Disclaimer: I don't Own Yugioh
Yami really was beginning to think he was losing his sanity. First he had gotten up, was that really only yesterday? Or was it two days ago? All this time in isolation was really beginning to mess with him meaning he had lost all meaning of time. Atemu, no the Monster, had been weird, having Yami join him as he taught him to pray before cuddling up with him on the chaise. Yami refused to refer to him as anything other than the monster in the hopes of combatting whatever weird stuff was going on.
Then the weird thoughts and dreams had come and things were getting even stranger. For some inexplicable reason his mind kept trying to convince him that he WANTED to be with the monster. But he didn't he refused to have anything to do with him.
Yami forced himself to focus on Malik scrubbing the floor. Yami had no idea how the floors kept getting so dirty but Malik spent practically a whole day washing the floor yesterday, only to get up again and have to scrub the floors once more.
And where was Yami? Sitting on the damn chaise, yet again with his head resting on the monster's chest. Why, you might ask because the monster had invited him to join him and Yami could not find a good reason to say no. And as soon as he'd laid down on the chaise the monster had tugged him close and that had been the position Yami had been in ever since.
He already been fed more of that disgusting broth that the monster seemed to love feeding to him. Yami almost couldn't complain because it was certainly easier to choke down than the solid meals had been.
God, how long had he even been down here in total? Yami didn't even know. The monster was idly stroking Yami's back as he continued to read over the ever changing parchment. The shadows kept updating the monster on all kinds of information most of which seemed to go right over Yami's head. The sad thing was that normally it wouldn't be going over Yami's head but lately he wasn't feeling as mentally sharp as he used to be.
I need to do something. Anything and soon. I need to prove he's still the same viscious monster he has been. I'm done being afraid and I'm done with this monster messing with my fucking head. I know its him…I don't know how he's doing it but I will not be toyed with. Or brainwashed for that matter. Yami thought to himself.
"Something on your mind my wife?" The monster asked.
"There are many things on my mind. Is there one in particular you are wondering about? Not that anything on my mind is any of YOUR business." Yami replied.
"You would do well to remember to mind your tongue wife, and count yourself most fortunate that I am in a pleasant mood today." Atemu hissed, his blood red eyes blazing with barely contained anger.
Yami resisted the urge to smirk. There you are. I knew the monster hadn't disappeared. He was just hiding. Yami mused. "I apologize, it was never my intent to upset you. I merely asked for clarification as to what you meant. Nothing more. No reason for you to get so upset over a mere inquiry." Yami mockingly purred out of the corner of his eye he could see Malik had temporarily stopped his never-ending scrubbing of the floor to watch the brewing conflict unfold.
"You are walking a very fine line my dear. Tread cautiously." Atemu growled. Yami noticed the shadows that about the room like drapes were thickening, no doubt responding to the monster's temper.
I need to do this. I need to before this monster makes me lose my mind. Yami reminded himself. He knew this was not going to end well for him, but at this very moment in time that did not matter. All that mattered was creating some distance before the monster completely brainwashed him. "And if I don't you'll do what precisely? Beat me? Rape me? Torture me? Imprison me? You've already done all of that. Problem is that doesn't leave you with anything else you can threaten me with. I've already seen your worse and your mind games won't work on me. I will never forget that you are a monster." Yami growled.
Atemu laughed, the laugh was dark, cold and pure evil. Yami refused to allow himself to flinch away from the sound. He would not give the monster the satisfaction of scaring him. He was stronger than this sadistic Pharaoh thought he was and he would prove how resilient he was.
"You're in quite the fiery mood today my wife. Don't forget dearest I am the one with the power here. I am the one in control. I am the one who decides if you can see your family again. If you live or die. That power lies with me and with me alone." Atemu threatened.
Yami laughed, it was a forced laugh but he laughed none the less, "And all you are doing now is blowing smoke. Like I said you don't scare me and if you had any intention of killing me you would have already done it." Yami challenged.
"Do you dare to challenge me?" Atemu hissed.
