On other note YAY! I HAVE OVER 300 REVIEWS! YAYNESS! I never thought I'd get so many on this… Thank you everyone who has reviewed to this!
Now…lets get the story going; after all, I left you all with a horrible cliffie last time around…;D
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh…but just you wait until I get a better lawyer than Mai!
(Mai: -winks- Come on, guys…give The Blonde Midget! –leans forward flirtingly-
Lawyers: …-are asexual-) …well, I should have known that…--;
Pairings: Seth/Jou, Seto/Jou. Jou/?. Yugi/Yami, Ryou/Bakura on the side, hits of Otogi/Honda.
Warnings: Boy/Boy love, action, slight violence, and lots of suspense!
Well, that's all I need to say really. Now, Read, Enjoy and Review, and I'll talk to you more at the end.
Chapter 13
The Shadow Realm
Normal POV
"Kaiba!" Seth screamed when reaching through the portal. The realm around him was black, there was no obvious up or down, no walls, no floor...only dark mist that was swirrling around his ankles. It didn't feel like he was standing on anything. There was no solid ground under him, but he didn't fall.
Silence met his scream. No echo, no other sign of that he'd actually made a sound. If one wondered how it would feel to stand in space; well, there you got it.
"Oh great..." He muttered, glaring at nothing in particular. Which proved really easy, seeing that there was actually nothing there to glare at. "I'm in the Shadow Realm, Kaiba is gone, and I have no idea where to look for Katsuya..."
"Would you stop whining already, I'm right behind you, you dumbass." A cold and annoyed voice interrupted him from behind, making Seth turn around as fast as lightning.
Behind him was Seto, glaring angrily at him. His arms were crossed over his chest, looking like he had been standing there for a long time waiting for the other to show up.
Growling, Seth glared straight back. "Well, you could have said something."
"Could've, would've, should've. Only words." Seto looked around himself with an unimpressed look in his eyes. "So, this is the Shadow Realm. Not so impressive, if you ask me."
"Be not fooled by your eyes." Seth said seriously. "This realm has no limit, no beginning and no end, so finding Katsuya won't be easy.. Be on your guard; we will encounter strange and mysterious things here, not to mention horrible."
"Things like a door?" Seto said from behind him, sounding amused. (or, well…less bored than he usually did.)
Surprised by the other man's words, Seth turned to the same direction Seto was looking to see what he meant.
Not even two yards away from them was, strangely enough, a door placed. I was a very normal door; dark wood, normal sized and without any ornaments of any sort. But, even stranger, the door wasn't placed against any wall. It merely stood there in the shadows, not showing any signs of anything strange.
Wonder in his eyes, Seth circled the door, pretty much like a shark would do to a swimmer. There was nothing behind it, and it didn't seem to lead anywhere. It was just sort of…there.
Seto watched the door with a risen eyebrow, disbelief written all over his face. "Why the hell is there a door in the middle of the shadow realm?" He asked, voicing the question I'm sure you all were asking yourselves.
Seth didn't answer; he felt something weird behind the door; power. Energy. Unlimited, stronger than any he had ever felt before, except for once back in ancient Egypt inside the...
Blue eyes widened considerably, for now Seth recognized the door.
"This is the backdoor to the temple of Ra."
The CEO next to him gave him an incredulous look. "...backdoor to the temple of Ra?" He asked, voice void of any emotion. But the look of his eyes spoke more than any words could.
"Yes, how many times do I have to tell you?" Seth asked, glaring at him. "I've seen this door far too many times not to recognize it." And that was very true.
Back in ancient Egypt, Seth had showed this door to Jono several times. Being a slave, Katsuya wasn't allowed in that temple, but Seth still wanted to show him all it's wonders and beauty of the temple. Thus, he smuggled the blonde through the backdoor of the temple several times, happily guiding him around...
Through this very door he stood in front of now.
Before Seto could even begin to tell Seth how stupid the idea of this door showing up in the Shadow Realm was, a sharp scream pierced through the silence around them. And, it came from behind the closed door in front of them.
"Katsuya!" Seth cried when the scream died down in a pitiful moan, instantly grabbing the handle of the door. He pulled sharply, but the door remained in place, causing Seth's heart to chill.
It was locked.
Another memory from ancient Egypt came back to him; this door was always locked. Seth had made sure of it, so no temple thieves could come in there. The only thing that could open the door was shadow magic...
