he knew, and constructed a perfect replica before his eyes. Everything from his youthful rosy cheeks that would only darken further in embarrassment, to his wide-footed stance that kept his small frame balanced, to the way his pupils dilated briefly when he watched something that held his interest. Even the soft light emanating from them.
"Yugi," he called again, his voice trembling. "If you somehow heard me back there… just know that I meant every word. It was all for you. I'm sorry."
He frowned, his hand falling onto the sill. "No. You weren't listening. You're… you're just a memory."
Overcome with emotion, he pushed the window shut and locked it, securing a seamless barrier between him and the outside world. Through the pane, he watched as the Yugi apparition slowly faded into the abyss of the forest, leaving Yami with only his reflection in the glass. This time, instead of a naked boy glowing from the Orichalcos Seal, or the disapproving stare of his past vigilante persona, he only saw himself as he was, in present reality, slowly falling apart. The effects of stress and undereating had stretched the skin taut over his cheekbones, and they'd lost a bit of color. Dark bags hung under his glossy violet eyes, and his lips were chapped, with the bottom one still puffy from Rob's punch. Though he never cared much about his appearance, he was admittedly surprised at how damaged he looked, like his soul was being slowly sucked out of him, piece by piece.
What exactly did Téa see in him?
If she saw him right at this moment, would she touch his face, thumb his tears away, tell him she's sorry for his suffering? Or would she see him as a cold-blooded murderer, a hideous creature of evil, and then tell him he deserved it?
What would Yugi say, if he saw him now? Would he exhibit his usual compassion, or would he be satisfied that someone had the courage to deal his betrayer the same fate he himself had suffered for far too long?
What would Joey say? Would he pull him to his feet, swipe the dust from his shoulders, and tell him to toughen up and face these bullies like a man? Or would he leave him there, cursing him for getting his best buddy captured?
What would Tristan say? That whoever did this to him was going to pay? Or, it was about time he paid for his actions?
Perhaps he'd be right. Perhaps they'd all be right.
With Yugi gone, his friends were merely associates on a rescue mission. His monsters, reluctant allies, bound by magic but no longer by loyalty. Timaeus… well, Timaeus had proven quite clearly how done he was with his unworthy master.
Perhaps, he had been alone for much longer than he thought.
Yami let his forehead fall against the glass, squeezing his eyes shut. As he reopened them, hot tears ran down his cheeks. There, he wept softly to himself, to the music of the crickets in the grass. One by one, his tears dropped from his chin onto the sill. He removed his hand from the sill, accidentally bumping it on the bed's headboard and causing the scrapes on his arm to flare. He hissed in pain, and lowered himself onto the mattress and reached for the ice pack. As he picked it up, he noticed the two cufflinks sitting beside it on the nightstand, the tiny Orichalcos emblems standing out in the dark under the green glow of the clock.
That emblem is a symbol of our allegiance to the Great One and his cause. The last thing you want is for Gale to think you're rebelling or something. Not like you would be doing such a thing! I mean why would you, when He does so much for us?
Pressing the ice pack to his throbbing wounds, Yami gravely wondered how many battered arms these mandatory cufflinks were concealing, how many spirits have been broken behind closed doors, how much indoctrination was occurring under this draconian nightmare of a justice system. All to cultivate the Leviathan's "prosperous" New World.
There was no doubt in his mind that this was all orchestrated by Dartz. The former Atlantean potentate was proving to be a truly masterful tactician, a calculated puppetmaster, and humankind's most dangerous foe.
And, for all he knew, the sole living witness to his reign as pharaoh.
TO BE CONTINUED
Ohhhhh boy. They're really being put through the wringer, aren't they?
Don't forget to let me know what you think.
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xo ALG