Yami nodded, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. Challenging you. You demand utter and complete respect and unquestionable obedience and I'm done bending every time you decide to bark. I'm not some puppet that you can control…" Yami growled, although Yami's tirade was put to a stop by Atemu harshly smacking Yami on the side of the face with enough force that Yami was actually knocked out of the chaise and onto the unrelenting stone floor.
"That was merely a warning. I will not warn you again." Atemu growled out of the corner of his eye Yami could see the same monster that had whipped him raw literally appearing out of the shadows in the corner, the massive lumbering form literally was climbing out of the wall.
But something inside Yami had snapped. He was done being intimidated. Yami scrambled back this feet and stood with her shoulders squared staring defiantly back at Atemu. "You don't scare me. And I'll prove it. You're nothing but a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum when you don't get your way. I challenge you to one of your shadow games because it's high time that you begin respecting me." Yami growled.
Atemu laughed once again, that dark evil laugh. "My idiotic, fiery wife. Do you mean to tell me that you intend to challenge me again when your last act of defiance left you unable to stand for days? Not to mention you have played and lost multiple shadow games against me. Why in the name of the gods do you think you will be successful this time?" Atemu taunted.
Yami smirked, "Because your luck has run out and I won't let you intimidate me any longer." Yami replied.
Atemu let out what sounded like an exasperated sigh, his eyes once more gleaming with sadistic pleasure. Yami knew that the sick monster was enjoying this. Enjoying the fact that he was defying him because he was already envisioning being able to beat that very defiance out of him. "Fine, if you insist on fighting both me and the authority I wield then so be it. I will once more remind you of your place at my feet." Atemu replied, his tone brimming with the confidence the monster not doubt felt.
"Good. Gam…" Yami began only to pause when he felt a hand rest on his knee. Yami's gaze drifted down to land on Malik's frightened lilac eyes.
"Don't challenge him. He'll destroy you." Malik whispered.
"How dare you lay your filthy hands upon my possession you worthless piece of filth?!" Atemu growled. The menacing shadow demon in the corner stalking forward much faster than one would have thought possible given his bulk, ripping the now sobbing Malik away from Yami and into the air.
"No, no please. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Malik sobbed.
Chains were appearing in the air, binding themselves onto Malik's arms so that he was dangling from the ceiling, a massive whip not unlike the one this very monster had whipped Yami with a matter of days ago appearing once more in in the monster's hand.
"Wait!" Yami called out and much to his shock the monster actually paused, the whip dangling over the beasts shoulder poised to land the first of undoubtedly many devastating blows. Yami's gaze drifted away from the shadow demon and back onto the sadistic monster that was his husband to see that Atemu had held up his hand, halting the punishment.
"Make your case for why this vermin should not be whipped to death for daring to lay a finger upon your person. Speak quickly before I lose my patience." Atemu declared.
Yami frowned, "Malik was showing concern for my wellbeing, something you don't know the first thing about. He had no idea that I've already had to face you on multiple occasions and am well aware what I am getting myself into. As I was saying GAME ON!" Yami growled.
"So, the vermin's punishment will stand then. Very well." Atemu said.
Yami's frown deepened, "No, you need to let him go. He did nothing wrong and to be perfectly honest if I was faced with the choice of Malik touching me or you I would choose Malik every single god damned time. But that has nothing to do with this. We have a shadow game to play." Yami growled.
"And what do you propose be the stakes?" Atemu asked his blood red eyes locked disinterestedly on his fingernails and the only other sound to be heard was Malik sobbing uncontrollably in the background, a sound Yami forced himself to tune out.
Stakes? What should I demand? I want him to respect me and treat like a fucking human being but that isn't something I can demand. You know what, fuck it. I'm going to go for fucking broke. Yami thought to himself, "If I win you let me AND Malik go free. And you don't follow either of us and make no attempts to recapture us at a later time." Yami said.
Atemu laughed, "Those are your pathetic goals? You are willing to put yourself at risk in another shadow game for that worthless scum. Scum who knowingly lured you here intending for you to be locked away for the rest of your life. You want to save him?" Atemu laughed.