Not wasting one more second, Seth took a step backwards and put his right hand on the door. Drawing a deep breath, Seth let some shadow magic seep into the door, in a way it had done so many times before. Not more than one second later, a soft click was heard, and the door opened a crack.
Seth took the handle of the door, turning back to Seto for a second, a daring look in his eyes. "You're coming?"
"You bet." With that, the two males sneaked through the door. The sight that met them made both unable to speak.
They stood in a giant room, on newly cleaned floor of white marble. The walls around them were covered in gold, and statues stood there as well. Statues of monsters, half human and half beasts, and other strange things. Signs were carved into the walls as well, and Seth took a closer look on them.
"Hieroglyphs..." He whispered, blue eyes wide in wonder, letting his fingers trace the smooth carvings. With ease, he started to read them, and almost instantly recognized them. Over a thousand times before, he had read and repeated the words on these walls, and knew them all by heart.
"I know you're going to say this is impossible, Kaiba," Seth began, eyes fixed on the wall. "but this is the temple of Ra we are standing in right now..." He paused. "...the temple I was in charge of back in ancient Egypt...and the place I was sent to the Shadow Realm from."
There was a long pause of silence behind him. So long, in fact, that Seth turned around to see what was keeping the other from answering.
Seto wasn't even looking at him, and had obviously not listened. His gaze was transfixed to the middle of the temple, a strange look in his eyes. It was full of anger, hate and absolute fury. Seth followed the other's gaze to see just what had caused this anger. The moment he saw what it was, his eyes also flared up in the same emotion as his reincarnation.
In the middle of the temple, bound between two pillars with black ropes of magic, was Katsuya. His clothing were ripped, white school shirt dirty, a few buttons gone, and his blue pants ripped at each leg from the bottom to halfway up his thighs.
He seemed unconscious, hanging completely limp in the restraints. The black ropes were tied around his wrists, and over his chest and waist, barely holding him up. Even at the distance they were, they could clearly see the blood that was running down his wrists, obviously a result from fighting the restraints. Or from arching from pain.
The two men glanced at each other for a second, before starting to walk towards Katsuya. When they had reached half way, Seth suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. A shiver that could only mean one thing.
Shadow magic.
Before Seth could even react to the threat that was coming, black ropes shot up from the floor, much similar to the ones that was keeping Jou. Like snakes, they wrapped around their wrists and legs, and tugged them down to their knees.
A low groan escaped Seth when he hit the hard marble. Seth glared at the ropes, but kept still. Magic ropes wouldn't just let go, he knew that, and the magic ropes also kept him from using his magic. Which made it close to impossible to get loose.
Seto, however, was instantly tugging at the restraints, glaring at them heatedly. But the more he struggled, the tighter the ropes constricted around him. When Seto tried to rise, more ropes shot up, and wrapped around his upper arms as well to pull him back down to his knees. Growling, he tried once more to get free.
"There's no use, Seto Kaiba." A smooth and cold voice croaked out, echoing out over the room. "My ropes will not let go of you. The more you struggle, the more they keep you back..."
"Who are you?!" Seto hissed out, not caring for the way the black ropes were now so tight on his wrists that they were close to breaking. "Show yourself, you-"
"Come out, Hatoc." Interrupted Seth, voice low and hateful. The name was spat out with hate and disgust, the deep loathing for the name's owner clearly showing. "If you're not a bigger coward than I originally thought."
An evil laugh echoed out in the room, now from closer range. "Your insults have no effect on me, Seth, High Priest..." A man walked out of the shadows behind Katsuya. "...because it is you who is trapped like a mouse in my trap."
Hatoc now stood directly behind Jou, wearing his hood to cover his face. Only the red eyes glowed at them from the darkness of the hood, power showing clearly in their depths. He wasn't looking at them, however. No, his entire attention was focused on the blonde boy in front of him.
Seth growled when Hatoc let his hand rest on Katsuya's head, absently playing with his hair. A slightly lower sound was heard from the male next to him, but Seto's glare spoke more than any growl could.
Ignoring both the growl and the glares he was getting, Hatoc let his hand travel down from Jou's head to his neck, stroking it slightly. "He's a beautiful toy this one, Seth. I can only imagine the pleasure you must get from him..." Hatoc paused, red eyes glinting with a strange gleam. "...no actually, I can do much more than just imagine..."