Yami nodded, "That's right. Because unlike you, Malik is a human being, just like me and he deserves to be treated like one. Yes, I know Malik is one of the ones responsible for me being trapped here, no doubt a decision made out of desperation to not be the one trapped here himself. From where I'm standing I can understand his fear. And despite the fact I could never knowingly subject someone to the hell he and his sister subjected me to. I can see how some people would be tempted." Yami said.
Atemu's smirk was absolutely predatory as he stared Yami down, "Fine, I'll accept your ridiculous terms and I've come up with the perfect punishment for you. When you lose this shadow game, Malik will die. And not only will it be your fault that he does, but YOU will be the one to execute him. And I have no doubt that I am come up with something tortuous for the both of you. " Atemu declared.
Yami nodded once. That more than anything meant he needed to win, this was literally going to be a game of life and death. The monster may not care and may have no problem gambling with people's lives but Yami sure did. Only problem was he didn't have a choice in the matter, it was the only way for him and Malik to get out of here alive.
"Given the stakes involved this game will not be a simple one like the prior games you've played. You had better prepare yourself for game the likes of which you've never seen." Atemu vowed.
Yami rolled his eyes, "Enough with the melodramatics. You aren't scaring me. Let's get this game underway so Malik and I can get out of here." Yami said.
Atemu laughed as the room steadily grew darker and darker. "When you see what I have in store for you, you'll come to regret your hurry." Atemu taunted.
"Do your worse." Yami commanded, after everything else he'd already dealt with he truly believed he could handle anything. That or die trying. And this time he wouldn't be forfeiting a game to protect the monster, unlike him and Malik the monster was not human and had lost what little humanity it ever had when it had died millennia ago. So, if this monster thought he could guilt trip Yami that way then he was going to be sadly mistaken.
Yami could hear the monster smirking even though he could no longer see him, "Oh, believe me. I intend to."
The darkness finally faded from view revealing a rather puzzling scene. If Yami hadn't known any better he would have thought he had returned back home and was standing in the middle of Domino by the clock tower, there was no sign of the monster anywhere. He was dressed to, this time in a comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt, not unlike something Yami would have worn on an ordinary day back home. Yami frowned.
"Just what are you playing at?" Yami whispered as his eyes scanned left to right looking for his opponent. The waiting seemed to take forever, and soon Yami could hear the sound of footsteps rapidly running in is direction. Yami turned towards to the sound and his eyes widened in shock when he saw who was running towards him.
It was his younger brother, Yugi.
"Yugi! Yugi, why are you running?" Yami called out as he automatically began to head towards his sibling as he felt his gut clench. How dare that monster bring my brother into one of his fucked up Shadow Games! This was supposed to be a game between me and him. So, where was that coward hiding?
"I don't know Yami. It was really weird. Last thing I remember was having a pleasant dream and next thing I know I wake up outside and I'm running. I don't even know what I'm running from." Yugi replied as he came to a stop beside his brother, doubled over as he struggled to catch his breath.
Yami nodded, "Just stick close to me Yugi. It isn't safe and who knows what that monster is up to." Yami replied.
Yugi nodded, "Right. I can do that. But Yami, umm not to be rude or anything but what exactly are you talking about? What is who up to?" Yugi asked.
"The psychotic zombie nutjob I challenged to a game to earn my freedom. Supposedly the game has begun but I don't even know what game we're playing or what the rules even are." Yami replied.
Yugi frowned, "That doesn't sound very fair to me." Yugi replied.
Yami snorted, "That's because it's not. Problem is this psycho doesn't play fair." Yami replied.
"But still, not even telling you the object of the game. That goes beyond having an unfair advantage. That's outright cheating." Yugi replied.
"Then perhaps I should enlighten you as to what this game will entail of."
Yami whipped his head around looking for his opponent, but still he was unable to see him, "Show yourself!" Yami growled.
The sky above the two siblings head began to ripple before clearing, revealing Atemu himself lounging on a throne, his ever present wine glass held in his hand and a smug smirk on his face. "The object of this shadow game is simple my wife, you must find and kill all the imposters. Be careful that you don't choose wrong because you might end up inadvertently hurting someone you care about if you're wrong." Atemu replied.
"Imposters? What the hell are you playing at Atemu? I thought this was supposed to be between me and you." Yami growled.
Atemu laughed, "Simple, I don't have to actually need to play this game. Merely observe. If you manage to successfully complete your task then you will be victorious. Make one mistake and victory is mine. As for the imposters. In this game you will encounter three copies of the people you most care about. Your brother. Your grandfather. Your friends. Two copies of each of them are false and one is real. You must kill the imposters before they manage to kill you. However, if you choose wrong not only will you lose the game but the person you kill will forfeit their soul to the shadows." Atemu replied.
"You're sick." Yami growled.
Atemu smirked, "Perhaps. Or you could always surrender the game now. After all, if you forfeit the only one who will pay for it is that worthless swine Malik. If you choose to leave you will be gambling with the lives of your loved ones." Atemu replied.
Yami glanced back over at Yugi. Or was it even Yugi? Could he take the risk that he would guess wrong and end up hurting someone he cared about? Yes. I have to. I need to get away from this monster before I end up losing my mind, which is exactly what my friends and family would want me to do. They would want me to play.
Yami looked back up at Atemu, "I have never backed down from a challenge. And I'm not starting now." Yami declared.
Atemu nodded before he took a casual sip of his wine, "Very well then my wife. Game Start." Atemu declared before he once more vanished from sight and Yami found himself once again standing in the center of town, all though this time he was once again alone. Yugi was gone.
Yami slowly began to make his way through Domino heading towards the Game Shop. He shoved his hands into his pocket as he kicked and aluminum can out of his way. He just had to count on the fact that he knew more about his family and friends than Atemu and the shadows did. He'd be able to find the imposters. Yami frowned when his hand touched something hard in his pocket. He pulled his hand out and grasped in his hand was a switchblade, which he was undoubtedly supposed to use to kill the imposters.
"Yo Yams! When did ya get back from Egypt?"
Yami glanced up from his staring contest with the switchblade to see Joey leaning casually against the wall of the alleyway he had been about to walk past. Yami sighed, "Just now apparently." Yami replied cautiously.
Joey chuckled as he pushed away from the wall, "Dat must ave been a ton a fun, digging up mummies. Yer so lucky." Joey replied.
Yami frowned as he flipped open the switchblade, his hand trembling as he did so. "And why do you think I was lucky Joey?" Yami asked as he took a hesitant step towards his friend. Or was this one of the imposters. His gut was telling him it was.
Joey frowned, "Da hell is yer problem Yams? Put da knife away." Joey said.
Yami took another hesitant step towards his friend, his palm was beginning to sweat around the handle of the switchblade in his hand, "Tell me why you thought I was lucky." Yami repeated, his voice coming out as deceptively calm. Inside he was anything but calm.
"Yer were lucky cuz dat sounds like it would be really cool. Ya know, like a great adventure." Joey said slowly, his honey colored eyes flicking back and forth between the switchblade in Yami's hand and Yami's face.
Yami nodded, "That's what I thought you meant." Yami said before he lunged towards the blonde, stabbing outward with the switchblade, burying it in what Yami was almost certain was an imposter's chest.
For a moment Joey's eyes widened in apparent shock before his honey colored eyes turned black and 'Joey' turned into a clump of shadows before vanishing leaving Yami panting as his heart rapidly thudded in his chest.
Joey is a coward. Or more specifically he is terrified of all things supernatural whether it be ghosts, zombies, or mummies. You name it Joey was freaked out by it. Joey never would have told Yami he was lucky to have a chance to dig up mummies. The real Joey would have wanted to make sure Yami hadn't gotten himself cursed.
Which means that there were still two copies of Joey wandering around the game, one of which was the real one. Yami folded the switchblade back up before he shoved is back into his pocket.