"Let go of him." Seth hissed lowly, venom in his voice. "It is me you want, not him. Katsuya has nothing to do with this."
Hatoc rose his hands to the hood, and he let it slide off. A smirk was playing on his lips, making his wrinkly face even more disdainful. "Oh, but he does...he has everything to do with this. Because honestly, Seth, what would hurt you more? Your pain..." A dagger, black with rubies at the handle, suddenly appeared in Hatoc's hand, and he put it against Jou's throat. "...or his?"
The action made Seth freeze in place. His gaze was like glued to the dagger, blue eyes clearly showing that he didn't appreciate that knife anywhere near Katsuya.
A growl rose from Seto's throat when he saw the dagger, and he pulled against the ropes around his body. "I warn you, Hatoc, or whatever your name was. If you only hurt only one hair on Jounouchi's head, I will kill you in the most painful way known to mankind." He hissed, glaring straight into Hatoc's eyes. There was no lie in those cold, ruthless eyes that would have had any man down on their knees, praying for mercy.
The way that bastard of a man was pressing that knife to Jou's neck had him inwardly seething. Seto promised himself that, no matter what, he would make sure that Jou came out unharmed of this, and that Hatoc would die.
An evil look entered Hatoc's eyes. But before he could say anything, Jou suddenly started to stir slightly. His eyelids flinched, and slowly rose. Pained amber eyes came to show, and he blinked a few times.
A whimper escaped him, and he closed his eyes once more. "What...what's happening..."
"Katsuya!" Seth called out, blue eyes at once shifting onto the other's face. Slight relief showed, along with worry.
"Seth...?" Jou opened his eyes again, fully this time, to look in the direction of the voice that was calling his name. At seeing the brunet there, Jou's eyes widened. And they widened even further at seeing Seto sitting next to him. "Kaiba?!"
The disbelief in Jou's voice was very clear, and not surprising. Because, really; what were the odds of Seto Kaiba coming to the Shadow Realm to save someone, that wasn't his little brother?
"Are you alright?" Seth and Seto asked at the exact same time, glancing at each other quickly with surprise.
Jou would have nodded, if there hadn't been a dagger against his neck. So he settled with a slight smile. "Yes, I'm fine..."
"Aw, how sweet." Hatoc cooed, before glaring and pressing the knife tighter against Jou's throat, making the other whimper. "Too bad he's going to die soon." The knife tightened against Jou's throat, making him gasp with pain and clench his eyes shut.
Jou hear his heart beat loudly in his ears when Hatoc moved the knife and cut through the skin, causing a thin opening in the skin. Warm blood, only a few drops, started to run down the skin of Jou's pale throat. The wound stung slightly, and made Jou whimper slightly. The stining soon progressed to soaring pain when the knife continued it's slow path along his neck, forcing out a sharp cry from Jou's throat, as tears started to run down his cheeks.
"No!" Seth called out, finally ripping against his restraints on instinct.
Beside him, Seto remained quiet, but a strange fire was burning in his eyes, and the efforts he had made before doubled in strength.
Hatoc threw a glance at Seth and Seto, and smirked before loosening the knife from Jou's neck slightly, making the other gasp in relief. Dark, red blood glisterned on the knife, in the same colour as Hatoc's eyes when a cruel idea reached him.
"Although...I promised to give you a show to remember, Seth." He turned his gaze to Jou, tracing his cheek with the knife. "So, why not have some fun before you die, Katsuya? If I understood it right...you're a virgin, hm?" Hatoc let his free hand travel down to the edge of Jou's shirt, and let his hand move in under it.
Two pairs of blue eyes narrowed instantly.
Jou tensed with fear, and he tried to wiggle away, but the bonds only got tighter around him. And Hatoc's hand pulled him closer to the body behind him, while licking some blood off his throat, making him shiver in disgust.
"S-Stop it!" Jou cried, a tear escaping him when the hand started to move lower to the hem of his pants.
"Ah, don't be shy, Katsuya...back in my time, you were made for pleasuring others, why change that?" Hatoc chuckled and started to play with the button of his pants.
Seto's eyes were now narrowed so far that they were only slits, and he was fighting as hard he could against the bonds. But more ropes shot up from the ground, a few around his waist, and one around his neck, trying to choke him. The brunet felt nothing of this, there was only one thing clear to him; Hatoc had to die.
Seth had the similar thought in his mind; though he had a much more better way to get rid of the restraints. Before, they had also cut off his magic. But now when red hot anger was rushing through his veins, there were no restrains in the world that could keep him down. Hatoc had gone over the line, hurting this Katsuya and insulting his Jono...
With a mighty scream, Seth grabbed his magic and used it to burn the black ropes off his, Jou's and Seto's body in one second flat. Slowly and menacing, he rose to his feet, clenching his hands to fists. Black flames enveloped his hands, and blue lightning shot from his eyes towards Hatoc with the harsh glare he was handing him.
"Hatoc, former priest of Pharaoh Atemu and Ra. I am Seth, High Priest of Pharaoh Atemu and Ra. With this spell..." Seth held out his hand and started to summon his mightiest monster. "...I declare a duel."
Hatoc looked at him with a smirk, rising too, albeit not letting go of Jou completely; he held a tight grip on the other's arm. "High Priest Seth, with this spell, I, Hatoc, servant of the dark master Anubis, accept your challenge."
A sudden wind swept through the temple, almost throwing the people inside the temple to the floor. A duel of Shadow Magic was about to start.
The duel's rules were easy. They both summoned one monster each, and they battled. The first one to loose their monster, either by an attack or by loosing too much energy to keep the monster alive, lost the duel. And with that, seeing that they were in the Shadow Realm, the looser lost their life.
Seth wasn't afraid. Even if Hatoc was strong, Seth was stronger. He had always been the strongest of them. No matter how much Hatoc had trained, Seth still had the strongest magic, and also had the best reason to fight at that moment. He wasn't fighting for his own life only. He was fighting for Katsuya, and for his reincarnation.
He would win. No matter what.
For Katsuya's sake.
Finishing the spell he had started at the very beginning of his challenge, Seth rose his hand above his head, magic lights shining from it. "By the help of the mighty god Ra, I summon my most powerful beast to life; Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
White lightning flew from Seth's hand, illuminating the whole temple in bright light. It formed a shining orb, which grew in size by every passing second. Not more than a few seconds later, the light seemed to explode without a sound.
Hovering above and before Seth, was a mighty dragon; the exact same creature that could be seen on Seto Kaiba's cards of Blue Eyes White Dragon. The dragon reached to the ceiling of the temple, showing of great power and strength. It gave a challenging roar towards Hatoc, glaring with it's huge blue eyes.
No fear could be seen on Hatoc's face; he merely smirked. "Good, Seth. Very good." The smirk soon became a serious look. "But not good enough."
Also rising his hand, black lightning shooting from it, Hatoc spoke loudly. "By the help of Anubis, the mighty of the mighty, I summon you; Dragon of Anubis!" A loud boom was heard after that, and a dark portal opened behind Hatoc.
A laugh of complete madness erupted from Hatoc's throat, as he pointed to the portal. "Alas! Watch the rise of my mighty fighter, Seth! And see your own doom within it's dark eyes!"
And out of the portal came a dragon. It was black; no, even darker than black. It was just as large as Seth's Blue eyes, but seemed far more mighty. Wings spread from it's sides, they too black with huge claws in the ends. Equally large claws could be seen on the creature's feet, all four of them.
Muscles rippled under tough scales when the creature moved to stand before Hatoc, roaring so loud that everyone had to hold their ears. The creature's long neck bent backwards like a wolf when it roared, and the gigantic head with it's large mouth, with long sharp teeth as black as it's skin, swung towards Seth.
Before it could reach very far, the Blue eyes met the attack with it's own head. A loud bang was heard when the two heads collided, and sparks flew from the friction when they pulled apart again, to glare at each other and await their master's order.
Seth rose his hand and pointed to Hatoc's dragon with eyes filled of determination. "Blue eyes! Attack his dragon now, with White Lightning!" He barely got to finish his sentence before the white dragon roared, opened it's jaws wide and shot out a large ball of white light towards the other dragon.
The ball hit squarely in the beast's chest, and engulfed it in light, making the occupants of the room cover their eyes to protect themselves. Seth smirked, completely sure that the dragon was obliterated. What met his gaze when the light faded, however, made the smirk fall right off his face.
The black dragon stood, completely unharmed, on the exact same place it had been earlier. It lifted it's wings to the ceiling, and roared with anger and annoyance.