Yami made it the rest of the way to the Game Shop without any further problems. Once Yami came in through the front door, greeted by the ever familiar tingling of the bell above the door his eyes landed on the sight of his grandfather seated at the table reading the newspaper. His aged violet eyes glanced up from the paper before they landed on Yami and the paper was immediately cast aside.
"Yami, my boy. It's so good to see you. Are you alright? How did you get away?" Grandpa asked.
Yami nodded, "I'm fine Grandpa and it's good to see you too. And I haven't gotten away, not yet anyway." Yami replied, his narrow violet eyes locked on his grandfather, looking for any possible cue that this might be an imposter.
The door behind Yami opened once more, as signaled by the tingling of the bell. "Yami, my boy when did you get here?"
Yami frowned as he stepped away from a second copy of his grandfather. His eyes darting back and forth between the two copies of the man who had raised him and his brother. He had a strong feeling one was real and one was fake. There was also a chance, he recognized, that both could be imposters and his actual grandfather might be somewhere else in Domino, but his gut was telling him that was not the case.
Yami reached into his pocket and pulled out the switchblade once again.
"Yami, my boy?" The grandpa standing the door said, his eyes resting briefly on the blade in Yami's hand.
"What's going on?" The grandpa behind the counter asked.
"I'm playing a shadow game against the monster I'm trapped with. If I manage to win the game then I will have earned my freedom. The game forces me to kill imposters of the people I love. But if I guess wrong, not only is the game over but the person I stab will lose their soul to the shadows." Yami said slowly.
The one by the door frowned, "Have I taught you nothing my boy? Gambling with the lives of those you care about? I thought I raised you better than that." He hissed.
This time Yami did not hesitate before he swung out, burying the switchblade in the imposter's throat. "You did raise me better than that, but you also told me to do whatever it took to escape that monster. My real grandfather would never scold me for taking the chance to escape." Yami declared.
Yami did not remove the switchblade until he watched the eyes of the imposter turned black and he vanished from sight.
"How many more imposters are there?" Grandpa asked as he rounded the counter.
"One more imposter of you. One of Joey. Two of Yugi. And two of any of my other friends that psycho decided to drag into this." Yami said.
Grandpa nodded once. "I wish you luck. But Yami, trust your instincts you know all of us very well. Even if you can't explain what isn't quite right trust that gut. And do what you need to do. You must escape from that monster no matter what it takes." Grandpa said.
Yami nodded, "Don't worry Grandpa. I will." Yami vowed.
"If you want to see Yugi, he's upstairs playing video games. Or at least, I think it's your brother. But given what I just witnessed I'm not so sure anymore." Grandpa said.
Yami nodded once more before he headed for the stairs, "I'll go and talk to him and see if I can figure it out. Thanks Grandpa." Yami said.
Yami bounded up the stairs without much thought before he headed up to his brother's room, the entire journey took only a couple of minutes before he came to a stop in the doorway watching in horror as three copies of Yugi were all stretched out almost identically on the floor, video game controller in hand with their faces screwed up in concentration as they played. Parked on the bed sat two copies of Joey watching the game unfold with interest.
One of the two blondes glanced up and noticed Yami first, "Hey Yams. When did ya get back?" Joey called out.
"Just a little while ago. What are you guys doing?" Yami asked as he leaned somewhat casually against the doorframe. The real Joey and Yugi were in this room as well as three imposters. For some reason this made Yami more nervous because right now all three copies of his brother were acting almost identically.
Perhaps the shadows are learning and have decided to have the imposter mimic the original to make it harder to pick out who the imposters are, after all one false move and its game over Yami mused. If that was the strategy of the shadows then this game was certainly getting more difficult.
Then again, he was playing a game of life and death against a sadistic monster so of course it would only make sense that things would be getting more interesting.
Maybe, it would be better to see if he could eliminate the Joey imposter first. "Hey Joey, would you mind coming with me into the kitchen to grab some snacks for these guys? All this gaming has to be making them hungry." Yami said.