Hatoc smirked, still keeping Jou close to himself. "Good try, High Priest. But my dragon is so much stronger than yours, that your strongest attack doesn't do more than a mosquito's harm to it! Now..." He grinned, and rose his own hand. "...lets see how you handle the full power of Anubis's dragon of darkness! Black Burst!"
The black dragon stretched it's neck out towards the Blue eyes and opened it's mouth. For a few seconds, sparkles of dark magic could be seen there, before several black lightning's flew out, and towards the Blue eyes.
The lightning's hit straight in the chest of the dragon, and a roar of pain was heard from it. But not only from the dragon; Seth screamed too, due to the bond of the souls he and the dragon had, he felt the same pain as the one of his dragon.
Panting, Seth fell to one knee, his whole body shaking wildly. The pain was still there, like needles piercing his skin from the inside out. Never before had he encountered such power in one attack, not even Yami could do such damage to him. Slowly lifting his head, Seth looked out to see how his dragon was doing.
The mighty dragon was lying on it's side on the floor, panting so it's large chest rose and fell rapidly. Black burns could be seen clearly on it's pale skin, focused on the chest, where also a large wound where silver blood ran out slowly.
His dragon...it wouldn't last for much longer...and neither would he.
"Seth!" Jou screamed fearfully, staring both at the dragon and it's master. The worry in the large brown eyes showed clearly, and he tried to rip free of Hatoc's grip. Though, it soon showed impossible; the other had a death grip on his arm.
Seto, who stood by the sidelines of the duel, close to where the dragon was laying, didn't show of any worry. Instead, his dark, blue eyes were glaring at Seth.
"Seth, get up! You are not loosing this duel! Continue, or I'll have to take your place!" Seto called out, meaning every word; if the other man was incapable of protecting Jou and winning this duel, Seto would take his place in order to win. With or without Seth's approval.
These words made Seth scowl, and he got to his feet with a snort. "Hmmph. Like you would even last a second in a duel like this..." He muttered, ignoring the way his knees were shaking. The physical strength he had to provide to keep his dragon alive had doubled now that it was injured...
It was then Seth realised something. He looked at the black dragon ahead of him, and quickly made a check of the levels of magic within it. What he discovered, made satisfaction pour through him, and he looked at Hatoc.
"Hatoc, I must admit...your monster is strong..." A smirk slowly got to Seth lips. "...but how strong are you?"
"What?!" Hatoc snarled, glaring for all he was worth at the other. "What the hell are you implying, High Priest?!"
Seth continued to smirk, taking a step closer to the other. "I'm just asking...for how long can you keep your beast in this world before your strength gives in? To provide such a beast with such strength and power, you must take it from yourself. But your magic is limited, and lessens with every attack. Thus, your monster gets weaker with every attack. So, I'm asking...are you strong enough to hold the monster the duel out?"
Seth had seen such mistakes before. Countless people he had duelled had brought out the strongest creatures that existed, and only managed to keep them alive for one round, or even less. Seth had learned his own limits long ago; the Blue eyes was the strongest monster he could keep alive for the longest period of time, and the one that proved the most effective.
And just now he had seen the level of strength of Hatoc's dragon...it was close to zero, because Hatoc's magic was being drained. Probably from keeping both the illusion of the temple, and opening and closing portals earlier.
So now, Seth had the advantage. And he was planning to use it very soon.
A snarl appeared on Hatoc's face, and he pulled out his knife again, pressing it to Jou's throat. "Shut up, Seth! Or I'll make the process short with the blonde!"
"Sure, I'll be quiet. But remember, Hatoc..." A serious look came back to Seth's face. "...you should keep all your strength focused on your monster. Because it's my turn now." Once more, Seth turned to his dragon. "Blue eyes! Arise, and give him the full taste of your power with White Inferno!"
The dragon roared, suddenly filled with more strength than before, and got to it's feet with a little help from it's wings. It turned to the opposing dragon, and once more opened it's jaws. This time, the orb of magic was replaced by many white spears, that shot out with magnificent speed.
"Anubis, evade!" Hatoc screamed, but far too late. The spears hit his dragon, and made both the dragon and spellcaster scream with pain. The second the spears hit, they exploded in a magnificent lightshow, forcing out another roar of pain, which died out in a low and dark tone.