Both Joeys nodded before climbing to their feet, "Sure bud." The two called out in almost perfect sync, Yami turned and headed right back down the stairs and headed into the kitchen where he passed his Grandfather sitting, nursing a cup of coffee. Yami frowned, now is that my grandpa that came up from downstairs or is this another imposter? Yami wondered. God this game was really beginning to give him a migraine.
"Hey Yams I got sometin I wanna say ta ya."
"And what's that Joey?" Yami asked, his hand already resting on the switchblade.
"Game over."
Yami whipped around just barely managing to avoid a knife the imposter had swung out at him. Yami was moving almost on autopilot as he immediately stabbed the Joey imposter in the stomach. The real Joey just gaped at Yami as he watched his doppelganger disappear into a puff of shadows.
"What da fuck? What da actual fuck was dat about Yams?" Joey growled, his amber eyes practically shining with confusion and a touch of fear, like he wasn't sure what Yami was actually capable of.
Yami said nothing, instead shoving the blade into his pocket before he walked over and tightly embraced his friend, "It's fucked up Joey, that's all I can say. It's really fucked up." Yami muttered.
Joey snorted, "Ya got dat right. Dat clone a me jus tried ta stab ya an ya turned around an just stabbed him. Since when da ya carry a knife Yams?" Joey asked.
Yami sighed, "Since the rules of this fucked up game are forcing me to. There are three copies of you, Yugi and Grandpa in this game. I have to kill the two clones before they kill me. I lose if a clone kills me or I accidentally get one of you guys for real. Then again, for a game designed by a sadistic monster literally being played for life or death it's about what I've come to expect from him." Yami replied.
Joey glanced back up da stairs, "Den dat means da two oder Yugi's are clones." Joey muttered.
Yami nodded, "That's right. And there is also one clone of Grandpa somewhere. It may very well be the one in the kitchen, that's what I need to figure out." Yami said.
Joey nodded before he finally released his friend. "Good luck Yams. I know ya can win." Joey replied before he glowed golden and vanished from Yami's line of sight.
Yami then headed into the kitchen and it seemed Grandpa had gotten up from the table to join him. "Grandpa, can you tell me again why you took me and Yugi in after our parents were killed in that car accident?" Yami asked.
Grandpa nodded, "Of course my boy. The answer to that question is simple: because you are my family and I love you. How could you expect me to do anything else?" Grandpa stated.
Yami nodded before he pulled the knife out once again and immediately stabbed the imposter with it. "My parents did not die in a car accident, something my real grandfather would know. My father ran off with his secretary shortly after my mom had Yugi and we lost all contact with him and my mother was killed by a mugger on her way home from work one night. Yugi and I spent three days in foster care before CPS was able to reach him since he had been out of the country at the time my mother was killed." Yami firmly told the shadow imposter before it vanished.
Which meant all that was left was to properly identify his brother. This was going to be tricky with all three of them there together.
For a moment Yami stood at the kitchen counter, his head in his hands as his mind raced. There had to be a way for him to know for sure. Yami then straightened a smile on his face. I've got it.
Yami made his way back up the stairs carrying three plates of sandwiches. "Here you boys go. Sandwiches made just the way you like them." Yami said.
All three games grabbed the sandwiches without as much as a second thought. Yami watched as the gamer on the left took a bite of his sandwich before chewing it and swallowing it. Yami immediately lunged forward with the knife, plunging it into the unsuspecting imposter's back, his hand locking over the imposter's mouth to keep him from crying out and drawing the attention of the other two onto him. The other two Yugi's both took a bite at the same time just as the imposter vanished, his controller landing on the ground.
Yami watched as both Yugi's chilled before the one of the right swallowed whereas the Yugi in the middle stopped chewing before he spit out the sandwich, "What the hell Yami? That's tuna, you know I can't eat that. I'm allergic." Yugi hissed.
"I know that Little One." Yami replied before he tackled the remaining imposter to floor and stabbed him without hesitation.
Yami slowly got to his feet just in time to see his real brother glow golden before vanishing before the room around him began to fade. The game was over, he had won.