When the light died down, along with the many echoes, the black dragon was gone. But Hatoc was still standing, staring at the wounded, yet powerful, white dragon in front of him.
"Yes!" Jou cried, grinning like a fool. Seth had won, and had completely destroyed the other's dragon.
Seto smirked with satisfaction, and crossed his arms. Hard words and insults worked all the time to encourage people...both workers and crazy ancient spirits.
Face completely blank and emotionless, Seth turned his gaze to Hatoc. "Your monster is gone, Hatoc. I have won the duel, and you will have to pay the price for loosing." He rose his hand to his dragon and spoke calmly. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack him directly-"
"Wait!" Hatoc hissed, glaring at Seth. A smirk was suddenly playing on his lips, and he pushed Jou down in front of him. "Don't you realise something, Seth? If you attack me, it won't be me you're killing. It will be the little pretty Katsuya here who will pay the price! So, attack, Seth, and kill Katsuya yourself!" Hatoc cackled, insanity clear in his eyes.
Jou stared at Seth, then the dragon and then back to Seth again, eyes wide with fear, because he knew the other had to attack and kill Hatoc. There was no other way to get out. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Jou could see the mirror of his own fear in Seth's eyes.
For a moment, the temple rested in silence, save for the Blue Eyes pants for breath.
Seth's arm fell down limply by his side.
He couldn't do it. No matter how much he wanted to kill Hatoc, make him burn and force him back into the Shadow Realm, he couldn't do it without hitting Jou. No matter how precise his dragon was, it would still manage to hit Katsuya as well. To win this completely, to kill Hatoc...he'd have to kill Katsuya too.
He couldn't do it.
There was only one thing he could do.
The brunet closed his eyes, and sighed. "I, High Priest Seth, will now surrender this duel-"
"Like hell you will." Said a cold voice, interrupting Seth's surrender. Seth looked up to see who that had opposed his will.
Seto was glaring at Seth, anger and annoyance clear in his blue eyes. It showed clearly that he wasn't agreeing to Seth's attempt to give up. The brunet turned to Hatoc, head held high as their eyes met; red mixing with navy blue. For being a teenager without any magic powers, and a large coffestain on his shirt, Seto managed to look pretty darn impressive.
"Are you that much of a coward, Hatoc, that you will not even recognize your own defeat?" Seto's voice boomed out, and echoed in the large room. "You hide in the Shadow Realm, threaten to kill an innocent person to get revenge on another person, and finally try to cheat at the dawn of your own defeat? You must be the biggest coward I have ever met in my entire life. And trust me..." Seto smirked. "...I've met quite a few."
"How dare you!?" Hatoc roared out, red eyes starting to glow with hate and anger. "No one insults me without getting punished!" He rose his hand and threw out magi lightning towards him.
Seto, who now saw his chance, jumped out of the way of the lightning, and then threw himself onto the other man. Quick as the lightning newly cast towards him, Seto ripped the hands away from Jou's arms and pushed the blonde out of the way, and wrestled the man to the ground, chest to the ground, holding his arms behind his back.
"Now, Seth!" He screamed, holding the struggling man to the ground. "Attack now!" Sweat started to run down his face when he had to struggle even worse against the black haired man who was now seeing what he was trying to do.
"But, Kaiba, what about you, you will..." Seth started, eyes wide with confusion and hesitation.
"I SAID, ATTACK!" Seto roared, glaring at the other for a second, before having to return his focus onto the man under him who was now starting to get the upper hand, having managed to release one arm, grabbing Seto's leg, trying to turn them over.
True, the attack would blast Seto as well. But the brunet knew what he was doing, and he was fine with it. It would make an end to it, get rid of Hatoc, and make sure that Jou was safe. Because that was what he was there for. Besides, who knew; he could get lucky?
Not wasting any more time, Seth rose his hand one last time, closing his eyes in a prayer for strength, he screamed. "Blue Eyes, attack with White Lightning directly to Hatoc!"
With a roar, the dragon burst out a straight line of white, sending it flying towards the two wrestling men on the ground.
In that moment, Hatoc had managed to get on top of Seto, so he was hit with the magic straight in the back, the lightning piercing his body straight through, making him scream with agony, his scream mixing with the one's of Seto when the electricity went through his body as well.
The power of the attack left an enormous pressure wave, sending both Seth and Jou backwards to land a few yards away from the places they had originally been.
White light erupted all around the temple for a few seconds, before slowly fading away. The Blue Eyes White Dragon was gone with it's last, finishing attack.
Hatoc was gone, no trace left of him.
In the spot where Hatoc once had been, was now a redhead which Jou and Seth both knew.
Sam. He was unconscious, and probably happily oblivious of everything that had just happened. The dark spirit of Hatoc, which had possessed him earlier, had been sent away to the Shadow Realm, and would never return.
Underneath the unconscious man was Seto Kaiba, he also unconscious. His clothes were burned in the edges, and he was deadly pale.
"Kaiba!" Jou cried out, quickly getting to his feet and running over to the unconscious man. Quickly pushing Sam off him, Jou lifted the brunet's head into his lap. With gentle care, Jou traced the other man's face, and down to his neck to feel for his pulse. A sigh of relief escaped him when he felt a faint, but still steady, pulse underneath his fingers.
Seth, who had also run over to them, sat down next to Sam, and felt for his pulse too. "He's alive. Hatoc's hold on him has vanished. He'll probably not remember anything that has happened today..." He said calmly, looking over to Jou.
Jou was looking down at Seto's face, amber eyes sparkling in the warm lights of the torches around them. His hands were gently caressing the brunet's face in a sign of affection, seemingly unknowing of what he was doing, and his face was pale. A long, thin bruise had formed on his throat, where Hatoc had pressed the knife tight against it, and some dried blood still lingered there.
"Katsuya...are you alright?" Seth asked lowly, scooting closer to the blonde. His voice was soft due to exauhstion, and the question had a double meaning; was he okay physically and mentally?
"Yeah..." Jou whispered, slowly looking up from Seto's pale face. A faint smile was shown on his face, and a tear ran down his cheek. "Thank you, Seth. For saving me."
Seth returned the smile with one of his own. "You should thank Kaiba, not me, Katsuya. He saved you from Hatoc just now. And earlier too, if I understood it right."
Faintly, a blush started to rise on Jou's cheeks, and he looked down on the brunet in his lap. "...yeah, I will thank him..." Jou paused, and glanced over to Sam. "...was...was it Hatoc all along who hurt me, Seth? Is Sam really...not to blame?" Slight hope was in Jou's voice when he looked up at Seth.
Seth hesitated for a while, before he spoke. "What happened today, when Sam was trying to rape you in that alley...that was Hatoc, yes." Jou's eyes lit up slightly, before Seth continued. "But what happened last summer, Katsuya...I know Hatoc was in the Shadow Realm all the while before you brought me back."
Jou's eyes filled with reluctant understanding, and he glanced at Sam again, silently watching his peaceful face.
Jou had hoped that all the things Sam had done to hurt him could have been blamed on Hatoc; then he could have forgiven him and been his friend again…or closer than friends, even. He really liked Sam, since the first day he met him, and he really would have liked to forgive him. But Sam had tried to rape him last summer, there was no going around it. But he had really hoped that it hadn't been Sam…for both of the boys' sakes.
Katsuya bit his lip, and tears started to make his eyes sparkle. "...I...I see."
With a slight frown, Seth leaned over and lightly touched Jou's cheek. When the other looked at him, Seth smiled and pressed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Do not be saddened, Jou. There are still so many that cares about you. Me, Yugi, Yami...and Kaiba, of course, only to mention a few."
A slight smile tugged on Jou's lips, and he nodded. "I guess so...thanks again, Seth. I don't know wha' I'd do without you."
Seth smiled, before getting to his feet. "Well then...now, I think he should get out of here. This isn't really the best place to linger in.
With that, the four started to make their way out of the room; Seth with Sam thrown carelessly over his shoulder, and Jou dragging Seto with him, with one arm around the other's middle and the other holding one of the brunet's arms around his neck to support him.
End Chapter!!!YAY! They all survived! (except Hatoc, but hey; who cares?!) Now then…how did you like this then? (yees, I know that my fighting/duelling scenes needs some improvement, but still; no one's perfect, right? )
And yes, I know, I didn't explain the whole Hatoc-possessed-Sam thingie very good...I will do that later, though, I promise!
Now then…REVIEW! I need reviews to keep going. Specially since I feel a writer's block crawling in on me to this next chapter…a big one…suggestions would be very helpful!
-sigh- anyway. Review, and I will try to reply to everyone:D
-The Blonde Midget